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• TeleWeb: accessible service for web browsing via phone

  Yevgen Borodin, Glenn Dausch, I. V. Ramakrishnan · 2009 · Proceedings of the 2009 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibililty (W4A)

  This paper presents TeleWeb, a telephony service that enables web browsing via any standard telephone using speech and keypad input. Built on top of the HearSay non-visual web browser engine from Stony Brook University, TeleWeb allows users to call a phone number and then search…

  screen readers · voice interface · visual impairment · blindness · telephony

• The Effect of Voice Output on AAC-Supported Conversations of Persons with Alzheimer's Disease

  Melanie Fried-Oken, Charity Rowland, Glory Baker, Mayling Dixon, Carolyn Mills, Darlene Schultz, Barry Oken · 2009 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study investigated whether digitized voice output on AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) devices would improve conversations for people with moderate Alzheimer's disease. The researchers hypothesized that voice output might function like partner-assisted word…

  AAC · Alzheimer's disease · dementia · voice output · cognitive accessibility

• Being Old Doesn't Mean Acting Old: How Older Users Interact with Spoken Dialog Systems

  Maria Wolters, Kallirroi Georgila, Johanna D. Moore, Sarah E. MacPherson · 2009 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study challenges the common practice of designing voice interfaces based on assumed age-related characteristics. Using a bottom-up approach rather than top-down age comparisons, the researchers analyzed 447 appointment scheduling dialogs between 50 users (26 older, aged…

  aging · voice interface · spoken dialog systems · cognitive aging · user diversity

• Disability, Age, and Informational Privacy Attitudes in Quality of Life Technology Applications: Results from a National Web Survey

  Scott Beach, Richard Schulz, Julie Downs, Judith Matthews, Bruce Barron, Katherine Seelman · 2009 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This landmark study examines privacy attitudes toward assistive and health monitoring technologies among 1,518 U.S. adults, focusing on how disability and age influence willingness to share personal health information. Conducted under the NSF Quality of Life Technology…

  privacy · quality of life technology · smart home · aging · surveillance

• Exploring Methods to Improve Pen-Based Menu Selection for Younger and Older Adults

  Karyn Moffatt, Joanna McGrenere · 2009 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This study investigates why users struggle with pen-based menu selection on tablet PCs, particularly older adults, and tests two approaches for reducing errors. Building on a baseline study that identified three error types (slipping, drifting, and "missing just below"), the…

  pen input · tablet PC · older adults · target acquisition · motor impairments

• Defining Virtualization Based System Abstractions for an Indoor Assistive Living for Elderly Care

  Nova Ahmed · 2009 · Proceedings of the 11th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '09)

  This short paper proposes a two-layer system architecture for monitoring and guiding elderly residents in an indoor assistive living centre using passive RFID technology. The system addresses the tension between providing adequate monitoring for safety and preserving residents'…

  aging · ambient assisted living · RFID · indoor positioning · privacy

• Towards Bridging the Accessibility Needs of People with Disabilities and the Ageing Community

  Shadi Abou-Zahra, Judy Brewer, Andrew Arch · 2008 · Proceedings of the 2008 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This keynote paper introduces the WAI-AGE (Web Accessibility Initiative: Ageing Education and Harmonisation) project, a 36-month W3C/WAI initiative funded by the European Commission under its 6th Framework Programme. The project aimed to bridge the gap between the disability and…

  web accessibility · aging · accessibility policy · WCAG · standards harmonization

• Accessible Computing -- Past Trends and Future Suggestions: Commentary on "Computers and People with Disabilities"

  Alan F. Newell · 2008 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)

  This influential commentary by Alan Newell reflects on 15 years of progress since Glinert and York's seminal 1992 paper on computers and disability. While acknowledging advances—specialized journals, accessibility features in mainstream software, AAC devices with prediction, and…

  inclusive design · older adults · cognitive accessibility · design methodology · user-centered design

• Lessons from an evaluation of a domestic well-being indicator system

  Nubia M. Gil · 2008 · Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This short paper presents an evaluation of a domestic well-being indicator system designed to present sensor-collected data from older people's homes through two distinct user interfaces — one for the older person and one for their carer. The system tracks well-being indicators…

  aging · telecare · well-being monitoring · older adults · caregiving

• Hover or Tap? Supporting Pen-based Menu Navigation for Older Adults

  Karyn Moffatt, Sandra Yuen, Joanna McGrenere · 2008 · Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This paper investigates "drifting" — an error specific to pen-based (Tablet PC) interaction where users accidentally hover over an adjacent menu head, causing their intended menu to close and the wrong one to open. This occurs because inductive pen technology tracks the pen…

  aging · input methods · touchscreen accessibility · inclusive design · user interface design

• How Older and Younger Adults Differ in Their Approach to Problem Solving on a Complex Website

  Peter G. Fairweather · 2008 · Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This IBM Research paper challenges the prevailing assumption that older adults use the web in the same way as younger adults, just more slowly and less accurately. The study examined how 28 participants aged 18-73 navigated a complex newspaper website to solve a realistic…

  aging · web navigation · cognitive accessibility · usability · older adults

• Technology Devices for Older Adults to Aid Self Management of Chronic Health Conditions

  Amritpal Singh Bhachu, Nicolas Hine, John Arnott · 2008 · Proceedings of the 10th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '08)

  This University of Dundee study investigates older adults' opinions and attitudes toward technology devices that could be used as part of a telecare system for self-managing chronic health conditions. The research was conducted through technology evaluation workshops with a…

  aging · telecare · self-management · health technology · older adults

• Online Support Communities for Older People: Investigating Network Patterns and Characteristics of Social Support

