Measures for Optimisation of Access

In the following we list the measures taken for improving access to the web pages presented here:

• Text Equivalents:
  All graphics, images and other non-text elements (audio files) on this website are given a short alternative background comment outlining their content. We are not presently supplying a detailed text representation of visual content.
  
  
• Simulation of Colour-Blindness:
  The website was tested with "Vischeck", a simulator for the three most frequent forms of colour blindness. The entire information on offer is completely legible for those whose vision is impaired due to colour blindness.
  
  
• Structuring of Content:
  All texts were carefully checked by editors, and content was clearly structured with the necessary logical structural elements, such as headlines, paragraphs, and lists.
  
  
• Navigation:
  The links on the navigation bars may be used both with the mouse and with the tab keys on the keyboard. Navigation elements are clearly distinguished from editorial content of the pages. The pages are structured in such a way that upon repeated reading by software, familiar concepts may be skipped. Navigation font size may be individually adapted.
  
  
• Use of Cascading Style Sheets:
  HTML pages consist of two elements: content (text, images, audio files) and a style sheet (font size and colour, page background. i.e. the layout). We file the default values for the visual format of an HTML page separately from the content (e.g. text) in a separate file. This separation of format and content has the advantage that users of an internet page may "switch off" the style sheet defined by the programmers, and use their own style sheet instead. A user suffering from red-green-blindness may thus create his/her own personal colour contrast and superimpose it on an HTML page. A user who is visually impaired may set font size to maximum in his/her browser. A blind user may get screen reader software to read aloud the content of a page without format information.
  
  
• Table Structure and Frame Technology:
  We make sure that we do not use complex table structures and only used a table as the basic structure for our layout. Whenever tables are needed to illustrate content, we strive to facilitate linear reading in this structure.
  Frame technology was only used for presentation purposes, not for the content of relevant elements of this website, always in accordance with the rules of barrier-free access.
  
  
• Individual Speed:
  The web pages may be perused or read out aloud at the users' individual speed desired. When pages are called up, there are no time limits triggering automatic exit.
  When data are filled in during online applications, the active session is interrupted after 30 minutes without action, e.g. if there were no data entered during the past 30 minutes.