Literature Reviews

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

• The Future of Urban Accessibility for People with Disabilities: Data Collection, Analytics, Policy, and Tools

  Jon E. Froehlich, Yochai Eisenberg, Maryam Hosseini, Fabio Miranda, Marc Adams, Anat Caspi, Holger Dieterich, Heather Feldner, Aldo Gonzalez, Claudina de Gyves, Joy Hammel, Reuben Kirkham, Melanie Kneisel, Delphine Labbé, Steve J. Mooney, Victor Pineda, Cláudia Fonseca Pinhão, Ana Rodríguez, Manaswi Saha, Michael Saugstad, Judy Shanley, Ather Sharif, Qing Shen, Cláudio Silva, Maarten Sukel, Eric K. Tokuda, Sebastian Felix Zappe, Anna Zivarts (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 22)

  This workshop paper frames urban accessibility as a "wicked problem" spanning transportation, urban planning, disability studies, public health, and human geography, and assembles a remarkably diverse team of 28 co-organizers from six countries acros…

  • urban accessibility
  • built environment
  • pedestrian infrastructure
  • sidewalk accessibility
  • data collection
  • crowdsourcing
  • computer vision
  • accessible maps
  • transit accessibility
  • walkability
  • ADA compliance
  • climate justice
  • Global South accessibility

• A Workshop on Disability Inclusive Remote Co-Design

  Maryam Bandukda, Giulia Barbareschi, Aneesha Singh, Dhruv Jain, Maitraye Das, Tamanna Motahar, Jason Wiese, Lynn Cockburn, Amit Prakash, David Frohlich, Catherine Holloway (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 22)

  This workshop paper addresses how the COVID-19 pandemic forced accessibility researchers to adapt co-design methods from in-person to remote formats, and the unique challenges this created for research involving disabled and aging participants. While…

  • co-design
  • remote research
  • participatory design
  • disability inclusion
  • COVID-19
  • accessible platforms
  • research methods
  • Global South accessibility

• Improving Web and Mobile Accessibility Resources for Iranian Designers

  Laleh Nourian (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This doctoral consortium paper presents early-stage research investigating how cultural differences affect accessible design practices, with a specific focus on Iranian designers. The author, Laleh Nourian at Rochester Institute of Technology, frames…

  • global accessibility
  • cultural accessibility
  • postcolonial computing
  • accessibility education
  • Global South accessibility
  • bidirectional interfaces
  • accessible design
  • WCAG

• A platform to check website compliance with web accessibility standards

  Reinaldo Ferraz, Ana Duarte, João Bárbara, Adriano C.M. Pereira, Wagner Meira (2023) — Proceedings of the 20th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This short paper presents the TIC Web Acessibilidade platform, a comprehensive system for evaluating and monitoring the accessibility of Brazilian government websites at scale. Developed by NIC.br (the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee's executiv…

  • automated testing
  • web accessibility
  • government accessibility
  • accessibility monitoring
  • web crawler
  • compliance
  • Global South accessibility

• An Investigation of the Experiences of Orientation and Mobility Trainers in India

  Rohit Asave, Ravi Kuber, Foad Hamidi (2024) — Proceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This qualitative study examines the experiences of twelve orientation and mobility (O&M) trainers working across urban and rural settings in India, a low- and middle-income country (LMIC) where infrastructure, resources, and cultural attitudes toward…

  • orientation and mobility
  • visual impairment
  • Global South accessibility
  • training
  • blindness
  • disability stigma
  • assistive technology
  • low and middle income countries

• Understanding How Visually Impaired Players Socialize in Mobile Games

  Zihe Ran, Xiyu Li, Qing Xiao, Yanyun Wang, Franklin Mingzhe Li, Zhicong Lu (2025) — Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025)

  This study examines how visually impaired players in China use mobile games as platforms for socialization, going beyond the typical focus on gameplay accessibility to investigate the social dimensions of gaming. The researchers conducted semi-struct…

  • game accessibility
  • blind and low vision
  • social interaction
  • mobile accessibility
  • Global South accessibility
  • social isolation
  • inclusive design
  • gaming

• Crippin' WhatsApp's Interaction Design: Learnings from the blind/visually impaired users of India

  Hrittika Bhowmick, Atharva Shrivastava, Sandeep Ysp, Shilpaa Anand, Dipanjan Chakraborty (2025) — Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025)

  This paper examines how blind and visually impaired users in India navigate WhatsApp, using critical disability studies and Roland Barthes' concept of myth to argue that WhatsApp's design naturalizes visual interaction as universal while marginalizin…

  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • social media accessibility
  • Global South accessibility
  • critical disability studies
  • mobile accessibility
  • interaction design
  • digital divide

• Designing Gesture-Based Applications for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities: Guidelines from User Studies in India

  Sumita Sharma, Blessin Varkey, Krishnaveni Achary, Jaakko Hakulinen, Markku Turunen, Tomi Heimonen, Saurabh Srivastava, Nitendra Rajput (2018) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This paper presents the design, evaluation, and resulting guidelines from three gesture-based applications created for individuals with developmental disabilities in India, developed through a long-term collaboration with Tamana, an NGO and special e…

  • developmental disabilities
  • gesture interaction
  • special education
  • inclusive design
  • Global South accessibility
  • autism spectrum disorder
  • intellectual disability
  • Kinect
  • life skills