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• A Task Assignment Strategy for Crowdsourcing-Based Web Accessibility Evaluation System

  Liangcheng Li, Can Wang, Shuyi Song, Zhi Yu, Fenqin Zhou, Jiajun Bu · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper addresses a practical challenge in scaling web accessibility evaluation: how to effectively assign manual evaluation tasks to volunteer crowdsource workers with varying levels of expertise. While automated tools can check many accessibility checkpoints, they cannot…

  web accessibility evaluation · crowdsourcing · machine learning · automated testing · conformance testing

• The Crowd Work Accessibility Problem

  Saiganesh Swaminathan, Kotaro Hara, Jeffrey P. Bigham · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper examines a largely overlooked accessibility problem: the inaccessibility of crowdsourcing tasks themselves. While crowd work platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) offer potential employment benefits for people with disabilities — flexible scheduling, remote…

  web accessibility evaluation · crowdsourcing · employment · disability employment · WCAG compliance

• Web Standards to Enable an Accessible and Inclusive Internet of Things (IoT)

  Shadi Abou-Zahra, Judy Brewer, Michael Cooper · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  Written by three W3C staff members, this paper argues that the Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to disproportionately benefit people with disabilities — but only if accessibility is built in from the start. The authors examine IoT across three scales: the micro…

  Internet of Things · web standards · smart environments · assistive technology · interoperability

• Extraction of Tabular Data from Document Images

  Manolis Vasileiadis, Nikolaos Kaklanis, Konstantinos Votis, Dimitrios Tzovaras · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This demonstration paper presents an open-source tool for automatically detecting and extracting tabular data from document images — both scanned and digitally created — and converting them into accessible HTML format. The work addresses a significant accessibility gap: tables…

  document accessibility · OCR · table recognition · visual impairment · document conversion

• GazeTheWeb: A Gaze-Controlled Web Browser

  Raphael Menges, Chandan Kumar, Daniel Müller, Korok Sengupta · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This demonstration paper presents GazeTheWeb, an open-source web browser designed to be operated entirely through eye gaze input, targeting people with severe motor impairments who cannot use conventional mouse and keyboard input. Built on the Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF),…

  eye tracking · gaze interaction · web browser · motor impairment · assistive technology

• Considerations for Implementing a Holistic Organisational Approach to Accessibility

  Chris Bailey, Voula Gkatzidou · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper proposes a human-centred model of accessibility that moves beyond treating accessibility as a purely technical standards-compliance exercise. The authors argue that accessibility, usability, and user experience are interdependent quality attributes that must all be at…

  organizational accessibility · accessibility maturity · accessibility policy · user experience · human-centred design

• A multi-method evaluation of university website accessibility: Foregrounding user-centred design, mining source code and using a quantitative metric

  Tahani Alahmadi · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract presents a multi-method model for evaluating the accessibility of university websites, with particular attention to the needs of students with sensory disabilities including deaf, visually impaired, and deafblind users. The research addresses a significant…

  web accessibility evaluation · higher education · user-centred design · web mining · assistive technologies

• Able to Read My Mail: An Accessible e-Mail Client with Assistive Technology

  Horacio Saggion, Daniel Ferrés, Leen Sevens, Ineke Schuurman, Marta Ripollés, Olga Rodríguez · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents Kolumba, an accessible web-based email client developed as part of the EU-funded Able to Include project, specifically designed for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). The tool addresses a critical gap in workplace digital inclusion:…

  intellectual disability · cognitive accessibility · text simplification · pictograph communication · workplace accessibility

• Teaching Accessibility to the Masses

  Greg Gay, Naza Djafarova, Leonora Zefi · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper documents the development and delivery of "Professional Web Accessibility Auditing Made Easy," a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) created by Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) and funded by the Government of Ontario. The course was designed…

  accessibility education · MOOC · web development · accessibility auditing · curriculum

• Scopist: Building a Skill Ladder into Crowd Transcription

  Jeffrey P. Bigham, Kristin Williams, Nila Banerjee, John Zimmerman · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper introduces Scopist, a JavaScript application designed to teach crowd workers stenotype — a chording-based text entry method used by professional real-time captioners — while they perform audio transcription microtasks. The research addresses a fundamental problem in…

  crowdsourcing · captioning · stenography · deaf accessibility · transcription

• Understanding Accessibility as a Process through the Analysis of Feedback from Disabled Students

  Tim Coughlan, Thomas Daniel Ullmann, Kate Lister · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper from The Open University UK analyzes over 6,000 open comment feedback responses from disabled students (out of 93,148 total responses) to argue that accessibility must be understood as an ongoing process rather than a state achieved through technical guideline…

  education accessibility · disability · organizational accessibility · distance learning · accessibility theory

• Evaluating the Accessibility of the Job Search and Interview Process for People who are Blind and Visually Impaired

  William Grussenmeyer, Jesel Garcia, Eelke Folmer, Fang Jiang · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This study investigates the accessibility barriers that people who are blind and visually impaired encounter throughout the job search and interview process in the United States, where the unemployment rate for this population stands at approximately 70%. The researchers…

  blindness · low vision · employment accessibility · job search · onboarding

• Employment in the Digital Age for People with Impairments

  Kevin Carey · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This position paper from Kevin Carey of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) offers a provocative critique of existing disability employment strategies in the context of digital transformation. Carey argues that while no technological revolution in history has…

  employment accessibility · disability employment · digital economy · automation · web accessibility

• LuzDeploy: A Collective Action System for Installing Navigation Infrastructure for Blind People

