Am I missing something? Experiences of using social media by blind and partially sighted users

People with a visual impairment are more likely to experience social isolation as an effect of their vision loss. Social media can particularly benefit these users, but it is of concern if it cannot be fully and successfully used. This study was instigated at the request of an advisory group of visual impaired users and experts. The aim of the study was to investigate potential accessibility issues visually impaired users could encounter when using social media. A major concern was over missing content embedded in images on social media sites. A subsequent evaluation of Facebook posts carried out by a group of student participants demonstrated that nearly half of images considered contained embedded text, which would be inaccessible to visually impaired users. Despite efforts by social media companies to improve accessibility, any text present in images is not presented in an accessible way to visually impaired users. This research demonstrated the inequality that can arise from partial accessibility and the requirement to consider accessibility at all stages of design and development

BlueEyes: using beacon and smart phone for visually impaired / blind people

There are currently few options for navigational aids for the blind and visually impaired (BVI) in large indoor and outdoor spaces. Such indoor and outdoor spaces can be difficult to navigate even for the general sighted population if they are disoriented due to unfamiliarity or other reasons. This paper presents an indoor wayfinding system called GuideBeacon for the blind, visually impaired, and disoriented (BVID) that assists people in navigating between any two points within indoor environments. The GuideBeacon system allows users equipped with smartphones to interact with low cost Bluetooth-based beacons deployed strategically within the indoor space of interest to navigate their surroundings. This paper describes the technical challenges faced in designing such a system, the design decisions made in building the current version of the GuideBeacon system, the solutions developed to meet the technical challenges, and results from the evaluation of the system. Results presented in this paper obtained from field testing GuideBeacon with BVI and sighted participants suggests that it can be used by the BVID for navigation in large indoor spaces independently and effectively. This paper presents novel structure for visually impaired/blind people using beacon and smart phone. The proposed structure is consisted of three parts. In the first part esp8266 module due to ultra-low power consumption, in the second part configurator application to configure these beacon and last part is mobile application to detect these beacons. The aim is to help visually impaired/blind people to knowledge the environment in which they live by. Three tests applied in real environment. The results show good performance for the suggested scheme help the visually impaired/blind people reach the desired devices location successfully without error. In conclusion, beacon and smart phone were a valid and reliable method to help the visually impaired/blind people to know the location of devices that are nearest from him in indoor and outdoor environment

The Prevailing Obstacles in Web Accessibility on Three Well-Known Websites for Older People with sight difficulties

Prior research has argued that there is no one best approach to evaluating web accessibility and proposes the adoption of multiple approaches. Following these proposals this research used three different approaches for evaluating accessibility on websites for accessibility to older persons with sight difficulties as there are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. Approached used included: (1) Using automated tools to determine accessibility, which looks at the code of websites to get a general overview of accessibility issues. (2) Manually looking at the design, code and also how it might impact the user. This involved a manual assessment of each of the websites and comparison to the WCAG 2.0 guidelines (3) the third aspect of Web 4 accessibility is looking at the visual, thinking skills or cognition required by the user to access the website. The user testing evaluation method involved participants completing tasks on each of the three websites while participants were being videoed, and asked them to speak aloud at the same time to reflect on accessibility issues. The participants were then asked to complete an exit-interview based on the Principles of Universal Design. The three approaches provided a complete holistic approach to accessing Web accessibility on the three key websites

Ambient Assisted Living Technology

Ambient assisted living technology, known as ambient welfare technology in Denmark, promises to play a prominent role in the future of home health care. This project, sponsored by the Danish Association of the Blind, investigated the social and political context of ambient welfare technology and the primary concerns of stakeholder’s in its development. The results from our research were used to develop criteria for evaluating assistive devices and make recommendations for future development of these technologies

スマートフォンを用いた視覚障碍者向け移動支援システムアーキテクチャに関する研究

学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : （主査）東京大学教授 坂村 健, 東京大学教授 越塚 登, 東京大学教授 暦本 純一, 東京大学教授 中尾 彰宏, 東京大学教授 石川 徹University of Tokyo(東京大学

