Glossary

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Conversational AI(also: Chat AI, AI Chatbot)

Artificial intelligence systems designed to engage in dialogue with users through natural language, including chatbots, virtual assistants, and generative AI interfaces. Conversational AI has accessibility implications both as an interaction paradigm that can be more accessible…

Conversational Agency(also: Communicative Agency)

An individual's capacity to express themselves and achieve their communicative goals within a conversation. Conversational agency encompasses not just the ability to transmit messages but also the ability to shape conversation flow, express personality, negotiate meaning, and…

Conversational Agent(also: Chatbot, Virtual Assistant, AI Assistant)

A software system that uses natural language processing to engage in dialogue with users, answering questions and providing information through text or speech. In accessibility contexts, conversational agents offer potential for flexible, on-demand information access that can…

Conversational Assistant(also: Voice Assistant, Virtual Assistant, Intelligent Personal Assistant)

A software application that uses natural language processing and speech recognition to interact with users through spoken or typed conversation, providing information, performing tasks, and controlling devices. Examples include Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, and…

Conversational Flow(also: Dialogue Flow, Conversation Rhythm)

The natural rhythm and progression of a conversation, including the smooth exchange of turns, timely responses, appropriate pauses, and coherent topic development. Conversational flow depends on both partners' ability to produce and perceive turn-taking cues, backchanneling…

Conversational Gesture(also: Interaction Gesture, Dialogue Primitive)

A conversational gesture is an atomic building block of human-computer dialogue — a simple, well-defined interaction pattern that enables communication between user and machine. In graphical user interfaces, conversational gestures are realised through widgets such as list…

Conversational Glanceability(also: Conversational Layout Support)

A proposed design approach that uses conversational AI agents to provide blind and visually impaired users with the equivalent of visual glanceability—the ability to quickly scan and identify content of interest on a page. Sighted users can rapidly skim visual layouts to locate…

Conversational Interface(also: Conversational UI, Voice User Interface, VUI)

A user interface that enables interaction through natural language, either spoken or typed, allowing users to communicate with a system using conversational dialogue rather than traditional graphical controls. Conversational interfaces include voice assistants, chatbots, and…

Conversational Interface(also: Conversational UI, Conversational User Interface, Chat Interface)

An interface that enables interaction through natural language dialogue, either spoken or text-based, rather than through traditional graphical controls like buttons and menus. Conversational interfaces are significant for accessibility because they can reduce cognitive load,…

Conversational Management(also: Conversation Management, Interactional Management)

The processes by which interlocutors jointly regulate the structure of a conversation - taking and ceding turns, pre-empting interruptions, shifting attention and topic, repairing misunderstandings, and maintaining flow over time. In AAC research, conversational management is a…

Conversational Programming(also: natural language programming, LLM-driven scene modification)

Conversational programming is a paradigm in which users modify software behaviour or digital environments through natural language dialogue with an AI system, rather than through traditional developer-defined controls, menus, or code. In accessibility contexts, conversational…

Conversational Scaffolding(also: Scaffolded Interaction)

Human or technology-provided support, prompts, or guidance that helps individuals accomplish communication tasks they might struggle with independently. In voice assistant contexts, scaffolding includes features like setting up calendars, providing reminders, and offering…

Conversational Search(also: conversational information retrieval, chat-based search)

Conversational search is an approach to information retrieval in which users interact with a system through natural language dialogue rather than keyword queries, enabling multi-turn exchanges that iteratively refine information needs. For accessibility, conversational search…

Conversational User Interface(also: CUI, Conversational Interface, Dialogue Interface)

A user interface that enables interaction through natural language conversation, either via voice (spoken dialogue) or text (chat). Conversational user interfaces encompass voice assistants, chatbots, and dialogue systems that interpret user intent and respond in natural…

Convivial Tools(also: Conviviality)

A concept from philosopher Ivan Illich describing tools that are easy to learn through use, allow users to decide when and how to use them, and can adapt to individual preferences. In accessibility contexts, convivial tools are malleable technologies that empower users—including…

Convolutional Neural Network(also: CNN, ConvNet)

A class of deep neural network that uses convolutional filters to automatically extract spatial features from data, originally designed for image processing but now widely applied to sensor data, audio, and video analysis. CNNs identify patterns like edges, textures, and shapes…

Cookie Notice(also: Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Popup)

