Glossary

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Remote Monitoring(also: Remote Patient Monitoring, RPM, Remote Care Monitoring)

Remote monitoring is the collection of health, activity, or environmental data from a person in their own home or community setting and its transmission to carers, clinicians, or family members at a distance. In a disability and ageing context, remote monitoring overlaps…

Remote Sighted Assistance(also: Remote Visual Assistance, Visual Interpreting, Remote Sighted Guide)

A service model in which a sighted person provides real-time visual information to a blind or visually impaired person remotely, typically through a smartphone video call. The blind user points their phone camera at what they need help with, and the sighted helper describes what…

Remote Usability Testing(also: Remote User Study, Remote User Evaluation)

Usability testing conducted with participants in their own homes or workplaces rather than in a research lab, typically using video conferencing, screen sharing, or other remote communication tools. Remote methods became especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic and…

Remote interpreting(also: Video remote interpreting, VRI, Remote sign language interpreting)

The provision of sign language interpretation or other communication access services through video technology, where the interpreter is located in a different physical space from the deaf or hard of hearing person. Remote interpreting uses networked video connections to link…

Remote sighted assistance(also: RSA, Visual interpreting service)

A service connecting blind or visually impaired individuals with sighted helpers through live video calls, enabling real-time visual guidance for everyday tasks. Services like Be My Eyes (volunteer-based), Aira (professional agents), and similar platforms allow BVI users to…

Remote therapy(also: Teletherapy, Telepractice, Telerehabilitation)

The delivery of therapeutic interventions — including speech therapy, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation — through technology-mediated communication rather than exclusively in-person sessions. Remote therapy systems typically combine a client-facing application (often…

Renarration(also: Content Renarration, Web Renarration)

The process of re-telling, re-presenting, or re-styling existing web content to make it accessible to new audiences who face barriers the original content was not designed to address. Renarration goes beyond traditional accessibility remediation by enabling transformations that…

Repair Mechanism(also: Conversational Repair)

In conversational interface design, a feature that helps the user and the system recover from misrecognition, ambiguity, or misunderstanding — for example, clarification prompts ("Did you mean the [X] cricket match?"), visible candidate lists, or "try again" affordances that…

Repeat Keys(also: Key Repeat Delay)

An operating system accessibility feature that controls how long a key must be held down before it begins to repeat, and how quickly it repeats once started. For users with motor disabilities who unintentionally hold keys down longer than intended, Repeat Keys allows the delay…

Repetitive Questioning(also: Perseverative Questioning)

A behavioural symptom of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, in which a person repeatedly asks the same question over and over, often within short time intervals. Repetitive questioning can stem from short-term memory loss (not remembering the answer or having asked),…

Repetitive Strain Injury(also: RSI, Repetitive motion injury, Overuse injury)

A category of injuries affecting muscles, tendons, and nerves caused by repetitive movements, sustained awkward postures, or overuse of a body part. In the context of accessibility, repetitive strain injuries are a significant concern for manual wheelchair users, who experience…

Repetitive Stress Injury(also: RSI, Repetitive Strain Injury, Repetitive Motion Injury)

A group of conditions caused by repetitive movements, forceful exertions, or sustained awkward postures over extended periods, resulting in damage to muscles, tendons, nerves, or other soft tissues. In computing contexts, RSI commonly affects the hands, wrists, arms, shoulders,…

Replika

Replika is a commercial AI companion app, launched by Luka Inc. in 2017, that offers users a customisable digital avatar designed to 'develop its own personality' through conversational interaction. Users can shape the avatar's appearance, relationship type (friend, mentor,…

Repository Mining(also: Software Repository Mining, Mining Software Repositories)

A research methodology that involves extracting and analysing data from software repositories such as version control systems, bug trackers, code-sharing platforms, and Q&A sites like Stack Overflow. In accessibility research, repository mining has been used to assess whether…

Representational Transformation(also: representation transformation, accessibility transformation)

Representational transformation is the process of modifying or re-creating a shared information artifact (such as a document, spreadsheet, diagram, or slideshow) to make it accessible to team members who cannot perceive or operate the original form. In mixed-ability teams,…

Representational harm(also: Representational bias)

A category of harm caused by AI systems that perpetuate or amplify negative stereotypes, demeaning portrayals, or erasure of particular social groups, distinct from allocative harms that deny resources or opportunities. In disability contexts, representational harms occur when…

Representative Sampling(also: Representative Page Sampling)

