Literature Reviews

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

• ZigAlert: A ZigBee Alert for Toileting Training Children with Developmental Delay in a Public School Setting

  Yi-Chien Chen (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This short paper presents ZigAlert, a wireless sensor network system based on ZigBee technology designed to assist with toilet training for children with severe developmental delays in a public school setting. The system addresses a practical challen…

  • assistive technology
  • developmental disabilities
  • intellectual disability
  • wireless sensor network
  • special education
  • toilet training
  • Internet of Things

• Towards a Tool for Keystroke Level Modeling of Skilled Screen Reading

  Shari Trewin, Bonnie E. John, John Richards, Cal Swart, Jonathan Brezin, Rachel Bellamy, John Thomas (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper explores whether cognitive models of auditory interaction — specifically the Keystroke-Level Model (KLM) — can be adapted to predict task completion times for skilled screen reader users, with the goal of helping designers evaluate the usa…

  • screen readers
  • cognitive modeling
  • usability
  • keyboard navigation
  • JAWS
  • keystroke-level model
  • auditory interface
  • human-computer interaction

• Designing Auditory Cues to Enhance Spoken Mathematics for Visually Impaired Users

  Emma Murphy, Enda Bates, Dónal Fitzpatrick (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents a novel auditory math system designed to make spoken mathematical equations more accessible to visually impaired users. The core challenge addressed is that visual mathematical notation conveys structure — such as fractions, super…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • auditory display
  • non-speech sound
  • spearcons
  • visual impairment
  • screen readers
  • participatory design
  • sonification

• A Tactile Windowing System for Blind Users

  Denise Prescher, Gerhard Weber, Martin Spindler (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper from Technische Universität Dresden presents the Braille Window System (BWS), a windowing interface designed for a large planar tactile display — the BrailleDis9000, a touch-sensitive pin-matrix of 120 columns and 60 rows (7,200 pins). Sta…

  • braille
  • tactile display
  • tactile graphics
  • gesture interaction
  • blindness
  • screen reader
  • windowing system
  • GUI accessibility
  • pin-matrix display
  • multitouch

• Are Synthesized Video Descriptions Acceptable?

  Masatomo Kobayashi, Trisha O'Connell, Bryan Gould, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper from IBM Research Tokyo and WGBH National Center for Accessible Media investigates whether text-to-speech (TTS) synthesised narrations are an acceptable alternative to human-narrated audio descriptions for online videos. While accessibilit…

  • audio description
  • video accessibility
  • text-to-speech
  • speech synthesis
  • web accessibility
  • blind and low vision
  • online video
  • extended description

• Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities for Richer Descriptions of Stereotypical Behaviors of Children with ASD: A Concept Exploration and Validation

  Fnu Nazneen, Fatima A. Boujarwah, Shone Sadler, Amha Mogus, Gregory D. Abowd, Rosa I. Arriaga (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper from Georgia Institute of Technology explores the concept of a wearable sensor system that can tacitly collect contextual data — physiological state, environmental conditions, and location — and map it to occurrences of stereotypical behav…

  • autism spectrum disorder
  • stereotypical behavior
  • wearable sensors
  • physiological sensing
  • participatory design
  • data visualization
  • caregiving
  • contextual data
  • behavior monitoring

• A Web-Based User Survey for Evaluating Power Saving Strategies for Deaf Users of MobileASL

  Jessica J. Tran, Tressa W. Johnson, Joy Kim, Rafael Rodriguez, Sheri Yin, Eve A. Riskin, Richard E. Ladner, Jacob O. Wobbrock (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents research on power-saving video compression algorithms for MobileASL, a project enabling real-time, two-way video communication on mobile phones so Deaf people can communicate in American Sign Language. Running video calls drains p…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • sign language
  • American Sign Language
  • mobile technology
  • video compression
  • video communication
  • battery life
  • accessible survey design
  • deaf culture

• Multiple View Perspectives: Improving Inclusiveness and Video Compression in Mainstream Classroom Recordings

  Raja S. Kushalnagar, Anna C. Cavender, Jehan-François Pâris (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents Multiple View Perspectives (MVP), a system that captures and presents multiple focused video views of a classroom for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students. DHH students in mainstream classrooms face a fundamental visual attenti…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • lecture capture
  • video accessibility
  • classroom accessibility
  • sign language interpreting
  • captioning
  • visual attention
  • video compression
  • inclusive education

• Vi-Bowling: A Tactile Spatial Exergame for Individuals with Visual Impairments

  Tony Morelli, John Foley, Eelke Folmer (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents VI Bowling, an accessible exergame (exercise video game) for blind and visually impaired players that introduces tactile dowsing — a novel interaction technique using vibrotactile feedback from a Nintendo Wii remote to perform spa…

  • exergame
  • visual impairment
  • haptic technology
  • game accessibility
  • physical activity
  • sensory substitution
  • motor learning
  • blindness
  • Wii remote
  • tactile feedback

• Disability Studies as a Source of Critical Inquiry for the Field of Assistive Technology

  Jennifer Mankoff, Gillian R. Hayes, Devva Kasnitz (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This keynote-style paper argues that the assistive technology (AT) research community should draw more deeply from disability studies scholarship to improve both the problems it chooses to address and its research methods. The authors — two of whom i…

  • disability studies
  • assistive technology
  • social model of disability
  • medical model
  • critical theory
  • inclusive design
  • participatory research
  • disability rights
  • autism
  • accessibility research