Literature Reviews

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

• Breaking Barriers: Co-Designing Physical Activity Promoting Technologies with Older Adults Living Alone

  Muhe Yang, Karyn Moffatt (2025) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study investigates why physical activity (PA) promoting technologies fail to meet the needs of older adults living alone, and how technology might better support their exercise engagement. The researchers conducted a multi-stage design process w…

  • aging
  • co-design
  • physical activity
  • social support
  • older adults
  • health technology
  • participatory design
  • social isolation
  • wearable technology

• Situated Understanding of Errors in Older Adults' Interactions with Voice Assistants: A Month-Long, In-Home Study

  Amama Mahmood, Junxiang Wang, Chien-Ming Huang (2026) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This month-long field study examined how 15 older adults (ages 66-94) interact with voice assistants in their homes, with a particular focus on errors and conversational breakdowns. The researchers deployed Amazon Echo Dot smart speakers augmented wi…

  • voice assistants
  • older adults
  • conversational AI
  • errors
  • smart speakers
  • large language models
  • aging
  • speech recognition
  • in-home study

• The Intersecting Liminality of Technology Adoption and Disability during Life Transitions

  Eliane Figueira, Chaima Jemmali, Kristen Shinohara (2026) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper introduces the concept of "intersecting liminality" to explain how people with disabilities navigate technology adoption during major life transitions. The research combines two complementary studies: semi-structured interviews with 22 bli…

  • life transitions
  • liminality
  • technology adoption
  • blind and low vision
  • older adults
  • disability identity
  • aging
  • assistive technology
  • peer support
  • communitas

• "I knew that, I was just testing you": Understanding Older Adults' Impression Management Tactics During Usability Studies

  Rachel L. Franz, Ron Baecker, Khai N. Truong (2018) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper investigates how older adults (65+) engage in impression management (IM) during usability studies—conscious or unconscious behaviors to present themselves favorably to researchers. While IM is known to affect research validity, its specifi…

  • older adults
  • aging
  • usability testing
  • research methodology
  • user research
  • accessibility evaluation

• A Unifying Notification System To Scale Up Assistive Services

  Charles Consel, Lucile Dupuy, Hélène Sauzéon (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper addresses a fundamental scalability problem in assistive technology for older adults: the "silo-based" approach where each assistive service (pill reminders, door monitors, activity trackers) implements its own notification system. When ol…

  • aging
  • assisted living
  • notification systems
  • cognitive accessibility
  • smart home
  • activities of daily living
  • longitudinal study
  • older adults

• Accessible Mobile Biometrics for Elderly

  Ramon Blanco-Gonzalo, Raul Sanchez-Reillo, Loïc Martínez-Normand, Belen Fernandez-Saavedra, Judith Liu-Jimenez (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents one of the first accessibility evaluations of mobile biometric authentication, focusing on elderly users making Point of Sale payments via smartphone. The researchers developed an Android app using NFC communication and two biomet…

  • biometrics
  • elderly
  • mobile accessibility
  • authentication
  • fingerprint
  • signature recognition
  • EN 301 549
  • security
  • aging
  • mobile payments

• Balance Assessment in Fall-Prevention Exergames

  Carlos Miguel Dias de Brito, João Tiago Pinheiro Neto Jacob, Rui Nóbrega, António Manuel Nogueira Santos (2015) — ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility

  This paper presents two exergames designed to motivate elderly adults to perform fall-prevention exercises while simultaneously collecting balance assessment data using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board (WBB). Falls are a major health concern for older …

  • exergames
  • fall prevention
  • older adults
  • balance assessment
  • Wii Balance Board
  • physical rehabilitation
  • aging
  • center of pressure
  • natural user interfaces
  • gamification

• A Tool for Capturing Essential Preferences

  Dana Ayotte, Michelle Brennan, Nancy Frishberg, Cynthia Jimes, Lisa Petrides, Whitney Quesenbery, Madeleine Rothberg, Rich Schwerdtfeger, Jim Tobias, Jutta Treviranus, Shari Trewin, Gregg C. Vanderheiden (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This demonstration paper presents the First Discovery Tool, a multimodal web-based application designed to help people discover and set essential accessibility preferences — such as large fonts, high contrast, speech output, or one-handed keyboard us…

  • personalization
  • accessibility tools
  • aging
  • education
  • inclusive design
  • digital literacy
  • user interface design
  • universal design

• Breaking Barriers to Digital Literacy: An Intergenerational Social-Cognitive Approach

  Keith Atkinson, Jaclyn Barnes, Judith Albee, Peter Anttila, Judith Haataja, Kanak Nanavati, Kelly Steelman, Charles Wallace (2016) — Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '16)

  This experience report presents narratives from learners and student tutors participating in the BASIC (Building Adult Skills in Computing) program at Michigan Technological University, which has paired university students with older community member…

  • aging
  • digital literacy
  • digital divide
  • education
  • collaborative learning
  • self-efficacy
  • cognitive accessibility
  • user experience

• AMI: An Adaptable Music Interface to Support the Varying Needs of People with Dementia

  P. Frazer Seymour, Justin Matejka, Geoff Foulds, Ihor Petelycky, Fraser Anderson (2017) — Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '17)

  This paper presents AMI (Adaptable Music Interface), a tangible, modular music player designed to be reconfigured by caregivers to match the changing needs and preferences of individuals with dementia. Over 46 million people worldwide live with demen…

  • dementia
  • tangible interaction
  • music accessibility
  • personalization
  • aging
  • modular design
  • assistive technology
  • cognitive accessibility