Literature Reviews

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

• TextSL: A Command-Based Virtual World Interface for the Visually Impaired

  Eelke Folmer, Bei Yuan, Dave Carr, Manjari Sapre (2009) — Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '09)

  This paper presents TextSL, a text-based client for the virtual world Second Life that enables access via screen readers. Second Life is a non-game virtual world where users control avatars to explore 3D environments, socialise with others, and inter…

  • virtual worlds
  • visual impairment
  • screen readers
  • game accessibility
  • social interaction
  • command-line interface
  • Second Life
  • alternative interface

• Experiencing EVA Park, a Multi-User Virtual World for People with Aphasia

  Julia Galliers, Stephanie Wilson, Jane Marshall, Richard Talbot, Niamh Devane, Tracey Booth, Celia Woolf, Helen Greenwood (2017) — ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study examines the user experience of EVA Park, a multi-user virtual world designed specifically for people with aphasia (PWA) to practice conversations. Aphasia, a communication disorder most commonly caused by stroke (occurring in 45% of strok…

  • aphasia
  • virtual worlds
  • stroke rehabilitation
  • speech-language therapy
  • social interaction
  • user experience

• TextSL: a screen reader accessible interface for second life

  Bugra Oktay, Eelke Folmer (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents TextSL, a text-based command interface for Second Life that enables visually impaired users to explore and interact with the virtual world using a screen reader (JAWS). Inspired by multi-user dungeon (MUD) text adventure games lik…

  • virtual worlds
  • screen readers
  • visual impairment
  • blindness
  • text-based interface
  • command-line interface
  • Second Life
  • game accessibility

• Enabling the blind in virtual worlds

  William S. Carter (2010) — Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from IBM's Human Ability and Accessibility Center describes experimental techniques for enabling blind users to participate in virtual world environments. Unlike conventional web content where text and images can be given alternative descr…

  • virtual reality
  • blindness
  • virtual worlds
  • multimodal interaction
  • cognitive overload
  • avatar
  • spatial navigation
  • assistive technology

• "It's Just Part of Me:" Understanding Avatar Diversity and Self-presentation of People with Disabilities in Social Virtual Reality

  Kexin Zhang, Elmira Deldari, Zhicong Lu, Yaxing Yao, Yuhang Zhao (2022) — Proceedings of the 24th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '22)

  This paper investigates how people with disabilities (PWD) perceive, design, and use avatars for self-presentation and disability disclosure in social virtual reality (VR) platforms. The researchers employed a two-part methodology: first, a systemati…

  • social virtual reality
  • avatars
  • disability disclosure
  • self-presentation
  • deaf and hard of hearing
  • visual impairments
  • identity
  • inclusive design
  • virtual worlds