Understanding the Assistive Potential of Consumer Technologies: A Case Example of Smartphones, Smart Speakers, and Internet of Things Technologies

Assistive technology by its very design seeks to maintain, improve, or facilitate the functional capabilities of people with disabilities and older people. Traditionally, assistive technologies have been specialist in nature defined by the functional capabilities that it is linked to. However, digital consumer technologies such Digital Voice Assistants are increasingly building ever greater functionality in efforts to appeal to users, including those with disabilities. Aimed at a general market as opposed to being restricted to people with a disability, consumer products, with their lower cost thresholds, can provide a good ratio of social return on investment. Furthermore, the growing interoperability of technologies such as smartphones, smart speakers, and internet of things is building hitherto unanticipated opportunities for people with disabilities. This chapter examines the assistive potential of a range of consumer digital technologies and explores how they can benefit people with disabilities and older people. Issues pertaining to risks to personal information, autonomy as well as consent while using these technologies are also outlined. Finally, this chapter concludes with reflections as to how future consumer products can seek to balance the benefits that can be accrued from their use with concerns for respecting the privacy of people with disabilities

Tecnologías Digitales para la atención de personas con Discapacidad Intelectual

This article focuses on the use of Digital Technologies for the care of people with Intellectual Disabilities in. We see that Digital Technologies are perceived as assistive technologies for this group, favoring, among other aspects, their personal autonomy. With regard to these topics, we carry out this research, the purpose of which is to identify the benefits and opportunities that the use of Digital Technologies can bring in the intervention with people with Intellectual Disabilities and define the characteristics that they must possess to adequately serve them in situations of emergency. The research design is a systematic review, based on the PRISMA Declaration, using the search period from January 2014 to January 2019. After the filtering process of a total of 205 bibliographic references, 14 studies have been found that meet the inclusion criteria defined in the process. An analysis of content supported by codes has been carried out, using Atlas.ti v.8.4. Among the main results, we highlight that, despite the standardized use of technological devices such as telephones or smartwatches, and the advances in the accessibility of these, many people still have difficulties making a phone call for help. That is why we must think of assistive technologies that do not depend solely on the action that the disabled person must take to respond to emergencies in which he may be involved.Este artículo centra su interés en el uso de las Tecnologías Digitales (TD) para la atención de las personas con Discapacidad Intelectual en situaciones de emergencia. Vemos que las TD son percibidas como tecnologías de asistencia para este colectivo, favoreciendo, entre otros aspectos, su autonomía personal. En torno a estos tópicos llevamos a cabo esta investigación cuyo propósito es identificar los beneficios y oportunidades que el uso de las TD puede aportar en la intervención con personas con Discapacidad Intelectual y definir las características que estas deben poseer para atenderles de manera adecuada en situaciones de emergencia. El diseño de investigación es una revisión sistemática, sustentada en la Declaración PRISMA, usando el periodo de búsqueda de enero de 2014 a enero de 2019. Tras el proceso de filtrado de un total de 205 referencias bibliográficas, se han encontrado 14 estudios que cumplen los criterios de inclusión definidos en el proceso. Se ha realizado un análisis de contenido apoyado en códigos, usando para ello Atlas.ti v.8.4. Entre los principales resultados, destacamos que, a pesar del uso normalizado de dispositivos tecnológicos como teléfonos o relojes inteligentes, y de los avances en la accesibilidad de estos, existen numerosas personas que todavía tienen dificultades para realizar una llamada telefónica para pedir ayuda. Es por ello por lo que debemos pensar en tecnologías de asistencia que no dependan únicamente de la acción que el sujeto con discapacidad deba realizar para dar respuestas a situaciones de emergencia en las que se pueda ver implicado

ESTABLISHING SELF-INSTRUCTION SKILLS BY TEACHING MANDS FOR INFORMATIONAL INQUIRIES WITH INTELLIGENT VOICE ASSISTANTS USING PROGRESSIVE TIME DELAY