  Ulrike Pfeil · 2007 · SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing

  This paper describes a PhD research programme investigating how older people exchange social support in online communities, using SeniorNet's depression discussion board as the primary study site. The author argues that while much accessibility work has focused on making web…

  aging · social accessibility · online community · social support · social network analysis

• Increasing the Accessibility of Pen-Based Technology: An Investigation of Age-Related Target Acquisition Difficulties

  Karyn Moffatt · 2007 · SIGACCESS Accessibility and Computing

  This paper describes dissertation research on improving the accessibility of pen-based devices (PDAs, Tablet PCs) for older adults by identifying and addressing the root causes of target acquisition difficulty. The author argues that previous research on target acquisition…

  aging · motor accessibility · input device · interaction design · target acquisition

• A Preliminary Usability Evaluation of Strategies for Seeking Online Information with Elderly People

  Sergio Sayago, Josep Blat · 2007 · Proceedings of the 2007 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This short paper from Pompeu Fabra University Barcelona presents an experimental study comparing how seven elderly participants (ages 65-74) performed using three strategies for finding complex information online: Google basic search, Google advanced search, and the Yahoo!…

  aging · usability · information seeking · search engines · mouse difficulties

• Older Women and Digital TV: A Case Study

  Sri Kurniawan · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This paper from the University of Manchester investigates why digital television (DTV) services are unappealing to older women in the UK, using a Delphi interview technique with a panel of three expert DTV older women users (aged 69, 70, and 75) who were students at the College…

  aging · digital television · technology adoption · digital divide · older adults

• Providing Good Memory Cues for People with Episodic Memory Impairment

  Matthew L. Lee, Anind K. Dey · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This paper from the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University presents two studies investigating how caregivers use cues to support episodic memory recollection in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and what types of cues are most effective.…

  dementia · Alzheimer's disease · episodic memory · lifelogging · memory cue

• Using participatory activities with seniors to critique, build, and evaluate mobile phones

  Michael Massimi, Ronald M. Baecker, Michael Wu · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This Assets '07 paper from University of Toronto engages older adults not as subjects of a usability study but as co-designers of a mobile phone system. Massimi, Baecker, and Wu argue that the two dominant trends in 'senior-friendly' phone design — oversimplified handsets like…

  mobile accessibility · older adults · aging · participatory design · co-design

• Data visualisation and data mining technology for supporting care for older people

  Nubia M. Gil, Nicolas A. Hine, John L. Arnott, Julienne Hanson, Richard G. Curry, Telmo Amaral, Dorota Osipovič · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '07)

  This Assets '07 paper from a UK consortium (Dundee, UCL, Imperial College) reports on a telecare pilot study that instrumented the flats of older residents with a modest set of unobtrusive sensors — passive infrared motion detectors, pressure sensors, door contacts,…

  aging · older adults · independent living · telecare · ambient sensing

• Slipping and drifting: using older users to uncover pen-based target acquisition difficulties

  Karyn A. Moffatt, Joanna McGrenere · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '07)

  Moffatt and McGrenere present an empirical study at the University of British Columbia investigating the underlying causes of pen-based target acquisition difficulty on a Tablet PC, with explicit attention to how age affects targeting ability. Thirty-six right-handed…

  target acquisition · pen-based interaction · stylus · tablet PC · older adults

• A Rollator-Mounted Wayfinding System for the Elderly: A Smart World Perspective

  Aliasgar Kutiyanawala, Vladimir Kulyukin, Edmund LoPresti · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents the iWalker, a rollator-mounted wayfinding system designed to help elderly individuals with cognitive and visual impairments navigate indoor environments independently. The system adopts a "smart world" perspective, where intelligence is distributed between…

  wayfinding · aging · assistive technology · robotics · cognitive impairment

• The Impact of User Research on Product Design Case Study: Accessibility Ecosystem for Windows Vista

  Annuska Perkins, Tira Cohene · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper describes how user research conducted by Microsoft's Windows Accessible Technology Group shaped the accessibility features in Windows Vista. The research encompassed a wide range of users across major disability types (vision, dexterity, hearing, speech, cognitive),…

  accessibility · user research · operating system · universal design · usability

• Networked Reminiscence Therapy for Individuals with Dementia by Using Photo and Video Sharing

  Noriaki Kuwahara, Shinji Abe, Kiyoshi Yasuda, Kazuhiro Kuwabara · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents a networked reminiscence therapy system that enables remote delivery of therapy to people with dementia using IP videophones combined with web-based photo and video sharing. Reminiscence therapy — where a therapist uses photos, objects, and conversation about…

  dementia · reminiscence therapy · telehealth · video conferencing · aging

• Effect of Age and Parkinson's Disease on Cursor Positioning Using a Mouse

  Simeon Keates, Shari Trewin · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents a detailed empirical study examining how age and Parkinson's disease affect the ability to perform point-and-click tasks with a computer mouse. The researchers recruited 24 participants across four groups: young adults (ages 20-30), adults (ages 35-65), older…

  motor accessibility · aging · Parkinson's disease · cursor control · mouse interaction

• Requirements Gathering with Alzheimer's Patients and Caregivers

  Kirstie Hawkey, Kori M. Inkpen, Kenneth Rockwood, Michael McAllister, Jacob Slonim · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper presents a requirements gathering study for an information appliance designed to alleviate repetitive questioning behaviour in people with Alzheimer's disease (AD), a leading cause of caregiver stress. The interdisciplinary team from Dalhousie University's Computer…

  Alzheimer's disease · dementia · cognitive accessibility · assistive technology · user-centered design