Recruiting participants from disability communities for accessibility research presents unique challenges that require careful consideration of ethical practices, intersectional representation, methodological rigor, and community sustainability.As accessibility research continues to grow and evolve, researchers face tensions between meaningfully including participants with disabilities and addressing emerging concerns around recruited participants not adequately representing the diversity of the community, overburdening certain participants, participant verification, and fair compensation practices.This workshop will bring together members of the ASSETS community to examine current recruiting practices and document insights into ethical, rigorous, and inclusive participant recruitment in disability research.Through facilitated discussions, we will explore three main themes: (1) methods and models, (2) eligibility criteria and participant verification, and (3) ethical and sustainability considerations.The workshop aims to share current practices, identify key challenges, and develop preliminary guidelines to support accessibility researchers in more sustainable participant recruitment.

Our research focuses on making musical performance experience in virtual reality (VR) settings non-visually accessible for Blind and Low Vision (BLV) individuals by designing a conceptual framework for omnidirectional audio descriptions (AD). We address BLV users’ prevalent challenges in accessing effective AD during VR musical performances. Employing a two-phased interview methodology, we initially collected qualitative data about BLV AD users’ experiences, followed by gathering insights from BLV professionals who specialize in AD. This approach ensures that the developed solutions are both user-centric and practically feasible. The study devises strategies for three design concepts of omnidirectional AD (Spatial AD, View-dependent AD, and Explorative AD) tailored to different types of musical performances, which vary in their visual and auditory components. Each design concept offers unique benefits; collectively, they enhance accessibility and enjoyment for BLV audiences by addressing specific user needs. Key insights highlight the crucial role of flexibility and user control in AD implementation. Based on these insights, we propose a comprehensive conceptual framework to enhance musical experiences for BLV users within VR environments.

Virtual reality (VR), inherently reliant on spatial interaction, poses significant accessibility barriers for individuals who are blind or have low vision (BLV). Traditional audio descriptions (AD) typically provide a verbal explanation of visual elements in 2D or flat video media, facilitating access for BLV audiences but failing to convey the complex spatial information essential in VR. This shortfall is especially pronounced in musical performances, where understanding the spatial arrangement of the stage setup and movements of performers is crucial. To overcome these limitations, we have developed two AD approaches—Spatial AD for a dance performance and View-dependent AD for an instrumental performance—within VR-based 360° environments. Spatial AD employs spatial audio technology to align descriptions with corresponding visuals, dynamically adjusting to follow the visuals, such as the movements of performers in the dance performance. Meanwhile, View-dependent AD adapts descriptions based on the orientation of the VR headset, activating when particular visuals enter the central view of the camera, ensuring that the description aligns with the user’s attention directed to a particular location within the VR environment. These methods are designed as enhancements to traditional AD, aiming to improve spatial orientation and immersive experiences for BLV audiences. This demonstration showcases the potential of these AD approaches to improve interaction and engagement, furthering the development of inclusive virtual environments.

High-quality closed captioning of both speech and non-speech elements (e.g., music, sound effects, manner of speaking, and speaker identification) is essential for the accessibility of video content, especially for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. While many regions have regulations mandating captioning for television and movies, a regulatory gap remains for the vast amount of web-based video content, including the staggering 500+ hours uploaded to YouTube every minute. Advances in automatic speech recognition have bolstered the presence of captions on YouTube. However, the technology has notable limitations, including the omission of many non-speech elements, which are often crucial for understanding content narratives. This paper examines the contemporary and historical state of non-speech information (NSI) captioning on YouTube through the creation and exploratory analysis of a dataset of over 715k videos. We identify factors that influence NSI caption practices and suggest avenues for future research to enhance the accessibility of online video content.