Literature Reviews

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

• The HearSay Non-Visual Web Browser

  Yevgen Borodin, Jalal Mahmud, I. V. Ramakrishnan, Amanda Stent (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents the original HearSay non-visual web browser (version 1/2), developed at Stony Brook University in collaboration with the Helen Keller Services for the Blind. HearSay is a free, open-source, cross-platform browser written in Java t…

  • non-visual web browser
  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • web accessibility
  • natural language processing
  • machine learning
  • VoiceXML
  • speech recognition
  • navigation
  • assistive technology
  • open source

• (Natural Language) Interaction with Graphical Representations of Statistical Data

  Leo Ferres, Petro Verkhogliad, Louis Boucher (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from Carleton University and Statistics Canada presents iGraph-Lite, a system that makes statistical graphs published in "The Daily" (Statistics Canada's main dissemination publication) accessible to blind and visually impaired users throu…

  • data visualization
  • blind users
  • visual impairment
  • natural language processing
  • web accessibility
  • accessible graphics
  • text-to-speech
  • data accessibility
  • government

• The Status of Using "Big Eye" Chinese Screen Reader on "Wretch" Blog in Taiwan

  Yui-Liang Chen, Yung-Yu Ho (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This short paper examines the accessibility of Wretch Blog (wretch.cc), one of the most popular blogging platforms in Taiwan, when used with "Big Eye," a Chinese-language screen reader. The authors find that most core functionality of the blog works …

  • web accessibility
  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • blogging
  • multilingual accessibility
  • navigation
  • alternative text
  • CAPTCHA
  • Global Accessibility
  • Chinese language

• Accessible Image File Formats: The Need and the Way (Position Paper)

  Sandeep R. Patil (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This position paper from IBM India argues that existing WCAG guidelines for image accessibility (alt text, longdesc, image maps) are insufficient because they rely on voluntary compliance by content authors and cannot address scenarios where images a…

  • image accessibility
  • alternative text
  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • visual impairment
  • metadata
  • web accessibility
  • dyslexia
  • accessible graphics

• Making Multimedia Content Accessible for Screen Reader Users

  Hisashi Miyashita, Daisuke Sato, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from IBM Research Tokyo describes an accessible multimedia browser designed to address three critical barriers blind users face with web multimedia content. The first problem is audio conflict: when media plays on a page, its sound masks t…

  • multimedia accessibility
  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • audio description
  • video accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • dynamic content
  • Flash
  • streaming media
  • keyboard accessibility

• Mathematics on the Web: Emerging Opportunities for Visually Impaired People

  Cristian Bernareggi, Dominique Archambault (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the @Science European thematic network surveys the state of the art in making mathematical content on the web accessible to visually impaired people, arguing that MathML adoption is the key to unlocking accessibility. The authors expl…

  • mathematical accessibility
  • visual impairment
  • blind users
  • MathML
  • braille
  • screen readers
  • STEM accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • web standards
  • education accessibility

• Grouping Hyperlinks for Improved Voice/Mobile Accessibility

  Alex Penev, Raymond K. Wong (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from UNSW Sydney proposes an automatic technique for clustering a web page's hyperlinks into topical groups to help blind screen reader users and mobile device users locate desired links more quickly. The core problem is that sighted users…

  • web accessibility
  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • navigation
  • mobile accessibility
  • clustering
  • information retrieval
  • algorithms

• Towards One World Web with HearSay3

  Yevgen Borodin, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Amanda Stent, I. V. Ramakrishnan (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This short paper presents HearSay 3, a self-voicing non-visual web browser developed at Stony Brook University and the University of Washington, designed to address accessibility challenges introduced by Web 2.0. Building on two previous versions — t…

  • screen readers
  • non-visual web browser
  • blind users
  • collaborative accessibility
  • multilingual accessibility
  • dynamic content
  • Web 2.0
  • crowdsourcing
  • text-to-speech

• A Proposal to Adapt the Semiotic Inspection Method to Analyze Screen Reader Mediated Interaction

  Lucas Pedroso Carvalho, Raquel Oliveira Prates, André Pimenta Freire (2019) — Proceedings of the 18th Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems (IHC 2019)

  This paper proposes SIM-SR (Semiotic Inspection Method for Screen Reader mediated interaction), an adaptation of the Semiotic Inspection Method (SIM) from Semiotic Engineering theory to evaluate how screen readers mediate the communication between de…

  • semiotic engineering
  • screen readers
  • communicability
  • blind users
  • low vision
  • accessibility evaluation
  • metamessage
  • JAWS
  • Moodle

• WebAnywhere: A Screen Reader On-the-Go

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Craig M. Prince, Richard E. Ladner (2008) — Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A 2008)

  This paper introduces WebAnywhere, a web-based, self-voicing screen reader that enables blind users to access the web from virtually any computer with an Internet connection and sound output, without installing any software. The system addresses a fu…

  • screen readers
  • blind users
  • assistive technology
  • web-based
  • text-to-speech
  • public access
  • low cost
  • user study