Pursuiting Cognitive Autonomy: Digital Humanities, Open Science, and Multimodal Accessibility for Low Vision in the ARCA Dados Repository
Digital Humanities; Low Vision; Digital Inclusion; Open Science; FAIR Principles.
This dissertation examines the structural disconnect between adherence to open science standards and multimodal accessibility in institutional open science repositories, arguing that this disconnect constitutes a form of exclusion for individuals with low functional vision. The central hypothesis posits that the foundational architectural integration of Digital Humanities, FAIR principles, and multimodality is an epistemological condition—rather than a mere technical adjustment—for the substantive scientific participation of this user group. The methodology combines a systematic literature review with a case study of the ARCA DADOS repository (Fiocruz), simultaneously evaluating the repository's compliance with FAIR principles and WCAG 2.1 guidelines, as well as its multimodal suitability for users with low functional vision. The Umwelt software serves as a reference model, demonstrating that integrating sonification, textual description, and structured editing can form the architectural basis for inclusive scientific ecosystems. The results reveal a significant gap between the openness claimed by ARCA DADOS and the actual cognitive participation it affords users with low vision, replicating the pattern of "declaratory openness without cognitive effectiveness" documented in the literature. The study’s original contribution is an applied diagnostic framework capable of simultaneously assessing FAIR compliance, WCAG accessibility, and multimodal suitability in Brazilian public repositories, while proposing guidelines to bridge the gap between normative openness and cognitive equity.