Literature Reviews

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

• Improving the Accessibility of Aurally Rendered HTML Tables

  Robert Filepp, James Challenger, Daniela Rosu (2002) — Proceedings of the Fifth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets 02)

  This paper from IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center proposes TTPML (Table To Prose Markup Language), an XML-compliant markup language designed to transform HTML tables into intelligible prose descriptions for blind and visually impaired users. The auth…

  • web accessibility
  • tables
  • aural rendering
  • screen reader
  • XML
  • markup language
  • blindness
  • table linearization

• A Semantic Transcoding System to Adapt Web Services for Users with Disabilities

  Anita W. Huang, Neel Sundaresan (2000) — Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper from IBM Almaden Research Center presents Aurora, a semantic transcoding system that adapts web-based services for users with disabilities by extracting the meaning of web content rather than simply reformatting its syntax. The key problem…

  • web accessibility
  • web transcoding
  • content adaptation
  • XML
  • semantic web
  • assistive technology
  • web navigation
  • adaptive interface

• The Development of Language Processing Support for the ViSiCAST Project

  R. Elliott, J. R. W. Glauert, J. R. Kennaway, I. Marshall (2000) — Proceedings of the Fourth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '00)

  This paper from the University of East Anglia describes early work on the ViSiCAST project (Virtual Signing, Animation, Capture, Storage and Transmission), a 3-year EU-funded initiative to provide improved access to services for Deaf citizens through…

  • sign language
  • sign language avatar
  • virtual signing
  • British Sign Language
  • machine translation
  • natural language processing
  • motion capture
  • HamNoSys
  • deaf accessibility
  • XML

• A no-frills approach for accessible Web-based learning material

  Valeria Mirabella, Stephen Kimani, Tiziana Catarci (2004) — Proceedings of the 2004 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from Sapienza University of Rome proposes a methodology for creating accessible web-based learning materials that centres the role of the "didactical expert" (instructional designer/subject matter expert) rather than relying solely on tech…

  • e-learning
  • accessible education
  • learning objects
  • alternative content
  • XML
  • instructional design
  • multimodal content

• Automatic accessibility evaluation of dynamic web pages generated through XSLT

  André Pimenta Freire, Renata Pontin de Mattos Fortes (2005) — Proceedings of the 2005 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from researchers at the University of São Paulo addresses a gap in accessibility evaluation tooling: the inability of automated checkers to test dynamically generated web pages. In 2005, tools like Bobby, LIFT, and WAVE could only evaluate…

  • automated testing
  • web accessibility evaluation
  • XML
  • XSLT
  • dynamic web pages
  • accessibility tools

• Opening up access to online documents using essentiality tracks

  Matthew T. Atkinson, Jatinder Dhiensa, Colin H. C. Machin (2006) — Proceedings of the 2006 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from Loughborough University presents extensions to the "essentiality and proficiency" approach for improving document accessibility and usability. The core concept is that web page content has varying levels of importance for different us…

  • document accessibility
  • content filtering
  • XML
  • universal design
  • information overload
  • assistive technology

• Iconic Communication System by XML Language: (SCILX)

  Nathalie Cindy Kuicheu, Laure Pauline Fotso, François Siewe (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Yaoundé I (Cameroon) and De Montfort University (UK) presents SCILX, an XML-based iconic communication system that extends traditional iconic interfaces to enable communication through the Internet. Previous iconic s…

  • augmentative and alternative communication
  • iconic communication
  • XML
  • literacy
  • digital divide
  • Global Accessibility
  • healthcare accessibility
  • communication accessibility
  • developing countries

• Personalization of User Interfaces for Browsing XML Content Using Transformations Built on End-User Requirements

  Benoît Encelle, Nadine Baptiste-Jessel (2007) — Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from IRIT at the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse presents a model for generating personalized multimodal user interfaces for browsing XML content, driven by end-user requirements rather than developer-imposed defaults. The authors ide…

  • personalization
  • multimodal interaction
  • user profiles
  • content adaptation
  • XML
  • model-based user interfaces
  • braille
  • text-to-speech