In this study, unknown questions were posed to four high school students with intellectual disabilities, and they were directed to use intelligent voice assistants to mand for the answers. This self-instruction skill was taught using progressive time delay within a multiple probe across participants design with embedded generalization probes. Participants were trained to initiate Siri® or Google Assistant™ before baseline sessions were conducted. The effectiveness of progressive time delay to teach this skill was evaluated when questions were presented by research implementers and when presented by untrained communication partners. Implementers exposed participants to additional voice commands at the end of progressive time delay sessions to assess if the participants would learn nontarget commands incidentally after being taught to mand for information with the intelligent voice assistants. The results indicate that progressive time delay is an effective method for teaching adolescents with intellectual disabilities to self-instruct with intelligent voice assistants, however modifications may be needed to ensure that the skill generalizes when presented with an unknown question by an indigenous communication partner. The results suggest that learning to self-instruct and being exposed to other intelligent voice assistant skills may lead to the acquisition of additional untrained voice commands

Creating ‘a simple conversation’: Designing a conversational user interface to improve the experience of accessing support for study

Administrative processes are ubiquitous in modern life and have been identified as a particular burden to those with accessibility needs. Students who have accessibility needs often have to understand guidance, fill in complex forms and communicate with multiple parties to disclose disabilities and access appropriate support. Conversational user interfaces (CUIs) could allow us to reimagine such processes, yet there is currently limited understanding of how to design these to be accessible, or whether such an approach would be preferred. In the ADMINS (Assistants for the Disclosure and Management of Information about Needs and Support) project, we implemented a virtual assistant (VA) which is designed to enable students to disclose disabilities and to provide guidance and suggestions about appropriate support. ADMINS explores the potential of CUIs to reduce administrative burden and improve the experience of arranging support by replacing a static form with written or spoken dialogue. This paper reports the results of two trials conducted during the project. A beta trial using an early version of the VA provided understanding of accessibility challenges and issues in user experience. The beta trial sample included 22 students who had already disclosed disabilities and 3 disability support advisors. After improvements to the design, a larger main trial was conducted with 134 students who disclosed their disabilities to the university using both the VA and the existing form-based process. The results show that the VA was preferred by most participants to completing the form (64.2% vs 24.6%). Qualitative and quantitative feedback from the trials also identified accessibility and user experience barriers for improving CUI design, and an understanding of benefits and preferences that can inform further development of accessible CUIs for this design space

Estudio de asistentes virtuales en el entorno de la Diversidad funcional intelectual

Máster en Investigación e Innovación en TICLa diversidad funcional intelectual se refiere a limitaciones cognitivas que influyen en el funcionamiento mental y comportamiento adaptativo de una persona. Quienes están considerados dentro de este entorno presentan dificultades en su capacidad de socializar, memorizar, tolerancia reducida a equivocaciones y problemas de comunicación debido a un limitado desarrollo del lenguaje. Este último, genera una barrera con lo cual puede causar un rápido abandono en tareas en donde es necesario la constancia y repetición. Con la aparición de asistentes de voz los cuales son agentes de software dotados de inteligencia artificial, en donde la principal forma de interacción con los mismos es mediante el uso de la voz, han llevado a la aparición de nuevos dispositivos como es el caso de pantallas y altavoces inteligentes. Marcas como Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung y Microsoft han lanzado altavoces los cuales contienen a sus asistentes de voz propios. Dichos dispositivos permiten realizar tareas que usualmente se realizan haciendo uso de interfaces gráficas, para lo cual hacen uso de una palabra con lo cual comienzan a percibir peticiones. El presente estudio se centra en el uso de asistentes de voz comerciales sobre altavoces inteligentes siendo usados por personas con diversidad funcional intelectual. Con lo cual se realizaron sesiones con un total de 26 participantes divididos en 3 grupos homogéneos, los cuales realizaron diversos tipos de tareas con los asistentes de voz sobre altavoces inteligentes. Al concluir el estudio y analizar los datos obtenidos se evidencio las limitaciones que presentan al ser usados por personas con diversidad funcional intelectual puesto que no han sido valoradas las condiciones de su entorno. En adición, se proponen unas guías de diseño las cuales buscan eliminar las barreras con las que se han encontrado los participantes dentro del estudio

