Literature Reviews

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

• DHTML Accessibility – Solving the JavaScript Accessibility Problem

  Becky Gibson, Richard Schwerdtfeger (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This landmark paper from IBM researchers Becky Gibson and Richard Schwerdtfeger describes the foundational work that would become WAI-ARIA. At the time of writing, JavaScript was used on over 50% of websites, yet no accessibility solution existed for…

  • web accessibility
  • JavaScript
  • ARIA
  • screen readers
  • keyboard accessibility
  • accessibility API
  • DHTML
  • web standards

• iCARE Interaction Assistant: A Wearable Face Recognition System for Individuals with Visual Impairments

  Sreekar Krishna, Greg Little, John Black, Sethuraman Panchanathan (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents the iCARE Interaction Assistant, a wearable assistive device designed to facilitate social interactions for people who are blind or visually impaired by recognizing faces in their vicinity. The system was motivated by input from f…

  • face recognition
  • wearable technology
  • blindness and low vision
  • social interaction
  • computer vision
  • assistive technology

• BlackBoardNV: A System for Enabling Non-Visual Access to the Blackboard Course Management System

  Vineet Enagandula, Niraj Juthani, I. V. Ramakrishnan, Devashish Rawal, Ritwick Vidyasagar (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper introduces BlackBoardNV, a system designed to make the Blackboard Learning Management System accessible to users with visual disabilities through non-visual (audio and keyboard) interaction. The core problem addressed is that screen reader…

  • screen readers
  • web accessibility
  • education
  • non-visual access
  • content analysis
  • learning management system
  • assistive technology

• Verification of Computer Display Pre-compensation for Visual Aberrations in an Artificial Eye

  Miguel Alonso Jr., Armando Barreto, Julie A. Jacko, Malek Adjouadi (2005) — Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents experimental verification that computer display images can be pre-compensated to counteract the visual aberrations present in an optical system, specifically tested using a constructed artificial eye. The research builds on earlie…

  • low vision
  • image processing
  • display technology
  • visual impairment
  • optical devices
  • assistive technology

• Audio Enriched Links: Web Page Previews for Blind Users

  Peter Parente (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents Audio Enriched Links (AEL), a JAWS screen reader extension for Internet Explorer that provides spoken previews of linked web pages before blind users follow a hyperlink. The system addresses a fundamental asymmetry in web browsing…

  • web accessibility
  • visual impairment
  • screen reader
  • web navigation
  • link preview
  • JAWS
  • speech
  • information retrieval
  • web browsing

• Rendering Tables in Audio: The Interaction of Structure and Reading Styles

  Yeliz Yesilada, Robert Stevens, Carole Goble, Shazad Hussein (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of why HTML tables are problematic for screen reader users and proposes two complementary approaches for non-visual table access. The authors from the University of Manchester first characterize what makes…

  • table accessibility
  • visual impairment
  • screen reader
  • web accessibility
  • table linearization
  • non-visual interaction
  • data table
  • audio interaction
  • web navigation

• A Galvanic Skin Response Interface for People with Severe Motor Disabilities

  Melody M. Moore, Umang Dua (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper explores the use of Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) — changes in the electrical conductivity of the skin caused by sweat gland activity linked to the sympathetic nervous system — as a non-muscular input channel for people with locked-in syndr…

  • locked-in syndrome
  • galvanic skin response
  • brain-computer interface
  • biometric control
  • ALS
  • assistive technology
  • physiological computing
  • motor disability
  • biofeedback

• Strategic Design for Users with Diabetic Retinopathy: Factors Influencing Performance in a Menu-Selection Task

  Paula J. Edwards, Leon Barnard, V. Kathlene Emery, Ji Soo Yi, Kevin P. Moloney, Thitima Kongnakorn, Julie A. Jacko, François Sainfort, Pamela R. Oliver, Joseph Pizzimenti, Annette Bade, Greg Fecho, Josephine Shallo-Hoffmann (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper examines how interface design features affect menu selection performance for users with Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), a progressive eye condition affecting 40-45% of the approximately 18 million Americans with diabetes. The study involved 25 …

  • diabetic retinopathy
  • low vision
  • visual impairment
  • multimodal feedback
  • menu design
  • user interface design
  • accessibility settings
  • haptic feedback
  • auditory feedback
  • aging

• Nonvisual Tool for Navigating Hierarchical Structures

  Ann C. Smith, Justin S. Cook, Joan M. Francioni, Asif Hossain, Mohd Anwar, M. Fayezur Rahman (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents the Aural Tree Navigator, an Eclipse IDE plug-in that enables blind programmers to navigate hierarchical program structures (such as package explorers, class hierarchies, and file systems) using keyboard commands and speech/sound …

  • IDE accessibility
  • visual impairment
  • programming
  • screen reader
  • tree navigation
  • auditory interface
  • software development
  • Eclipse
  • earcon
  • STEM accessibility

• The Ethnographically Informed Participatory Design of a PDA Application to Support Communication

  Rhian Davies, Skip Marcella, Joanna McGrenere, Barbara Purves (2004) — Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper describes an ethnographically informed participatory design process for creating a PDA-based file management system to support communication for a person with aphasia. The research was conducted at the University of British Columbia with o…

  • aphasia
  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • participatory design
  • ethnography
  • mobile technology
  • assistive technology
  • communication disability
  • PDA
  • file management