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• Describing online videos with text-to-speech narration

  Masatomo Kobayashi, Tohru Nagano, Kentarou Fukuda, Hironobu Takagi · 2010 · Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from IBM Research Tokyo presents a technology platform that uses text-to-speech (TTS) synthesis to add audio descriptions (AD) to online videos at minimal cost. The system addresses the two main barriers that prevent most online video creators from providing audio…

  audio description · text-to-speech · video accessibility · speech synthesis · external metadata

• Modelling web navigation with the user in mind

  Ruslan Fayzrakhmanov, Max Göbel, Wolfgang Holzinger, Bernhard Krüpl, Andreas Mager, Robert Baumgartner · 2010 · Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper introduces the ABBA (Advanced Barrier-free Browser Accessibility) framework, a novel approach to screen reader design that replaces traditional sequential DOM-based navigation with a multi-axial navigation model. The core insight is that current screen readers force…

  screen readers · web navigation · visual impairment · semantic web · ontology

• 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 descriptions, virtual worlds…

  virtual reality · blindness · virtual worlds · multimodal interaction · cognitive overload

• Web not for all: a large scale study of web accessibility

  Rui Lopes, Daniel Gomes, Luís Carriço · 2010 · Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents the first large-scale automated accessibility evaluation of nearly 30 million web pages from the Portuguese Web Archive. The researchers implemented 39 WCAG 1.0 checkpoints (priorities 1 and 2) based on the Unified Web Evaluation Methodology (UWEM) and…

  automated testing · accessibility evaluation · WCAG compliance · web science · accessibility metrics

• An educational tool to support the accessibility evaluation process

  Christopher Bailey, Elaine Pearson · 2010 · Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper describes the Accessibility Evaluation Assistant (AEA), a web-based knowledge management tool designed to help novice auditors — primarily computing students — conduct meaningful accessibility evaluations without expert knowledge or access to disabled user groups. The…

  accessibility evaluation · accessibility education · WCAG compliance · barrier walkthrough · accessibility tools

• 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 like Zork — the predecessors of…

  virtual worlds · screen readers · visual impairment · blindness · text-based interface

• Analysis and integration of web accessibility metrics

  Maia Naftali · 2010 · Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This Google Student Award paper presents OceanAcc, a semi-automatic accessibility evaluation and analysis tool developed as a thesis project at the University of Buenos Aires. OceanAcc addresses a practical gap: while several accessibility metrics had been published in research…

  accessibility metrics · accessibility evaluation · automated testing · barrier walkthrough · WCAG compliance

• Universal Design of Auditory Graphs: A Comparison of Sonification Mappings for Visually Impaired and Sighted Listeners

  Bruce N. Walker, Lisa M. Mauney · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study investigates whether auditory graphs—using sound to represent data for people who cannot see visual graphs—can be designed universally for both sighted and visually impaired users, or whether different sonification mappings are needed for different populations. Most…

  sonification · auditory display · data visualization · blind users · visual impairment

• Usability of a Multimodal Video Game to Improve Navigation Skills for Blind Children

  Jaime Sánchez, Mauricio Saenz, Jose Miguel Garrido · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents an evaluative study of a multimodal system combining a custom haptic device (Digital Clock Carpet) with a 3D audio-based video game (MOVA3D) to develop orientation and mobility (O&M) skills in blind school-aged children. The Digital Clock Carpet is a low-cost…

  blindness · orientation and mobility · haptic interface · audio games · spatial cognition

• Accurate and Accessible Motion-Capture Glove Calibration for Sign Language Data Collection

  Matt Huenerfauth, Pengfei Lu · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical bottleneck in sign language technology research: the calibration of motion-capture gloves used to record hand movements for ASL animation and recognition systems. Motion-capture data enables the development of sign language animations that can…

  sign language · American Sign Language · deaf accessibility · motion capture · animation

• ITHACA: An Open Source Framework for Building Component-Based Augmentative and Alternative Communication Applications

  Alexandros Pino, Georgios Kouroupetroglou · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper introduces ITHACA, an open source software framework for developing modular, customizable AAC applications. The authors address a persistent problem in assistive technology: AAC products are typically expensive, monolithic, difficult to customize, and limited in…

  augmentative and alternative communication · AAC · open source · assistive technology · component-based development

• Exploratory Analysis of Collaborative Web Accessibility Improvement

  Daisuke Sato, Hironobu Takagi, Masatomo Kobayashi, Shinya Kawanaka, Chieko Asakawa · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a detailed analysis of the Social Accessibility Project, an experimental crowdsourced service from IBM Research-Tokyo that enables volunteers to fix web accessibility problems without requiring site owners to modify their pages. Launched in July 2008, the…

  crowdsourcing · web accessibility · social computing · metadata · screen readers

• Multimodal Presentation of Two-Dimensional Charts: An Investigation Using Open Office XML and Microsoft Excel

  Iyad Abu Doush, Enrico Pontelli, Tran Cao Son, Dominic Simon, Ou Ma · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a comprehensive system for making Microsoft Excel charts accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired through multimodal haptic and audio feedback. The system extracts chart data from the OOXML format introduced in Excel 2007, then presents it…

  haptic feedback · data visualization · screen readers · multimodal interaction · force feedback

• Orienting Kinesthetically: A Haptic Handheld Wayfinder for People with Visual Impairments

