A Labeling Task Design for Supporting Algorithmic Needs: Facilitating Worker Diversity and Reducing AI Bias

Studies on supervised machine learning (ML) recommend involving workers from various backgrounds in training dataset labeling to reduce algorithmic bias. Moreover, sophisticated tasks for categorizing objects in images are necessary to improve ML performance, further complicating micro-tasks. This study aims to develop a task design incorporating the fair participation of people, regardless of their specific backgrounds or task's difficulty. By collaborating with 75 labelers from diverse backgrounds for 3 months, we analyzed workers' log-data and relevant narratives to identify the task's hurdles and helpers. The findings revealed that workers' decision-making tendencies varied depending on their backgrounds. We found that the community that positively helps workers and the machine's feedback perceived by workers could make people easily engaged in works. Hence, ML's bias could be expectedly mitigated. Based on these findings, we suggest an extended human-in-the-loop approach that connects labelers, machines, and communities rather than isolating individual workers.Comment: 45 pages, 4 figure

Examining the Adoption, Use and Diffusion of Tablet and Mobile Devices by Older Adults in Hertfordshire County, UK

Ubiquitous or mobile computing is the new trend of this modern era whereby information can be accessed anytime and anywhere. It is anticipated that this form of computing will be more effective than the Internet because of its capability of combining the integral benefits of wireless Internet and interactivity with its own unique characteristics namely, mobility, portability and flexibility. One of the devices that have made this form of computing a reality is the tablet device. It is also a device identified to make a significant impact in encouraging the use of the Internet and ICT generally among the older population. However, there is limited study on the reasons older adults adopt and use tablet devices. Therefore, this research project aims to identify and evaluate the factors that influence the adoption, use and diffusion of tablet devices within the older population (aged 50 and above) in UK. For this purpose, a Framework of Tablet Device Adoption (FTDA), which was based mainly on the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) with the inclusion of an extra construct Trust, was developed. In particular, the hypothesised constructs included nine variables namely: Compatibility, Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness, Trust, Attitude, Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioural Control, Intention to Use and Actual Use. Furthermore, a quantitative approach for data collection was employed to test the FTDA model. The data collection was conducted in three phases including, content validity, pilot phase and the final phase. Data was collated through an online survey, which produced 203 completed responses for the pilot phase and 1,008 completed responses for the final phase. In addition, to validate the result of the quantitative study, qualitative method in the form of telephone interviews was employed. Result showed that attitude has the strongest effect on the intention to use tablets, while perceived usefulness had the strongest impact on attitude. In addition, the impact of attitude on intention was moderated by age and health status while the impact of perceived behavioural control was moderated by age. Findings also revealed that ailments such as anxiety disorder, vision impairments and learning difficulties impacted on adoption and use. In conclusion, this study contributes to a growing body of knowledge on older adults’ adoption and use of tablet and mobile devices. Specifically, it addresses the gap relating to the adoption, use and diffusion of tablets by older adults in Hertfordshire, UK and identifies significant factors that impact on an older adult’s adoption and use of the tablet device. In addition, it also provides information regarding the generational difference existing within the older population of 50 years and over

Human Computer Interaction and Emerging Technologies

The INTERACT Conferences are an important platform for researchers and practitioners in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI) to showcase their work. They are organised biennially by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Technical Committee on Human–Computer Interaction (IFIP TC13), an international committee of 30 member national societies and nine Working Groups. INTERACT is truly international in its spirit and has attracted researchers from several countries and cultures. With an emphasis on inclusiveness, it works to lower the barriers that prevent people in developing countries from participating in conferences. As a multidisciplinary field, HCI requires interaction and discussion among diverse people with different interests and backgrounds. The 17th IFIP TC13 International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (INTERACT 2019) took place during 2-6 September 2019 in Paphos, Cyprus. The conference was held at the Coral Beach Hotel Resort, and was co-sponsored by the Cyprus University of Technology and Tallinn University, in cooperation with ACM and ACM SIGCHI. This volume contains the Adjunct Proceedings to the 17th INTERACT Conference, comprising a series of selected papers from workshops, the Student Design Consortium and the Doctoral Consortium. The volume follows the INTERACT conference tradition of submitting adjunct papers after the main publication deadline, to be published by a University Press with a connection to the conference itself. In this case, both the Adjunct Proceedings Chair of the conference, Dr Usashi Chatterjee, and the lead Editor of this volume, Dr Fernando Loizides, work at Cardiff University which is the home of Cardiff University Press

Investigating Public Sector Online Communication Channel Adoption and Usage Amongst Older Adults: a UK Local Government Perspective

