Reviews

Search results

• Task Mode: Dynamic Filtering for Task-Specific Web Navigation using LLMs

  Ananya Gubbi Mohanbabu, Yotam Sechayk, Amy Pavel · 2025 · ASSETS 2025: 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility

  This paper presents Task Mode, a Chrome browser extension that dynamically filters web content based on user-specified goals using large language models (specifically GPT-4o) to identify and prioritize task-relevant elements while suppressing distractions. The system addresses a…

  web navigation · screen reader · large language model · content filtering · task-based browsing

• Machine Learning for Accessible Web Navigation

  Tlamelo Makati · 2022 · Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This extended abstract explores how machine learning techniques, particularly reinforcement learning, can be adapted to improve web navigation accessibility in alignment with WCAG Guideline 2.4 (Navigable). The author observes that ML techniques have already been applied to…

  machine learning · web accessibility · reinforcement learning · web navigation · query optimization

• Designing an Adaptive Web Navigation Interface for Users with Variable Pointing Performance

  Aqueasha Martin-Hammond, Foad Hamidi, Tejas Bhalerao, Christian Ortega, Abdullah Ali, Catherine Hornback, Casey Means, Amy Hurst · 2018 · Proceedings of the 15th International Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper investigates how to design adaptive web navigation interfaces for people who experience variable pointing ability — difficulty using a mouse to click targets on screen that fluctuates over time due to conditions like early-stage Parkinson's disease, age-related…

  adaptive user interface · motor impairment · pointing · assistive technology · web navigation

• Investigating Information Search by People with Cognitive Disabilities

  Ruimin Hu, Jinjuan Heidi Feng · 2015 · ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing

  This empirical study investigated how people with cognitive disabilities navigate websites with different content structures and use search engines to find information. Twenty-three participants with various cognitive disabilities (primarily Down syndrome, but also cerebral…

  cognitive disabilities · information search · web navigation · website structure · search engines

• Exploratory study of web navigation strategies for users with physical disabilities

  J. Eduardo Pérez, Myriam Arrue, Xabier Valencia, Lourdes Moreno · 2014 · Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This exploratory study examined the web navigation strategies of 11 users with upper-body physical impairments, revealing substantial heterogeneity in how people with similar disability types interact with websites. Participants used a wide range of assistive input devices…

  motor accessibility · physical disability · assistive technology · web navigation · input devices

• Wizard-of-Oz evaluation of speech-driven web browsing interface for people with vision impairments

  Vikas Ashok, Yevgen Borodin, Svetlana Stoyanchev, Yuri Puzis, I. V. Ramakrishnan · 2014 · Proceedings of the 11th Web for All Conference (W4A)

  This paper presents a Wizard-of-Oz study with 24 blind participants to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of speech-driven web browsing as an alternative to traditional keyboard-based screen reader interaction. The study was motivated by three key shortcomings of current…

  blindness · screen readers · speech interface · voice interface · web navigation

• From Screen Reading to Aural Glancing: Towards Instant Access to Key Page Sections

  Prathik Gadde, Davide Bolchini · 2014 · Proceedings of the 16th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility (ASSETS 2014)

  This paper addresses a fundamental problem in screen reader navigation: while sighted users can glance at a web page to instantly understand its structure and locate relevant sections, screen reader users are forced to listen to content serially, making navigation of complex…

  screen readers · web navigation · blindness · visual impairment · e-commerce accessibility

• Using simultaneous audio sources to speed-up blind people's web scanning

  João Guerreiro · 2013 · Proceedings of the 10th International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This doctoral consortium paper proposes using multiple simultaneous audio sources to help blind users scan web content faster. The core problem is that screen readers present information sequentially — one item at a time — while sighted users can visually scan an entire page at…

  blindness · screen readers · spatial audio · web navigation · auditory perception

• Bypassing Lists: Accelerating Screen-Reader Fact-Finding with Guided Tours

  Tao Yang, Prathik Gadde, Robert Morse, Davide Bolchini · 2013 · Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS)

  This paper investigates whether guided tours — a navigation pattern that linearly links content pages with next/previous controls — can help screen-reader users perform fact-finding tasks more efficiently than traditional index-based navigation, particularly when the index lacks…

  screen reader · web navigation · blindness · visual impairment · information scent

• Understanding the Role of Age and Fluid Intelligence in Information Search

  Shari Trewin, John T. Richards, Vicki L. Hanson, David Sloan, Bonnie E. John, Cal Swart, John C. Thomas · 2012 · Proceedings of the 14th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2012)

  This study investigates whether age or fluid intelligence is the more important factor driving differences in how people search for information in hierarchical web interfaces. The researchers recruited three groups: 14 younger adults with high fluid intelligence (YH, mean age…

  cognitive accessibility · aging · fluid intelligence · eye tracking · information search

• More than Meets the Eye: A Survey of Screen-Reader Browsing Strategies

  Yevgen Borodin, Jeffrey P. Bigham, Glenn Dausch, I. V. Ramakrishnan · 2010 · Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This comprehensive survey catalogues the browsing strategies that experienced screen reader users develop to overcome the accessibility and usability barriers they encounter on the web. Drawing from multiple user studies, the authors document how blind users are far from passive…

  screen readers · blindness · browsing strategies · web navigation · usability

• 3D HapticWebBrowser: towards universal web navigation for the visually impaired

