Literature Reviews

Reviewed research papers, articles, and publications relevant to digital accessibility.

• Providing access to graphical user interfaces — not graphical screens

  W. Keith Edwards, Elizabeth D. Mynatt, Kathryn Stockton (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper argues that screen readers for graphical user interfaces should provide access to application interfaces at the semantic level rather than merely translating graphical screen contents. The authors from Georgia Tech's GVU Center identify th…

  • GUI accessibility
  • screen readers
  • accessibility API
  • blind and low vision
  • auditory interface
  • off-screen model
  • software architecture
  • X Window System

• Validation of a keystroke-level model for a text entry system used by people with disabilities

  Heidi H. Koester, Simon P. Levine (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper develops and validates a keystroke-level model (KLM) to predict how much word prediction software improves text generation rates compared to letter-by-letter typing for users with and without disabilities. The keystroke-level model, origin…

  • text entry
  • word prediction
  • keystroke-level model
  • spinal cord injury
  • usability
  • human-computer interaction
  • performance modeling
  • assistive technology

• EEG as a means of communication: preliminary experiments in EEG analysis using neural networks

  Charles W. Anderson, Saikumar V. Devulapalli, Erik A. Stolz (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper explores the use of electroencephalography (EEG) as a communication channel for paralyzed individuals, representing early brain-computer interface (BCI) research. The core premise is that if distinct mental states can be reliably identifie…

  • brain-computer interface
  • electroencephalography
  • neural network
  • machine learning
  • paralysis
  • assistive technology
  • pattern recognition
  • alternative input

• Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology (DO-IT) on the electronic highway

  Sheryl Burgstahler, Dan Comden (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology), a National Science Foundation-funded project based at the University of Washington's College of Engineering. DO-IT was designed to recruit and retain students w…

  • STEM accessibility
  • STEM education
  • digital divide
  • disability employment
  • internet accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • higher education
  • adaptive technology

• An overview of programs and projects at the Rehabilitation Research and Development Center

  David L. Jaffe (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper provides an overview of the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Center (RR&D), a federal laboratory at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center dedicated to developing assistive technologies for disabled veterans. With approximately fifty re…

  • rehabilitation engineering
  • technology transfer
  • spinal cord injury
  • deafblindness
  • wheelchair accessibility
  • wayfinding
  • assistive technology
  • vocational rehabilitation
  • veterans

• Using the Baby-Babble-Blanket for infants with motor problems: an empirical study

  Harriet J. Fell, Hariklia Delta, Regina Peterson, Linda J. Ferrier, Zebra Mooraj, Megan Valleau (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper presents the Baby-Babble-Blanket (BBB), a patented assistive device designed for infants with severe motor problems who are at risk of developing learned helplessness due to their inability to control their environment or communicate. The …

  • early intervention
  • motor disability
  • cerebral palsy
  • infant development
  • switch access
  • environmental control
  • assistive technology
  • cause and effect
  • single-case study

• An experimental sound-based hierarchical menu navigation system for visually handicapped use of graphical user interfaces

  Arthur I. Karshmer, P. Brawner, G. Reiswig (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper addresses the accessibility crisis created by the shift from character-based computer interfaces to graphical user interfaces (GUIs) in the early 1990s. The authors note that earlier text-based systems were well-served by assistive technol…

  • GUI accessibility
  • sonification
  • auditory interface
  • blind and low vision
  • menu navigation
  • screen readers
  • earcons

• The application of spatialization and spatial metaphor to augmentative and alternative communication

  Patrick Demasco, Alan F. Newell, John L. Arnott (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper presents a collaborative project between the University of Delaware and the University of Dundee investigating how spatialization and spatial metaphors from mainstream HCI research can improve interfaces for augmentative and alternative co…

  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • spatial interface
  • human-computer interaction
  • lexical access
  • information visualization
  • cerebral palsy
  • word prediction

• Interactive audio documents

  T. V. Raman, David Gries (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper describes the browsing component of AsTeR (Audio System for Technical Readings), an interactive computing system developed by T. V. Raman that audio-formats electronic documents written in LaTeX to produce navigable audio documents. The pa…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • audio formatting
  • screen readers
  • document accessibility
  • blind and low vision
  • text-to-speech
  • interactive browsing

• A communication tool for people with disabilities: lexical semantics for filling in the pieces

  Kathleen F. McCoy, Patrick W. Demasco, Mark A. Jones, Christopher A. Pennington, Peter B. Vanderheyden, Wendy M. Zickus (1994) — Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper presents a prototype communication tool designed to reduce the input burden for people with severe speech and motor impairments (SSMI) who use word-based augmentative communication systems. The core problem addressed is that even with word…

  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • natural language processing
  • lexical semantics
  • text generation
  • motor impairment
  • speech impairment
  • keystroke reduction