Glossary

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Data Structure

A way of organizing and storing data in a computer so that it can be accessed and modified efficiently. Common introductory data structures include arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees (such as binary search trees), graphs, and hash tables, each with different access,…

Data Table(also: Genuine Table)

An HTML table element used to present structured, tabular information where data cells have a logical relationship to header cells. Accessible data tables require proper semantic markup including th elements for headers, scope attributes to define header direction (row or…

Data Transparency(also: Data Processing Transparency)

The practice of clearly communicating to users what data is collected, how it is processed, where processing occurs (on-device vs. cloud), how data is stored, and who has access to it. In accessibility contexts, blind users have expressed strong desires to understand data…

Data Visualization(also: Data Viz, Information Visualization)

The graphical representation of data and information using visual elements such as charts, graphs, maps, and diagrams. While data visualization is a powerful tool for communicating patterns and insights, it presents significant accessibility barriers for people with visual…

Data Visualization Accessibility(also: Accessible Data Visualization, Chart Accessibility, Visualization Accessibility)

The practice of designing charts, graphs, diagrams, and other visual data representations so they are perceivable, operable, and understandable by people with disabilities, particularly those who are blind or have low vision. This includes providing meaningful alternative text,…

Data sonification(also: Auditory graph, Audio chart)

The representation of data values through non-speech audio, typically by mapping numerical values to auditory parameters such as pitch, volume, duration, or timbre. Data sonification makes charts and graphs accessible to blind and low-vision users by allowing them to perceive…

Data visualization accessibility(also: Chart accessibility, Accessible data visualizations, Graph accessibility)

The practice of making charts, graphs, maps, dashboards, and other visual representations of data perceivable and understandable by people with disabilities, particularly screen-reader users and people with colour vision deficiencies. Most web-based visualizations are rendered…

Data-based Synthesis(also: Corpus-based Synthesis, Unit Selection Synthesis)

A speech synthesis technique that generates speech by selecting and concatenating segments from a large database of prerecorded human speech, rather than using rules to generate acoustic waveforms from scratch. The database is indexed with phoneme boundaries, pitch, and prosodic…

Data-to-Text(also: Data-to-Text Generation, Data-to-Text NLG)

A subfield of natural language generation (NLG) that automatically produces human-readable text from structured data, such as databases, spreadsheets, or sensor readings. Data-to-text systems analyze input data to identify patterns, trends, and salient features, then generate…

DataGlove(also: Data Glove, Sensor Glove, Cyber Glove)

A wearable input device fitted with sensors that captures hand shape, finger position, and hand orientation data in real time. Originally developed by VPL Research in the 1980s, DataGloves were used extensively in early virtual reality and sign language recognition research to…

Dataset Bias(also: Training Data Bias, Data Representation Bias, Sampling Bias)

A systematic skew in the composition of training data used to build machine learning models, resulting in models that perform well for overrepresented groups but poorly for underrepresented ones. In accessibility contexts, dataset bias is a pervasive problem: activity…

Dataset Collection(also: Data Collection Protocol)

The process of gathering, curating, and documenting data used to train, evaluate, or benchmark machine learning systems. In accessibility contexts, dataset collection decisions — who contributes, what objects or scenarios are captured, how quality is assessed, how privacy is…

Datasheets for datasets(also: Dataset documentation, Data cards)

A standardized documentation framework proposed by Gebru et al. that accompanies machine learning datasets with information about their creation, composition, intended use, and limitations. For accessibility, datasheets help surface representation gaps — such as whether people…

Dataveillance

Surveillance conducted through the systematic collection, aggregation, and analysis of personal digital data — clicks, location traces, physiological signals, text, voice, facial data — rather than through direct observation. Dataveillance is the dominant mode in modern…

Date Picker Accessibility(also: Accessible Date Picker, Date Selection Accessibility)

The degree to which date selection controls in web and mobile applications can be used effectively by people with disabilities. Date pickers are one of the most problematic interface elements for screen reader users, as they often rely on visual calendar grids, lack proper ARIA…

De-identification(also: De-ID, Data De-identification)

The process of removing or obscuring personally identifiable information from data, images, or video to protect an individual's privacy. In video contexts, de-identification may involve blurring, pixelating, or replacing faces and other identifying features. For sign language…

Dead Reckoning(also: Inertial Navigation, Pedestrian Dead Reckoning, PDR)

Dead reckoning is a navigation technique that estimates a user's current position by tracking their movement from a known starting point, using data from inertial sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes. In accessible wayfinding applications for blind and low-vision users,…

