Literature Reviews

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

• Providing Access to the High-Level Content of Line Graphs from Online Popular Media

  Priscilla S. Moraes, Sandra Carberry, Kathleen McCoy (2013) — Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper extends the Interactive SIGHT (Summarizing Information Graphics Textually) system to generate natural language summaries of line graphs found in online popular media articles, making their high-level content accessible to visually impaired…

  • data visualization
  • visual impairment
  • natural language generation
  • assistive technology
  • screen readers
  • image accessibility
  • information graphics
  • alt text

• DysWebxia 2.0! More Accessible Text for People with Dyslexia

  Luz Rello, Clara Bayarri, Azuki Gòrriz, Ricardo Baeza-Yates, Saurabh Gupta, Gaurang Kanvinde, Horacio Saggion, Stefan Bott, Roberto Carlini, Vasile Topac (2013) — Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This demo paper introduces DysWebxia 2.0, a model for making text more accessible to people with dyslexia by modifying both the presentation and content of text. The project is notable for being the first model to combine text presentation changes (f…

  • dyslexia
  • text simplification
  • readability
  • assistive technology
  • text presentation
  • cognitive accessibility
  • browser extension
  • natural language processing

• The potential of adaptive interfaces as an accessibility aid for older web users

  David Sloan, Matthew Tylee Atkinson, Colin Machin, Yunqiu Li (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper examines the challenge of supporting web accessibility for older people whose capabilities fluctuate gradually over time due to age-related decline in vision, hearing, dexterity, and cognition. The authors argue that current accessibility …

  • aging
  • adaptive interfaces
  • assistive technology
  • older users
  • personalization
  • user profiling
  • ethics
  • inclusive design

• JustSpeak: enabling universal voice control on Android

  Yu Zhong, T. V. Raman, Casey Burkhardt, Fadi Biadsy, Jeffrey P. Bigham (2014) — Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper introduces JustSpeak, a universal voice control system for Android that works across all applications without requiring any developer intervention. Unlike Google Now or Siri, which only support pre-defined commands for specific apps, JustS…

  • voice interface
  • mobile accessibility
  • blindness
  • motor accessibility
  • Android
  • speech recognition
  • screen readers
  • assistive technology

• Marker-based image recognition of dynamic content for the visually impaired

  Andréa Britto Mattos, Carlos Cardonha, Diego Gallo, Priscilla Avegliano, Ricardo Herrmann, Sergio Borger (2014) — Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper from IBM Research Brazil introduces a marker-based image recognition technique to help visually impaired people access information displayed on public panels and boards with fixed layouts but dynamic content — such as vending machines, spl…

  • computer vision
  • visual impairment
  • mobile accessibility
  • object recognition
  • situational disability
  • independent living
  • assistive technology

• Exploratory study of web navigation strategies for users with physical disabilities

  J. Eduardo Pérez, Myriam Arrue, Xabier Valencia, Lourdes Moreno (2014) — Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This exploratory study examined the web navigation strategies of 11 users with upper-body physical impairments, revealing substantial heterogeneity in how people with similar disability types interact with websites. Participants used a wide range of …

  • motor accessibility
  • physical disability
  • assistive technology
  • web navigation
  • input devices
  • adaptive interfaces
  • user research

• Dyslexia Exercises on my Tablet are more Fun

  Luz Rello, Clara Bayarri, Azuki Gòrriz (2013) — Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents Dyseggxia, a free mobile game for iOS and Android designed to help children with dyslexia practice language exercises in an engaging, adaptive format. Dyslexia affects approximately 10% of children worldwide and is characterized b…

  • dyslexia
  • serious game
  • mobile accessibility
  • adaptive learning
  • natural language processing
  • children
  • cognitive accessibility
  • assistive technology

• Web 2.0 and the Semantic Web: Hindrance or Opportunity? W4A -- International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility 2007

  Yeliz Yesilada, Simon Harper (2008) — SIGACCESS Access. Comput.

  This is the conference report for the 4th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A) 2007, held at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada, co-located with the World Wide Web (WWW) conference. The report summariz…

  • Web 2.0
  • semantic web
  • conference report
  • ARIA
  • assistive technology
  • screen readers
  • dynamic content
  • web accessibility evaluation
  • accessibility APIs

• Capti-Speak: A Speech-Enabled Web Screen Reader

  Vikas Ashok, Yevgen Borodin, Yury Puzis, I. V. Ramakrishnan (2015) — Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents Capti-Speak, a speech-augmented screen reader for web browsing that allows blind users to combine natural language voice commands with traditional keyboard shortcuts. Built as an extension to the Capti Narrator screen reader, Capt…

  • screen readers
  • speech recognition
  • voice interface
  • web accessibility
  • blind users
  • natural language processing
  • assistive technology

• Enhancing Android Accessibility for Users with Hand Tremor by Reducing Fine Pointing and Steady Tapping

  Yu Zhong, Astrid Weber, Casey Burkhardt, Phil Weaver, Jeffrey P. Bigham (2015) — Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper introduces Touch Guard, a system-wide Android accessibility service developed as a Google intern research project that helps users with hand tremor interact more accurately with touchscreen devices. The core problem addressed is that conve…

  • mobile accessibility
  • touchscreen accessibility
  • hand tremor
  • motor impairment
  • Android
  • assistive technology
  • target acquisition
  • pointing performance