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• Developing usable CAPTCHAs for blind users

  Jonathan Holman, Jonathan Lazar, Jinjuan Heidi Feng, John D'Arcy · 2007 · Proceedings of the 9th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS '07)

  This short ASSETS 2007 poster from a Towson University team led by Jonathan Lazar — joined by Jonathan Holman, Jinjuan Heidi Feng, and John D'Arcy of Notre Dame — addresses the long-standing accessibility problem that text-based CAPTCHAs (the distorted-letter image puzzles used…

  CAPTCHA · audio CAPTCHA · blindness and low vision · screen readers · web accessibility

• Web accessibility: is it just a "merry-go-round"?

  Donna Smillie · 2006 · Proceedings of the 2006 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This position paper by Donna Smillie of the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) examines the relationship between traditional web accessibility for people with disabilities and the emerging field of mobile web accessibility. Writing at a time when mobile web usage…

  mobile accessibility · web accessibility · universal design · usability · cross-device compatibility

• Measuring Website Usability for Visually Impaired People - A Modified GOMS Analysis

  Henrik Tonn-Eichstädt · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper adapts the GOMS (Goals, Operators, Methods, Selection rules) model — a well-established HCI method for estimating task execution times — to measure website usability specifically for blind screen reader users. The author argues that accessibility is fundamentally a…

  screen readers · usability · web accessibility · GOMS · braille

• Are "Universal Design Resources" Designed for Designers?

  Young Sang Choi, Ji Soo Yi, Chris M. Law, Julie A. Jacko · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from Georgia Institute of Technology and UMBC investigates why universal design (UD) adoption in information and communication technology (ICT) remains slow, hypothesizing that the design resources meant to help designers create universally designed products are…

  universal design · design resources · heuristic evaluation · usability · ICT accessibility

• Evaluating a Pen-based Computer Interface for Novice Older Users

  Dante Arias Torres · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This short paper from the University of Oaxaca in Mexico proposes and evaluates a simplified pen-based gesture interface designed for novice older computer users who struggle with the traditional WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, and Pointers) paradigm. The author argues that…

  older adults · pen input · gesture input · alternative input · usability

• A Three-Countries Case Study of Older People's Browsing

  Prush Sa-nga-ngam, Sri Kurniawan · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This short paper from the University of Manchester presents survey data on web browsing activities from 63 respondents aged 55 and over across three countries: 10 from Thailand, 40 from the UK, and 13 from the USA. The questionnaire, distributed during March-April 2006, explored…

  older adults · web browsing · age-friendly design · cross-cultural · digital divide

• Determining the Impact of Computer Frustration on the Mood of Blind Users Browsing the Web

  Jonathan Lazar, Jinjuan Feng, Aaron Allen · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from Towson University's Universal Usability Laboratory examines how computer frustration affects the mood of 100 blind web users — the first study to investigate the emotional impact of frustrating computing experiences specifically for users with visual impairments.…

  screen readers · visual impairment · user frustration · web accessibility · affective computing

• A Prototype of Google Interfaces Modified for Simplifying Interaction for Blind Users

  Patrizia Andronico, Marina Buzzi, Carlos Castillo, Barbara Leporini · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This demo paper from Italy's National Research Council and Università di Roma presents a prototype that restructures Google's search and results pages to be more usable for blind screen reader users. Previous research had shown that blind users took 2.5 times longer than sighted…

  search engine accessibility · blind users · screen readers · JAWS · usability

• Usability and Accessibility Issues in the Localization of Assistive Technology

  Ira Jhangiani · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This doctoral consortium paper from Virginia Polytechnic Institute examines the usability and accessibility challenges that arise when assistive technology software designed in one country is localized for users with disabilities in another. The research evaluates a portable…

  assistive technology · localization · internationalization · usability · low vision

• 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

• Online Focus Groups Used as an Accessible Participatory Research Method

  Ted L. Wattenberg · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper proposes the use of online focus groups as a method for meaningfully including people with disabilities in participatory research, addressing persistent barriers to their involvement in technology studies. The author situates this work within a troubling context:…

  participatory research · accessibility · research methods · screen readers · disability inclusion