Dead Time(also: Wait Time, Idle Time)

In scanning-based assistive technology interfaces, the period during which a user must passively wait before they can make their next input action. In row-column scanning, dead time occurs while waiting for the desired row or column to be highlighted. Longer dead times reduce…

Deaf(also: deaf, Big-D Deaf)

A term with dual meaning in accessibility contexts: lowercase "deaf" refers to the audiological condition of having significant hearing loss, while uppercase "Deaf" refers to cultural identity and membership in the Deaf community, which has its own language, values, and social…

Deaf Community(also: Deaf World, Signing Community)

A cultural and linguistic community of people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and who share a common language (typically a sign language), cultural values, traditions, and social norms. The Deaf community is distinguished from the broader population of people with hearing loss…

Deaf Culture(also: Deaf Community Culture)

The shared cultural identity, values, social norms, language, art, literature, and history of Deaf people who communicate primarily through sign language. Deaf culture (with a capital "D") views deafness not as a disability or medical condition to be fixed, but as a cultural and…

Deaf Education(also: Deaf Pedagogy, Education of the Deaf)

Deaf education encompasses the teaching methods, curricula, and educational systems designed to meet the learning needs of deaf and hard of hearing students. It spans a range of approaches from oral methods emphasizing speech and lipreading, to bilingual-bicultural programs that…

Deaf Epistemology(also: Deaf Ways of Knowing)

A body of theory and practice that recognizes Deaf communities as producers of distinct knowledge grounded in visual-spatial modalities, embodied interaction, sign language, and community experience. Deaf epistemologies foreground visual primacy, sightlines, and shared cultural…

Deaf Gain

A reframing concept that positions Deafness not as a loss (hearing loss) but as a gain — emphasizing the unique contributions, perspectives, and capabilities that Deaf individuals and Deaf culture bring to human diversity. Coined by H-Dirksen Bauman and Joseph Murray, Deaf Gain…

Deaf Literacy

The reading and writing abilities of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, particularly in the dominant spoken/written language of their country. Research consistently shows that a majority of deaf high school graduates in the United States have English reading levels at or…

Deaf Music(also: Deaf musicality, Music in Deaf culture)

Music as experienced, created, and culturally interpreted by d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals and communities. Deaf music encompasses a multimodal, spatio-temporal engagement with rhythm, vibration, visual performance, song signing, and emotional resonance — often…

Deaf Pedagogy

An educational framework that centers Deaf students' visual and multimodal resources, resists deficit models of deafness, and embraces translanguaging and visual-relational classroom norms. Deaf pedagogy treats sign language as the medium of instruction, arranges classrooms for…

Deaf Speech(also: Deaf Accent, Deaf Voice)

Accented speech produced by many individuals who are deaf or significantly hard of hearing, resulting from incomplete acoustic feedback from their own voices. Because deaf speakers cannot fully hear themselves, their speech patterns often differ from those of hearing speakers in…

Deaf Tech(also: Deaf-Centered Technology)

A framework and design orientation for technologies created by, with, and centering Deaf communities. Deaf Tech emphasizes participatory design, cultural relevance, and alignment with Deaf epistemologies and practices, rather than positioning Deaf users as end-consumers of…

Deaf and Hard of Hearing(also: DHH, D/HH)

An inclusive term encompassing people with varying degrees of hearing loss, from mild to profound. "Deaf" with a capital D often refers to individuals who identify as members of the Deaf community and culture, using sign language as their primary language. "deaf" with a…

Deaf digital library(also: Sign language archive, Deaf digital heritage)

A collection of video content in sign languages that preserves and provides access to Deaf community knowledge, culture, experiences, and opinions. Video sharing platforms like YouTube function as de-facto digital libraries for signing communities, but the lack of reliable…

Deaf-Accented Speech(also: Deaf Accent, Deaf-Accented English)

Speech produced by Deaf or Hard of Hearing people whose articulation, prosody, and voicing patterns differ from typical hearing speakers because the speaker has limited or no auditory feedback for their own voice. Deaf-accented speech is intelligible to familiar listeners but is…

DeafSpace(also: Deaf Space, Deaf architecture)

A set of architectural and environmental design principles developed by architect Hansel Bauman in collaboration with the Deaf community at Gallaudet University, grounded in the sensory and spatial experience of deaf people. DeafSpace addresses five core elements: space and…

