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• An Integrative Accessibility Engineering Approach Using Multidimensional Classifications of Barriers in the Web

  Diana Ruth-Janneck · 2011 · Proceedings of the International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents multidimensional classifications of web accessibility barriers derived from the large-scale German study "Web2.0/Accessible," commissioned by Aktion Mensch, which surveyed 671 disabled internet users via an accessible online questionnaire (with audio files…

  accessibility barriers · accessibility evaluation · user research · web accessibility · software engineering

• Evaluation of Haptic HTML Mappings Derived from a Novel Methodology

  Ravi Kuber, Wai Yu, Sile O'Modhrain · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of haptic HTML mappings designed to help blind users navigate web pages using a Logitech Wingman force-feedback mouse. The research builds on a novel five-step participatory design methodology that actively involved blind users in…

  haptic feedback · force-feedback · blind users · web accessibility · assistive technology

• Data-Driven Synthesis of Spatially Inflected Verbs for American Sign Language Animation

  Pengfei Lu, Matt Huenerfauth · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper addresses a critical accessibility challenge: most deaf individuals in the US have limited English literacy (the majority of deaf high school graduates read at a fourth-grade level), making written web content inaccessible. While sign language animation offers a…

  sign language · ASL · animation · deaf accessibility · natural language processing

• Stroke Therapy through Motion-Based Games: A Case Study

  Gazihan Alankus, Rachel Proffitt, Caitlin Kelleher, Jack Engsberg · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This case study explores the long-term home use of motion-based video games for stroke rehabilitation—an area where prior research focused mainly on clinical settings or short-term evaluations. The participant was a 62-year-old woman with hemiparesis (partial paralysis on one…

  stroke rehabilitation · motor impairment · game-based therapy · motion sensing · hemiparesis

• Write-N-Speak: Authoring Multimodal Digital-Paper Materials for Speech-Language Therapy

  Anne Marie Piper, Nadir Weibel, James D. Hollan · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents Write-N-Speak, a digital pen toolkit that enables speech-language therapists to create custom multimodal therapy materials for clients with aphasia—a communication disorder often resulting from stroke that affects approximately 80,000 Americans annually. The…

  aphasia · speech-language therapy · AAC · digital pen · multimodal interaction

• Identifying Behavioral Strategies of Visually Impaired Users to Improve Access to Web Content

  Darren Lunn, Simon Harper, Sean Bechhofer · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper presents a methodology for identifying how visually impaired screen reader users develop coping strategies when encountering inaccessible web content, then uses those strategies to inform the design of transcoding solutions. The researchers conducted observational…

  screen readers · web accessibility · transcoding · coping strategies · user behavior

• Ability-Based Design: Concept, Principles and Examples

  Jacob O. Wobbrock, Shaun K. Kane, Krzysztof Z. Gajos, Susumu Harada, Jon Froehlich · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This foundational paper introduces ability-based design as a paradigm shift in accessible computing—moving focus from what users cannot do (disability) to what they can do (ability). The authors argue that traditional approaches like assistive technology place the burden of…

  ability-based design · universal design · inclusive design · adaptive interfaces · motor impairment

• Health Problem Solving by Older Persons Using a Complex Government Web Site: Analysis and Implications for Web Design

  Sara J. Czaja, Joseph Sharit, Chin Chin Lee, Sankaran N. Nair, Mark S. Hernández, Nelida Arana, Shih-Han Fu · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction

  This study examined how older adults (ages 50-85) navigate Medicare.gov to complete a realistic health-related task: finding quality ratings for home health care agencies. The researchers recruited 112 participants stratified by age decade (50s, 60s, 70s, 80s) and conducted…

  older adults · cognitive accessibility · health information seeking · web usability · government websites

• Spindex (Speech Index) Improves Auditory Menu Acceptance and Navigation Performance

  Myounghoon Jeon, Bruce N. Walker · 2011 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This paper introduces the "spindex" (speech index), a novel auditory cue designed to improve navigation through spoken menus on mobile devices. The spindex works by pronouncing the first letter of each menu item before the full text-to-speech (TTS) rendering—analogous to the…

  auditory interfaces · mobile accessibility · text-to-speech · screen readers · user interface design

• What the Disability Community Can Teach Us About Interactive Crowdsourcing

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Richard E. Ladner · 2011 · Interactions

  This short forum article argues that the disability community has been practicing interactive crowdsourcing long before the term became mainstream in computing, and that mainstream crowdsourcing systems have much to learn from these experiences. The authors trace how people with…

  crowdsourcing · assistive technology · disability community · visual question answering · sign language interpreting

• The Design of Human-Powered Access Technology

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Richard E. Ladner, Yevgen Borodin · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents a comprehensive framework of 13 design dimensions for evaluating and comparing human-powered access technology — systems that use human assistance, facilitated by technology, to overcome accessibility barriers that automation alone cannot solve. The authors…

  human computation · crowdsourcing · assistive technology · accessibility framework · design principles

• Multimodal Summarization of Complex Sentences

  Naushad UzZaman, Jeffrey P. Bigham, James F. Allen · 2011 · Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI 2011)

  This paper introduces the concept of multimodal summarization (MMS) for complex sentences — automatically generating diagrams that combine pictures, simplified compressed text, and structural layout to help people understand difficult text. The system, ROC-MMS, targets people…

  cognitive accessibility · reading accessibility · natural language processing · augmentative and alternative communication · text simplification

