Related papers: Q&A: Accessibility in Astronomy for the Visually I…
Blind people use artificial intelligence-enabled visual assistance technologies (AI VAT) to gain visual access in their everyday lives, but these technologies are embedded with errors that may be difficult to verify non-visually. Previous…
People with some kind of disability face a high level of difficulty for everyday tasks because, in many cases, accessibility was not considered necessary when the task or process was designed. An example of this scenario is a computer's…
Astronomy education and outreach are very important when it comes to the future generation's interest in science. The Czech Astronomy Olympiad shows how an educational competition for secondary and high schools can help us drive innovation…
The Extreme Ultraviolet wavelength range was one of the final windows to be opened up to astronomy. Nevertheless, it provides very important diagnostic tools for a range of astronomical objects, although the opacity of the interstellar…
The navigation of indoor spaces poses difficult challenges for individuals with visual impairments, as it requires processing of sensory information, dealing with uncertainties, and relying on assistance. To tackle these challenges, we…
In today's society, where independent living is becoming increasingly important, it can be extremely constricting for those who are blind. Blind and visually impaired (BVI) people face challenges because they need manual support to prompt…
(Un)conscious bias affects every aspect of the astronomical profession, from scientific activities (e.g., invitations to join collaborations, proposal selections, grant allocations, publication review processes, and invitations to attend…
(Un)conscious bias affects every aspect of the astronomical profession, from scientific activities (e.g., invitations to join collaborations, proposal selections, grant allocations, publication review processes, and invitations to attend…
Over the last ten years there has been a large increase in the number of projects using sound to represent astronomical data and concepts. Motivation for these projects includes the potential to enhance scientific discovery within complex…
Accessibility research has grown substantially in the past few decades, yet there has been no literature review of the field. To understand current and historical trends, we created and analyzed a dataset of accessibility papers appearing…
Blind and visually impaired (BVI) computer science students face systematic barriers when learning data structures: current accessibility approaches typically translate diagrams into alternative text, focusing on visual appearance rather…
This is a short position paper drawing on experience working with the UK banking industry and their disabled and ageing customers in the Business Disability Forum, a UK non-profit member organisation funded by a large body of UK private and…
The question "How did we get here and what will the future bring?" captures the human imagination and the attention of the National Academy of Science's Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Commitee (AASC). Fulfillment of this "fundamental…
"You don't look like a librarian" is a phrase we often hear in the astronomy department or observatory library. Astronomy librarians are a breed apart, and are taking on new and non-traditional roles as information technology evolves. This…
Undergraduate research in STEM can be a transformative experience, especially for Community College students, many of whom come from under-represented backgrounds. However, undergraduate research at Community Colleges is relatively rare,…
Conference attendance is fundamental for a successful career in astronomy. However, many factors limit such attendance in ways that can disproportionately affect women and minorities more. In this white paper, we present the results of a…
The majority of scientific papers are distributed in PDF, which pose challenges for accessibility, especially for blind and low vision (BLV) readers. We characterize the scope of this problem by assessing the accessibility of 11,397 PDFs…
Sight is essential for humans to navigate their surrounding environment independently. Tasks that are simple for the sighted are often close to impossible for the visually impaired. Throughout the years, many researchers dedicated their…
Assistive agents for Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) users require accessibility alignment as a first-class design objective. Despite rapid progress in agentic AI, most systems are designed and evaluated under assumptions of sighted…
Introductory astronomy is one of the most widely-taken university science courses and a common means of satisfying general education requirements. This course is frequently taught in large sections by a variety of instructors, some with…