A user interface element that appears on websites to inform visitors about the use of cookies and other tracking technologies, typically requesting consent to store data on their device. Cookie notices are required under privacy regulations like GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive.…

Cooperative Evaluation(also: Cooperative Usability Evaluation, Modified Think-Aloud)

A usability evaluation method in which the researcher and participant work together as collaborators rather than following a strict observer-subject protocol. Unlike standard controlled experiments, cooperative evaluation allows participants to think aloud, ask questions, and…

Cooperative Inquiry(also: Co-Inquiry)

A participatory design methodology that involves children as full design partners throughout the technology development process, from initial brainstorming through prototyping and evaluation. Developed by Allison Druin and colleagues, cooperative inquiry treats children not…

Coordinated Views(also: Linked Views, Coordinated Multiple Views, Brushing and Linking)

A data visualization technique in which multiple representations of the same dataset are displayed simultaneously and kept synchronized, so that actions in one view (such as selecting, filtering, or sorting) are immediately reflected in all other views. In accessible data…

Copilot (Shared Control)(also: Gaming Copilot, Assistive Copilot)

In shared-control video gaming, the copilot is the secondary actor who supports the pilot (the primary player, typically a person with a disability) by taking over game actions the pilot cannot perform. A copilot can be a human partner — often a family member, friend, or trained…

Coping Strategies(also: Coping Tactics, Workaround Strategies)

The techniques and approaches that users with disabilities develop to navigate around accessibility barriers they encounter on the web and in digital interfaces. Expert screen reader users, for example, employ strategies such as using element lists, virtual search, heading…

Coping Strategy(also: Coping Behavior, Adaptive Strategy)

A behavioral pattern or workaround that users with disabilities employ when encountering inaccessible digital content or interfaces. Coping strategies emerge when technology fails to meet accessibility needs, forcing users to develop alternative approaches such as skipping…

Core Haptics

Apple's iOS framework for designing and playing custom vibrotactile patterns on iPhone using the Taptic Engine. Core Haptics lets developers synthesize transient 'taps' and continuous vibrations, vary intensity and sharpness over time, and synchronize haptics with audio using…

Core Vocabulary(also: Core Words)

A small set of high-frequency words — typically pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and prepositions — that make up approximately 80% of what people say in everyday communication. Examples include words like "I," "want," "go," "more," "help," and "that." In AAC practice, core…

Coreference(also: Coreference Resolution, Anaphora Resolution)

The linguistic phenomenon of two or more expressions in a text referring to the same real-world entity — for example, "Sam", "she", and "the scientist" all referring to the same person. Coreference resolution is the NLP task of automatically linking these expressions into…

Corneal Reflection(also: Pupil-Center Corneal Reflection, PCCR)

An eye tracking technique that works by shining a near-infrared light at the eye and measuring the relationship between the reflection off the cornea (the bright spot called the glint) and the center of the pupil. As the eye rotates to look at different screen positions, the…

Corporate Accessibility(also: Enterprise Accessibility, Organizational Accessibility Programme)

The structured efforts by companies and organisations to ensure their products, services, and communications are accessible to people with disabilities. Corporate accessibility encompasses accessibility policies, dedicated accessibility teams, feedback channels for users with…

Corpus(also: Language Corpus, Text Corpus, British National Corpus)

A corpus is a large, structured collection of texts used to train, tune, or evaluate language-processing systems. Representative examples include the British National Corpus (BNC, 100 million words of British English), the Penn Treebank, and more recently Common Crawl and…

Corrective feedback(also: Error correction feedback, Instructional feedback)

Specific information provided to a user after an action that identifies what was done incorrectly and how to improve on the next attempt. In accessible interaction design, corrective feedback for blind users is typically delivered through text-to-speech (e.g., "make it longer,"…

Correctness(also: Precision, Validity)

In the context of accessibility evaluation, correctness (also called precision) is the proportion of reported accessibility problems that are true problems — that is, issues that genuinely affect users with disabilities rather than false positives. A high correctness rate means…

Cortical Plasticity(also: Brain Plasticity, Neural Plasticity, Cortical Reorganization)

The brain's ability to reorganize its neural connections and functional organization in response to injury, learning, or environmental changes. In the context of disability and rehabilitation, cortical plasticity is the mechanism by which undamaged brain areas can assume…

Cortical visual impairment(also: CVI, Cerebral visual impairment)

A neurological form of visual impairment caused by damage or atypical structures in the visual pathways and visual processing centres of the brain, rather than in the eyes themselves. CVI is now the most common cause of visual impairment in children in developed countries.…