장애인 사용자들을 대상으로 한 음성 사용자 인터페이스의 사용자 경험에 대한 사용자 중심 연구: 지능형 개인 비서를 중심으로

학위논문 (박사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 인문대학 협동과정 인지과학전공, 2021. 2. 윤명환.In recent years, research on Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) has been actively conducted. The VUI has many advantages which can be very useful for the general public as well as for elderly people and people with disabilities. The VUI is considered very suitable for individuals with disabilities to promote universal access to information, decreasing the gap between users with non-disabilities and users with disabilities. In this respect, many researchers have been trying to apply the VUI to various areas for people with disabilities to increase their independence and quality of life. However, previous studies related to VUIs for people with disabilities usually focused on developments and evaluations of new systems, and empirical studies are limited. There have been a few studies related to User Experience (UX) of VUIs for people with disabilities. This situation is not different with studies related to Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPAs) which one of the most wildly being used VUIs nowadays. Although IPAs have potential to be practically used for users with disabilities because they can perform various tasks than simple VUIs, research related to UX of IPAs for them has been paid little attention to, only focusing on a young adult and middle-aged group among people with non-disabilities as end-users. Many previous studies referred to that IPAs would be helpful to people with disabilities. However, only a few studies related to IPAs have been conducted from the angle of users with disabilities, especially in terms of UX. It is known for that investigating usability and UX for users with disabilities is more difficult and delicate than that of users with non-disabilities. It can be said that research on UX of IPAs for users with disabilities should be conducted more closely to understand their interactions with IPAs. The purpose of the research in this dissertation is to investigate UX of VUIs for users with disabilities, focusing on IPAs. The research in this dissertation consists of three independent main studies. Study 1 investigates UX of commercially available VUIs for users with disabilities, by examining acceptance, focusing on the differences between users with different types of disabilities and identifying the reasons why they use or not use VUIs. A questionnaire survey was conducted for users with disabilities having used one or more VUIs. The collected data were analyzed statistically and qualitatively. The results of this study show acceptance of VUIs and the relationships between the acceptance factors for users with disabilities, with some differences between users with different types of disabilities. The results of this study also provide some insights related to UX of VUIs for users with disabilities from their perspective, showing that the acceptance factors can be used as criteria in comprehending the issues. Study 2 investigates UX of IPAs based on online reviews written by users through semantic network analysis. Before investigating UX of IPAs for users with disabilities, important factors for UX of IPAs were proposed by investigating UX of IPAs for users