In web accessibility auditing, the practice of selecting a subset of pages from a website that statistically reflects the full site, so that evaluation findings can be generalised to pages not directly audited. WCAG-EM requires that a 'representative sample' be included…

Representative Users(also: Target Users, Intended Users)

Study participants who share the relevant characteristics of the population for whom a technology or solution is being designed. In accessibility research, this means including people with the actual disabilities being addressed rather than substitutes like blindfolded sighted…

Requirements Gathering(also: Requirements Elicitation, Needs Assessment)

The process of collecting and documenting the needs, constraints, and expectations of users and stakeholders to inform the design of a technology system or product. In accessibility and assistive technology contexts, requirements gathering poses unique challenges: target users…

Requirements engineering(also: RE, Requirements elicitation)

Requirements engineering (RE) is the systematic process of identifying, documenting, analysing, and managing the needs and constraints that a software system must satisfy. It encompasses elicitation techniques (interviews, workshops, prototyping, observation), specification…

Research Ethics(also: Ethics in Research)

The principles and practices governing the responsible conduct of research, including informed consent, minimizing harm, protecting privacy, and ensuring equitable treatment of participants. In disability research, ethics considerations include power dynamics between researchers…

Research Experiences for Undergraduates(also: REU, REU Program, REU Supplement)

A U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) funding program that supports active research participation by undergraduate students in areas funded by NSF. REU awards fund either dedicated REU Sites — cohorts of undergraduates hosted by a host institution for a summer research…

Research Fatigue(also: Participant Fatigue, Community Research Fatigue)

The exhaustion or disengagement experienced by individuals or communities that are repeatedly recruited for research studies, particularly when they see little benefit or change resulting from their participation. In disability communities, research fatigue is a growing concern…

Research Probe(also: Design Research Probe, Technology Probe)

A purpose-built, partially functional artefact — often a software prototype, sensor, or interactive installation — deployed in a study not primarily to deliver a finished product but to provoke reflection, surface user needs, and generate design insight. Distinct from cultural…

Research Through Design(also: RtD)

A research methodology in which the design process itself serves as a mode of inquiry, generating knowledge through the iterative creation and evaluation of artifacts, systems, or experiences. Unlike traditional research that studies existing phenomena, Research Through Design…

Research reciprocity(also: Participatory reciprocity)

The principle that research participation should be a mutually beneficial exchange in which participants gain value — such as social connection, learning opportunities, a sense of contributing to knowledge, or direct improvements to their lives — rather than being treated solely…

Research-through-Design(also: RtD)

A research methodology, articulated by Zimmerman, Forlizzi, and Evenson (2007), in which the act of designing artefacts is itself the mode of inquiry. Knowledge is produced through iterative cycles of prototyping, deployment, evaluation, and reflection, and is typically…

Researcher Bias(also: Investigator Bias)

The influence of a researcher's own perspectives, assumptions, and identity on how they design studies, ask questions, and interpret data. In accessibility research, researcher bias can manifest when non-disabled researchers position themselves as saviors, frame questions based…

Residential Care(also: Care Home, Nursing Home, Long-Term Care Facility)

A facility that provides housing, personal care, and support services for individuals who cannot live independently due to age, disability, or health conditions. Residential care settings range from assisted living facilities offering minimal support to skilled nursing…

Residential School(also: Boarding School)

An educational institution where students live on campus during the school term, receiving both education and residential care. In India, many schools for the blind operate as residential schools, with students living at the school away from their families. Residential schools…

Residual Category(also: Residual Categories)

A concept from Susan Leigh Star describing the "other" or "not applicable" categories in classification systems — the bucket where anything that does not fit predefined types gets placed. Individuals sorted into residual categories become illegible to the systems that grant…

Residual Vision(also: Remaining Vision, Useful Vision)

The vision that remains after an eye condition has caused partial vision loss. Most people classified as having low vision retain some useful residual vision and prefer to use it for observing and interacting with their environment. Low-vision rehabilitation adopts an…

Residual vision(also: Functional vision, Usable vision)

The remaining visual ability of a person with a visual impairment, which may include partial acuity, limited visual field, or light perception. The vast majority of people classified as legally blind have some residual vision rather than total blindness. Assistive technology and…

Resilience(also: Psychological resilience, Dementia resilience)

Resilience refers to the dynamic capacity of an individual to adapt positively in the face of adversity and to maintain or recover a satisfactory level of psychological and functional well-being. In the context of dementia, resilience challenges deficit-based models that frame…

