Literature Reviews

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

• Investigating Older Adults' Adoption and Usage of Online Conferencing Tools During COVID-19

  Hirak Ray, Ravi Kuber, Adam J. Aviv (2022) — Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This qualitative study examines how 25 older adults (aged 60-89) in the United States adapted to online conferencing tools during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on usability challenges, privacy and security concerns, and the trade-off…

  • older adults
  • aging
  • technology adoption
  • privacy
  • usability
  • digital divide
  • telehealth
  • COVID-19
  • online communication

• "Not There Yet": Feasibility and Challenges of Mobile Sound Recognition to Support Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People

  Jeremy Zhengqi Huang, Hriday Chhabria, Dhruv Jain (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents the first longitudinal field study of a mobile sound recognition system used by Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) people in their daily lives. The researchers deployed SoundWatch, a smartwatch-based app that uses a deep learning mode…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • sound recognition
  • wearable technology
  • smartwatch
  • assistive technology
  • machine learning
  • field study
  • human-AI interaction
  • privacy

• Bridging the Gap: Towards Advancing Privacy and Accessibility

  Rahaf Alharbi, Robin N. Brewer, Gesu India, Lotus Zhang, Leah Findlater, Yixin Zou, Abigale Stangl (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '23)

  This workshop proposal addresses a critical but understudied gap between the accessibility and privacy research communities. The authors argue that while all technology has privacy implications, accessibility tools carry particularly overlooked priva…

  • privacy
  • accessibility
  • intersectionality
  • AI ethics
  • blind and low vision
  • workshop
  • inclusive design
  • surveillance

• Decoding the Privacy Policies of Assistive Technologies

  Kirk Crawford, Yi Xuan Khoo, Asha Kumar, Helena Mentis, Foad Hamidi (2024) — Proceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper systematically analyzes the privacy policies of 18 assistive technologies available in the United States, examining how these companies communicate data collection and processing practices to their users. The researchers used the PRISMA (P…

  • privacy
  • assistive technology
  • policy analysis
  • data protection
  • informed consent
  • disability rights

• Trying to Piece It Together: Exploring Accessible Error Detection in Emerging Privacy Techniques With Blind People

  Rahaf Alharbi, Angela D Cheong, Jaylin Herskovitz, Robin N. Brewer, Sarita Schoenebeck (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper investigates how blind people might detect errors in AI-enabled privacy techniques (obfuscation) used within visual assistance technologies (VAT). Blind people routinely use VAT apps like Seeing AI, Be My Eyes, Aira, and TapTapSee to acces…

  • visual assistance technologies
  • privacy
  • obfuscation
  • AI error detection
  • assessment descriptors
  • blind users
  • sighted bias
  • transparency
  • trust
  • qualitative research
  • focus groups

• "It was Mentally Painful to Try and Stop": Design Opportunities for Just-in-Time Interventions for People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in the Real World

  Ru Wang, Kexin Zhang, Yuqing Wang, Keri Brown, Yuhang Zhao (2025) — ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents the first in-depth interview study examining the diverse triggers, compulsions, and self-management strategies of people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder to inform the design of just-in-time intervention technologies. The resear…

  • mental health
  • OCD
  • just-in-time intervention
  • exposure and response prevention
  • cognitive behavioral therapy
  • self-management
  • wearable technology
  • augmented reality
  • symptom tracking
  • privacy

• Artificial Intelligence and the Dignity of Risk

  Emily Shea Tanis, Clayton Lewis (2020) — SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing

  This paper examines the dual risks and opportunities that AI-based systems pose for people with cognitive disabilities, framed around the concept of the "dignity of risk" — the right to make self-directed choices about tradeoffs between risks and ben…

  • AI fairness
  • cognitive disability
  • dignity of risk
  • privacy
  • algorithmic bias
  • self-determination
  • consumer protection
  • data ethics

• Fairness Issues in AI Systems that Augment Sensory Abilities

  Leah Findlater, Steven Goodman, Yuhang Zhao, Shiri Azenkot, Margot Hanley (2020) — SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing

  This paper examines the unique fairness challenges that arise when AI systems are used to augment sensory abilities for people with disabilities — a context distinct from other AI applications because these systems provide information that is already…

  • AI fairness
  • sensory augmentation
  • visual impairment
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • privacy
  • object recognition
  • sound awareness
  • algorithmic bias
  • ethics