with non-disabilities in this study. As a case study, online reviews on smart speakers from the internet were collected. Then, the collected text data were preprocessed and structured in which words having similar meaning were clustered into one representative keyword. After this, the frequency of the keywords was calculated, and keywords in top 50 frequency were used for the analysis, because they were considered core keywords. Based on the keywords, a network was visualized, and centrality was measured. The results of this study show that most of the users were satisfied with the use of IPAs, although they felt that the performance of them was not completely reliable. In addition, the results of this study show aesthetic aspects of IPAs are also important for users’ enjoyment, especially for the satisfaction of users. This study proposes eleven important factors to be considered for UX of IPAs and among them, suggests ten factors to be considered in the design of IPAs to improve UX of IPAs and to satisfy users. Study 3 investigates UX of IPAs for users with disabilities and identifies how the use of IPAs affects quality of life of them, based on Study 1 and Study 2. In this study, comparisons with users with non-disabilities are also conducted. A questionnaire survey and a written interview were conducted for users with disabilities and users with non-disabilities having used one or more smart speakers. The collected data were analyzed statistically and qualitatively. The results of this study show that, regardless of disability, most users are sharing the main UX of IPAs and can benefit the use of IPA. The results of this study also show that the investigation on qualitative data is essential to the study for users with disabilities, offering various insights related to UX of IPAs from the angle of them and clear differences in UX of IPAs between users with disabilities and users with non-disabilities. This study proposes important factors for UX of IPAs for users with disabilities and users with non-disabilities based on the discussed factors for UX of IPAs in Study 2. This study also discusses various design implications for UX of IPAs and provides three important design implications which should be considered to improve UX, focusing on the interaction design of IPAs for not only users with disabilities but also all potential users. Each study provides design implications. Study 1 discusses design implications for UX of VUIs for users with disabilities. Study 2 suggests design implications for UX of IPAs, focusing on users with non-disabilities. Study 3 discusses various design implications for UX of IPAs and proposes three specific implications focusing on the interaction design of IPAs for all potential users. It is possible to expect that reflecting the implications in the interaction design of IPA will be helpful to all potential users, not just users with disabilities.최근에 들어와 음성 사용자 인터페이스들(Voice User Interfaces, VUIs)에 대한 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. VUI는 일반적인 사람들은 물론, 고령자 및 장애인들에게도 매우 유용한 많은 장점들을 가지고 있다. VUI는 장애인들에게 보편적 정보 접근을 용이하게 한다는 점에서 장애인과 비장애인 간 존재할 수 있는 정보 격차를 줄이는 매우 유용한 역할을 할 수 있다. 이러한 관점에서, 많은 연구자들은 장애인들의 독립성과 삶의 질을 높이기 위해 VUI를 다양한 영역에 적용하려고 하고 있다. 하지만, 장애인들을 위한 VUIs와 관련된 선행연구들은 대부분 새로운 시스템의 개발 및 평가에 중점을 두고 있으며 경험적 연구는 제한적이다. 