• Research-Derived Web Design Guidelines for Older People

  Sri Kurniawan, Panayiotis Zaphiris · 2005 · Proceedings of the 7th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '05)

  This paper develops and validates a set of research-derived, ageing-centred web design guidelines through a rigorous multi-stage process. The authors began with an extensive literature review of HCI and ageing research, producing an initial set of 52 guidelines backed by…

  older adults · web design guidelines · aging · usability · accessibility evaluation

• 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

• The User Experience: Designs and Adaptations

  Vicki L. Hanson · 2004 · Proceedings of the 2004 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This keynote-style paper from IBM's Watson Research Center by Vicki Hanson argues that web accessibility standards and guidelines, while necessary, do not guarantee a usable or satisfying experience for people with disabilities. The paper distinguishes between accessibility…

  low vision · aging · cognitive accessibility · user experience · personalization

• Tension, what tension?: Website accessibility and visual design

  Helen Petrie, Fraser Hamilton, Neil King · 2004 · Proceedings of the 2004 International Cross-Disciplinary Workshop on Web Accessibility (W4A)

  This paper from City University London directly challenges the widespread belief among web designers that accessible websites must be visually plain and boring. The researchers conducted a large-scale evaluation of 100 websites, starting with automated WAI guideline testing of…

  visual design · user testing · web accessibility · usability · disability

• Memory Enhancement through Audio

  Jaime Sánchez, Héctor Flores · 2004 · Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets 04)

  This paper presents AudioMemory, a virtual environment based on audio designed to develop and enhance short-term memory in blind children, along with AudioMath, an extension that applies the same model to mathematics learning. Developed at the University of Chile, the software…

  blindness and low vision · children · audio · cognitive development · education

• Accessibility Designer: Visualizing Usability for the Blind

  Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa, Kentarou Fukuda, Junji Maeda · 2003 · Proceedings of the 6th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '04)

  This paper from IBM's Tokyo Research Laboratory presents Accessibility Designer (aDesigner), a tool that goes beyond conventional accessibility checkers by visualising the usability of web pages for blind screen reader users rather than merely checking HTML compliance. The…

  web accessibility · accessibility testing · screen reader · blindness and low vision · accessibility tools

• Designing for Dynamic Diversity: Interfaces for Older People

  Peter Gregor, Alan F. Newell, Mary Zajicek · 2002 · Proceedings of the Fifth International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '02)

  This paper argues that mainstream interface design fails older people by assuming a static, "typical" user who is young, fit, and male. The authors identify three broad groups of older computer users: fit older people who do not consider themselves disabled; frail older people…

  aging · inclusive design · user-centered design · universal design · older adults

• Programming for Usability in Nonvisual User Interfaces

  Gerhard Weber · 1998 · Proceedings of the Third International ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '98)

  This short paper from Harz University addresses a fundamental problem in accessible software development: sighted developers working in visual programming environments must create interfaces that are usable nonvisually, but standard software engineering methods provide no tools…

  accessibility API · screen readers · software engineering · nonvisual interface · usability

• Improving the Usability of Speech-Based Interfaces for Blind Users

  Ian J. Pitt, Alistair D. N. Edwards · 1996 · Proceedings of the Second Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '96)

  This paper from the University of York examines the usability problems inherent in speech-based interfaces for blind computer users and presents a study comparing how blind and sighted subjects process information delivered through synthetic speech. The authors identify six key…

  blindness and low vision · screen reader · speech synthesis · usability · speech dialogue design

• Validation of a keystroke-level model for a text entry system used by people with disabilities

  Heidi H. Koester, Simon P. Levine · 1994 · Proceedings of the First Annual ACM Conference on Assistive Technologies (Assets '94)

  This paper develops and validates a keystroke-level model (KLM) to predict how much word prediction software improves text generation rates compared to letter-by-letter typing for users with and without disabilities. The keystroke-level model, originally proposed by Card, Moran,…

  text entry · word prediction · keystroke-level model · spinal cord injury · usability