Resistant Reading(also: Reading Against the Grain, Resistant Reader)

A critical reading method, originally articulated by feminist literary theorist Judith Fetterley, that refuses the interpretive framework an author invites the reader to adopt and instead reads texts for what they silence, marginalise, or explain away. In HCI and accessibility…

Respeaking(also: Speech-to-Speech Captioning, Voice Writing)

A real-time captioning method in which a trained operator listens to speech and repeats it clearly into a speech recognition system optimized for their voice, producing captions. Respeaking is commonly used in broadcast television captioning and live events. It requires less…

Respite Care(also: Respite, Carer Relief)

Temporary care provided to a person with a disability or chronic condition to give their primary caregiver a break from their caregiving responsibilities. Respite care can take many forms, including in-home care, day programs, overnight stays in care facilities, or social…

Response Bias(also: Acquiescence Bias, Yea-Saying Bias)

A systematic tendency for research participants to respond in a particular way regardless of the actual content of the question, distorting data collection and analysis. In accessibility research involving people with intellectual disabilities, acquiescence bias — the tendency…

Response Bias(also: Survey Bias, Respondent Bias)

A systematic tendency for survey respondents to answer questions in a way that does not accurately reflect their true opinions or experiences. In accessibility research, response bias is particularly important to consider because participants with disabilities may provide more…

Response Time(also: Reaction Time, Tact)

The time elapsed between the presentation of a stimulus and the user's physical response, typically measured in milliseconds. In scanning-based AAC, response time (often called Tact) is the interval between when an item is highlighted and when the user activates the switch.…

Responsibility OCD(also: Checking OCD, Responsibility Obsessions)

A subtype of OCD characterized by an exaggerated sense of responsibility for preventing harm or negative outcomes, accompanied by compulsive checking behaviors. People with responsibility OCD may repeatedly check that doors are locked, appliances are off, or that they have not…

Responsive Design(also: Responsive Web Design, RWD, Mobile First Design)

A web design approach in which layouts, images, and other content elements adapt fluidly to the size and capabilities of the user's device, providing an optimal viewing experience across desktops, tablets, and mobile phones without requiring separate versions of a site.…

Restorative Environment(also: Restorative Setting)

An environment—physical or virtual—that promotes psychological recovery from mental fatigue and stress. Based on Attention Restoration Theory, restorative environments typically feature natural elements (water, vegetation, wildlife), scenic views, and low-demand fascination that…

Restricted Field of View(also: Tunnel Vision, Peripheral Vision Loss, Visual Field Loss)

A condition in which the area of the visual environment that a person can see at any given moment is significantly reduced, often described as looking through a tunnel or a narrow tube. Restricted field of view can result from conditions such as glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa,…

Restricted Interest(also: Circumscribed Interest, Perseverative Interest, Fixated Interest)

An intense, narrow focus on specific topics, objects, or activities that is characteristic of autism spectrum disorder. Restricted interests can range from common subjects like trains, maps, or specific fictional characters to highly unusual topics like electricity pylons or…

Restricted Interests(also: Circumscribed Interests, Special Interests, Focused Interests)

A characteristic of autism spectrum disorder where individuals develop intense, narrowly focused interests in specific topics, objects, or activities. These interests may be unusual in their subject matter (such as specific letters, numbers, or mechanical objects) or in their…

Retinitis Pigmentosa(also: RP)

A group of inherited genetic disorders that cause progressive degeneration of the retina, typically beginning with loss of night vision and peripheral vision and potentially leading to tunnel vision or complete blindness. RP affects the rod photoreceptor cells first, then may…

Retinitis Pigmentosa(also: RP, Retina Pigmentosa, Rod-Cone Dystrophy)

A group of inherited genetic disorders that cause progressive degeneration of the retina, leading to gradual vision loss. Initial symptoms typically include difficulty seeing in low light (night blindness) and loss of peripheral vision (tunnel vision). The condition often begins…

Retinitis pigmentosa(also: RP)

A group of inherited genetic disorders that cause progressive degeneration of the retina, typically beginning with loss of night vision and peripheral vision and gradually narrowing the visual field (tunnel vision) over years or decades. Some people with RP eventually lose most…

Retinopathy(also: Diabetic Retinopathy, Retinal Disease)

A group of eye conditions affecting the retina that can cause vision loss or blindness. Diabetic retinopathy, caused by damage to blood vessels in the retina due to diabetes, is one of the leading causes of blindness in working-age adults. Symptoms may include blurred vision,…