  Cole Gleason, Dragan Ahmetovic, Carlos Toxtli, Saiph Savage, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Chieko Asakawa · 2017 · Proceedings of the 14th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This demonstration paper presents LuzDeploy, a system designed to solve a practical bottleneck in deploying indoor navigation infrastructure for blind people: the difficulty of recruiting, training, and coordinating enough personnel to install Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons…

  blindness · indoor navigation · crowdsourcing · BLE beacons · assistive technology

• Enabling Collaboration in Learning Computer Programing Inclusive of Children with Vision Impairments

  Anja Thieme, Cecily Morrison, Nicolas Villar, Martin Grayson, Siân Lindley · 2017 · Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS)

  This paper from Microsoft Research explores how Torino, a physical programming language, enables collaborative learning of computer programming by children aged 7-12 with mixed visual abilities — from full blindness to full sight. Torino uses tangible "instruction beads" (play,…

  visual impairment · children · collaborative learning · tangible interface · computational thinking

• Sign'Maths: An Interactive Dictionary in French Sign Language

  Camille Nadal, Christophe Collet · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  Sign'Maths is an online interactive dictionary designed to give deaf students access to mathematical definitions in French Sign Language (LSF). The project emerges from a significant gap in deaf education: while France legally recognized Sign Language as a legitimate educational…

  deaf education · sign language · e-learning · mathematical accessibility · bilingual education

• Blocks4All Demonstration: a Blocks-Based Programming Environment for Blind Children

  Lauren R. Milne, Catherine M. Baker, Richard E. Ladner · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  Blocks4All is a tablet-based iOS application designed to make blocks-based programming accessible to blind and low-vision children. Blocks-based programming environments like Scratch and Blockly have become central to K-12 computer science education — of the 162 Hour of Code…

  programming education · blindness · children · touchscreen accessibility · screen readers

• Evaluating Wrist-Based Haptic Feedback for Non-Visual Target Finding and Path Tracing on a 2D Surface

  Jonggi Hong, Alisha Pradhan, Jon E. Froehlich, Leah Findlater · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates wrist-worn haptic wristbands as a means to provide directional hand guidance for blind and visually impaired users on a 2D surface. Precisely guiding a blind person's hand has applications ranging from tracing printed text to learning shapes and gestures,…

  haptic feedback · wearable technology · blindness · tactile accessibility · assistive technology

• Cyborg Pride: Self-Design in e-NABLE

  Peregrine Hawthorn, Daniel Ashbrook · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This experience report documents the journey of Peregrine Hawthorn, born without fingers on his left hand, from being a recipient of a 3D-printed e-NABLE prosthetic hand to becoming an active designer, fabricator, and advocate for self-efficacy within the e-NABLE community.…

  3D printing · DIY assistive technology · prosthetics · disability identity · self-determination

• Personal Perspectives on Using Automatic Speech Recognition to Facilitate Communication between Deaf Students and Hearing Customers

  James R. Mallory, Michael Stinson, Lisa Elliot, Donna Easton · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This experience report examines the use of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) via the WhatsApp smartphone app to facilitate communication between deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students and hearing business customers in real workplace settings. The study took place at the…

  automatic speech recognition · deaf and hard of hearing · workplace accessibility · deaf education · speech recognition

• Real-Time Depth-Camera Based Hand Tracking for ASL Recognition

  Brandon Taylor, Anind Dey, Daniel Siewiorek, Asim Smailagic · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper validates the use of a publicly available real-time hand tracking algorithm (Sphere-Mesh) for recognizing American Sign Language (ASL) handshapes using a depth camera. Sign Language Recognition (SLR) has long been a motivating goal for high-precision…

  sign language recognition · hand tracking · computer vision · depth camera · machine learning

• Sign Language Support System for Viewing Sports Programs

  Tsubasa Uchida, Taro Miyazaki, Makiko Azuma, Shuichi Umeda, Naoto Kato, Hideki Sumiyoshi, Yuko Yamanouchi, Nobuyuki Hiruma · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This demonstration paper from NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) presents a prototype system that provides Japanese Sign Language (JSL) support for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers watching sports broadcasts. The system was developed in response to strong demand from Japan's…

  sign language · signing avatar · Japanese Sign Language · deaf and hard of hearing · media accessibility

• Digital Strategies for Supporting Strengths- and Interests-based Learning with Children with Autism

  Cara Wilson, Margot Brereton, Bernd Ploderer, Laurianne Sitbon, Beth Saggers · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates how an open-ended audio-visual calendaring app called MeCalendar was appropriated by children with autism and their teachers in classroom settings, shifting the focus from deficit-remediation to strengths- and interests-based learning. Most technologies…

  autism · educational technology · children · strengths-based approach · self-determination

• Speed-Accuracy Tradeoffs for Detecting Sign Language Content in Video Sharing Sites

  Frank M. Shipman, Satyakiran Duggina, Caio D.D. Monteiro, Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper addresses the problem of automatically detecting sign language content in videos on sharing platforms like YouTube and Vimeo. For many deaf and hard-of-hearing people, sign language is their primary communication medium, and they rely on online video content to stay…

  sign language · computer vision · video classification · information retrieval · deaf and hard of hearing

• Epidemiology as a Framework for Large-Scale Mobile Application Accessibility Assessment

  Anne Spencer Ross, Xiaoyi Zhang, James Fogarty, Jacob O. Wobbrock · 2017 · Proceedings of the 19th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper introduces a novel conceptual framework for understanding mobile app accessibility by drawing an extended metaphor from epidemiology — the study of disease patterns, causes, and effects in populations. The core insight is that app accessibility is typically considered…

  mobile accessibility · accessibility testing · automated testing · Android · accessibility frameworks