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• Facetop Tablet: Note-Taking Assistance for Deaf Persons

  Dorian Miller, James Culp, David Stotts · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents Facetop Tablet, a system designed to assist deaf and hard of hearing people in taking notes during meetings, lectures, and group activities. The core problem is that deaf users who rely on sign language interpreters face a constant visual context-switching…

  deaf · hard of hearing · sign language · note-taking · meeting accommodation

• Indirect Text Entry Using One or Two Keys

  Melanie Baljko, Andrew Tam · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper introduces a new descriptive model for indirect text entry — text composition methods where the number of input devices (switches) is significantly smaller than the number of selectable characters. This is the primary text entry paradigm for users of augmentative and…

  AAC · switch access · text entry · scanning · Huffman coding

• Wireless Headset Communications for Vision Impaired Persons in Multi-User Environments

  Iain Murray, Andrew Pasquale · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper addresses a practical workplace accessibility problem: vision impaired persons (VIPs) who work in call centres rely on screen reading software that outputs speech through headsets, but in multi-user environments with many wireless headsets, radio-based wireless…

  visual impairment · wireless headset · screen reader · call centre · workplace accessibility

• Understanding Emotion through Multimedia: Comparison between Hearing-Impaired People and People with Hearing Abilities

  Rumi Hiraga, Nobuko Kato · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper investigates how hearing-impaired and normal-hearing people recognise emotions conveyed through drum performances and accompanying visual stimuli. The research is part of a larger project to build a "performance enhancement machine" (PEM) — a system that would enable…

  hearing impairment · music accessibility · emotion recognition · multimodal · music visualisation

• American Sign Language Recognition in Game Development for Deaf Children

  Helene Brashear, Valerie Henderson, Kwang-Hyun Park, Harley Hamilton, Seungyon Lee, Thad Starner · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper presents CopyCat, an educational computer game that uses gesture recognition technology to help young deaf children (ages 6-11) practice American Sign Language (ASL) skills. The project addresses a critical language development challenge: 90% of deaf children are born…

  deaf education · sign language recognition · ASL · gesture recognition · computer vision

• "Beyond Perceivability": Critical Requirements for Universal Design of Information

  Takashi Kato, Masahiro Hori · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper argues that accessibility discussions focus too narrowly on perceivability — making information visually, audibly, or tactilely available — while neglecting the equally critical requirement of cognitive understandability. The authors contend that information should…

  cognitive accessibility · cognitive usability · universal design · cognitive walkthrough · evaluation methods

• Improvements in Vision-based Pointer Control

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

  This paper presents the HeadTracking Pointer (HTP), a vision-based head tracking system developed at IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center that uses a standard webcam to allow people with motor disabilities to control a computer pointer through head movements. The system addresses…

  head tracking · pointer control · computer vision · assistive technology · motor disabilities

• Transforming Flash to XML for Accessibility Evaluations

  Shin Saito, Hironobu Takagi, Chieko Asakawa · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from IBM Tokyo Research Laboratory proposes a method for transforming Flash content into XML structures to enable automated accessibility evaluation. At the time of publication, Flash was installed on over 95% of personal computers and was a major source of…

  Flash accessibility · automated testing · accessibility evaluation · rich internet applications · screen readers

• A General HCI Framework of Sonification Applications

  Ag Asri Ag Ibrahim, Andy Hunt · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper proposes a general HCI framework for understanding and evaluating sonification applications — software that uses non-speech sound to represent data or information. The authors define sonification as having three main elements: Goal (for understanding), Method (how to…

  sonification · auditory display · HCI framework · usability inspection · parameter mapping

• 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

• A Multi-domain Approach for Enhancing Text Display for Users with Visual Aberrations

  Miguel Alonso, Armando Barreto, Julie A. Jacko, Malek Adjouadi · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from Florida International University and Georgia Institute of Technology presents an algorithm for enhancing text displayed on computer screens for users with high-order visual aberrations such as keratoconus — conditions that cannot be fully corrected with standard…

  low vision · visual aberrations · image processing · pre-compensation · refractive errors