• Supporting Blind Photography

  Chandrika Jayant, Hanjie Ji, Samuel White, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2011 · ASSETS '11: The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper explores how blind and low-vision people use cameras and presents two applications designed to make photography more accessible. The research begins with a large-scale online survey of 118 blind and low-vision people that establishes the empirical foundation for the…

  blind users · low vision · photography · computer vision · mobile accessibility

• Exploring Iconographic Interface in Emergency for Deaf

  Tânia Pereira, Benjamim Fonseca, Hugo Paredes, Miriam Cabo · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This demonstration paper presents a mobile phone application that enables deaf people to communicate with emergency medical services using an iconographic touchscreen interface rather than voice calls. In Portugal at the time of publication, deaf people could only access…

  deaf · emergency services · iconographic interface · mobile accessibility · pictographic communication

• An Integrated System for Blind Day-to-Day Life Autonomy

  Hugo Fernandes, José Faria, Hugo Paredes, João Barroso · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This demonstration paper presents nav4b, an integrated system designed to support the day-to-day autonomy of blind people by combining indoor/outdoor navigation guidance with object recognition in a single platform. Unlike existing solutions that require users to carry multiple…

  blindness · navigation · RFID · object recognition · white cane

• ACES: Aphasia Emulation, Realism, and the Turing Test

  Joshua Hailpern, Marina Danilevsky, Karrie Karahalios · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper validates the realism of ACES (Aphasia Characteristics Emulation Software), a system that distorts a user's instant messages to simulate the communication effects of aphasia, allowing caregivers, therapists, and family members to experience first-hand what it is like…

  aphasia · empathy · disability simulation · language disorders · instant messaging

• Automatically Generating Tailored Accessible User Interfaces for Ubiquitous Services

  Julio Abascal, Amaia Aizpurua, Idoia Cearreta, Borja Gamecho, Nestor Garay-Vitoria, Raúl Miñón · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper presents EGOKI, a system that automatically generates tailored accessible user interfaces for ubiquitous services based on individual user capabilities. In ubiquitous computing environments, people access services like information kiosks, ticket machines, ATMs, and…

  adaptive interfaces · automatic interface generation · ubiquitous computing · ambient assisted living · user modeling

• Evaluating Quality and Comprehension of Real-Time Sign Language Video on Mobile Phones

  Jessica J. Tran, Joy Kim, Jaehong Chon, Eve A. Riskin, Richard E. Ladner, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper investigates the relationship between objective video quality metrics (PSNR — peak signal-to-noise ratio), subjective quality preferences, and actual comprehension of American Sign Language (ASL) video transmitted at very low bitrates on mobile phones. At the time of…

  deaf · American Sign Language · video compression · mobile accessibility · video quality

• Assessing the Deaf User Perspective on Sign Language Avatars

  Michael Kipp, Quan Nguyen, Alexis Heloir, Silke Matthes · 2011 · Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2011)

  This paper investigates Deaf community attitudes toward sign language avatars — virtual characters that perform sign language — through focus groups and a large-scale online study. Sign language avatars have the potential to make written content accessible to Deaf people whose…

  deaf · sign language avatar · German Sign Language · user acceptance · focus groups

• The Vlogging Phenomena: A Deaf Perspective

  Ellen S. Hibbard, Deb I. Fels · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper examines how Deaf people use video blogging (vlogging) technology to communicate in American Sign Language (ASL) on mainstream and specialized platforms. The researchers compared vlogging practices on YouTube, a mainstream video-sharing site, and Deafvideo.TV (DVTV),…

  deaf accessibility · sign language · video accessibility · social media · Deaf Culture

• StopFinder: Improving the Experience of Blind Public Transit Riders with Crowdsourcing

  Sanjana Prasain · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This doctoral consortium paper presents StopFinder, a mobile system that uses crowdsourcing to collect and provide information about non-visual landmarks around bus stops for blind public transit riders. The research addresses a fundamental challenge: while people who are blind…

  blindness and low vision · crowdsourcing · navigation · public transportation · mobile accessibility

• Providing Haptic Feedback Using the Kinect

  Brandon T. Shrewsbury · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This poster paper presents a system that combines the Microsoft Kinect depth camera with a custom haptic glove to provide spatial awareness to people who are blind or visually impaired. The research addresses a gap in existing mobility aids: while canes detect obstacles within a…

  haptic technology · sensory substitution · blindness and low vision · assistive technology · depth camera

• Analyzing Visual Questions from Visually Impaired Users

  Erin L. Brady · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This doctoral consortium paper presents an analysis of the types of visual questions that visually impaired users ask through VizWiz, a mobile phone application that provides near-realtime answers to visual questions. VizWiz allows users to take a photo with their phone, speak a…

  blindness and low vision · crowdsourcing · computer vision · mobile accessibility · visual question answering

• Reading in Multimodal Environments: Assessing Legibility and Accessibility of Typography for Television

  Penelope Allen, Judith Garman, Ian Calvert, Jane Murison · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper from BBC Research & Development explores the legibility and accessibility of typography on television, an area that had received surprisingly little research attention despite the increasing complexity of text-based content on TV. Modern television…

  typography · readability · multimedia accessibility · low vision · cognitive accessibility

• TypeInBraille: A Braille-Based Typing Application for Touchscreen Devices

  Sergio Mascetti, Cristian Bernareggi, Matteo Belotti · 2011 · The Proceedings of the 13th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper presents TypeInBraille, a novel text entry application for touchscreen smartphones that allows blind users to type using Braille code rather than the standard on-screen QWERTY keyboard. While screen readers like VoiceOver have made smartphones broadly…

  blindness and low vision · braille · text entry · touchscreen accessibility · mobile accessibility