An exploratory study of screen-reader users navigating the web

textResearchers have learned much about how sighted individuals seek information on Web sites - for example, users follow "information scent" as they move from page to page, and individual differences may impact successful information seeking on the Web. While it is possible that individuals with disabilities, especially those with severe visual impairments, perform information-seeking activities in a similar manner, little is known about how individuals who use screen readers to navigate actually seek information on the Web. In this study, we used both qualitative and quantitative measures to investigate the Web navigation techniques of four screen-reader users and how a user’s experience affects these navigation techniques and his or her ability to successfully complete an information-finding task. We compared metrics for between-page and within-page navigation to studies of sighted users. We also considered how a Web site’s compliance with Section 508 guidelines affects the overall information-finding experience of a visually-impaired individual. We discovered that among the four individuals in this study, user experience was not necessarily indicative of a successful information-finding experience. As individuals, the participants' navigation techniques varied widely; as a group, they generally searched more frequently and used the back button less frequently than has been reported for sighted individuals. Screen-reader users in this study followed a more flimsy, linear navigation style and generally used scrolling actions rather than searching actions. When using a Web site that has a Section 508 compliant home page, we found that the screen-reader users in this study completed information-finding tasks significantly more quickly, used significantly fewer actions, and reported a more satisfying information-finding experience. They were also more successful at finding the information goal and encountered fewer impasses. Using both quantitative and qualitative measures was critical in this study. The quantitative metrics allowed us to compare values and the qualitative data provided additional insight into individual differences as well as allowing a deeper understanding of the quantitative data. The information from this study contributes to the growing body of research knowledge about screen-reader users. It also contributes a new understanding of screen-reader users that can be used by the worldwide community of Web developers, designers, and users.Informatio

Virtual Reality for the Visually Impaired

This thesis aims to illuminate and describe how there are problems with the development of virtual reality regarding visually impaired people. After discussing the reasons how and why this is a problem, this thesis will provide some possible solutions to develop virtual reality into a more user accessible technology, specifically for the visually impaired. As the popularity of virtual reality increases in digital culture, especially with Facebook announcing their development of Metaverse, there is a need for a future virtual reality environment that everyone can use. And it is in these early stages of development, that the need to address the problem of inaccessibility arises. As virtual reality is a relatively new medium in digital culture, the research on its use by visually impaired people has significant gaps. And as relatively few researchers are exploring this topic, my research will hopefully lead to more activity in this important area. Therefore, my research questions aim to address the current limitations of virtual reality, filling in some of the most significant gaps in this research area. My thesis will do this by conducting interviews and surveys to gather data that can further support and identify the crucial limitations of the visually impaired experience while trying to use virtual reality technology. The findings in this thesis will further address the problem, creating a possible solution and emphasizing the importance of user accessibility for the visually impaired in the future development of virtual reality. If digital companies and developers address this problem now, we can have a future where visually impaired people are treated more equally, with technologies developed specifically for them to experience virtual worlds.Master's Thesis in Digital CultureDIKULT350MAHF-DIKU

Online Shopping and Web-Accessibility: Strategies to Ensure Equal Access to Blind Users in E-commerce Platforms

Online shopping has become vastly popular and is easily accessible to people worldwide. Considering the accessibility criteria, many brands are yet to incorporate it into their online interfaces. Most brands have been following the trend of creating beautiful and appealing web layouts that are usable but not accessible to everyone. Most visually impaired Internet users rely on assistive devices such as screen readers or magnifiers to make websites readable and usable (Herndon, 2019). Despite having accessibility guidelines for over a decade, disabled users still have problems using websites because of how the content is put out (Information Architecture). We as designers have a limited understanding of the challenges that blind users face while accessing the internet. Following my REB (Research Ethics Board) approval (#2022-05), participants were recruited and interviewed to help identify a list of issues they encounter while shopping online, which would then help in developing visual interface design solutions. The WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) rules would be assessed to address the accessibility issues raised, and new adjustments would be proposed to improve the existing guidelines regarding user experience and interface design

Development of mobile application to handle e-books for Malmö City Library

The number of people who choose e-books rather than reading traditional paper books are increasing as a result of our world becoming more digitized. Libraries need to keep up with this trend and modernize its lending procedures for their digital products. The purpose and goal of this Master thesis were to answer the questions how e-books can become more attractive to those who have not yet dared to read them and how to make the whole experience more user friendly. There already exists a couple of solutions for borrowing e-books today, but the ones recommended by the public libraries are unnecessarily complicated which discourage users with lower technical confidence. This Master thesis explored solutions for these problems and showed an alternative approach where both the borrowing and reading features were supported in the same application. The development process was divided into four parts conducted over 20 weeks. The project started with mapping desired functionalities through evaluation of the current solution offered by the public library, conducting user surveys and by analyzing existing e-book applications. A design concept was then formed based on these mapping results by making a Lo-Fi prototype and then later a Mid-Fi prototype. These prototypes became the groundwork for the result of the thesis project, an executable Hi-Fi prototype application with a simulation of a loan. The final prototype was then evaluated through user studies, tests and compared to the current solution. No general results could be drawn from the user studies since only a small group could participate. For future development, tests should be conducted with the primary target group, consisting of persons already reading e-books who are also interested in borrowing. Such tests will result in more valuable feedback. The conclusion of this thesis is that there are a number of obstacles ahead before a satisfactory solution is found. User friendly design is important, but in the end reading functionality and a sufficient enough selection of books are the most important aspects. Limitations due to the DRM protection and the bureaucracy rules of the libraries cause a lot of problems in making this a reality. To get around these restrictions and finding alternative solutions is in the end a question of getting more financing for the libraries