ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´

Contact

• workRoom BB19 Block B
  Malaysia Campus
  Jalan Broga
  43500 Semenyih
  Selangor Darul Ehsan
  Malaysia
• work+6 (03) 8924 8154
• Bavani.R@nottingham.edu.my

Biography

Ts. Dr. Bavani Ramayah is an Assistant Professor at the ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ Malaysia, where she has been a faculty member since 2007. She holds a PhD in Visual Informatics from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), as well as a Bachelor of Science and an MSc in Computer Science from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). She is a Professional Technologist (Ts.) accredited by the Malaysian Board of Technologists (MBOT) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Bavani is an active member of IEEE and currently serves as the Secretary of the IEEE Consumer Technology Society (Malaysia Chapter). Prior to joining academia, she spent four years in the industry as a programmer, gaining valuable practical experience that now informs her teaching and research.

Her current research interests span Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), accessibility, inclusive technologies, and Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning (T&L). She has published journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters, and regularly serves as a reviewer for several academic journals and conferences.

Expertise Summary

• Human Computer Interaction
• User Centred/Inclusive Design
• Social Computing
• Behavioural sciences
• Physiological interaction
• User experience (UX)
• Emotional Design
• Visually Impaired Users' related studies
• AI in Education
• Educational Technology

Research Summary

My research focuses on Human Computer Interaction (HCI), accessible interface design, and data-driven solutions for inclusive and sustainable societies. I work at the intersection of accessibility,… read more

Selected Publications

• BAVANI RAMAYAH, AZIZAH JAAFAR and NOOR FAEZAH YATIM, 2012. Accessibility Issues in Social Network Sites for Blind Users in Malaysia In: Visual Informatics International Seminar 2012 (VIIS’12),UKM,Malaysia.
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2012. GSTF Journal of Computing. Vol.2(No.2), 36-40
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, AZIZAH JAAFAR and NOOR FAEZAH YATIM, 2012. In: 2nd Annual International Conference on Web Technologies & Internet Applications (WebTech 2012),Bali,Indonesia.
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2011. TheStar.

• View all publications

Current Research

My research focuses on Human Computer Interaction (HCI), accessible interface design, and data-driven solutions for inclusive and sustainable societies. I work at the intersection of accessibility, smart urban environments, and AI-enhanced digital innovation, with a long-standing commitment to improving the everyday experiences of individuals with disabilities particularly people with visual and hearing impairments.

A major strand of my work examines urban mobility and inclusive pedestrian infrastructure. I currently lead a Japan-Malaysia comparative study titled Walking Together: Sustainable and Inclusive Urban Footpaths, collaboration with Chuo University and Kindai Unversity. This research integrates universal design principles, spatial accessibility, and sensor-based assessments to support safer, more predictable pedestrian environments.

In the assistive technology domain, I am engaged in developing AI-driven solutions for accessibility, including wearable and mobile systems such as the Smart Navigation Cane for Visually-Impaired Pedestrians. I also explore technology-enhanced learning (TEL) and AI-supported pedagogy, with ongoing work on integrating generative AI to improve programming education, digital literacy, and green IT awareness among foundation and undergraduate students. These initiatives contribute to UNM's strategic goals of innovation, sustainability, and student experience enhancement.

Across all projects, I aim to produce research that contributes to policy development, societal impact, and practical improvements in accessibility, while fostering cross-cultural collaboration and capacity-building between Malaysia and Japan.

Past Research

An Accessible Voting System for Visually Impaired People

I have been doing research about visually impaired people by closely working with Malaysian Blind Association with a number of related publications. I have explored experiences and challenges faced by individuals with visual impairment during electoral event in Malaysia in order to provide an accessible voting environment that could protect the Rights of Persons with visually impairment. One of my initial research finding had been cited in a report titled "Inclusive Electoral Reforms in Malaysia" which was published in January 2020 by Bersih 2.0(Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections). The report recommended that the Election Commission needs to improve voting procedures so that voting is accessible to all eligible persons with disabilities.

Mental Model of Visually Impaired People in Complex Layout

In my past research I have investigated the unexplored interpretation issues by visual impaired (VI) users in web pages with multiple column layouts. A mental model was developed by integrating three main components such as layout design, navigation behavior and VI users' mental state. The research has established web design guidelines to improve quality of VI users' mental model. This research outcome provide insights into VI users' mental models for researchers, web designers, academics, educators, trainers, who want to have better understanding on how VI users who solely depend on screen readers navigate the web pages. The research considered as a new dimension in usability study which integrated bio signal tool particularly among VI users.

