A Research Framework and Initial Study of Browser Security for the Visually Impaired

The growth of web-based malware and phishing attacks has catalyzed significant advances in the research and use of interstitial warning pages and modals by a browser prior to loading the content of a suspect site. These warnings commonly use visual cues to attract users\u27 attention, including specialized iconography, color, and an absence of buttons to communicate the importance of the scenario. While the efficacy of visual techniques has improved safety for sighted users, these techniques are unsuitable for blind and visually impaired users. This is likely not due to a lack of interest or technical capability by browser manufactures, where universal design is a core tenet of their engineering practices, but instead a reflection of the very real dearth of research literature to inform best practices, exacerbated by a deficit of clear methodologies for conducting studies with this population. Indeed, the challenges are manifold. In this paper, we present the results of our study analyzing the experiences of the visually impaired with browser security warnings, detail the development and advancement of the methodological best practices when conducting a study of this kind, and ultimately identify some initial approaches that could improve the security for this population

Improving Voter Privacy for the Blind

Visually impaired voters in Denmark are unable to vote privately in national elections. Our study examined voting systems that could improve voter privacy for the visually impaired in Denmark. We also investigated different methods of voting that would allow the visually impaired to participate in elections within organizations. Through interviews with blind and sighted voters and with members of the Danish government, we determined which voting systems would be most acceptable for use in Denmark. Based on our findings, we concluded that the Danish Association of the Blind should push for the implementation of electronic voting machines that print paper ballots. We have also created a list of best practices for making organizational elections accessible to the visually impaired

Pedestrian Detection with Wearable Cameras for the Blind: A Two-way Perspective

Blind people have limited access to information about their surroundings, which is important for ensuring one's safety, managing social interactions, and identifying approaching pedestrians. With advances in computer vision, wearable cameras can provide equitable access to such information. However, the always-on nature of these assistive technologies poses privacy concerns for parties that may get recorded. We explore this tension from both perspectives, those of sighted passersby and blind users, taking into account camera visibility, in-person versus remote experience, and extracted visual information. We conduct two studies: an online survey with MTurkers (N=206) and an in-person experience study between pairs of blind (N=10) and sighted (N=40) participants, where blind participants wear a working prototype for pedestrian detection and pass by sighted participants. Our results suggest that both of the perspectives of users and bystanders and the several factors mentioned above need to be carefully considered to mitigate potential social tensions.Comment: The 2020 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2020

Auditory interfaces: Using sound to improve the HSL metro ticketing interface for the visually impaired

Around 252 million trips by public transport are taken in Helsinki every year, and about 122 million passengers travel by Helsinki City Transport (tram, metro and ferry) in and around Finland's capitol. Given these numbers, it is important that the system be as wholly efficient, inclusive, and as easy to use as possible. In my master's thesis, I examine Helsinki Region Transport's ticketing and information system. I pay special attention to their new touch screen card readers, framing them in the context of increasing usability and accessibility through the use of sound design. I look at what design decisions have been made and compare these with a variety of available technology that exists today, as well as what solutions are being used in other cities. Throughout my research, I've placed an emphasis on sonic cues and sound design, as this is my area of study. Everything is assessed against the requirements and perspective of Helsinki's public transportation end users who are blind and visually impaired. I have used desk research, field research, user testing and stakeholder interviews in my methodology. I have put forth suggestions on how to improve the current system, taking into account the learnings from my research. I have looked at key points around people with disabilities and how sound can be used to improve accessibility and general functionality for all. I also hope to share this thesis with HSL and HKL, whom may use it to inform future optimization of their systems

Accessible and inclusive cyber security:a nuanced and complex challenge

It has been argued that human-centred security design needs to accommodate the considerations of three dimensions: (1) security, (2) usability and (3) accessibility. The latter has not yet received much attention. Now that governments and health services are increasingly requiring their citizens/patients to use online services, the need for accessible security and privacy has become far more pressing. The reality is that, for many, security measures are often exasperatingly inaccessible. Regardless of the outcome of the debate about the social acceptability of compelling people to access public services online, we still need to design accessibility into these systems, or risk excluding and marginalising swathes of the population who cannot use these systems in the same way as abled users. These users are particularly vulnerable to attack and online deception not only because security and privacy controls are inaccessible but also because they often struggle with depleted resources and capabilities together with less social, economic and political resilience. This conceptual paper contemplates the accessible dimension of human-centred security and its impact on the inclusivity of security technologies. We scope the range of vulnerabilities that can result from a lack of accessibility in security solutions and contemplate the nuances and complex challenges inherent in making security accessible. We conclude by suggesting a number of avenues for future work in this space.</p

Accessibility of Health Data Representations for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Design

