"Hey Model!" -- Natural User Interactions and Agency in Accessible Interactive 3D Models

While developments in 3D printing have opened up opportunities for improved access to graphical information for people who are blind or have low vision (BLV), they can provide only limited detailed and contextual information. Interactive 3D printed models (I3Ms) that provide audio labels and/or a conversational agent interface potentially overcome this limitation. We conducted a Wizard-of-Oz exploratory study to uncover the multi-modal interaction techniques that BLV people would like to use when exploring I3Ms, and investigated their attitudes towards different levels of model agency. These findings informed the creation of an I3M prototype of the solar system. A second user study with this model revealed a hierarchy of interaction, with BLV users preferring tactile exploration, followed by touch gestures to trigger audio labels, and then natural language to fill in knowledge gaps and confirm understanding.Comment: Paper presented at ACM CHI 2020: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM, New York, April 2020; Replacement: typos correcte

"Alexa is a Toy": Exploring Older Adults' Reasons for Using, Limiting, and Abandoning Echo

Intelligent voice assistants (IVAs) have the potential to support older adults' independent living. However, despite a growing body of research focusing on IVA use, we know little about why older adults become IVA non-users. This paper examines the reasons older adults use, limit, and abandon IVAs (i.e., Amazon Echo) in their homes. We conducted eight focus groups, with 38 older adults residing in a Life Plan Community. Thirty-six participants owned an Echo for at least a year, and two were considering adoption. Over time, most participants became non-users due to their difficulty finding valuable uses, beliefs associated with ability and IVA use, or challenges with use in shared spaces. However, we also found that participants saw the potential for future IVA support. We contribute a better understanding of the reasons older adults do not engage with IVAs and how IVAs might better support aging and independent living in the future

Beyond being human: The (in)accessibility consequences of modeling VAPAs after human-human conversation

Voice-Activated Personal Assistants (VAPAs) like Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant have rapidly become pervasive, with users spanning from the youngest young to the oldest old of our society. However, little is known about the nascent VAPA interaction paradigm: what are the fundamental metaphors and guidelines for design, and how do they constrain potential uses and users? This poster begins to answer these questions through a qualitative document review of VAPA design guidelines published by Amazon and Google. Initial results show that human-human conversation is considered the gold standard of interaction. We present an argument that troubles this assumption by adopting a lens of accessible interface design for blind individuals. We advocate VAPA design that moves beyond being human

The effect of preparation design on the fracture resistance and adaptation of the CEREC ceramic endocrowns

Abstract Objective The purpose of this experimental in vitro study was to assess the effect of having one or two intact axial walls on the improvement of the fracture resistance, and marginal and internal adaptation of computer‐aided design/computer‐aided manufacturer fabricated ceramic endocrowns. Materials and Methods Thirty‐six endodontically treated mandibular molars were divided into three groups (n = 12). Group A, represented teeth that all of their axial walls were reduced till they all had 3 mm height. In group B, the buccal wall had 5 mm height and the others were reduced to 3 mm. Specimens of the group C had 5‐mm‐height buccal and one 5 mm‐height proximal wall, with all other walls of 3 mm height. All teeth were scanned using intraoral scanner, and endocrowns were milled from zirconia lithium silicate ceramics blocks. The marginal and internal discrepancy of restorations were evaluated with the replica technique. Fracture resistance was also measured after cementation and modes of failure were observed. One‐way analysis of variance and Tukey HSD multiple comparisons were used to analyze the data (α = .5). Results Significant differences were observed within the groups in terms of the axial discrepancy (p = .022); group A had significantly higher amounts of axial discrepancy compared to group B (p = .001) and group C (p = .003). Preservation of the intact axial walls did not result in a statistically significant decrease in marginal (p = .21) and pulpal (p = .31) discrepancy values. Also, concerning the fracture resistance no significant difference was observed among the groups (p = .51). Conclusion Preservation of at least one of the axial walls could reduce the amount of the axial discrepancy and, therefore, improves the adaptation of the restoration. However, based on this study, it did not improve fracture resistance

Beyond being human: The (in)accessibility consequences of modeling VAPAs after human-human conversation

Voice-Activated Personal Assistants (VAPAs) like Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant have rapidly become pervasive, with users spanning from the youngest young to the oldest old of our society. However, little is known about the nascent VAPA interaction paradigm: what are the fundamental metaphors and guidelines for design, and how do they constrain potential uses and users? This poster begins to answer these questions through a qualitative document review of VAPA design guidelines published by Amazon and Google. Initial results show that human-human conversation is considered the gold standard of interaction. We present an argument that troubles this assumption by adopting a lens of accessible interface design for blind individuals. We advocate VAPA design that moves beyond being human

Assessment of the association of OCT3/4 with GLUT1 and CD105 in oral squamous cell carcinoma using dual immunohistochemistry

Abstract Background Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common cancer affecting the oral and maxillofacial region. This study aimed to investigate the role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in angiogenesis and hypoxic response in OSCC. Methods This retrospective observational study evaluated 56 cases of OSCC using dual immunohistochemistry. Octamer-binding transcription factor 3/4 (OCT3/4) marker was used to evaluate CSC activity. Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) marker was used to evaluate the hypoxic response and angiogenesis, while endoglin (CD105) was used to evaluate the late stage of angiogenesis and blood vessel formation. Results Co-expression of OCT3/4 and GLUT1 was noted in 11 of 12 patients with grade III OSCC. However, we did not observe co-expression of these markers in 13 of 22 patients with grade I OSCC. Although we observed a significant correlation between co-expression of GLUT1 and OCT3/4 and tumor grade, there was no significant correlation between co-expression of OCT3/4 and CD105 and different grades of OSCC. Conclusions CSCs could play important roles in the initial stages of hypoxic response and angiogenesis. Our result reported that in higher grades of OSCC, GLUT1 as a first response to hypoxic situations might be a result of CSCs. Further studies are required to discover other biomarkers, their roles, and associated pathways of CSCs in OSCC