Since governments around the world are moving away from conventional ways of face to face communication to a more digital approach when delivering services to their citizens. Advancements in using novel information and internet technology e.g. Online Social Networks (OSN) for communications has become a fast-developing strategy in the public sector of the economy. However, research has found that not all the citizens use these online tools; thereby, causing a digital divide. A societal demographic group causing immense concern for governments, organizations and society is the ageing population. It is also this group that is not extensively investigated in e-government research. Recognising the role of older adults in the society and for e-government research, the aim of this research is to identify, explore and understand the factors that encourage older adults of 50 years old and above to continue using a particular online communication channel (Facebook versus Email) when interacting with the government. For this purpose, a conceptual framework was developed which was the Model of Online Communication Channel (MOCC) based on the Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Channel Expansion Theory (CET) along with service quality and trust factors. To achieve this aim, a quantitative research approach was employed for the data collection process to test the MOCC model. The data collection process was carried out in three phases namely; the content validity, pilot phase and final phase. The data was collated using an online survey tool (SurveyMonkey) which resulted in 222 completed response for the pilot and 1014 completed response for the final data collection. Findings revealed that older adults will continue using a particular online communication channel to interact with the government if they have good knowledge and previous experience of using an online communication medium for interaction. Equally, having a strong satisfactory experience with a medium will encourage them to trust and use that particular online communication medium when interacting with the government. Most significantly, the consequences of ailments being suffered by older adults impacted on their continuance intention to use an online communication channel for interaction. Additionally, to validate and verify the results obtained from the quantitative data collated, an evaluation study was carried out using a qualitative research approach in form of telephone interview. In summary, this research study contributed to the growing research body of Information Systems (IS) knowledge on adoption and continuance usage of technology. Moreover, this research would benefit industry by informing providers of online communication channels to the government to be aware of the factors that influence older adults’ choices when interacting with the government. In so doing, the public sector providers of ICT can learn whether the provided services and products are indeed being accepted by citizens, more than it is recognised as one that is disadvantaged. The major implication of this study is that it provides information with regards to the generational difference within this age segment i.e. 50 years and above. This would help the government determine the best strategy to employ while tackling this issue. Finally, due to the limitations of time, finance and manpower research findings could not be nationally representative of the UK. They are only representative of a single group of society residing in an affluent area of the UK which is Hertfordshire

E-Governance: Strategy for Mitigating Non-Inclusion of Citizens in Policy Making in Nigeria

The Nigerian federation that currently has 36 states structure adopted the Weberian Public Administrative system before now as an ideal way of running government, which was characterized with the traditional way of doing things without recourse to the deployment of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Today e-governance is seen as a paradigm shift from the previous way of governance. Research has shown that, the adoption and implementation of e-governance is more likely to bring about effective service delivery, mitigate corruption and ultimately enhance citizens’ participation in governmental affairs. However, it has been argued that infrastructure such as regular electricity power and access to the Internet, in addition to a society with high rate of literacy level are required to effectively implement and realize the potentials of e-governance for improved delivery of services. Due to the difficulties currently experienced, developing nations need to adequately prepare for the implementation of e-governance on the platform of Information Communication Technology (ICT). Hence, this study seeks to examine whether the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the context of Nigeria would mitigate the hitherto non-inclusion of citizens in the formulation and implementation of government policies aimed at enhanced development. To achieve the objective of the study, data were sourced and analyzed majorly by examining government websites of 20 states in the Nigerian federation to ascertain if there are venues for citizens to interact with government in the area of policy making and feedback on government actions, as a way of promoting participatory governance. The study revealed that the adoption and implementation of e-governance in the country is yet to fully take place. This is due to lack of infrastructure, low level of literacy rate and government inability to provide the necessary infrastructure for e-governance to materialize. The paper therefore, recommends among others the need for the Federal Government to involve a sound and clear policy on how to go about the adoption and implementation of egovernance through deliberate effort at increasing budgetary allocation towards infrastructural development and mass education of citizens

The Impact of e-Democracy in Political Stability of Nigeria

The history of the Nigerian electoral process has been hitherto characterized by violence stemming from disputes in election outcomes. For instance, violence erupted across some states in Northern Nigeria when results indicated that a candidate who was popular in that part of the country was losing the election leading to avoidable loss of lives. Beside, this dispute in election outcome lingers for a long time in litigation at the electoral tribunals which distracts effective governance. However, the increasing penetrating use of ICTs in Nigeria is evident in the electoral processes with consequent shift in the behavior of actors in the democratic processes, thus changing the ways Nigerians react to election outcomes. This paper examines the trend in the use ICT in the Nigerian political system and its impact on the stability of the polity. It assesses the role of ICT in recent electoral processes and compares its impact on the outcome of the process in lieu of previous experiences in the Nigeria. Furthermore, the paper also examines the challenges and risks of implementing e-Democracy in Nigeria and its relationship to the economy in the light of the socio-economic situation of the country. The paper adopted qualitative approach in data gathering and analysis. From the findings, the paper observed that e-democracy is largely dependent on the level of ICT adoption, which is still at its lowest ebb in the country. It recognizes the challenges in the provision of ICT infrastructure and argues that appropriate low-cost infrastructure applicable to the Nigerian condition can be made available to implement e-democracy and thus arouse the interest of the populace in governance, increase the number of voters, and enhance transparency, probity and accountability, and participation in governance as well as help stabilize the nascent democrac