특히, 장애인을 위한 VUIs와 관련된 연구들 중 사용자경험(User Experience, UX)에 대한 연구는 상당히 드물다. 이러한 상황은 오늘날 가장 많이 사용되는 VUIs 중 하나인 지능형 개인 비서들(Intelligent Personal Assistants, IPAs)에 대한 연구에서도 마찬가지이다. IPAs는 단순한 VUIs보다 다양한 작업을 수행할 수 있기 때문에 장애가 있는 사용자들에게 매우 실용적으로 사용될 수 있다. 하지만, IPAs의 UX 관련된 연구는 거의 주목받지 못 하고 있으며, 비장애인 중 청년 및 중년층만이 최종 사용자들로 고려되고 있다. 이전의 많은 선행연구들은 IPAs가 장애가 있는 사람들에게 큰 도움이 될 수 있다고 입을 모아 말한다. 그러나 실재로 장애인 사용자들의 입장에서 진행된 IPAs와 관련된 연구는 별로 없으며 IPAs의 UX 관련된 연구는 더욱 부족한 상황이다. 비장애인 사용자들과 비교했을 때 장애인 사용자들의 입장에서 사용성(usability) 및 UX를 조사하는 것은 복잡하고 어려운 일이다. 그렇기에 장애가 있는 사용자를 위한 IPAs의 UX에 대한 연구가 보다 철저히 이루어져야 한다고 볼 수 있다. 이러한 배경을 두고, 본 학위논문의 연구 목적은 장애인 사용자들을 대상으로 IPAs에 중점을 두고 VUIs의 UX를 조사하는 것이다. 본 학위논문은 크게 세 개의 독립적인 연구로 이루어져 있다. 연구 1에서는 다른 장애를 가지고 있는 장애인 사용자들의 차이들과 그들이 VUIs을 사용하거나 사용하지 않는 이유를 파악하는데 중점을 두고, 상용화된 VUIs의 UX를 조사한다. 하나이상의 VUIs를 사용한 경험이 있는 장애인 사용자들을 대상으로 설문조사를 하였다. 수집된 데이터는 통계적으로 그리고 정성적으로 분석하였다. 이 연구의 결과들은 장애인 사용자들의 장애유형에 따라 VUIs의 수용도(acceptance)와 수용도 요인들 간 관계에 차이가 있다는 것을 보여준다. 또한, 이 연구의 결과들은 수용도 요인들이 VUIs의 UX 이슈들을 이해하는데 사용될 수 있다는 것을 보여줌과 함께 장애인 사용자들을 위한 VUIs의 UX와 관련된 다양한 인사이트들(insights)을 제공해준다. 연구 2에서는 의미 신경망(semantic network) 분석을 통해 사용자가 작성한 온라인 리뷰를 기반으로 IPAs의 UX를 조사한다. 해당 연구는 장애인 사용자들에 대한 IPAs의 UX를 조사하기 전에 비장애인 사용자들에 대한 IPAs의 UX를 조사하여 IPAs의 UX와 관련하여 중요하게 고려해야 할 요인들을 제안하였다. 이를 위해 사례 연구로, 인터넷에서 스마트 스피커에 대한 온라인 리뷰들을 수집하였다. 그 후, 텍스트 데이터를 전처리 및 구조화였고, 이 과정에서 유사한 의미를 갖는 단어들이 있을 경우 하나의 대표 키워드로 변환하였다. 이 과정을 거친 후, 키워드들에 대한 빈도수를 계산하여, 빈도수 상위 50개의 키워드들이 핵심 키워드들로 보였기에, 빈도수 상위 50개의 키워드들을 분석에 사용했다. 이 키워드들을 바탕으로 네트워크를 시각화 하였고 중심성(centrality)을 계산했다. 이 연구의 결과들은 비록 IPAs의 성능에 대해서 완전히 신뢰하지는 못 하고 있더라도 대부분의 사용자들이 IPAs 사용에 만족하고 있었다는 것을 보여준다. 또한 이 연구의 결과들은 IPAs의 심미적 측면들이 사용자들의 즐거움과 만족에 중요하다는 것을 보여준다. 이 연구는 IPAs의 UX를 위해 고려해야 할 열 한 개의 중요 요인들을 제안하고, 그 중에서 사용자들을 만족시키고 IPAs의 디자인 시 고려해야 할 필요가 있는 열 개의 요인들을 시사해준다. 연구 3에서는, 연구 1과 연구 2를 바탕으로, 장애인 사용자들을 대상으로 IPAs의 UX에 대해 조사하고 IPAs의 사용이 그들의 삶의 질(quality of life)에 어떠한 영향을 주는지에 대해서 알아보고자 한다. 이 과정에서 비장애인 사용자들과 비교 또한 이루어졌다. 하나이상의 IPAs를 사용하고 있는 장애인 사용자들과 비장애인 사용자들을 대상으로 설문조사와 서면 인터뷰를 진행하였다. 수집된 데이터는 통계적으로 그리고 정성적으로 분석하였다. 이 연구의 결과들은, 장애 유무와 상관없이, 대부분의 사용자들이 주요 IPAs의 UX를 공유하고 있으며 IPAs 사용에 혜택을 누리고 있다는 것을 보여준다. 또한, 이 연구의 결과들은 장애인 사용자들의 입장에서 IPAs의 UX와 관련된 다양한 인사이트들과 함께 두 사용자 그룹 간 명확한 차이가 있다는 것을 보여줌으로써 이들을 대상으로 한 연구에서 정성적 데이터에 대한 분석이 필수적이라는 사실을 보여준다. 이 연구는, 연구 2에서 논의된 요인들을 바탕으로, 장애인 사용자들과 비장애인 사용자들을 위한 IPAs의 UX에 있어 중요 요인들을 제안한다. 또한 이 연구는 IPA의 UX에 대한 다양한 디자인 함의들(implications)을 논의하고, 장애가 있는 사용자들뿐만 아니라 모든 잠재적 사용자들을 고려한 IPA의 상호 작용 설계에 중점을 둔 구체적인 세 개의 디자인 함의들을 제공한다. 각 연구는 디자인 함의들을 제공한다. 연구 1에서는 장애인 사용자들을 대상으로 VUIs의 UX를 위한 디자인 함의들을 논의한다. 연구 2에서는 비장애인 사용자들에게 초점을 두고 IPAs의 UX를 위한 디자인 함의들을 제시한다. 연구 3에서는 장애인 사용들만이 아닌 모든 잠재적 사용자들에게 도움이 될 수 있는 다양한 디자인 함의들을 논의하고 IPA의 상호 작용 설계에 중점을 둔 구체적인 세 개의 디자인 함의들을 제안한다. 이러한 함의들을 IPAs의 디자인에 반영하는 것은 장애인 사용자들뿐만 아니라 잠재적인 모든 사용자들에게 도움이 될 것이다.ABSTRACT I CONTENTS V LIST OF TABLES VIII LIST OF FIGURES X CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Research Background 1 1.2. Research Objective 4 1.3. Outline of this Dissertation 7 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1. People with Disabilities and Research Methods for Them 10 2.1.1. People with Disabilities 10 2.1.2. Research Methods for People with Disabilities 11 2.2. Conceptual Frameworks 13 2.2.1. User Experience of Voice User Interfaces 13 2.2.2. Design Approaches for Accessibility 18 2.3. Related Work 22 