Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Statement
is a publishing service that supports WSU academic authors in creating and publishing open textbooks for the curriculum or microcredentials. This includes open textbook hosting, copyright advice, design support, DOI minting, H5P support, structural and copyediting referrals, post-publication support (for example, textbook promotion, impact reports, alerts to training opportunities) and coordinating peer review.
Western Open Books provides a platform for WSU authors to publish free, openly licensed content to support the university’s Sustainable Development Goals and is committed to fostering an inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible (IDEA) environment for all readers and contributors.
The goals of Western Open Books are to:
- recognise the importance of promoting IDEA principles in our open-access publications
- strive to include diverse perspectives, voices, and experiences in our content
- represent a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and identities
- seek contributions from authors who bring unique viewpoints and challenge existing norms
- celebrate diversity in all its forms. We value differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age and socio-economic status
- enrich our content and contribute to a more equitable scholarly landscape
- eliminate barriers that prevent equal access to knowledge, which extends to both our readers and authors
- prioritise fair representation, fair compensation, and fair treatment throughout the publishing process
- ensure that Western Open Books adhere to universal design principles, ensuring that content is accessible to all individuals
- provide alternative formats, such as audio descriptions, transcripts, and accessible PDFs, to enhance usability.
Inclusivity, Diversity, and Equity Assessment
The editors and external copy editor check that the content in the front and back matter meets inclusion and diversity standards by:
- making proper representation of genders, races, cultures, geographies, ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, nationalities, ages, sexual orientations, socio-economic statuses and diverse viewpoints
- seeking to avoid offence and ensuring every student can see themselves in the content
- monitoring changes in terminology
- gathering input from colleagues, students or community members from diverse backgrounds, advocacy groups and committees or departments at the university devoted to diversity and inclusion.
The following checklist is drawn from the OpenStax Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials (PDF), which identifies areas and elements where diversity, equity, and inclusivity are most relevant and visible.
Table 1
Inclusivity, Diversity and Equity Checklist
| Category | Item | Status (Yes/No/NA) |
| Illustrations and graphics | A range of diverse subjects and people have been included. | NA |
| Illustrations and graphics | The background (literally), context, depicted actions of the subjects, expressions of authority, connotations, and so on, have been considered. | NA |
| Example names | Diverse names representing various national origins, ethnicities, genders, etc., have been included. | Yes |
| Example names | Stereotypes associated with specific names or names that are presented in a certain way have been avoided. | Yes |
| Key figures in the field | Diversity in key/historical figures mentioned has been sought. | Yes |
| Key figures in the field | The isolation of diverse contributors to specific sections, e.g., “multicultural impacts on psychology”, has been avoided. | Yes[1] |
| Key figures in the field | Current and more diverse researchers/figures have been included where key or historical figures are not diverse. | NA[2] |
| Applications, examples, and exercises/problems | Examples that include diverse people, organisations, geographies, and situations have been written and used. | Yes |
| Applications, examples, and exercises/problems | Real-world practice problems and applications that pertain to situations and contexts, inclusive of all populations, have been created. | Yes |
| Applications, examples, and exercises/problems | Negative stereotypes or sensitive subjects in problems and applications have been avoided, unless the subject matter demands it. | Yes |
| Applications, examples, and exercises/problems | Exercises or problems do not require specific knowledge or context that may be absent in certain individuals or that may produce a negative connotation. | NA |
| Appropriate terminology | All references to people, groups, populations, categories, conditions, and disabilities do use the appropriate verbiage and do not contain derogatory, colloquial, inappropriate, or otherwise incorrect language. | Yes |
| Appropriate terminology | Use of outmoded terminology in historical situations, e.g., court cases, laws, and articles, has been clearly defined in quotations or annotated with contextual information. | Yes |
| Appropriate terminology | An attempt has been made to use current terminology (Note: Style guides may conflict if terms are controversial or not widely adopted). | Yes |
| Appropriate terminology | Idioms and colloquialisms have been avoided (particularly if they could lead to misconceptions among those who do not speak English natively or who may not have the educational or cultural context to understand them). | Yes |
| Keywords/indexed items | Diverse topics and terms are represented in keywords/index. | Yes |
| Balanced issues and discussions | Issues and situations that pertain to diverse populations have been considered and included (when discussing problems, conditions, or issues, those that affect an array of populations and groups have been included). | Yes[3] |
| Balanced issues and discussions | Stigmatised victims or those having a specific condition, occupation, experience, or background have been considered. | Yes |
| Balanced issues and discussions | When necessary, specific controversial topics have been described in a balanced manner. | Yes |
| References | Diversity in references has been ensured (this may be easier in some disciplines than others). | Yes[4] |
| References | Less formal, in-text mentions of specific researchers or studies have been made as diverse as possible. | Yes |
© Western Sydney University unless otherwise attributed. This Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Checklist is an adaptation of “OpenStax Improving Representation and Diversity in OER Materials” by Rice University, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Accessibility Assessment
Below is a short accessibility assessment of key areas, including the front and back matter, assessed by the editors and an external copy editor during the production process of this open text.
In addition:
The checklist has been drawn from the BCcampus Open Education Accessibility Toolkit (https://opentextbc.ca/accessibilitytoolkit/). While a checklist such as this is just one part of a holistic approach to accessibility, it is a way to begin embedding sound accessibility practices in the books we support.
We hope that by being transparent about our current books, we can begin the process of ensuring accessibility is top of mind for all authors, adopters, students, and contributors across all our open-text projects. As such, we welcome any feedback from students, instructors, or others who encounter the book and identify issues that need to be resolved.