A Framework to Enhance Privacy-Awareness in Mobile Web Systems

In the last decade, the use of online social network sites has dramatically increased and these sites have succeeded in attracting a large number of users. The social network site has become a daily tool people use to find out about the latest news and to share details of their personal information. Many people use Internet mobile devices to browse these sites. The widespread use of some technologies unnecessarily puts the privacy of users at risk, even when these users remain anonymous. This study examines the risks to privacy surrounding the misuse of users' personal information, such as maintaining trustworthy sites, as well as privacy issues associated with sharing personal information with others. This study also develops a framework to enhance privacy awareness in mobile Web systems. A privacy framework is proposed that incorporates suitability in the design and flexibility in the use to suit different types of Web mobile devices, and provides simple ways of adjusting and creating different privacy policies. This framework allows the user to create different levels of privacy settings and to better manage the exchange of personal information with other sites. The proposed conceptual model for this study is derived from a review of the literature and the current privacy models. It shows how online users are able to create different privacy policies and set different policies to access the data. It also explains how the centrality of personal information details in one server will limit the distribution of personal information over the Internet and will provide users with more authority to control the sharing of their information with other websites. The design of the proposed framework is derived from developing other privacy models and adding new ideas that enhance the security level of protecting the privacy of users' information. The study consists of five main tasks that include two different qualitative methodologies, programming two applications and testing the framework

Examining Social Network Site Usage by Older Adults: A Phenomenological Approach

The Internet has infiltrated our daily lives in many ways. Social networking on the Internet is a great example of how the Internet has expanded interpersonal communication. Many individuals have made social networking sites, like FaceBook and Twitter, an essential part of their lives and use these platforms to communicate daily. Until recently, young people have been the primary participants in this fast-growing phenomenon, and older adults\u27 participation in the Internet, specifically social networking sites, has lagged far behind. However, in recent years, there has been a noteworthy increase in the number of older adult participants. The increase in older adult participation in social networking sites is important because it seems to signify a decrease in the Internet usage gap called the digital divide , and because there is strong evidence older adults may greatly benefit from social networking activity. The aging of the Baby Boomers has resulted in significant growth in the senior age group, reinforcing the timely importance of considering the older adults\u27 digital divide . This study uses a phenomenological approach to explore the experience of older adult users of social networking sites to determine the reasons why more older adults are now making social networking sites part of their lives. The study revealed both negative and positive influences on this choice that include: early negative personal experiences with technology, positive family influences, an increasing prevalence of technology, and technology\u27s transition from complexity of use to ease of use. Although some resulting attitudes of older adults are negative, such as a need to control the role of social media in their life, online social networking plays a positive role in their lives. The probing, detailed nature of this phenomenological study clarifies influences and offers new perspectives, implying that research could benefit from a broader and deeper inspection. Research should consider, as related to the use of technology by older adults, a closer look at the effectiveness of training, potential gender differences in the choice to use technology, and the consequences of negative technological experiences

Design for Accessible Collaborative Engagement: Making online synchronous collaborative learning more accessible for students with sensory impairments.

This thesis looks at the accessibility of collaborative learning and the barriers to engagement experienced by blind/visually impaired (BVI) students and deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) students. It focuses specifically on online synchronous collaborative learning after establishing that this format presented the greatest barriers, and that these student groups were not engaging. Taking a design-based research (DBR) approach, five studies were undertaken to identify these barriers and determine potential interventions. The product of the research, a result of collaborative design by the participants in the study, is a framework for accessible collaborative engagement represented in the form of an interactive website model, the Model for Accessible Collaborative Engagement (MACE). The studies involved representatives of all stakeholders in the collaborative learning process at the institution (the Open University): students, tutors, modules teams, academics, support staff, and the student union Disabled Students Group. These studies took the form of an online survey of 327 students, 10 interviews with staff and students, 6 staff workshops and a collaborative design focus group. With significant representation of the target groups (BVI and DHH) in all studies, and taking an iterative approach to the design, evaluation and construction of the framework model, the studies established that barriers existed in four main categories covering different themes: 1. Communications: aural, visual, screen reading and navigation, text and captioning, lip reading and non-verbal communications, interpretation and third-party communications, mode control, and synchronisation. 2. Emotional and Social Factors: familiarisation, support networks, self-advocacy, opting out, cognitive load, and stress and anxiety. 3. Provisioning and Technical Factors: dissemination, speed and pacing of sessions, staff training, participation control, group size, technical provisioning, and recordings. 4. Activity and Session Design: Volume of materials, advance materials, accessible materials, accessible activities, and session formats. Interventions were designed that could reduce the barriers in each of these categories and themes by adjustments and changes from both the student and institutional standpoints. MACE is designed to be utilised by both students and staff to provide guidance and suggestions on how to identify and acknowledge these barriers and implement interventions to reduce them. This research represents an original and essential contribution to the field of investigation. As well as informing future research inquiry, the model can be used by all participants and stakeholders in online collaborative learning to help reduce barriers for BVI and DHH students and improve inclusivity in synchronous online events