  Tomohiro Amemiya, Hisashi Sugiyama · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a novel haptic direction indicator that provides real-time navigational guidance through kinesthetic cues rather than audio or vibrotactile feedback. The device exploits a perceptual phenomenon called the "pseudo-attraction force technique": by generating…

  haptic feedback · wayfinding · navigation · orientation and mobility · blindness

• Investigating Grid-Based Navigation: The Impact of Physical Disability

  Shaojian Zhu, Jinjuan Feng, Andrew Sears · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper investigates enhancements to grid-based navigation, a speech-controlled cursor technique designed for people who cannot use traditional keyboard and mouse input due to upper-body motor disabilities. Grid-based navigation works by recursively dividing the screen into…

  motor disabilities · speech recognition · cursor control · target selection · alternative input

• Multi-Layered Interfaces to Improve Older Adults' Initial Learnability of Mobile Applications

  Rock Leung, Leah Findlater, Joanna McGrenere, Peter Graf, Justine Yang · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper investigates whether multi-layered (ML) interfaces can improve the learnability of mobile applications for older adults. ML interfaces present novice users with a simplified, reduced-functionality layer containing only basic features, allowing them to progress to a…

  aging · older adults · mobile accessibility · learnability · interface design

• Assessing Fit of Nontraditional Assistive Technologies

  Adriane B. Randolph, Melody M. Moore Jackson · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical gap in assistive technology: how to systematically match users who have severe motor disabilities with nontraditional assistive technologies (NTATs) that use physiological signals rather than physical movement for computer control. The authors…

  brain-computer interface · assistive technology · motor disabilities · ALS · locked-in syndrome

• Towards A Universally Usable Human Interaction Proof: Evaluation of Task Completion Strategies

  Graig Sauer, Jonathan Lazar, Harry Hochheiser, Jinjuan Feng · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical accessibility barrier: CAPTCHAs and human-interaction proofs (HIPs) that effectively lock people with visual impairments out of web services. Prior research showed that blind users could only solve audio CAPTCHAs about 43-46% of the time, far…

  CAPTCHA · blind users · screen readers · universal usability · web security

• Computer Usage by Children with Down Syndrome: Challenges and Future Research

  Jinjuan Feng, Jonathan Lazar, Libby Kumin, Ant Ozok · 2010 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This landmark study presents findings from a large-scale survey of approximately 600 parents of children with Down syndrome (DS) about their children's computer usage challenges. The research addresses a critical gap: while DS characteristics are well-documented medically, their…

  Down syndrome · cognitive accessibility · developmental disabilities · children · survey research

• Accessibility by Demonstration: Enabling End Users to Guide Developers to Web Accessibility Solutions

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Jeremy T. Brudvik, Bernie Zhang · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper introduces Accessibility by Demonstration (ABD), a novel approach to accessibility evaluation that lets assistive technology users record the accessibility problems they encounter as shareable, replayable demonstrations and send them directly to web developers. ABD is…

  web accessibility · accessibility testing · screen readers · blind and low vision · accessibility evaluation

• EasySnap: Real-time Audio Feedback for Blind Photography

  Samuel White, Hanjie Ji, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2010 · Adjunct Proceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2010)

  This demonstration paper presents EasySnap, an iPhone application that enables blind and low-vision users to take high-quality photographs by providing real-time audio feedback as they point their camera phones. The system addresses a key barrier: blind people want to take…

  blind and low vision · computer vision · mobile accessibility · assistive technology · photography

• ASL-STEM Forum: Enabling Sign Language to Grow Through Online Collaboration

  Anna C. Cavender, Daniel S. Otero, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Richard E. Ladner · 2010 · CHI '10: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

  This paper presents the ASL-STEM Forum, the first online video-based collaboration tool designed to help expand American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. The paper addresses a significant educational barrier: ASL…

  American Sign Language · deaf education · STEM accessibility · online collaboration · video forums

• A Conversational Interface to Web Automation

  Tessa Lau, Julian Cerruti, Guillermo Manzato, Mateo Bengualid, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Jeffrey Nichols · 2010 · UIST '10: Proceedings of the 23rd Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology

  This paper presents CoCo (CoScripter Concierge), a system that automates web tasks on a user's behalf through short textual commands delivered via low-bandwidth channels such as Twitter, SMS, email, or a command line. Given a natural language command like "get road conditions…

  web automation · conversational interfaces · natural language · intelligent assistants · programming by demonstration

• FlashDOM: Interacting with Flash Content from the Document Object Model

  Kyle I. Murray · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper presents FlashDOM, a system that exposes Adobe Flash content to assistive technologies by translating Flash's internal structure and interactive elements into standard HTML Document Object Model (DOM) elements. The core problem addressed is that Flash Player's…

  screen readers · Adobe Flash · Document Object Model · web accessibility · assistive technology

• Introducing Multimodal Paper-Digital Interfaces for Speech-Language Therapy

  Anne Marie Piper, Nadir Weibel, James D. Hollan · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper explores how multimodal digital pen and paper technology can support speech-language therapy for adults with aphasia and apraxia of speech following stroke or brain injury. The researchers conducted five months of field observations with 15 speech-language therapists…

  aphasia · apraxia of speech · augmentative and alternative communication · speech-language therapy · older adults