Literature Reviews

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

• Nothing to Hide: Aesthetic Customization of Hearing Aids and Cochlear Implants in an Online Community

  Halley P. Profita, Abigale Stangl, Laura Matuszewska, Sigrunn Sky, Shaun K. Kane (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This paper analyzes aesthetic customization practices within a Facebook community of over 4,800 members dedicated to decorating and personalizing hearing aids (HAs) and cochlear implants (CIs). Approximately 48 million people in the United States (20…

  • hearing aid
  • cochlear implant
  • DIY assistive technology
  • social accessibility
  • disability identity
  • online communities
  • self-expression
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • disability culture

• "But, I Don't Want/Need a Power Wheelchair": Toward Accessible Power Assistance for Manual Wheelchairs

  Dafne Zuleima Morgado Ramirez, Catherine Holloway (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper explores the needs, expectations, and experiences of manual wheelchair users regarding power assist devices — motorized attachments that augment a manual wheelchair's propulsion without converting it into a full power wheelchair. Manual wh…

  • wheelchair accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • participatory design
  • physical disability
  • spinal cord injury
  • wearable technology
  • interaction design
  • DIY assistive technology
  • social accessibility

• Imagining Artificial Intelligence Applications with People with Visual Disabilities using Tactile Ideation

  Cecily Morrison, Edward Cutrell, Anupama Dhareshwar, Kevin Doherty, Anja Thieme, Alex Taylor (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents a novel tactile ideation methodology for working with people with visual disabilities to imagine future AI applications, and reports on cross-cultural workshops conducted in the UK (6 participants) and India (8 participants). Rath…

  • artificial intelligence
  • blindness
  • visual impairment
  • participatory design
  • design methodology
  • computer vision
  • social accessibility
  • cross-cultural research

• Technology-Mediated Sight: A Case Study of Early Adopters of a Low Vision Assistive Technology

  Annuska Zolyomi, Anushree Shukla, Jaime Snyder (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This qualitative case study examines the psychosocial and adaptive experiences of early adopters of the eSight 2.0 — a head-mounted assistive device for people with low vision that captures live video and displays enhanced images on high-resolution O…

  • low vision
  • assistive technology
  • head-mounted display
  • qualitative research
  • disability identity
  • social accessibility
  • wearable technology
  • augmented reality

• Using a Telepresence Robot to Improve Self-Efficacy of People with Developmental Disabilities

  Natalie Friedman, Alex Cabral (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This student research paper investigates whether telepresence robots can improve the self-efficacy and wellbeing of people with developmental disabilities (DD) by enabling them to remotely explore public spaces. People with DD often depend on others …

  • developmental disability
  • telepresence
  • robotics
  • self-efficacy
  • community participation
  • social accessibility
  • wellbeing
  • intellectual disability

• Incorporating Social Factors in Accessible Design

  Kristen Shinohara, Jacob O. Wobbrock, Wanda Pratt (2018) — Proceedings of the 20th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '18)

  This paper investigates how professional designers can incorporate social factors into accessible design using Design for Social Accessibility (DSA), a framework developed in prior work by Shinohara and Wobbrock. The core premise is that accessible d…

  • design methodology
  • social accessibility
  • inclusive design
  • user-centered design
  • visual impairment
  • design workshops
  • participatory design
  • stigma
  • ability-based design

• Alipi: Tools for a Re-Narration Web

  T. B. Dinesh, Venkatesh Choppella (2012) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This companion demo paper to the full Alipi framework paper presents the concrete open-source toolset that implements the re-narration web concept. The authors frame the accessibility challenge around the "next billion" internet users — people who ma…

  • social accessibility
  • web accessibility
  • localization
  • multilingual accessibility
  • collaborative accessibility
  • mobile accessibility
  • digital inclusion

• Alipi: A Framework for Re-Narrating Web Pages

  T. B. Dinesh, S. Uskudarli, Subramanya Sastry, Deepti Aggarwal, Venkatesh Choppella (2012) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper introduces Alipi, a distributed and participatory framework for re-narrating web pages to make them more accessible to diverse audiences. The name "alipi" means "print illiterate" in Kannada and other Indian subcontinent languages, reflect…

  • social accessibility
  • web accessibility
  • crowdsourcing
  • localization
  • multilingual accessibility
  • collaborative accessibility
  • DOM manipulation

• Web 2.0: Hype or Happiness?

  Mary Zajicek (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This keynote paper by Mary Zajicek of Oxford Brookes University takes a deliberately broad, holistic view of Web 2.0 accessibility, arguing that physical access to web content is only the starting point. Zajicek defines accessibility along three dime…

  • Web 2.0
  • digital inclusion
  • older adults
  • visual impairment
  • digital divide
  • social accessibility
  • community
  • developing world
  • deafblindness

• Smarter Board: A Community-Oriented Communication Tool

  Mateus Molinaro, Sergio Borger, Carlos Cardonha, Diego Gallo, Ricardo Herrmann, Ademir Ferreira, Fernando Koch, Priscilla Avegliano, Kelly Shigeno (2013) — Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This demo paper from IBM Research Brazil presents the Smarter Board, a lightweight community-focused social network platform designed specifically for groups of people with disabilities. The system deliberately uses SMS text messages as its primary i…

  • social accessibility
  • community
  • digital inclusion
  • communication accessibility
  • SMS
  • low-technology
  • assistive technology
  • disability community