Introduction to Volume 8, Issue 4

We are pleased to publish this special issue of the journal. As the guest editors explain in their introduction, the papers were first presented, in shortened form, at The Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology (CWUAAT) held in 2012. The papers focus on early stage development of new technologies to assist the disabled […] [Read More]

Special Issue of the Journal of Usability Studies: Designing Inclusive Systems

The Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology (CWUAAT) is held every other year at a UK Cambridge University college. CWUAAT ’12 was part of this series, started in 2002, that presents research from the international inclusive design community. It is a unique multi-disciplinary workshop, where designers, computer scientists, engineers, architects, human factors specialists, […] [Read More]

Development and Evaluation of Two Prototypes for Providing Weather Map Data to Blind Users Through Sonification

Abstract While most aspects of web accessibility are technically easy to solve, providing accessible equivalents of data visualizations for blind users remains a challenging problem. Previous attempts at accessible equivalents focused on sonification of population data. This paper describes the creation of two prototypes for providing real-time weather information in a sonified format for blind […] [Read More]

A System in the Wild: Deploying a Two Player Arm Rehabilitation System for Children With Cerebral Palsy in a School Environment

Abstract This paper outlines a system for arm rehabilitation for children with upper-limb hemiplegia resulting from cerebral palsy. Our research team designed a two-player, interactive (competitive or collaborative) computer play therapy system that provided powered assistance to children while they played specially designed games that promoted arm exercises. We designed the system for a school […] [Read More]

Inclusive Design Advisor: Understanding the Design Practice Before Developing Inclusivity Tools

Abstract This paper describes an exploratory study investigating ways to accommodate inclusive design techniques and tools within industrial design practices. The approach of our research is that by making only small changes in design features, designers end up with more inclusive products. Our research group examined how to enable designers to make design decisions toward […] [Read More]