Health data of consumer off-the-shelf wearable devices is often conveyed to users through visual data representations and analyses. However, this is not always accessible to people with disabilities or older people due to low vision, cognitive impairments or literacy issues. Due to trade-offs between aesthetics predominance or information overload, real-time user feedback may not be conveyed easily from sensor devices through visual cues like graphs and texts. These difficulties may hinder critical data understanding. Additional auditory and tactile feedback can also provide immediate and accessible cues from these wearable devices, but it is necessary to understand existing data representation limitations initially. To avoid higher cognitive and visual overload, auditory and haptic cues can be designed to complement, replace or reinforce visual cues. In this paper, we outline the challenges in existing data representation and the necessary evidence to enhance the accessibility of health information from personal sensing devices used to monitor health parameters such as blood pressure, sleep, activity, heart rate and more. By creating innovative and inclusive user feedback, users will likely want to engage and interact with new devices and their own data

Perceptions of Older Veterans with Visual Impairments Regarding Computer Access Training and Quality of Life

The widespread integration of the computer into the mainstream of daily life presents a challenge to various sectors of society, and the incorporation of this technology into the realm of the older individual with visual impairments is a relatively uncharted field of study. This study was undertaken to acquire the perceptions of the impact of the training and issuance of the access of technology upon participants’ quality of life. The study adopted a qualitative research approach employing phenomenological, descriptive, and cross-case components in order to understand the experience of older (over 40) veterans who were legally blind, had completed Computer Access Technology (CATS) training, and had been issued assistive technology. The 9 respondents were selected from veterans who had been through the CATS program and were known to the researcher in an attempt to maximize the range of ages, military experience, and origin of vision loss. This study employed semi-structured interviews that were recorded and later transcribed verbatim. Through content analysis, the participants’ responses, originally in 20 categories, were consolidated into 3 categories, which correlated to the questions of this study. During this process, an emergent category, “Background and History of the Participants,” evolved, resulting in a total of 4 categories. The categories reflected the background and history of participants, the impact of blind rehabilitation, current computer usage in daily tasks, and participants’ comments and recommendations. The results demonstrated that the CATS training had a profound impact on the participants upon their return to their homes. The impact included the restored ability to communicate with family and friends, the development of new interests and abilities, the re-establishment of self-worth, a sense of independence, and the feeling of being normal and not a “freak.” 7 of the 9 participants had already returned for additional CATS training during the research process. Of the remaining 2, 1 received on-the-job training, and the final participant would consider returning if his vision deteriorated. Various participants had returned or remained in the workforce, and others performed volunteer work. 6 envision further study through correspondence courses, more CATS training or on their own

Perceptions of Older Veterans with Visual Impairments Regarding Computer Access Training and Quality of Life

The widespread integration of the computer into the mainstream of daily life presents a challenge to various sectors of society, and the incorporation of this technology into the realm of the older individual with visual impairments is a relatively uncharted field of study. This study was undertaken to acquire the perceptions of the impact of the training and issuance of the access of technology upon participants’ quality of life. The study adopted a qualitative research approach employing phenomenological, descriptive, and cross-case components in order to understand the experience of older (over 40) veterans who were legally blind, had completed Computer Access Technology (CATS) training, and had been issued assistive technology. The 9 respondents were selected from veterans who had been through the CATS program and were known to the researcher in an attempt to maximize the range of ages, military experience, and origin of vision loss. This study employed semi-structured interviews that were recorded and later transcribed verbatim. Through content analysis, the participants’ responses, originally in 20 categories, were consolidated into 3 categories, which correlated to the questions of this study. During this process, an emergent category, “Background and History of the Participants,” evolved, resulting in a total of 4 categories. The categories reflected the background and history of participants, the impact of blind rehabilitation, current computer usage in daily tasks, and participants’ comments and recommendations. The results demonstrated that the CATS training had a profound impact on the participants upon their return to their homes. The impact included the restored ability to communicate with family and friends, the development of new interests and abilities, the re-establishment of self-worth, a sense of independence, and the feeling of being normal and not a “freak.” 7 of the 9 participants had already returned for additional CATS training during the research process. Of the remaining 2, 1 received on-the-job training, and the final participant would consider returning if his vision deteriorated. Various participants had returned or remained in the workforce, and others performed volunteer work. 6 envision further study through correspondence courses, more CATS training or on their own

Detecting Deceptive Dark-Pattern Web Advertisements for Blind Screen-Reader Users

Advertisements have become commonplace on modern websites. While ads are typically designed for visual consumption, it is unclear how they affect blind users who interact with the ads using a screen reader. Existing research studies on non-visual web interaction predominantly focus on general web browsing; the specific impact of extraneous ad content on blind users\u27 experience remains largely unexplored. To fill this gap, we conducted an interview study with 18 blind participants; we found that blind users are often deceived by ads that contextually blend in with the surrounding web page content. While ad blockers can address this problem via a blanket filtering operation, many websites are increasingly denying access if an ad blocker is active. Moreover, ad blockers often do not filter out internal ads injected by the websites themselves. Therefore, we devised an algorithm to automatically identify contextually deceptive ads on a web page. Specifically, we built a detection model that leverages a multi-modal combination of handcrafted and automatically extracted features to determine if a particular ad is contextually deceptive. Evaluations of the model on a representative test dataset and \u27in-the-wild\u27 random websites yielded F1 scores of 0.86 and 0.88, respectively