Literature Reviews

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

• Accessibility in Non-Professional Web Authoring Tools: A Missed Web 2.0 Opportunity?

  Christopher Power, Helen Petrie (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the University of York evaluates the accessibility of Apple's iWeb, a non-professional web authoring tool representative of a new generation of Web 2.0 design applications aimed at non-technical users creating personal websites, blogs…

  • web accessibility
  • authoring tools
  • WCAG compliance
  • Web 2.0
  • semantic HTML
  • alternative text
  • screen readers
  • content creation
  • accessible by default

• AxsJAX: A Talking Translation Bot Using Google IM: Bringing Web-2.0 Applications to Life

  Charles L. Chen, T. V. Raman (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from Google describes how the AxsJAX framework uses WAI-ARIA live regions to make Google Talk — an instant messaging client integrated into GMail — fully accessible to screen reader and self-voicing browser users, and demonstrates a compel…

  • ARIA
  • web accessibility
  • screen readers
  • live regions
  • Web 2.0
  • AJAX
  • dynamic content
  • multilingual accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • instant messaging
  • open source

• Towards Bridging the Accessibility Needs of People with Disabilities and the Ageing Community

  Shadi Abou-Zahra, Judy Brewer, Andrew Arch (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This keynote paper introduces the WAI-AGE (Web Accessibility Initiative: Ageing Education and Harmonisation) project, a 36-month W3C/WAI initiative funded by the European Commission under its 6th Framework Programme. The project aimed to bridge the g…

  • web accessibility
  • aging
  • accessibility policy
  • WCAG
  • standards harmonization
  • W3C
  • WAI
  • education
  • inclusive design
  • European accessibility

• Thailand's National Digital Divide Strategic Framework

  Proadpran Punyabukkana, Suchai Thanawastien, Ajin Jirachiefpattana (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents Thailand's Digital Divide Strategic Framework (2008-2010), a national plan developed by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to address ICT accessibility for three target populations: the poor, people with disa…

  • accessibility policy
  • digital divide
  • assistive technology
  • web accessibility
  • universal design
  • developing countries
  • government policy
  • Global Accessibility

• Accessible Blog Posts with Windows Live Writer

  Cynthia Shelly, Becky Pezely (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This short paper from Microsoft describes how Windows Live Writer, a desktop blogging application installed on over 20 million machines with approximately 100,000 daily active users, was designed to produce accessible HTML output without requiring au…

  • web accessibility
  • authoring tools
  • blogging
  • semantic HTML
  • alternative text
  • WCAG compliance
  • content creation
  • accessible by default

• The SADIe Transcoding Platform

  Darren Lunn, Sean Bechhofer, Simon Harper (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This short paper presents the SADIe (Structural-Semantics for Accessibility and Device Independence) transcoding platform, developed at the University of Manchester. SADIe addresses a fundamental challenge for visually impaired screen reader users: w…

  • web accessibility
  • transcoding
  • screen readers
  • visual impairment
  • semantic web
  • CSS
  • ontology
  • assistive technology

• Grouping Hyperlinks for Improved Voice/Mobile Accessibility

  Alex Penev, Raymond K. Wong (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from UNSW Sydney proposes an automatic technique for clustering a web page's hyperlinks into topical groups to help blind screen reader users and mobile device users locate desired links more quickly. The core problem is that sighted users…

  • web accessibility
  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • navigation
  • mobile accessibility
  • clustering
  • information retrieval
  • algorithms

• The Accessibility Kit for SharePoint: A Community-Based Approach to Web Accessibility

  Robert B. Yonaitis, Dana Louise Simberkoff, Kurt A. Mueffelmann, Cynthia Shelly (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper describes the Accessibility Kit for SharePoint (AKS), an open-source add-on developed by HiSoftware in collaboration with Microsoft to bring WCAG 1.0 AA conformance to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS). SharePoint was at the t…

  • web accessibility
  • content management systems
  • organizational accessibility
  • WCAG compliance
  • open source
  • community
  • enterprise software
  • authoring tools

• Towards One World Web with HearSay3

  Yevgen Borodin, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Amanda Stent, I. V. Ramakrishnan (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This short paper presents HearSay 3, a self-voicing non-visual web browser developed at Stony Brook University and the University of Washington, designed to address accessibility challenges introduced by Web 2.0. Building on two previous versions — t…

  • screen readers
  • non-visual web browser
  • blind users
  • collaborative accessibility
  • multilingual accessibility
  • dynamic content
  • Web 2.0
  • crowdsourcing
  • text-to-speech

• Combining SADIe and AxsJAX to Improve the Accessibility of Web Content

  Darren Lunn, Simon Harper, Sean Bechhofer (2009) — Proceedings of the 2009 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Manchester presents a prototype system that combines two accessibility approaches — SADIe and Google's AxsJAX framework — to improve web content access for visually impaired screen reader users. SADIe (Semantic Annot…

  • screen readers
  • web accessibility
  • transcoding
  • ARIA
  • CSS
  • assistive technology
  • visual impairment
  • Web 2.0
  • keyboard navigation