Accessibility Statement

The editorial board of thersites – Journal for Transcultural Presences & Diachronic Identities from Antiquity to Date supported by the Universitätsverlag Potsdam of the university library at University of Potsdam and the team "Open Access and Academic Publishing" of the university library at Freie Universität Berlin are committed to ensuring the web presence of thersites – Journal for Transcultural Presences & Diachronic Identities from Antiquity to Date is as accessible as possible for all users. The legal basis for this accessibility statement is provided by the Brandenburg Barrier-Free Information Technology Ordinance (Brandenburgische Verordnung zur Schaffung barrierefreier Informationstechnik nach dem Brandenburgischen Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz (Brandenburgische Barrierefreie Informationstechnik-Verordnung – BbgBITV) as of September 17th, 2019), which implements the Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and the European Council. Requirements for web content accessibility and accessibility statements are defined by the current Ordinance on Accessible Information Technologies (BITV).

This accessibility statement documents the current state of accessibility of the web presence hosted at the university library by Freie Universität under the domain of https://thersites-journal.de on the basis of the content management software Open Journals Systems (OJS) 3.1.2 developed by Public Knowledge Project (PKP).

How accessible is the web presence?

Compatibility with the requirements of BITV

This accessibility statement is based on a self-assessment as well as on information provided by the developer PKP.

The above-mentioned web presence is largely accessible but not completely compliant with the technical requirements as defined by BITV 2.0.

The accessibility of the above-mentioned web presence is determined by the preparatory work of the software developer PKP. With its Accessibility Interest Group PKP has committed itself to continuously improve the accessibility of its products. Accordingly, new software versions generally are more accessible than older versions. Starting with software versions 3.x of OJS and OMP PKP already commissioned external accessibility audits and will continuously improve its products based on these assessments. An accessibility statement for the OJS 3.3 default theme is provided by PKP. Modifications of the design of the web presence by editorial boards may alter the degree of accessibility.

Content with limited accessibility

The content listed below provides only limited accessibility.

  • Usability of the web site by keyboard is feasible. However, the keyboard focus is not always visible. In some places the order of tabular steps could be optimized.
  • Alternative text is not always available.
  • In certain combinations the color contrast may be slightly lower than the standard defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
  • Not all documents are available in an accessible version.
  • Accessibility of PDF files is limited because of technical restrictions.
  • The font size is not always adjustable and font graphics are sometimes used.

At the University of Potsdam, we have a very large and versatile website and run complex central web applications with many people involved. We are working on making the web content and documents available in an accessible format. To this end, the Universitätsverlag Potsdam is working on technical implementations of the PDF/UA standard for publications in PDF format. In addition, the university press is working on accessible solutions for the representation of documents in HTML and XML formats. The Freie Universität Berlin provides web editors with extensive manuals on building and maintaining accessible websites and offers training and advice for editorial boards on how to build accessible web content and publication formats. We also work together with the software developer PKP to improve the accessibility of OJS and OMP. A specialized manual on how to design the OJS and OMP frontend in compliance with accessibility standards is also provided by PKP.

Date of accessibility statement

This statement was written on 29 March 2022.

This statement was last updated on 29 March 2022.

Feedback and contact

The content of our web presence should be equally accessible for people with disabilities and people who may have temporary or ongoing difficulty in accessing web content due to individual circumstances.

Please let us know if there are existing deficits relating to compliance with accessibility requirements and send us a short description of the problem together with the full website address. Information that is not accessible without barriers can be requested in an accessible format.

 

Contact:

University of Potsdam
Am Neuen Palais 10
14469 Potsdam
Email: bitv@uni-potsdam.de

Enforcement procedure and contacting the Officer for Digital Accessibility for the State of Brandenburg

If an accessibility request to the University of Potsdam remains unanswered after three weeks, or you are not satisfied with the answer, you can also contact the responsible inspection agency.

Contact:

Ministry for Social Affairs, Health, Integration and Consumer Protection of the State of Brandenburg
Commissioner of the State Government for Matters Relating to Persons with Disabilities – Enforcement Office –
Henning-von-Tresckow-Straße 2-13, building S, 14467 Potsdam
Email: Durchsetzung.BIT@MSGIV.Brandenburg.de

Formal Approval of this Accessibility Statement

 

Chief Information Officer (CIO)
Dr. Peter Kostädt
E-Mail: cio@uni-potsdam.de

Potsdam, 29 March 2022