About the MCU Director, Jim Byrne

• Director, Making Connections Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University - a project started by Jim and colleague David Donald in 1996. The MCU is the main resource in Scotland for information and guidance related to accessible Web site design. Jim is a recognised expert in the field and has a thorough awareness of practice and policy issues in this area.
  
  
• Webmaster of Making Connections Unit Website, former Disability Information Officer and Trainer with The Wellbeing Initiative and Lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University (research methods/statistics).
  
  
• Technical expertise: Jim has been programming computers and involved in the technical issues of computing since 1979. For the last eight years he has concentrated on programming applications for the World Wide Web (several shareware programs written by Jim are still current.
  Interest and expertise include, accessible Web design, Web database development and Web based content management systems.
  
  
• Extensive experience delivering staff development and training programmes within the public, private and voluntary sector. Jim has written and spoken widely on the subject of accessible Web design - including on radio and television (most resently on the Lesley Riddoch show on Radio Scotland). Recent writings include an article in the Times Educational Supplement- Scotland, (Opinions, 13th July, 2001) about the need to make sure Websites in education are accessible to all students. Articles also published in the Online magazine for Web designers 'A List Apart' (http://www.alistapart.com/index.html).
  
  
• Jim was identified as one of Scotland's 'movers and shakers in e-commerce in Scotland' for his work in the area of Web accesssibility (NB Magazine, June, 2001).

Publications

Accessible Web Typography - An Introduction for Web Designers. A free online book published by ScotConnect. ISBN: 0-9545375-1-3

Towards a Communications and Information Technology Intensive Learning Environment: Supplementing a Political Economy Module: (2000) David Donald, Alan Hutton and Jim Byrne in Innovative Approaches to Learning and Teaching in Economics and Business Higher Education. Stafford University Press ISBN 1 897898 82 7

Standards for Disability Information and Advice Provision in Scotland: Making Websites Accessible (November 2002)
Scottish Accessible Information Forum

New: How To Create Accessible PDFs with Adobe Acrobat 6 - a practical guide.

Extracurricular activities

Photography (see Jim's West End Photo Diary at http://www.glasgowwestend.co.uk/gallery/index.html): all the photographs on this Website are by Jim. Writing songs and playing guitar. I also help my wife Pat run Pat's Guide to the West End of Glasgow; I do all the technical stuff, including running our own Linux Webserver.

Author of a number of Web applications:

• QnECMS (QuicknEasy Content Mangement System) - the accessible content management.

Musician and songwriter

Jim is a songwriter and musician who plays folk, country and blues style music.

See below for some examples of his songs.

Contributed by Jim Byrne
Updated Friday 23 Jan 2009

Free weekly accessible web design tip

Comments