another great one for those of u in san fran – meshforum. lots of social networking stuff.

today i was contacted on one of the many social networking sites by a person/company (qm consulting) that specialises in accessibility. now here’s a topic that doesn’t get anywhere near enough press.

i can’t think of many (or maybe any) time when this was really a concern when building a site. some elements were standard thought processes (like putting alt tags on images) but i’m trying to think of a time when accessibility was addressed as important an issue as UI or design and i’m not thinking of any. that’s a shame.

here’s an article giving you 10 quick tests to check assessibility of your website. (btw, the wave tool is good for identifying problems). it looks like i have some work to do. the site isn’t doing all that great but not all that horrible – i’ll have to put this on my to-do list.

on ‘a list apart’ is an article on the security of your online community site, specifically concerning cross site scripting (XSS). it’s a good overview of what can happen (and definitely read the linked article re: my space’s ‘sammy is a hero’ worm) and some suggestions. part 2 (coming) will get into the code to prevent attacks.

there’s a new journal article out but i haven’t read it as i don’t have my uni access anymore. i didn’t find any reviews on the web either but just in case you have journal access… here’s the details…

Locus of control and attitudes to working in virtual teams by Liz Lee-Kelley

International Journal of Project Management
Volume 24, Issue 3 , April 2006, Pages 234-243
science direct link

abstract:

Global projects using new computing and communication technologies for at-distance communication and coordination are increasingly popular. As a result, team members are often located geographically and temporally apart, while working towards a common project goal. This paper takes a micro-level look at those actively involved in distributed team working. For the first time within the project team context, this paper uses the locus of control (LOC) construct to examine the influence of individual workers’ general control expectancies on their attitudes towards distributed working. Decisions and actions of management and team colleagues are perceived and interpreted by team individuals as either enabling or constraining their own performance. This in turn, can affect their behaviour towards others. With its basis in reinforcement or learning theory, LOC offers a robust theoretical framework to research the virtual project team and inform business practice.

The paper first reports the results of a prior survey of project professionals’ LOC affect on perceived role conflict and job satisfaction. A subsequent case-study provides a deeper understanding of the issues that individuals face when working in this extended environment, which could not be fully explored by the scope of the original quantitative study. Findings from both the survey and case study demonstrate LOC attitudinal differences. The survey results signal the important relationship between workers’ locus of control and job satisfaction; in particular, contrary to conventional team findings, those with a sense of internal control appear directly affected by role conflict. In the case study, this may be explained by internals’ willingness to take ownership of their surroundings and actions. This study’s integrative approach highlights the importance of understanding workers’ locus of control orientations and their implications for distributed team member motivation and development.

forum one is putting on a online community camp in san fran on may 25th. i would imagine this will be a great event to attend. registration costs aren’t sooo insane to prohibit the average person from going. based on my experience with forum one’s newsletters over the years, i think they will put together a good program too. i won’t be headed over…. it’s a shame they’re not doing an online component for those who can’t hop a plane quickly.