Table 2
Accessibility Checklist
| Category | Item | Status (Yes/No/NA) |
|---|---|---|
| Organising content | Content is organised under headings and subheadings. | Yes |
| Organising content | Headings and subheadings are used sequentially (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.). | Yes |
| Images | Images that convey information include alternative text (alt text) descriptions of the image’s content or function. | Yes |
| Images | Graphs, charts, and maps also include contextual or supporting details in the text surrounding the image. | Yes |
| Images | Images, diagrams, or charts do not rely only on colour to convey critical information. | Yes |
| Images | Purely decorative images contain empty alt text. (Descriptive text is unnecessary if the image doesn’t convey contextual content information.) | Yes |
| Tables | Tables include column headers and row headers where appropriate. | Yes |
| Tables | Tables include a title or caption. | Yes |
| Tables | Tables do not have merged or split cells. | Yes |
| Tables | Tables have adequate cell padding. | Yes |
| Weblinks | The web link is meaningful in context and does not use generic text such as “click here” or “read more”. | Yes |
| Weblinks | If a link opens or downloads a file (like a PDF or Excel file), a textual reference is included in the link information, e.g., (PDF). | Yes |
| Weblinks | Internal web links do not open in a new tab. If a link must open in a new window or tab, a textual reference is included in the link information, e.g., (opens in new tab). | Yes |
| Weblinks | For citations and references, the resource title is hyperlinked, but the full URL is not.[5] | NA[6] |
| Weblinks | Complete email addresses are used as link text rather than embedding them in other link text (e.g., accessibility@gmail.com). | Yes |
| Embedded multimedia | A transcript has been made available for a multimedia resource that includes audio narration or instruction. | NA[7] |
| Embedded multimedia | Captions for all speech content and relevant non-speech content are included in the multimedia resource, which includes audio synchronised with a video presentation. | NA[8] |
| Embedded multimedia | Audio descriptions of contextual visuals (e.g., graphs, charts) are included in the multimedia resource. | NA[9] |
| Formulas | Equations written in plain text use proper symbols (e.g., −, ×, ÷).[10] | NA |
| Formulas | For complex equations, one of the following is true:
* They were written using LaTeX and are rendered with MathJax (Pressbooks). |
NA |
| Formulas | Text-to-speech tools properly interpret written equations.[11] | NA |
| Font size | Font size is 12 points or higher for body text in Word and PDF documents. | Yes |
| Font size | Font size for footnotes or endnotes is 9 points in Word and PDF documents. | Yes |
| Font size | Font size can be zoomed to 200 per cent in webbook or e-book formats without needing to scroll left or right. | Yes |
© Western Sydney University unless otherwise attributed. This Accessibility Checklist is an adaptation of the Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition. Copyright © 2015, 2018 by BCcampus, and is licensed under CC BY 4.0, except where otherwise noted.
Accessibility Features of the Web Version of This Resource
The web version of this resource has been designed with accessibility in mind and incorporates the following features:
- Designed to consider the needs of people who use screen-reading technology:
- All content can be navigated using a keyboard.
- Links, headings, and tables are formatted to work with screen readers.
- Images have alt tags.
- Information is not conveyed by colour alone.
The web version of this resource has been designed to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. It also follows all guidelines in BCcampus Accessibility Toolkit 2nd edition, Appendix A: Checklist for Accessibility. See Pressbooks Accessibility for further details.
Other File Formats Available
In addition to the web version, this book is available in the following file formats: Print (online) and EPUB (for e-readers). Choose from available file types from the “Download this book” dropdown menu. This option appears below the book cover image on the eBook’s landing page. It is also accessible as a PDF (online) via the Library Online Catalogue.
This book is linked to a number of external websites. The link text is underlined for those using a print copy of this resource.
Third-Party Content
In some cases, our open texts include third-party content. In these cases, it may not be possible to ensure this content is accessible.
Accessibility Improvements
While we strive to ensure that this resource is as accessible and usable as possible, we might not always get it right. We are always looking for ways to make our resources more accessible.
If you have problems accessing this resource, please contact the Library Research Services team via email at libraryresearch@westernsydney.edu.au so we can fix the issue.
Please include the following information:
- The location of the problem by providing a web address or page description.
- A description of the problem.
- The computer, software, browser and any assistive technology you are using that can help us diagnose and solve your issue, e.g. Windows 10, Google Chrome (Version 65.0.3325.181), NVDA screen reader.
This accessibility disclaimer is adapted from BCampus’s Accessibility Toolkit, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Yes, according to the copyeditors ↵
- NA, because key/historical figures are diverse ↵
- Yes, in that the volume challenges the dominance of colonial dialogue by providing counter narrative and discussion ↵
- Yes, insofar as we are familiar with the literature and from the context provided in the volume ↵
- Western Open Books does not hyperlink URLs in references or citations, with the exception of Creative Commons licence URLs. ↵
- NA, not a feature of APA/WesternSydU reference style ↵
- NA, as the book has no multimedia resources ↵
- NA, as the book has no multimedia resources ↵
- NA, as the book has no multimedia resources ↵
- For example, a hyphen (-) may look like a minus sign (−), but text-to-speech tools will not read it out correctly. ↵
- Written equations should prioritise semantic markup over visual markup so that text-to-speech tools will read out an equation in a way that makes sense to auditory learners. This applies to equations written in LaTeX and those written in Microsoft Word’s equation editor. ↵