DeafSpace(also: Deaf Space, Deaf Geography)

A design philosophy and set of architectural and spatial principles developed from understanding how deaf people experience and navigate physical and digital environments. DeafSpace considers factors like visual access, lighting, spatial orientation, and the need for…

Deafblind(also: Deaf-Blind, Deafblindness, Dual Sensory Loss)

A condition involving combined hearing and vision loss that significantly affects communication, access to information, and mobility. Deafblindness is not simply the sum of deafness and blindness — it creates unique challenges that require distinct support strategies, including…

Deafblindness(also: Deaf-Blindness, Dual Sensory Impairment, Combined Vision and Hearing Loss)

Deafblindness is a combined vision and hearing impairment that creates unique challenges beyond those associated with either sensory loss alone. It is not simply the sum of deafness and blindness — the combination creates distinct communication, information access, and mobility…

Deafhood

A concept introduced by Paddy Ladd that reframes Deaf identity as a process of becoming and self-actualization rather than a medical condition to be fixed. Deafhood emphasizes the possibilities and richness of Deaf experience, culture, and language, explicitly rejecting…

Deafness

A hearing loss profound enough that a person cannot rely on hearing as the primary channel for language and environmental awareness, typically defined audiologically as a loss of 90 decibels or more in the better ear. Deafness exists on a spectrum and has strong cultural…

Debiasing(also: Bias mitigation, Bias correction)

Debiasing refers to techniques and processes applied to AI systems—particularly machine learning models and large language models—to detect, reduce, or eliminate unfair biases that cause the system to produce outputs that discriminate against or misrepresent specific demographic…

Debounce(also: Debounce Filter, Key Debounce, Bounce Key Filter)

A keyboard accessibility feature that filters out unintended extra keypresses caused by tremor or imprecise motor control. When enabled, the system ignores rapid successive activations of the same key within a specified time window, treating them as a single press. Debounce is…

Decentralized Autonomous Organization(also: DAO, Decentralised Autonomous Organisation)

A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) is an internet-native collective governed by rules encoded in smart contracts on a blockchain, rather than by a centralized management hierarchy. Members hold governance tokens and participate in collective decisions — such as…

Decimal System(also: Base-10 System, Decimal Number System)

The standard numeral system using ten digits (0-9) where the value of each digit depends on its position, with each position representing a power of ten. Understanding the decimal system requires grasping place value — that the digit 4 represents different quantities in 400, 40,…

Decision Confidence

A reframing of accessibility as whether a user can judge product suitability, transaction risk, and information trustworthiness well enough to act independently — introduced by Ryskeldiev et al. (2026) in the context of blind and low-vision e-commerce. Where WCAG conformance…

Decision Delay(also: Cognitive Delay, Selection Delay)

The time a user spends deciding whether to accept or reject a suggestion from a predictive system, such as a word prediction list on an assistive technology device or keyboard. Decision delay is a cognitive cost that can offset the motor efficiency gains of word prediction:…

Decision Fatigue(also: Choice Overload, Decision Exhaustion)

The deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision-making, or when confronted with too many choices simultaneously. Decision fatigue disproportionately affects people with executive dysfunction, ADHD, and other cognitive disabilities,…

Decision Tree(also: Classification Tree, Regression Tree, C4.5)

A decision tree is a supervised machine-learning model that represents a classification or regression decision as a tree of yes/no tests on input features, with predictions at the leaves. Well-known algorithms include ID3, C4.5, CART, and Random Forests. Decision trees are…

Decision-Theoretic Planning(also: Decision-Theoretic Approach)

A computational approach to planning that uses mathematical models of decision-making under uncertainty, most commonly Markov Decision Processes (MDPs), to select optimal actions based on the current state of the system and predicted outcomes. In assistive technology,…

Decoding(also: Word Decoding, Phonetic Decoding)

The process of translating written symbols (letters or graphemes) into their corresponding sounds (phonemes) to recognize and read words. Decoding is a foundational reading skill described in the Simple View of Reading model, where reading comprehension equals the product of…

Decolonial Computing(also: Decolonial AI)

An evolution of postcolonial computing that moves beyond critique to explore practices and pedagogies that center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of marginalized communities in technology design and research. Decolonial computing actively seeks to dismantle power…

Decolonial Learning(also: Decolonial Design Practice)

A preparatory and ongoing phase in community-based research in which researchers — typically affiliated with Global North institutions or corporations — work to understand the historical, political, and cultural context of a community before setting a research agenda, and cede…