  Nikolaos Kaklanis, Konstantinos Votis, Konstantinos Moustakas, Dimitrios Tzovaras · 2010 · Proceedings of the 2010 International Cross Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper presents the 3D HapticWebBrowser, a free open-source web browser that uses haptic (touch feedback) technology to enable visually impaired users to navigate web pages and explore 2D maps. The system transforms HTML elements into "hapgets" — haptically-enhanced 3D…

  haptic technology · visual impairment · blindness · multimodal interaction · accessible maps

• 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

• Sasayaki: An Augmented Voice-Based Web Browsing Experience

  Shaojian Zhu, Daisuke Sato, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa · 2010 · Proceedings of the 12th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2010)

  This paper introduces Sasayaki (meaning "whisper" in Japanese), an intelligent voice-based agent designed to augment voice browser navigation for users with visual impairments. The authors, from IBM Research Tokyo and UMBC, identify two key problems with voice-based web…

  web accessibility · screen reader · voice browser · visual impairment · contextual support

• Evaluation of techniques defined in WCAG 2.0 with older people

  Sergio Sayago, Laura Camacho, Josep Blat · 2009 · Proceedings of the 2009 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibililty (W4A)

  This paper evaluates two specific WCAG 2.0 techniques — keyboard-based navigation (Guideline 2.1) and design of link purpose (Guideline 2.4) — with older people aged 65 to 80 in two real-world design projects for old-age pensioner associations in Barcelona, Spain. The study…

  aging · WCAG compliance · keyboard accessibility · link design · user testing

• 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

• 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

• How People Use Presentation to Search for a Link: Expanding the Understanding of Accessibility on the Web

  Caroline Jay, Robert Stevens, Mashhuda Glencross, Alan Chalmers · 2006 · Proceedings of the 2006 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper uses eye-tracking to investigate a fundamental question about web accessibility: what exactly does visual presentation provide to sighted users that is lost when content is accessed nonvisually (via screen readers) or on small screens? The authors argue that…

  eye tracking · visual presentation · screen readers · nonvisual access · web navigation

• Improving Non-Visual Web Access Using Context

  Jalal Mahmud, Yevgen Borodin, Dipanjan Das, I.V. Ramakrishnan · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents CSurf, a context-directed non-visual web browsing system that significantly reduces browsing time for blind users by intelligently rearranging page content based on navigational context. The core insight is that when a sighted user clicks a link, they can…

  screen readers · non-visual access · web navigation · context analysis · web page segmentation

• AcceSS: accessibility through simplification & summarization

  Bambang Parmanto, Reza Ferrydiansyah, Andi Saptono, Lijing Song, I Wayan Sugiantara, Stephanie Hackett · 2005 · Proceedings of the 2005 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from the University of Pittsburgh presents AcceSS, a transcoding system that makes web pages more accessible to visually impaired users through two complementary strategies: simplification and summarization. The authors identify a fundamental asymmetry in web…

  screen readers · visual impairment · web transcoding · content simplification · web navigation

• Designing Search Engine User Interfaces for the Visually Impaired

  Barbara Leporini, Patrizia Andronico, Marina Buzzi · 2004 · Proceedings of the 2004 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper examines the fundamental differences between visual and aural perception of search engine interfaces and proposes specific design guidelines to improve usability for blind and visually impaired users interacting via screen readers. The authors from the Italian…

  visual impairment · screen readers · search engines · user interface design · web navigation

• Middleware to Expand Context and Preview in Hypertext

  Simon Harper, Carole Goble, Robert Stevens, Yeliz Yesilada · 2004 · Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents a middleware tool that automatically annotates web pages with expanded context and preview information for hypertext links, addressing a core navigation problem for visually impaired web users. The authors draw an analogy between physical mobility and web…

  web accessibility · visual impairment · web navigation · web transcoding · link context

• Semantic Bookmarking for Non-Visual Web Access

  Saikat Mukherjee, I. V. Ramakrishnan, Michael Kifer · 2004 · Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper introduces semantic bookmarking, a technique for non-visual web access that allows blind users to bookmark meaningful content segments on web pages using domain ontologies rather than structural HTML positions. The research is built on HearSay, a speech-driven…

  web accessibility · visual impairment · screen reader · semantic web · web navigation

• Rendering Tables in Audio: The Interaction of Structure and Reading Styles

  Yeliz Yesilada, Robert Stevens, Carole Goble, Shazad Hussein · 2004 · Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of why HTML tables are problematic for screen reader users and proposes two complementary approaches for non-visual table access. The authors from the University of Manchester first characterize what makes tables useful in print —…

  table accessibility · visual impairment · screen reader · web accessibility · table linearization

• Audio Enriched Links: Web Page Previews for Blind Users

  Peter Parente · 2004 · Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents Audio Enriched Links (AEL), a JAWS screen reader extension for Internet Explorer that provides spoken previews of linked web pages before blind users follow a hyperlink. The system addresses a fundamental asymmetry in web browsing: sighted users can quickly…

  web accessibility · visual impairment · screen reader · web navigation · link preview