Literature Reviews

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

• Information overload in non-visual web transaction: context analysis spells relief

  Jalal Mahmud (2007) — Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '07)

  This short ASSETS 2007 poster paper from Jalal Mahmud at Stony Brook University describes ongoing PhD research into reducing the information overload that blind users experience when completing multi-step web transactions — shopping, registrations, b…

  • screen readers
  • non-visual web access
  • web page segmentation
  • context analysis
  • web transactions
  • information overload
  • blindness and low vision
  • VoiceXML
  • machine learning
  • support vector machine
  • web accessibility
  • JAWS
  • IBM Home Page Reader

• Improving Non-Visual Web Access Using Context

  Jalal Mahmud, Yevgen Borodin, Dipanjan Das, I.V. Ramakrishnan (2006) — Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents CSurf, a context-directed non-visual web browsing system that significantly reduces browsing time for blind users by intelligently rearranging page content based on navigational context. The core insight is that when a sighted use…

  • screen readers
  • non-visual access
  • web navigation
  • context analysis
  • web page segmentation
  • content rearrangement
  • blind users
  • browsing efficiency

• Application of Content Adaptation in Web Accessibility for the Blind

  Pauli P. Y. Lai (2011) — Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper proposes transforming web pages into hierarchical, numbered menu structures — modeled on Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS) — so blind users can navigate content by pressing number keys rather than listening sequentially through ent…

  • blind and low vision
  • content adaptation
  • screen readers
  • mobile accessibility
  • web page segmentation
  • navigation
  • DOM manipulation

• Dialog Generation for Voice Browsing

  Zan Sun, Amanda Stent, I. V. Ramakrishnan (2006) — Proceedings of the 2006 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A): Building the Mobile Web: Rediscovering Accessibility?

  This paper presents HearSay, a voice browser system developed at Stony Brook University that provides speech-driven web access for people with visual disabilities. Unlike conventional screen readers that force users to arrow through a linearized, sin…

  • voice browsing
  • screen readers
  • visual impairment
  • web page segmentation
  • content summarization
  • machine learning
  • VoiceXML
  • dialog systems
  • assistive technology

• Haptic Gloves for Audio-Tactile Web Accessibility

  Andrii Soviak (2015) — Proceedings of the 12th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes FeelX, a haptic glove system that would enable blind users to explore web page layouts through touch on any flat surface such as a desk or table. The core problem is that screen readers linearise web pages into…

  • blindness
  • haptic technology
  • tactile interface
  • screen reader
  • web accessibility
  • wearable technology
  • web page segmentation
  • braille display
  • computer vision

• Computer vision-based analysis of web page structure for assistive interfaces

  Michael Cormier (2016) — Proceedings of the 13th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes a novel approach to understanding web page structure by analyzing rendered page images using computer vision, rather than relying on the DOM tree or source code as most existing web page segmentation methods do…

  • computer vision
  • web page segmentation
  • screen reader accessibility
  • cognitive accessibility
  • machine learning
  • assistive technology
  • ARIA

• Automatic Role Detection of Visual Elements of Web Pages for Automatic Accessibility Evaluation

  Carlos Duarte, Ana Salvado, M. Elgin Akpinar, Yeliz Yeşilada, Luís Carriço (2018) — Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2018)

  This short paper presents an approach to automatically detect the visual roles of web page elements — specifically menus and lists — to enable automated accessibility evaluation tools to assess WCAG techniques that require understanding an element’s …

  • automated testing
  • web accessibility
  • WCAG
  • web page segmentation
  • navigation
  • screen readers
  • WAI-ARIA
  • menus
  • accessibility evaluation
  • QualWeb

• Framework for Experiential Transcoding of Web Pages with Scanpath Trend Analysis

  Idil Ece Trabzon, Furkan Yagiz, Elmas Eda Karadavut, Mahmoud Elhewahey, Sukru Eraslan, Yeliz Yesilada, Simon Harper (2022) — Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents EXTRA, an automated framework for experiential transcoding of web pages — a technique that restructures web content based on how sighted users actually interact with pages, rather than relying solely on source code analysis. The c…

  • screen readers
  • web transcoding
  • eye tracking
  • web page segmentation
  • content reordering
  • browser extension
  • visual impairment