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Encounters and Difficulties when Gathering User Experience Data
Published in Marcelo M. Soares, Francisco Rebelo, Tareq Z. Ahram, Handbook of Usability and User Experience, 2022
One way to contribute to digital inclusion is through assistive technologies. Assistive technology (AT) is a term indicating any product or technology-based service that enables people of all ages with activity limitations in their daily life, education, work or leisure. AT can be specifically designed for persons with disabilities, such as an electronic wheelchair, or not, for example, a tablet or smartphone. The term thus does not relate to a specific category of products but their enabling function. However, there are still barriers to the use of these technologies by people with special needs (Borg et al. 2011). These barriers are organized into three categories: use and interface (application design requires effort and specific skills), organization and support (inexistence of appropriate support and need to learn new digital skills) and financial costs (technologies are not cheap and frequently not available for free).
Charting just futures for Aotearoa New Zealand: philosophy for and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic
Published in Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 2021
Tim Mulgan, Sophia Enright, Marco Grix, Ushana Jayasuriya, Tēvita O. Ka‘ili (Maui-TāVā-He-Ako), Adriana M. Lear (Pā‘utu-‘O-Vava‘u-Lahi), 'Aisea N. Matthew Māhina, 'Ōkusitino Māhina (Hūfanga-He-Ako-Moe-Lotu), John Matthewson, Andrew Moore, Emily C. Parke, Vanessa Schouten, Krushil Watene
Ensuring our communities are inclusive through and beyond these turbulent times is also significant for collective and individual well-being. The New Zealand government’s 2019 Digital Inclusion Outcomes Framework [DIOF] defines digital inclusion as (a) convenient access to the internet, and (b) the ability to confidently use the internet. Within (b), we must distinguish (c) the person’s capacity from (d) their capability or skills in effectively utilising online opportunities or services. Digital inclusion can increase accessibility, particularly for people living outside main centres, people with caring responsibilities, and people with disabilities. Digital inclusion increases personal well-being if more opportunities and services are available online than face-to-face (DIOF 2019). However, well-being can be reduced by malware, misinformation, hackers, or online harassment (DIOF 2019). People need ‘digital literacy’ skills to navigate online environments safely and easily. Increased digitalisation of work and community life can also exacerbate existing inequities. For instance: closing schools and childcare facilities during lockdown forced working parents – particularly mothers of young children – to juggle increased caring responsibilities without any decrease in workplace expectations (Prickett et al. 2020, p. 31); increased workplace flexibility should not create expectations that we will work all the time; and substituting digital events and resources for face-to-face interactions may disadvantage those unable to access resources online.
Awareness and barriers to adoption of assistive technologies among visually impaired people in Nigeria
Published in Assistive Technology, 2019
Patrick Emeka Okonji, Darlinton Chukwunalu Ogwezzy
This study set out to explore the awareness, knowledge, and barriers to uptake of assistive technologies for PCs among Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) adults in Nigeria. Findings suggest that there is a need for government agencies, service providers, and ICT development practitioners to implement a barrier-free digital environment, and a critical need to promote interventions that could foster development of locally specific interventions for digital inclusion. For example, it is possible that interventions to develop solutions locally for ICT accessibility and affordability could increase awareness of ACTs/ICTs among people of all ages with vision impairment. The development and production of simple and inexpensive computer assistive technologies using local production facilities and local materials could reduce cost, promote availability, and enhance affordability. Persons with disabilities themselves could be involved in the production of those devices. The valuable expertise of this group as end-users could contribute to implementation of more effective accessibility solutions. This is also a possible way to tackle unemployment and underemployment challenges among working-age blind and visually impaired persons as they could benefit from receiving additional training and income as a result of their design and development contributions.
Digital inclusion and online behaviour: five typologies of Australian internet users
Published in Behaviour & Information Technology, 2018
While the distribution of internet users appears to be shifting from low or non-use towards more frequent use over time, the rapidly evolving nature of ICT development requires an equally agile research agenda to ensure that no one is being left behind. By focusing on how people are using the internet, rather than just who is using it, digital inclusion programmes can be tailored to the specific needs of different user groups. For example, by developing an online tool that can quickly assess an individual’s digital profile (via a handful of behavioural questions), users could be provided with relevant support services which address personal barriers and needs. Given the strong influence of attitude, it would also be advisable to address internet attitudes in any intervention design. For example, by promoting the benefits of internet use for specific tasks such as looking up information about businesses, services, and/or products and using the internet to keep in touch with friends and family. Also, as priority behaviours will likely vary according to where individuals sit on their internet journey, and the barriers associated with priority behaviours will also vary, targeted users should always be involved in the design and testing of specific programmes.