Literature Reviews

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

• Broadening Accessibility Through Special Interests: A New Approach for Software Customization

  Robert R. Morris, Connor R. Kirschbaum, Rosalind W. Picard (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper from MIT Media Lab presents a software approach for automatically embedding the special interests of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into computer-based interventions. People with ASD often have intense, narrow interests — …

  • autism spectrum disorder
  • special interests
  • software customization
  • personalization
  • computer-mediated intervention
  • developmental disabilities
  • motivation
  • game accessibility

• Autonomous Navigation through the City for the Blind

  Jaime Sánchez, Natalia de la Torre (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents a study on the use of an audio-based GPS navigation application designed to help blind people navigate independently through urban environments. The software, developed for PocketPC devices with Bluetooth GPS receivers, uses a clo…

  • blind navigation
  • GPS
  • orientation and mobility
  • mobile technology
  • assistive technology
  • audio navigation
  • urban accessibility
  • text-to-speech

• A Tool to Promote Prolonged Engagement in Art Therapy: Design and Development from Arts Therapist Requirements

  Jesse Hoey, Krists Zutis, Valerie Leuty, Alex Mihailidis (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper describes the design and evaluation of a customisable touch-screen tool that assists creative arts therapists working with older adults with dementia. The system uses a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) controller to aut…

  • dementia
  • art therapy
  • computer vision
  • adaptive systems
  • user modeling
  • engagement detection
  • touchscreen interface
  • older adults
  • creative arts therapy

• Field Evaluation of a Collaborative Memory Aid for Persons with Amnesia and Their Family Members

  Mike Wu, Ronald M. Baecker, Brian Richards (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents Family-Link, a collaborative memory aid designed through participatory design with people with amnesia (PwAs) and their families. The system was built as a shared calendar running on Palm Treo smartphones that synchronised events …

  • amnesia
  • memory aid
  • collaborative technology
  • caregiving
  • participatory design
  • cognitive disabilities
  • assistive technology
  • family support

• Using Accessible Math Textbooks with Students Who Have Learning Disabilities

  Preston Lewis, Steve Noble, Neil Soiffer (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper reports results from Project SMART (Supported Math Accessibility Reading Tool), a classroom study conducted at the University of Kentucky with 48 eighth grade students who had learning disabilities. The project provided digital versions of…

  • learning disabilities
  • mathematics accessibility
  • MathML
  • DAISY
  • print disabilities
  • assistive technology
  • K-12 education
  • text-to-speech
  • digital textbooks

• Click on Bake to Get Cookies: Guiding Word-Finding with Semantic Associations

  Sonya Nikolova, Marilyn Tremaine, Perry R. Cook (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents ViVA (Visual Vocabulary for Aphasia), a vocabulary navigation system that uses semantic associations to help people with aphasia find words more effectively. The authors address a core challenge in augmentative and alternative com…

  • aphasia
  • semantic networks
  • AAC
  • visual vocabularies
  • word-finding
  • assistive communication
  • adaptive user interfaces
  • lexical access

• Assistive Web Browsing with Touch Interfaces

  Faisal Ahmed, Muhammad Asiful Islam, Yevgen Borodin, I. V. Ramakrishnan (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This demo paper from Stony Brook University proposes a touch-based directional navigation technique to improve web browsing for blind users on touch devices (iPhone, MacBook trackpad). The authors identify two key problems with Apple's VoiceOver touc…

  • web accessibility
  • touch interface
  • screen reader
  • VoiceOver
  • visual impairment
  • navigation
  • blind users

• Relating Computer Tasks to Existing Knowledge to Improve Accessibility for Older Adults

  Nic Hollinworth, Faustina Hwang (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper investigates whether a custom file management interface designed to resemble physical paper documents, folders, and sticky labels can improve computer accessibility for older adults. The authors identify a fundamental problem: people learn…

  • older adults
  • digital literacy
  • interface design
  • file management
  • skeuomorphic design
  • learnability
  • touchscreen
  • cognitive accessibility

• EPG: Speech Access to Program Guides for People with Disabilities

  Michael Johnston, Amanda J. Stent (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This demo paper from AT&T Labs Research presents an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) prototype that uses speech input and text-to-speech output to make television listing navigation accessible to people with visual disabilities or limited hand mobility…

  • speech recognition
  • voice interface
  • television accessibility
  • visual impairment
  • motor impairment
  • assistive technology
  • text-to-speech

• AudioWiz: Nearly Real-Time Audio Transcriptions

  Samuel White (2010) — Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This student research paper presents AudioWiz, a mobile application that provides near-real-time transcriptions of both spoken words and environmental sounds for deaf and hard of hearing users. The author identifies a critical gap in existing automat…

  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • audio transcription
  • crowdsourcing
  • human computation
  • environmental sounds
  • sound awareness
  • mobile accessibility