Appendix

Dated: March, 2002

Appendix Contents

A. Web References

A1. Federal Policies
A2. Format Standards Organizations
A3. Legislation
A4. Plain Language
A5. Promotion
A6. Suppliers
A7. Web Accessibility Testing

B. Specifications

B1. Braille
B2. Cassette Tape
B3. Computer Diskette
B4. Full-Text Template
B5. Large Print

C. Emerging Technologies

A. Web References

A1. Federal Policies

Common Look and Feel Policy and Guidelines
Treasury Board
www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/clf-nsi/default.asp

Government of Canada Communications Policy
Treasury Board
www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/sipubs/comm/comm_e.asp

Government of Canada Contracting Policy
Treasury Board
www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/dcgpubs/Contracting/contractingpol_e.asp

Legal Deposit
National Library of Canada
www.collectionscanada.ca/6/25/s25-200-e.html

A2. Standards Organizations

Braille Society of North America
www.brailleauthority.org

Canadian Braille Authority
www.canadianbrailleauthority.ca/

Digital Audio-based Information System (DAISY) Consortium
www.daisy.org

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
www.w3.org/WAI/

A3. Legislation

Access to Information and Privacy
www.canada.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/atip/index.html

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/index.html

Canadian Human Rights Act
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/H-6/index.html

A4. Plain Language

Plain Language: Clear and Simple
Human Resources Development Canada
www.nald.ca/nls.htm

A5. Promotion

O Canada web site
http://canada.gc.ca/directories/infor_e.html

A6. Suppliers

Canadian Company Capabilities Database
Industry Canada
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_coinf/ccc/engdoc/homepage.html

A7. Web Accessibility Testing

Web Site Accessibility Testing Service
Treasury Board
www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/clf-nsi/inter/inter-01-tb_e.asp

B. Specifications

B1. Braille

Format specifications from the Braille Authority of North America (http://braille.brl.org/formats/) and the Canadian Braille Authority (www.canadianbrailleauthority.ca/).

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) Specifications:

Master: High density 3 1/2" IBM-formatted computer diskette
MS-DOS Grade II Braille file
Formatted according to BANA standards for 8 1/2"x11" Braille paper
3/4" inside margins
30 characters maximum per line
25 lines maximum per page - page number only on line 25
Double-sided (interpoint) printing
Binding: documents of 2-10 sheets stapled top-left corner
Documents of more than 10 sheets cerlox binding
Large print and Braille cover page
Packaging marked "Free Matter for the Blind."

B2. Cassette Tape

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) Specifications:

Master: Digital audio tape (DAT) formatted for 2 track (1 7/8 per second) cassette.

Tone index: (50-60 Hz signals) audible in fast forward and rewind modes; single tone for section titles; two tones for illustrative material (figures, tables, charts, graphs, etc.)

Labelling: On side A - large print and grade II braille.

Packaging: Bubble mailing envelope or cardboard packaging marked "Free Matter for the Blind."

B3. Computer Diskettes

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) Specifications:

Master: High density 3 1/2" IBM-formatted or Zip IBM-formatted computer diskette

ASCII file (MS-DOS text)

Body text is formatted as a single column

76 characters maximum per line

Courier 10 point font (standard default)

Label: Large print and grade II Braille

Packaging: Cardboard diskette mailing package or cardboard box.

B4. Full-Text Template

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) Specifications:

A separate one-source master is created for French, English and any other language.

The document provided to create the one source master must be the final, edited electronic copy.

Electronic masters are designed to be compatible with World Wide Web accessibility criteria. (Consult www.w3.org/WAI/)

A hard copy of the conventional print document is provided for reference purposes.

Logos are supplied in electronic format.

Visual elements are described in narrative form.

Footnotes and sidebar information are incorporated in body text.

Body text is formatted as a single column.

Table of contents is included, if the document is lengthy or if the text contains references to page numbers.

References to page numbers in text are replaced by references to table of contents.

Forms, applications, questionnaires, etc. are adapted for compatibility in all formats and for ease of use.

Sensitive and classified information is protected.

B5. Large print

Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) Specifications:

Master File: High density 3 1/2" IBM-formatted or Zip IBM-formatted
computer diskette.

PostScript file as ASCII, formatted for 8 1/2"x11" paper - formatting conforms to professional graphic design and typesetting standards.

Sans serif fonts (such as Arial, Univers, Geneva, Helvetica Regular)

16 point type for body text, 20% leading (standard default); headings and subheadings proportionally larger and bold; upper and lower case for all text, including headings and subheadings.

Body text (single column only), headings and subhead type set flush left, ragged right (left justified).

One hard space only between sentences; no hyphenation of single words at ends of lines; no italics, underline to represent italics.

Page margins: documents of 1-15 sheets; 1" top, bottom, outside, inside; documents of more than 15 sheets; 1" top, bottom, outside; 1 1/4" inside.

Black print on 24lb - white smooth opaque paper; no screens.

Binding: documents of 2-15 sheets stapled top left corner; documents of more than 15 sheets - spiral binding.

C. Emerging Technologies

DAISY: A technology some believe has the potential of becoming an alternative to cassette tape is known as DAISY, which stands for "Digital Audio-based Information System". Using this technology, audio is both recorded and categorized digitally so that sections of an audio publication can be quickly located much in the same way tracks on a CD can be accessed. For more information: www.daisy.org

Web Multi-Media: The ability to add captions, alternate language tracks and described video tracks to common web-based multimedia formats, such as Apple's QuickTime, Microsoft Windows Media and RealNetworks' media, is possible using new web languages such as the "Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language" (SMIL) from the W3C. For more information, see: www.w3.org/AudioVideo/.

MP3: Another audio technology is MP3 (the third generation of MPEG electronic files developed by the international "Moving Picture Experts Group"). Due to its ability to compress large video and audio materials into small files, MP3 is popular on the Internet where small files can be downloaded faster.

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