Literature Reviews

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

• Contextual Scaffolding and Self-Efficacy: Supporting Computer Skill Development among Blind Learners in India

  Akshay Kolgar Nayak, Yash Prakash, Sampath Jayarathna, Hae-Na Lee, Vikas Ashok (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  This paper presents a four-month contextual inquiry at two Indian computer training centers serving 94 blind or visually impaired (BVI) students — one urban center in Bengaluru focused on job-oriented ICT training (KEONICS certification) and one rura…

  • screen readers
  • blind and low vision
  • computer literacy
  • Global South accessibility
  • India
  • self-efficacy
  • scaffolding
  • contextual inquiry
  • culturally responsive pedagogy
  • vocational training
  • BVI learners
  • JAWS
  • NVDA
  • digital divide

• From Struggle to Success: Context-Aware Guidance for Screen Reader Users in Computer Use

  Nan Chen, Jing Lu, Zilong Wang, Luna K. Qiu, Siming Chen, Yuqing Yang (2026) — Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26)

  Chen, Lu, Wang, Qiu, Chen and Yang present AskEase, an NVDA add-on that delivers on-demand, step-by-step, screen-reader-friendly guidance for blind and low-vision computer users tackling unfamiliar desktop software. The work responds to a persistent …

  • accessibility
  • screen readers
  • AI
  • LLM
  • assistive technology
  • help-seeking
  • context engineering
  • human-AI interaction
  • blind and low vision
  • NVDA
  • RAG
  • multimodal AI

• Understanding the Usages, Lifecycle, and Opportunities of Screen Readers' Plugins

  Farhani Momotaz, Md Ehtesham-Ul-Haque, Syed Masum Billah (2023) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study investigates why blind users rely on screen reader plugins and how these plugins are developed, distributed, and maintained. The researchers combined two methodological approaches: semi-structured interviews with 14 blind participants (age…

  • screen readers
  • NVDA
  • JAWS
  • plugins
  • extensions
  • assistive technology
  • blind users
  • online communities
  • qualitative research

• A Platform Agnostic Remote Desktop System for Screen Reading

  Syed Masum Billah, Vikas Ashok, Donald E. Porter, IV Ramakrishnan (2016) — ASSETS '16: Proceedings of the 18th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  Sinter addresses a fundamental barrier to remote desktop accessibility: traditional remote desktop technology scrapes pixels from the remote screen and redraws them as bitmaps on the client, losing all semantic information that screen readers require…

  • screen reader
  • remote desktop
  • cross-platform accessibility
  • UI virtualization
  • blind accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • NVDA
  • JAWS
  • VoiceOver

• Contextual Exploration of Mathematical Formulae on the Web for People with Visual Disabilities in Brazil with an Open-Source Screen Reader

  Hérlon Manollo Cândido Guedes, Paula C. F. Cardoso, William Massami Watanabe, André Pimenta Freire (2022) — Proceedings of the 21st Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems (IHC)

  This paper presents the implementation and evaluation of Access8Math-NavMatBR, an NVDA screen reader add-on for reading and exploring mathematical formulae on the web in Brazilian Portuguese. The add-on implements contextual exploration — a strategy …

  • mathematical accessibility
  • screen readers
  • NVDA
  • MathML
  • visual disability
  • Portuguese language
  • contextual exploration
  • STEM accessibility

• Pushpak: Voice Command-based eBook Navigator

  Shradha Holani, Akashdeep Bansal, M Balakrishnan (2019) — Proceedings of the 16th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This demonstration paper presents Pushpak, a voice command-based eBook navigator designed to reduce the steep learning curve associated with screen reader software. The authors identify a key accessibility barrier: effective use of screen readers lik…

  • voice control
  • screen reader
  • NVDA
  • eBook
  • natural language understanding
  • visual impairment
  • STEM accessibility
  • assistive technology
  • speech recognition
  • touchscreen accessibility

• Understanding Screen Readers' Plugins

  Farhani Momotaz, Md Touhidul Islam, Md Ehtesham-Ul-Haque, Syed Masum Billah (2021) — Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper presents the first empirical study focused specifically on understanding the ecosystem of screen reader plugins — small pieces of code that extend screen reader functionality. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 bl…

  • screen readers
  • plugins
  • blind users
  • assistive technology
  • NVDA
  • JAWS
  • extensibility
  • user study
  • accessibility tools

• AudioQ: A Debugging Extension for Visually Impaired Developers

  Sehej Kumar, Shreyas Kotla (2023) — Proceedings of the 25th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2023)

  This extended abstract presents AudioQ, a Visual Studio Code extension designed to improve the debugging experience for visually impaired software developers. The extension addresses a specific gap in current accessibility tools: while screen readers…

  • software development
  • blind and low vision
  • screen readers
  • debugging
  • IDE accessibility
  • Visual Studio Code
  • NVDA