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Abstract: The original article was published with incorrect affiliation for Prof Matthias Rauterberg. The correct affiliation is Department of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Currently, a common objective for most countries is including people with disabilities in the various aspects of everyday life. As part of this objective, access to computer technologies that can help improve the learning of these people should be considered. In the case of hearing impairment, cochlear implants allow children with severe or profound hearing loss to develop natural language, which increases their chances of insertion in mainstream schools. However, the success of this depends on the auditory training process that involves various professionals and family members surrounding the implanted child. In this context, the use of mobile technologies has advantages due to their low cost and ubiquity; using mobile phones, children could learn new concepts as they train their hearing skills. Considering the above, in this paper, we present a review of mobile applications that hearing-impaired people can use for their learning and auditory training. The review is organized in two parts: (a) a systematic literature review, which included 297 articles on mobile technologies applied to hearing loss, and (b) a review of mobile applications aimed at teaching and training hearing-impaired children, which included 43 applications. The review was carried out taking into account technological, pedagogical and auditory aspects. The results obtained show the scarcity of learning applications that contribute to language development in hearing-impaired children. Additionally, some aspects that could be considered in the design of new mobile applications have also been identified, such as lack of visual interfaces based on augmented reality. This study opens up a new area where researchers and developers could work together in context-based mobile learning for hearing-impaired children. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Aiming to develop practical programming skills and self-efficacy of students in an online learning environment, two teaching approaches were integrated using co-curricular learning (CCL) and phenomenon-based learning (PhBL); their effects on first-year university students’ learning were investigated. The researchers conducted a quasi-experiment to investigate the effects of web-mediated CCL and PhBL using a 2 (CCL vs. non-CCL) × 2 (PhBL vs. non-PhBL) factorial pretest/posttest experimental design. The experimental groups comprised the first class (G1) which simultaneously received the web-mediated CCL and PhBL intervention, the second class (G2) which only received the web-mediated CCL intervention, and the third class (G3) which only received the web-mediated PhBL intervention, while the control group (G4) received a traditional teaching approach (non-CCL and non-PhBL). The study results showed that students who received web-mediated CCL had significant increase in their programming skills. In addition, students who received web-mediated PhBL exhibited significantly better development of self-efficacy at the end of the semester. Thus, it is expected that the design of integrating CCL and PhBL in an online programming course could provide references for educators and teachers conducting online, flipped, or hybrid courses. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Accessible websites are a necessity for everyone, especially for people with disabilities. However, this is an objective that has not been achieved yet and requires initiatives that continue guiding the way towards an increasingly inclusive web and lowering accessibility barriers. One of the first steps in this regard is to identify the accessibility level of a particular website, and for this purpose, a set of automatic tools and manual instruments have been developed. These tools allow calculating an accessibility level from the expert’s perspective and from the website’s source code using as a reference the accessibility guidelines defined by the W3C. The authors state that evaluating accessibility with just one of these methods is not enough, so therefore its integration is required. This article presents a tool called Accessibility Evaluation Tool, which allows and facilitates the integration of the accessibility evaluation delivered by an automatic validator with the manual evaluation of elements by experts. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: This paper presents the development and evaluation of an in-class intervention based on persona cards, an accessibility kit created to introduce users with diverse needs to postsecondary students and motivate them to adopt accessibility guidelines. The cards created include 16 profiles of users with visual, hearing, motor, cognitive, and multiple impairments. To assess the effect of the intervention on the students’ knowledge about accessibility, five in-class interventions with 134 students were conducted in the USA and in Spain. The intervention aimed at encouraging the discussion about how future designers can make interactive solutions more accessible for users with diverse needs. To assess the acceptability of the intervention materials among instructors, an online survey was utilized, and 30 respondents rated the usefulness, impact, ease of use, and their willingness to adopt the cards. They also provided suggestions to facilitate adoption. The statistical analysis of the results using Mann–Whitney tests indicates that the usage of personas during the intervention had a positive effect, improving the students’ understanding about accessibility. Instructors who responded to the survey considered the persona cards to be easy to use, diverse, and useful. The intervention increased the students’ interest and motivation to apply accessibility principles in their work practices and employ universal design in their lives. Also, instructors reported a positive acceptance regarding the adoption of the cards in their technology-related courses. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: So far, researchers have used a wellbeing-centered approach to catalyze successful intergenerational collaboration (IGC) in innovative activities. However, due to the subject’s multidisciplinary nature, there is still a dearth of comprehensive research devoted to constructing the IGC system. Thus, the purpose of this study is to fill a research void by providing a conceptual framework for information technology (IT) system designers to use as a jumping-off point for designing an IGC system with a wellbeing-oriented design. A systematic literature study was conducted to identify relevant terms and develop a conceptual framework based on a review of 75 selected scientific papers. The result consists of prominent thematic linkages and a conceptual framework related to design technology for IGC systems. The conceptual framework provides a comprehensive overview of IGC systems in the innovation process by identifying five barrier dimensions and using six wellbeing determinants as IGC catalysts. Moreover, this study discusses future directions for research on IGC systems. This study offers a novel contribution by shifting the technology design process from an age-based design approach to wellbeing-driven IGC systems. Additional avenues for investigation were revealed through the analysis of the study’s findings. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Student modeling approaches are important to identify students’ needs, learning styles, and to monitor their improvements for individual modules. Lecturers may incorrectly identify the students’ needs and learning styles based on solely an exam grade or performance in the class. In doing so, students need to be classified using more parameters such as e-learning activities, attendance to virtual live class (for theory and practice) and submission time of the assignment, etc. This study proposes a novel color-labeled student modeling/classification approach using e-learning activities to identify students’ learning styles and to monitor students’ weekly improvements for individual modules. A novel Student Classification Rate (SCR) formula was created by combining three stages including pre-study stage, virtual_class stage, and virtual_LAB_class stage. In the evaluation part of the SCR, Artificial Neural Network and Random Forest algorithms were employed based on two different feature sets for an Object-Oriented Programming Module. Feature set 1 consisted of a combination of e-learning and regular data while the feature set 2 was referred as the combination of the SCR and the regular data. Random Forest yielded the lowest MAE (0.7) by using feature set 2. Also, the majority of the students’ (81%) learning styles referred to attending the live virtual class. Students’ weekly learning progress was also monitored successfully since the Pearson correlation was measured as 0.78 with the 95% confidence interval between the mean of SCR and lab grades. Additionally, SCR used for two more different modules yielded convincing results in the determination of students’ learning styles. The obtained results reveal that the proposed SCR approach has significant potential to correctly classify students, identify students’ learning styles, and help the lecturer to monitor the students' weekly progress. Finally, it seems that SCR would have a significant impact on improvement of students learning. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: E-learning environments constitute an essential element in education, as they help students to ensure their pass their courses and graduate on time. Although guidelines, techniques, and methods have been presented in some literature in recent years to contribute to the development of accessible e-learning environments that promote digital inclusion, their implementation is challenging. In this context, the use of accessibility metadata not only provides a way to enhance the description of adapted educational resources but also facilitates their search according to the needs and preferences of students, in particular those with disabilities. In this paper, a systematic review was conducted in order to provide the state of the art regarding the use of accessibility metadata in e-learning environments. A total of 746 documents were found during the period from 2012 to 2019, of which 31 were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria relevant to our review. The findings revealed an intensive use of models and standards of accessibility in e-learning environments, however, using accessibility metadata remains underused. In fact, the evaluation of accessibility and adaptability through the use of its metadata was not found. The findings obtained also helped to establish challenges and opportunities in this research field as well as to provide an overview that could support those who generate educational resources to keep their interest in making them accessible. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Most smartphones currently in the market have complicated user interfaces (UIs) that elderly users find difficult to use. Such difficulties often lead to triggering usability problems for the elderly when interacting with the smartphone UI. In this study, we present a design framework for fabricating smartphones with usable UIs for elderly users. We developed a framework-based prototype and experimentally compared the usability of the prototype’s UI design with that of an Android-based UI. We considered the summative concept of usability based on the measurements of effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of the elderly. Twelve elderly participants were given tasks to perform on the Android and prototype, and their performances (in terms of effectiveness and efficiency) and satisfaction were measured. We measured the effectiveness using the task completion rate, the efficiency using the task completion time and the participants’ satisfaction using the After-Scenario Questionnaire. The results showed that the design of the prototype UI outperformed the design of its Android counterpart in most aspects of the participants’ performances and their satisfaction. The design framework has shown to be an effective tool for fabricating smartphones with usable UI designs for the elderly. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: This study evaluated the effect of gestures (text entry with thumbs of both hands and one-thumb text entry) and smartphone sizes (4.7, 5, and 5.5 inches) on the user experience during text entry with QWERTY and T9 input methods. Messaging using smartphones has become an important communication tool. Users change their gestures depending on the smartphone use context. Many different smartphone sizes are available, but suggestions from an ergonomic perspective are missing. Twenty-four participants used either two-thumb text entry or one-thumb text entry, using both QWERTY and T9. A different group of 24 participants entered text using QWERTY and T9 on smartphones with different sizes. Their performance, subjective rating, and physiological reactions were analyzed. Two-thumb text entry was more effective than one-thumb text entry. Better user experiences were achieved by using QWERTY for two-thumb text entry, by using T9 for one-thumb text entry, and by using QWERTY with a 5-inch smartphone compared with using a 4.7-inch smartphone. Using QWERTY with a 5.5-inch smartphone achieved a higher speed than using a 4.7-inch smartphone. Users who used T9 with a 5-inch smartphone achieved a better user experience than if using a 5.5-inch smartphone. QWERTY is more suitable for two-thumb text entry, while T9 is more suitable for one-thumb text entry. Different smartphone sizes affect the use of input methods. This study provides a reference for smartphone text input interface designers. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Remote monitoring of biometric data in the elderly population is an important asset for improving the quality of life and level of independence of elderly people living alone. However, the design and implementation of health technological solutions often disregard the elderly physiological and psychological abilities, leading to low adoption of these technologies. We evaluate the usability of a remote patient monitoring solution, VITASENIOR-MT, which is based on the interaction with a television set. Twenty senior participants (over 64 years) and a control group of 20 participants underwent systematic tests with the health platform and assessed its usability through several questionnaires. Elderly participants scored high on the usability of the platform, very close to the evaluation of the control group. Sensory, motor and cognitive limitations were the issues that most contributed to the difference in usability assessment between the elderly group and the control group. The solution showed high usability and acceptance regardless of age, digital literacy, education and impairments (sensory, motor and cognitive), which shows its effective viability for use and implementation as a consumer product in the senior market. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Visual programming tools allow users to create interactive media projects such as games and animations using visual representations of programming concepts. Although these tools have been shown to have huge potential for teaching children, research has shown that they may not be accessible for children with cognitive impairments, including those with autism spectrum condition. Therefore, this study proposes a set of recommendations for the design of accessible visual programming tools for children with autism spectrum condition. Semi-structured interviews with experts ( \(n=7\) ) were conducted and thematically analysed to identify initial recommendations. A second set of semi-structured interviews with a subset of the initial experts ( \(n=3\) ) were then conducted to validate and produce a final set of recommendations. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: The color vision deficiency, popularly called daltonism or color-blindness, manifests with limited color discrimination ranging from slightly reduced to complete loss of color. The accessibility of color-coded digital information is still an unsolved issue for approximately 200 million users affected by this condition. The previous research yielded various image adaptation methods, referred to in the literature as daltonization methods that aim to compensate for weak color perception. However, none of them is applicable for all forms of color vision deficiencies and all image types. The manuscript proposes two image adaptation types that can be scaled and combined: type-based, increasing blue-yellow contrast, and severity-based adaptation that enhances red-green contrast. The quantitative, colorimetric evaluation confirmed that resulting images have an enhanced chromatic contrast, a larger color gamut, and additional image dominant colors compared to original images. The visual assessment involving ten color-deficient observers revealed that the degree of anomalous color perception (mild, moderate, or severe) and the type of image content (natural or artificial) influenced the image preference. The evaluation results demonstrated that the proposed image adaptations customized for the level of color vision anomaly outperformed the state-of-the-art daltonization focused on optimizing contrast for severe, dichromatic cases of deficiency. Furthermore, the color-deficient observers’ choice of preference shifts from subtle color changes, in the case of natural scenes, to exaggerated yellow-blue contrast enhancement for infographics and data visualizations. The extracted conclusions suggest that a customized concept of image adaptation for the specific application and the specific color-deficient user is a better solution than existing methods that neglect the diversity of CVD forms and image types. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: We aim to help improve the quality of life of people with visual disabilities through the application of emerging technologies. Our current research investigates the viability of virtual reality (VR) as an aid for persons with visual disabilities. In this article, we explore the potential of VR-assisted reading. We investigate the reading effects of VR equipment on persons with visual disabilities by utilising variations of standardised optometry-informed reading tests conducted across 24 participants. Test results uncovered that, when comparing a worn VR head-mounted display (HMD) to physical unaided tests, results within a HMD scaled better at closer distances, while unaided tests scaled better with further distances. Using the findings collected and requirements elicited from participants, a prototype document reader was developed for reading text within a VR-immersed 3D environment, allowing low-vision users to customise and configure accessibility features for enhanced reading. This software was tested with 11 new participants alongside user evaluations, allowing us to discover how users perceived text best within our 3D virtual environments, and what features and techniques are required to evolve this accessibility tool further. The user test reported an overwhelmingly positive response to our tool as a feasible reading aid, allowing persons who could not engage (or, due to the difficulty, refusing to) in the reading of material to do so. We also register some limitations and areas for improvement, such as a need for non-functional requirements to be improved, and the aesthetics of our design to be improved going forward. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Universities' prospective student web pages aim to disseminate information about their academic and social opportunities to their stakeholders; therefore, they must be accessible, of high quality of use and reliable. This article presents the accessibility, usage performance, and security analysis of prospective student web pages of 330 universities from three continents, namely Europe, North America, and Oceania. For this purpose, university websites were selected based on the Webometrics ranking, and online automated test tools were used. The results showed that websites at universities in North America paid more attention to accessibility and quality of use on prospective student web pages, followed by Oceanian and European websites. Evaluated websites had low compliance levels according to the WCAG 2.0 guideline. No major problems were identified in terms of usability and security, but there were certain points for improvement. Moreover, we present and discuss recommendations to developers and administrators for websites to resolve accessibility, usability, and security breaches and provide information equally to all stakeholders. Hence, this analysis report provides feedback to web developers to improve accessibility, quality of use, and security issues of university websites and their prospective student web pages. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: E-government is a global phenomenon. Many governments throughout the world are using e-government websites to deliver government services to their stakeholders. Consequently, it is now quite crucial for the governments to make sure that e-government websites must be accessible to all stakeholders regardless of their visual, cognitive, and hearing ability. However, many prior studies have shown that most of the e-government websites in different countries do not meet the accessibility guidelines prescribed in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). In this article, we present the evaluation of the accessibility of Indian e-government websites using a sample of 65 websites of various ministries based on the WCAG 2.1 standard. We found that the majority of e-government websites do not meet Level A conformance with WCAG 2.1. Our findings suggest that designers and developers of e-government websites should pay due attention to the accessibility features during the design and development of these websites to achieve universal accessibility. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Purpose The development of assistive technologies that support people in social interactions has attracted increased attention in HCI. This paper presents a systematic review of studies of Socially Assistive Systems targeted at older adults and people with disabilities. The purpose is threefold: (1) Characterizing related assistive systems with a special focus on the system design, primarily including HCI technologies used and user-involvement approach taken; (2) Examining their ways of system evaluation; (3) Reflecting on insights for future design research. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted using the keywords “social interactions” and “assistive technologies” within the following databases: Scopus, Web of Science, ACM, Science Direct, PubMed, and IEEE Xplore. Results Sixty-five papers met the inclusion criteria and were further analyzed. Our results showed that there were 11 types of HCI technologies that supported social interactions for target users. The most common was cognitive and meaning understanding technologies, often applied with wearable devices for compensating users’ sensory loss; 33.85% of studies involved end-users and stakeholders in the design phase; Four types of evaluation methods were identified. The majority of studies adopted laboratory experiments to measure user-system interaction and system validation. Proxy users were used in system evaluation, especially in initial experiments; 42.46% of evaluations were conducted in field settings, primarily including the participants’ own homes and institutions. Conclusion We contribute an overview of Socially Assistive Systems that support social interactions for older adults and people with disabilities, as well as illustrate emerging technologies and research opportunities for future work. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Recent advances in the field of assistive devices technology represent a great opportunity for improving the quality of life of people with moderate to severe visual impairment. However, it is still unclear what are the precise daily difficulties, needs and expectations of the smart glasses technology for visually impaired individuals. To this aim, we conducted a survey based on three questionnaires to provide qualitative and quantitative insights on those questions across five groups suffering from various visual pathologies ( \(N=50\) ). The results clearly showed the importance of developing tailored solutions to fulfill the heterogeneous daily difficulties and needs identified across pathologies. Overall, groups shared similar expectations regarding the assistive smart glasses functionalities in order to improve social interactions. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Although communicating healthcare information via social media is becoming more common, less is known about older adults who suffer from digital inequalities regarding how they perceive the values from engaging in social media for healthcare-related purposes. Time perspective theory suggests that older adults’ perceptions of time influence their value assessments and actions. The paper investigates whether the effects of time perspective (present- and future-time) and its interaction with perceived values (hedonic, emotional, informational and social) explain older adults’ continuance intention to engage in social media for healthcare-related purposes. About 400 responses from older adults (above 60 years) were collected and analyzed using the structural equation modelling procedure. Different time perspectives result in biases in older adults’ perception of values, which discourages their social media engagement and leads to negative consequences for actively promoting online communication, including negative social value and negative social engagement attitude. Contrary to earlier findings, this study indicates that the present-time perspective has no effect on hedonic and informational values, whereas the future-time perspective has a negative influence on hedonic and social values. Further, hedonic and emotional values decrease the likelihood of continuance interaction with peers. The time perspectives affect different perceived values, which in turn affects the continuance intention to engage in social media for healthcare-related purposes. The findings demonstrated that time perspective theory operates in the opposite direction between the present and future time. The results reinforce the importance of enjoyment and emotional values and the irrelevance of informative and social values in examining older adults’ social media behaviors. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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Abstract: Mobile health is a rapidly emerging topic due to technological advances, especially in mobile computing and communication technologies. Increased capabilities of mobile devices, including smartphones, smart bands, and other wearables provide vast opportunities to collect health data easily. Health professionals can use this data in order to support medical diagnosis and treatment. In addition to health professionals, consumers can also benefit from the data collected by these devices to assist self-motivation to adopt and track healthier daily life practices. In this research, the factors affecting the adoption of wearable devices to track health information are investigated. We used the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) model as a basis for our study as it is focusing on the acceptance of technology from consumers' perspectives. We enhanced the model with the concept of technology use categorization. The original Use construct of the UTAUT2 model addresses technology use only in terms of use frequency. We believe that this is not sufficient to analyze wearable devices that lend themselves to varying degrees of passive and active use. We propose that wearable device usage should be analyzed according to three types of use: Type 1 Use: Users wear the device primarily out of habit with no significant focus on the data; Type 2 Use: Users check the collected data; Type 3 Use: Users take actions based on the collected data. Our quantitative analysis showed that different factors with remarkably different intensities influence these three types of usage. Furthermore, we proposed three new constructs, namely goal clarity, technology stack compatibility, and perceived risk to improve the explanatory power of the UTAUT2 model. A strong relation is found between goal clarity and behavioral intention for type 3 use. Additionally, for all three types of use, it is seen that the Technology Stack Compatibility construct is a strong determinant of behavioral intention to use wearable devices for health tracking purposes. PubDate: 2023-06-01
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