• VYAKARANAM, A., MAUL, T. and RAMAYAH, B., 2025. International Journal of Speech Technology. 28(3), 653-669
• R MATTHEWS, B RAMAYAH and ST YONG, 2025. In: The Southeast Asian Conference on Education. 451-462
• APARNA VYAKARANAM,, TOMAS MAUL and BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2024. International Journal of Speech Technology. 1-24
• APARNA VYAKARANAM, TOMAS MAUL and BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2024. In: 2024 2nd International Conference on Software Engineering and Information Technology (ICoSEIT. 216-221
• SHARON WILSON, RAJINI KUMAR and BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2023. Challenges Among Visually Impaired Students in Higher Education Towards Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia. In: Improving Inclusivity in Higher Education: Addressing the Digital Divide in the COVID Pandemic Springer Nature Singapore. 51-67
• BAVANI RAMAYAH and JOSEPH CHAN JIANMIN, 2023. In: 2023 International Conference on Electrical, Communication and Computer Engineering (ICECCE), Dubai, United Arab Emirates. pp.1-5
• SREEDHARAM, R.K. and BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2023. ChatGPT in higher education: The challenges faced by lecturers in assessing students In: 10th International Conference on Arts and Humanities 2023 (ICOAH).
• LIP VUN YAP, SHEILA ILANGOVAN, THAMILVAANI ARVAREE and YAP CHIEW LIN, 2021. In: 14th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI 2021). 4984-4991
• RAMAYAH, B. and RAJINI KUMAR SREEDHARAM, 2021. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH). 6(7), 305 - 310
• RAMAYAH, B. and SREEDHARAM, R., 2020. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH). 5(7), 1-6
• RAJINI KUMAR and B.RAMAYAH, 2020. Jurnal Undang-undang dan Masyarakat(JUUM). 26, 85-96
• B.RAMAYAH and RAJINI KUMAR, 2020. In: 13th annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation Seville, Spain. 0425-0432
• M. SANMUGAM, A. SELVARAJOO, B.RAMAYAH and K. LEE, 2019. In: 13th International Technology, Education and Development Conference. 8908-8915
• LEE KEAN WAH, A. SELVARAJOO and B.RAMAYAH, 2019. Nearpod to the rescue: Engendering Active learning in large classes In: The Globalization and Localization in Computer-Assisted Language Learning Conference (GLoCALL 2019).
• RAMAYAH, B. and JAAFAR, A., 2019. Malaysian Journal of Computer Science. 66--78
• MATTHEWS, R., RAMAYAH, B. and YONG, S.T., 2019. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE). 8(3S2), 571-576
• MATTHEWS, R. and RAMAYAH, B., 2019. In: 12th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI). 2388-2394
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2018. . In: Proceedings of the 2018 7th International Conference on Software and Computer Applications ACM. 302-305
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, SIN KAI LING and RAJINI KUMAR, 2018. Accessibility Challenges for Individuals with Visual Impairment on Polling Day In: International Conference on Science Technology and Social Sciences (ICSTSS 2018).
• RAJINI KUMAR and BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2018. Effectiveness of Persons with Disabilities Act 2008 and Elections Act 1958 in protecting visually impaired person’s freedom of expression in casting votes In: International Conference on Science Technology and Social Sciences (ICSTSS 2018).
• BAVANI RAMAYAH and AZIZAH JAAFAR, 2017. In: 5th International Visual Informatics Conference (IVIC ’17).
• BAVANI RAMAYAH and AZIZAH JAAFAR, 2015. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology. 76(3), 289-295
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, AZIZAH JAAFAR and NOOR FAEZAH MOHD YATIM, 2014. The Web Navigation Barriers Facing By Blind Users In Social Networking Sites Journal Of Theoretical And Applied Information Technology. Vol.61(2), 304-309
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, AZIZAH JAAFAR and JESSICA PRICE, 2014. The Impact of Web Page Layout in Navigation Behavior Among Visually Impaired Users In: The Second Visual Informatics International Seminar(VIIS '14) ,UKM. 137-144
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, AZIZAH JAAFAR and NOOR FAEZAH MOHD YATIM, 2013. In:
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, AZIZAH JAAFAR and NOOR FAEZAH YATIM, 2012. In: 2nd Annual International Conference on Web Technologies & Internet Applications (WebTech 2012),Bali,Indonesia.
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2012. GSTF Journal of Computing. Vol.2(No.2), 36-40
• BAVANI RAMAYAH, AZIZAH JAAFAR and NOOR FAEZAH YATIM, 2012. Accessibility Issues in Social Network Sites for Blind Users in Malaysia In: Visual Informatics International Seminar 2012 (VIIS’12),UKM,Malaysia.
• BAVANI RAMAYAH,AZIZAH JAAFAR, NOOR FAEZAH, 2010. In: International Conference on User Science and Engineering(i-USERr),Shah Alam,Malaysia. 11-15
• RAJINI KUMAR,BAVANI RAMAYAH, 2009. A ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ on Person with Disabilities Act 2008 for Visually Impaired People and Their Rights on Web Accessibility Issues In: Information Communication and Technology Accessibility Seminar. USM.
• BAVANI, RAJINI KUMAR, 2008. Accessibility of Malaysia Web Sites for Visually Impaired People In: Proceedings of Malaysian Science and Technology Congress Theme Towards Excellence in Science. 109-114