2.3.1. Previous Studies Related to Voice User Interfaces 22 2.3.2. Previous Studies Related to Intelligent Personal Assistants 25 CHAPTER 3 INVESTIGATION ON USER EXPERIENCE OF VOICE USER INTERFACES FOR USERS WITH DISABILITIES BY EXAMINING ACCEPTANCE 31 3.1. Introduction 31 3.2. Method 35 3.2.1. Participants 35 3.2.2. Procedure 35 3.2.3. Questionnaire 36 3.2.4. Analysis 38 3.2.4.1. Statistical Analysis 38 3.2.4.1. Qualitative Analysis 38 3.3. Results 38 3.3.1. Reliability Analysis and Validity Analysis 38 3.3.2. Descriptive Analysis and Independent Two-Sample T-Test 39 3.3.3. Multiple Regression Analysis 39 3.3.4. Analysis on Comments of the Participants 44 3.4. Discussion 45 3.4.1. User Experience of Voice User Interfaces for Users with Disabilities 45 3.4.2. Reasons of Users with Disabilities for Using Voice User Interfaces or not 48 3.4.3. Design Implications on Voice User Interfaces for Users with Disabilities 50 3.5. Conclusion 51 CHAPTER 4 INVESTIGATION ON USER EXPERIENCE OF INTELLIGENT PERSONAL ASSISTANTS FROM ONLINE REVIEWS BY IDENTIFYING IMPORTANT FACTORS 54 4.1. Introduction 54 4.2. Method 56 4.2.1. Data Collection 56 4.2.2. Preprocessing and Structuring Data 57 4.2.3. Analysis 57 4.3. Results 60 4.3.1. Analysis on Frequency of the Keywords and Categorizing the Keywords 61 4.3.2. Visualization of the Network 61 4.3.3. Analysis on Centrality of the Keywords 65 4.4. Discussion 65 4.4.1. User Experience of Intelligent Personal Assistants through Semantic Network Analysis from Online Reviews 65 4.4.2. Important Factors for User Experience of Intelligent Personal Assistants and Design Implications 70 4.5. Conclusion 74 CHAPTER 5 INVESTIGATION ON USER EXPERIENCE OF INTELLIGENT PERSONAL ASSISTANTS AND EFFECTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE FOR USERS WITH DISABILITIES BY COMPARING WITH USERS WITH NON-DISABILITIES 76 5.1. Introduction 76 5.2. Method 78 5.2.1. Participants 78 5.2.2. Procedure 79 5.2.3. Questionnaire 79 5.2.4. Written Interview 81 5.2.5. Analysis 84 5.2.5.1. Statistical Analysis 84 5.2.5.2. Qualitative Analysis 84 5.3. Results 85 5.3.1. Reliability Analysis and Validity Analysis 85 5.3.2. Descriptive Analysis and Mann-Whitney U-test 85 5.3.2.1. User Experience of Intelligent Personal Assistants 85 5.3.2.2. Effects of the Use of Intelligent Personal Assistants on Quality of Life 87 5.3.3. Analysis on the Written Interview 89 5.3.3.1. Analysis on Issues Related to User Experience from the Written Interview 89 5.3.3.2. Semantic Network Analysis on the Written Interview 91 5.4. Discussion 99 5.4.1. User Experience of Intelligent Personal Assistants 99 5.4.1.1. Discussion on the Statistical Analysis 99 5.4.1.2. Discussion on the Analysis on the Written Interview 106 5.4.2. Effects of the Use of Intelligent Personal Assistants on Quality of Life 110 5.4.2.1. Discussion on the Statistical Analysis 110 5.4.2.2. Discussion on the Analysis on the Written Interview 111 5.4.3. Design Implications for User Experience of Intelligent Personal Assistants for Users with Disabilities 112 5.5. Conclusion 115 CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 118 6.1. Summary of this Research 118 6.2. Contributions of this Research 121 6.3. Limitations of this Research and Future Studies 124 BIBLIOGRAPHY 126 APPENDIX 143 ABSTRACT IN KOREAN (국문 초록) 181Docto