• 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

• Loudmouth: Modifying Text-to-Speech Synthesis in Noise

  Rupal Patel, Michael Everett, Eldar Sadikov · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This short paper from Northeastern University presents Loudmouth, a modified text-to-speech synthesizer that emulates the Lombard effect — the natural way humans adjust their speech in noisy environments — to improve synthesized speech intelligibility in noise. Standard TTS…

  text-to-speech · speech synthesis · AAC · Lombard effect · speech intelligibility

• 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

• Interactive Tracking of Movable Objects for the Blind on the Basis of Environment Models and Perception-Oriented Object Recognition Methods

  Andreas Hub, Tim Hartter, Thomas Ertl · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from the University of Stuttgart presents advances to an indoor navigation and object identification system for blind and deafblind users. The system combines a stereo camera and 3D inertial sensor mounted on a bicycle helmet with detailed 3D environment models of…

  indoor navigation · object recognition · blind users · computer vision · assistive technology

• Developing Steady Clicks: A Method of Cursor Assistance for People with Motor Impairments

  Shari Trewin, Simeon Keates, Karyn Moffatt · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from IBM Research and the University of British Columbia presents Steady Clicks, a cursor assistance feature designed to reduce clicking errors for mouse users with motor impairments. The system addresses three specific error types identified in prior empirical…

  motor impairment · cursor assistance · mouse input · clicking errors · target acquisition

• Task Analysis for Sonification Applications Usability Evaluation

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

  This poster paper from University Malaysia Sabah and the University of York proposes a task analysis framework for evaluating the usability of sonification applications — software that transforms data into sound representations. The author argues that while usability evaluation…

  sonification · task analysis · usability inspection · auditory display · accessibility evaluation

• Indoor Wayfinding: Developing a Functional Interface for Individuals with Cognitive Impairments

  Alan L. Liu, Harlan Hile, Henry Kautz, Gaetano Borriello, Pat A. Brown, Mark Harniss, Kurt Johnson · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This paper from the University of Washington describes the design and user evaluation of an indoor wayfinding system for individuals with cognitive impairments, including traumatic brain injury, Down syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder, and cerebral palsy. Rather than…

  cognitive impairment · wayfinding · indoor navigation · wizard of oz · multimodal interface

• VoxBoox: A System for Automatic Generation of Interactive Talking Books

  Aanchal Jain, Gopal Gupta · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This poster paper from the University of Texas at Dallas presents VoxBoox, a system that automatically converts HTML-coded digital books into interactive talking books accessible via telephone. The system works by translating HTML pages into VoiceXML — the W3C standard markup…

  talking books · VoiceXML · aural navigation · visual impairment · blind users

• 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

• WISE: A Wizard Interface Supporting Enhanced Usability

  Joshua M. Hailpern · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This poster paper from Carnegie Mellon University presents WISE (Wizard Interface Supporting Enhanced usability), an alternative operating system and application UI specifically designed to address the cognitive deficits of older adults (60+) rather than just physical…

  older adults · cognitive accessibility · age-friendly design · linear interaction · cognitive decline

• A Flexible VXML Interpreter for Non-Visual Web Access

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

  This doctoral consortium paper from Stony Brook University presents VXMLSurf, an open-source VoiceXML interpreter being developed as part of the HearSay project for non-visual web browsing. VoiceXML is the W3C standard for specifying interactive voice dialogs, widely used in…

  VoiceXML · non-visual browsing · voice browser · blind users · screen readers

• Helping Aphasic People Process Online Information

  Siobhan Devlin, Gary Unthank · 2006 · Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets '06)

  This short paper from the University of Sunderland describes the HAPPI (Helping Aphasic People Process Information) project, a web-based text simplification system designed to help people with aphasia access online content such as news stories. Aphasia is a language disorder…

  aphasia · text simplification · cognitive accessibility · lexical simplification · natural language processing