Cosmesis(also: Cosmetic Cover, Prosthetic Cosmesis)

A covering applied to a prosthetic device that is designed to make the prosthesis look more natural or socially acceptable, and sometimes to improve grip or functionality. Cosmeses are available in a limited range of skin tones, which raises significant equity concerns—people…

Counteractive Frictions(also: Counteractive Friction)

A concept introduced by Ly et al. for the deliberate, strategically produced disruptions that marginalised communities generate to contest hegemonic infrastructures — petitions, protests, Human Rights Tribunal filings, targeted social-media campaigns, guerrilla postering.…

Counterbalancing(also: Latin Square Design)

A research methodology technique used to control for order effects by systematically varying the sequence of conditions across participants. In accessibility research comparing multiple interface designs or assistive technology configurations, counterbalancing ensures that…

Counterfactual Explanation(also: Counterfactual XAI)

An explanation technique that communicates what minimal change to the input would have produced a different output from an AI model, for example 'if the applicant's income had been $5,000 higher, the loan would have been approved'. Counterfactual explanations are legally…

Counterfactual Prompting(also: Counterfactual Debiasing, Counterfactual Data Augmentation)

A bias mitigation technique that involves modifying prompts or training examples by swapping identity-related attributes (such as disability status, gender, or race) while keeping all other context identical, in order to expose and counteract biased associations in language…

Counternarratives(also: Counter-storytelling, Critical Counter-narrative)

A qualitative research and pedagogical technique, rooted in critical race theory and education research (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002), in which members of marginalized groups write and share their own stories to challenge dominant, “flat” narratives about their identities. In…

Counterventions(also: Countervention)

A concept introduced by Rua Williams, Louanne Boyd, and Juan Gilbert for reflexive interventions in HCI and design that unsettle ableist norms by shifting focus from individual deficit to exclusionary sociotechnical systems. Counterventions call for disabled people to be…

Course Management System(also: CMS, Learning Management System, LMS)

A software platform used by educational institutions to create, manage, and deliver course content, track student performance, and facilitate communication between instructors and students. Examples include Blackboard, Canvas, and Moodle. Course management systems present…

Cozmo(also: Cozmo Robot)

A small, toy-like robot originally developed by Anki, featuring tracked wheels, a lift arm with a fork, and a screen face that displays animated eyes and emotive behaviours. Cozmo includes face recognition, name memory, and programmable games, and is often used in accessibility…

Crafting(also: Craftwork, Handcraft)

The practice of making objects by hand using traditional techniques, materials, and tools. In accessibility research, crafting—including weaving, knitting, woodworking, and pottery—represents a form of making distinct from high-tech fabrication (3D printing, laser cutting).…

Craftivism(also: Craft Activism)

Craftivism is the practice of using craft as a form of activism and political engagement. The term combines "craft" and "activism" to describe how makers use traditional crafts like knitting, sewing, and embroidery to raise awareness, build community, and advocate for social…

Creative Agency(also: Creative Autonomy, Creative Control)

The ability of an individual to make independent creative decisions, express personal aesthetic preferences, and maintain ownership over the creative process and its outcomes. For blind individuals, creative agency in visual media is often limited by inaccessible tools, reliance…

Creativity Support Tool(also: CST, Creative Tool)

Software designed to enhance, facilitate, or augment human creative processes such as drawing, writing, music composition, photography, and design. Creativity support tools range from simple drawing applications to complex AI-powered systems that generate content or provide…

Creativity Support Tools(also: CST, Creative Support Software)

Creativity support tools (CSTs) are software applications and systems designed to help people engage in creative activities such as writing, drawing, music production, photography, video editing, graphic design, and programming. In the context of accessibility, CSTs present…

Criminalization

The process by which behaviors, identities, or survival strategies are defined as criminal, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities including disabled people. In accessibility contexts, criminalization creates access barriers when disabled people's survival…

Crip Epistemology(also: Cripistemology)

A framework for understanding how disability produces distinct forms of knowledge that challenge dominant, ableist ways of knowing. Rooted in crip theory and disability studies, crip epistemologies recognize that disabled bodyminds generate situated, embodied knowledge through…

Crip HCI

An orientation within human-computer interaction that brings crip theory and crip technoscience into the methods, design practices, and evaluation frameworks of computing research. Rather than asking how technology can accommodate disabled users within existing normative…