La seguridad de las personas con discapacidad intelectual: Diseño y validación de una solución digital accesible

La seguretat, així com l'accés a la informació i la formació relativa a la prevenció d'emergències és un dret fonamental. Tot i això, el col·lectiu de persones amb discapacitat intel·lectual (DI) pot presentar nombroses dificultats per desenvolupar-se en situacions d'emergència. En aquest sentit, les tecnologies digitals (TD) han demostrat ser útils per a la intervenció amb aquest i altres col·lectius en situacions sobrevingudes. No obstant això, no totes les persones amb DI tenen les capacitats per fer-ne un ús normalitzat. Davant d'aquesta necessitat, sorgeix el projecte SIT (Safety, Inclusion & Technology). Aquest se centra en el disseny i el desenvolupament d'una solució tecnològica que permeti la identificació, l'atenció i la formació preventiva de persones amb DI en situacions d'emergència. Per fer-ho, s'ha escollit la Investigació Basada en el Disseny (DBR), implementada en 3 iteracions. Al llarg del procés s'ha comptat amb la participació d'experts de diversos perfils per al disseny i la validació dels productes dissenyats. La recollida i l'anàlisi de dades s'ha dut a terme a partir de diverses tècniques, principalment qualitatives. El resultat d'aquest procés de recerca es materialitza amb un prototip teòric final de l'Aplicació SOS Discapacitat Intel·lectual (App SOSDI) i el web del projecte SIT. Les concussions principals de l'estudi sustenten la manca de publicacions científiques respecte a l'objecte d'estudi. Tot i això, es destaquen certes característiques presents a les TD que ofereixen oportunitats i beneficis per a la finalitat del projecte. D'altra banda, també es defensa el disseny de TD, solucions o intervencions partint d'una base teòrica fonamentada científicament, que compti amb la participació en la fase de disseny dels usuaris finals i que defensi un enfocament centrat en l'accessibilitat cognitiva des de la planificació.La seguridad, así como el acceso a la información y formación relativa a la prevención de emergencias es un derecho fundamental. A pesar de ello, el colectivo de personas con discapacidad intelectual (DI) puede presentar numerosas dificultades para desenvolverse en situaciones de emergencia. En este sentido, las tecnologías digitales (TD) han demostrado ser útiles para la intervención con este y otros colectivos en situaciones sobrevenidas. Sin embargo, no todas las personas con DI tienen las capacidades para hacer un uso normalizado de estas. Ante esta necesidad, surge el proyecto SIT (Safety, Inclusion & Technology). Este se centra en el diseño y desarrollo de una solución tecnológica que permita la identificación, atención y formación preventiva de personas con DI en situaciones de emergencia. Para ello se ha escogido la Investigación Basada en el Diseño (DBR), implementada en 3 iteraciones. A lo largo del proceso se ha contado con la participación de expertos de diversos perfiles para el diseño y validación de los productos diseñados. La recogida y análisis de datos se ha llevado a cabo a partir de diversas técnicas, principalmente cualitativas. El resultado de este proceso de investigación se materializa con un prototipo teórico final de la Aplicación SOS Discapacidad Intelectual (App SOSDI) y la web del proyecto SIT. Las principales concusiones del estudio sustentan la falta de publicaciones científicas respecto al objeto de estudio. A pesar de ello, se destacan ciertas características presentes en las TD que ofrecen oportunidades y beneficios para la finalidad del proyecto. Por otro lado, también se defiende el diseño de TD, soluciones o intervenciones partiendo de una base teórica fundamentada científicamente, que cuente con la participación en la fase de diseño de los usuarios finales y que defienda un enfoque centrado en la accesibilidad cognitiva desde su planificación.Safety, as well as access to information and training related to emergency prevention is a fundamental right. Despite this, people with intellectual disabilities (ID) can have many difficulties in dealing with emergency situations. In this sense, digital technologies (DT) have proven to be useful for intervention with this and other groups in emergency situations. However, not all people with ID have the skills to make normalised use of these technologies. In response to this need, the SIT (Safety, Inclusion & Technology) project arose. It focuses on the design and development of a technological solution that allows the identification, care and preventive training of people with ID in emergency situations. Design Based Research (DBR) has been chosen for this purpose, implemented in 3 iterations. Throughout the process, experts with different profiles were involved in the design and validation of the products designed. Data collection and analysis was carried out using various techniques, mainly qualitative. The result of this research process is materialised with a final theoretical prototype of the SOS Intellectual Disability Application (SOSDI App) and the SIT project website. The main findings of the study underpin the lack of scientific publications on the object of study. In spite of this, certain characteristics present in TDs that offer opportunities and benefits for the purpose of the project are highlighted. On the other hand, it also defends the design of TDs, solutions or interventions based on a scientifically grounded theoretical basis, with the participation of end users in the design phase and defending an approach centred on cognitive accessibility from the planning stage

