Literature Reviews

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

• Comparing Effects of Navigational Interface Modalities on Speaker Prosodics

  Julie Baca (1998) — Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This paper investigates whether speech-only (displayless) interfaces impose a measurable cognitive burden on users compared to multimodal interfaces that include visual or tactile components. The research uses an innovative methodology: rather than r…

  • speech technology
  • cognitive load
  • non-visual interaction
  • navigation
  • prosody
  • displayless interface
  • multimodal interaction
  • blind and low vision
  • spatial data

• Improving the Usability of Speech-Based Interfaces for Blind Users

  Ian J. Pitt, Alistair D. N. Edwards (1996) — Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from the University of York examines the usability problems inherent in speech-based interfaces for blind computer users and presents a study comparing how blind and sighted subjects process information delivered through synthetic speech. …

  • blindness and low vision
  • screen reader
  • speech synthesis
  • usability
  • speech dialogue design
  • text-to-speech
  • auditory interface
  • prosody
  • cognitive load

• How Older and Younger Adults Differ in Their Approach to Problem Solving on a Complex Website

  Peter G. Fairweather (2008) — Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This IBM Research paper challenges the prevailing assumption that older adults use the web in the same way as younger adults, just more slowly and less accurately. The study examined how 28 participants aged 18-73 navigated a complex newspaper websit…

  • aging
  • web navigation
  • cognitive accessibility
  • usability
  • older adults
  • problem solving
  • web design
  • user behavior
  • cognitive load

• Thematic Organization of Web Content for Distraction-Free Text-to-Speech Narration

  Muhammad Asiful Islam, Faisal Ahmed, Yevgen Borodin, I.V. Ramakrishnan (2012) — Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper addresses a fundamental problem in how blind users experience web content through screen readers: the serial, linear narration of complex web pages that contain multiple thematic elements — news stories, ads, navigation taxonomies, and opi…

  • screen readers
  • web segmentation
  • text-to-speech
  • blind users
  • cognitive load
  • web accessibility
  • clustering
  • information retrieval
  • content organization

• Accessible Skimming: Faster Screen Reading of Web Pages

  Faisal Ahmed (2012) — Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This doctoral consortium paper presents an automated approach to enable non-visual skimming of web pages for screen reader users. Sighted people routinely skim web content through quick eye movements (saccades) that let them glance over headlines and…

  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • web accessibility
  • text summarization
  • natural language processing
  • skimming
  • information overload
  • aural browsing
  • cognitive load

• Back Navigation Shortcuts for Screen Reader Users

  Romisa Rohani Ghahari, Mexhid Ferati, Tao Yang, Davide Bolchini (2012) — Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This paper introduces two novel back navigation strategies — topic-based back and list-based back — designed to make backtracking through previously visited web pages dramatically more efficient for screen reader users. The fundamental problem is tha…

  • screen readers
  • navigation
  • information architecture
  • blind users
  • web accessibility
  • usable accessibility
  • back navigation
  • aural browsing
  • cognitive load

• NoTeeline: Supporting Real-Time, Personalized Notetaking with LLM-Enhanced Micronotes

  Faria Huq, Abdus Samee, David Chuan-En Lin, Alice Xiaodi Tang, Jeffrey P. Bigham (2025) — Proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI '25)

  This paper introduces NoTeeline, an interactive notetaking tool that uses LLMs to expand user-written "micronotes" — brief shorthand jottings like "plastic pol. ->" or "RNNs are unrolled l to r or opp" — into full-fledged notes that maintain the user…

  • large language models
  • writing assistance
  • personalization
  • notetaking
  • cognitive load
  • education
  • video accessibility
  • user agency

• StepWrite: Adaptive Planning for Speech-Driven Text Generation

  Hamza El Alaoui, Atieh Taheri, Yi-Hao Peng, Jeffrey P. Bigham (2025) — Proceedings of the 38th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST '25)

  This paper introduces StepWrite, an LLM-powered voice-based writing system that enables structured, hands-free and eyes-free composition of longer-form texts. While speech-to-text tools handle short dictation well, composing structured emails or deta…

  • voice interface
  • speech-to-text
  • hands-free interaction
  • eyes-free interaction
  • large language models
  • text composition
  • cognitive load
  • adaptive planning
  • writing assistance
  • motor impairment
  • multitasking

• Video Modeling for Training Older Adults to Use New Technologies

  Doreen Struve, Hartmut Wandke (2009) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper investigates the effectiveness of video modeling combined with guided error training for teaching older adults to use complex technology systems. Part of the ALISA project (Adaptive Learning Support for Older Adults) at Humboldt University…

  • older adults
  • video modeling
  • training
  • self-efficacy
  • cognitive load
  • guided error training
  • instructional design

• Tactile Working Memory Capacity of Users Who Are Blind in an Electronic Travel Aid Application with a Vibration Belt

  Jan B. F. van Erp, Katja I. Paul, Tina Mioch (2020) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper investigates the tactile working memory capacity of users who are blind when using a vibrotactile belt for electronic travel aid (ETA) applications. ETAs that display obstacle information through vibration belts require users to integrate …

  • electronic travel aids
  • vibrotactile feedback
  • working memory
  • tactile displays
  • navigation
  • blind users
  • wearable technology
  • cognitive load