Supporting Voice-Based Natural Language Interactions for Information Seeking Tasks of Various Complexity

Natural language interfaces have seen a steady increase in their popularity over the past decade leading to the ubiquity of digital assistants. Such digital assistants include voice activated assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa, as well as text-based chat bots that can substitute for a human assistant in business settings (e.g., call centers, retail / banking websites) and at home. The main advantages of such systems are their ease of use and - in the case of voice-activated systems - hands-free interaction. The majority of tasks undertaken by users of these commercially available voice-based digital assistants are simple in nature, where the responses of the agent are often determined using a rules-based approach. However, such systems have the potential to support users in completing more complex and involved tasks. In this dissertation, I describe experiments investigating user behaviours when interacting with natural language systems and how improvements in design of such systems can benefit the user experience. Currently available commercial systems tend to be designed in a way to mimic superficial characteristics of a human-to-human conversation. However, the interaction with a digital assistant differs significantly from the interaction between two people, partly due to limitations of the underlying technology such as automatic speech recognition and natural language understanding. As computing technology evolves, it may make interactions with digital assistants resemble those between humans. The first part of this thesis explores how users will perceive the systems that are capable of human-level interaction, how users will behave while communicating with such systems, and new opportunities that may be opened by that behaviour. Even in the absence of the technology that allows digital assistants to perform on a human level, the digital assistants that are widely adopted by people around the world are found to be beneficial for a number of use-cases. The second part of this thesis describes user studies aiming at enhancing the functionality of digital assistants using the existing level of technology. In particular, chapter 6 focuses on expanding the amount of information a digital assistant is able to deliver using a voice-only channel, and chapter 7 explores how expanded capabilities of voice-based digital assistants would benefit people with visual impairments. The experiments presented throughout this dissertation produce a set of design guidelines for existing as well as potential future digital assistants. Experiments described in chapters 4, 6, and 7 focus on supporting the task of finding information online, while chapter 5 considers a case of guiding a user through a culinary recipe. The design recommendations provided by this thesis can be generalised in four categories: how naturally a user can communicate their thoughts to the system, how understandable the system's responses are to the user, how flexible the system's parameters are, and how diverse the information delivered by the system is