Defining acceptable interaction for universal access

Many new assistive input systems developed to meet the needs of users with functional impairments fail to make it out of the research laboratory and into regular use by the intended users. This paper examines some of the reasons for this and focuses particular on whether the developers of such systems are focusing on the correct metrics for evaluating the functional attributes of the new input technologies. In particular, the paper focuses on the issue of benchmarking new assistive input systems against a baseline measure of interaction rate that takes allowance of factors such as input success/recognition rate, error rate, correction effort and input time. By addressing each of these measures, a more complete understanding of whether an input system is functionally acceptable can be obtained

Robotic assistants for universal access

Much research is now focusing on how technology is moving away from the traditional computer to a range of smart devices in smart environments, the so-called Internet of Things. With this increase in computing power and decrease in form factor, we are approaching the possibility of a new generation of robotic assistants able to perform a range of tasks and activities to support all kinds of users. However, history shows that unless care is taken early in the design process, the users who may stand to benefit the most from such assistance may inadvertently be excluded from it. This paper examines some of those historical missteps and examines possible ways forward to ensure that the next generation robots support the principles of universal access

The role of simulation in designing for universal access

It is known that the adoption of user-centred design processes can lead to more universally accessible products and services. However, the most frequently cited approach to user-centred design, i.e. participatory design, can be both problematic and expensive to implement., particularly over the difficulty of finding and recruiting suitable participants. Simulation aids offer a potentially cost-effective replacement or complement to participatory design. This paper examines a number of the issues associated with the use of simulation aids when designing for Universal Access. It concludes that simulation aids can play an effective role, but need to be used with due consideration over what insights they provide

The subject librarian and the virtual learning environment: A study of UK universities

Purpose: The prevalence of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education is well documented and has been promoted in the UK by government funded projects, but there has been little empirical research on the level of involvement of subject librarians with VLEs. A survey was designed to investigate how VLEs are affecting the work of subject librarians and to examine factors influencing their use in providing electronic information resources and developing information skills. The aim of this paper is to document the results Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was distributed electronically to a purposive sample of 132 subject librarians at seven UK universities. The instrument contained mainly closed specified response questions with a few open questions and a response rate of 43 per cent (n=57) was achieved. Findings: Use of VLEs by subject librarians varies both between and within institutions. Factors affecting this include the subject area, co-operation of academic staff and attitudes of librarians towards technology-based teaching. JISC-funded projects have enabled better use of VLEs through the creation of re-usable learning objects and development of pedagogical understanding and skills. Recognition by academic staff of the teaching role of subject librarians has a critical impact on their involvement with VLEs. Research limitations/implications: The timeframe limited the scale of the study and size of the sample. The mainly quantitative approach limited the detail and depth of responses, but sufficient data were collected to establish broad trends, illuminate important factors and identify key issues. Originality/value: The paper provides empirical evidence of how VLEs are affecting the day-to-day activities of subject librarians and suggests areas where further research would be valuable. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

When Universal Access does not go to plan: Lessons to be learned

While the theory of designing for Universal Access is increasingly understood, there remain persistent issues over realising products and systems that meet the goal of being accessible and usable by the broadest possible set of users. Clearly products or service that are designed without even considering the needs of the wider user base are implicitly going to struggle to be universally accessible. However, even products that have been designed knowing that they are to be used by broad user bases frequently still struggle to achieve the ambition of being universally accessible. This paper examines a number of such products that did not achieve, at least initially, the desired level of universal accessibility. Principal recommendations from each case study are presented to provide a guide to common issues to be avoided

How to Measure the Average and Peak Age of Information in Real Networks?

The Age of information (AoI) was proposed in the literature to quantify the freshness of information. The majority of the work done in this area has theoretically evaluated AoI and its Peak (PAoI). In this paper, a method for obtaining the value of AoI and PAoI from experiments is proposed. We conducted an experiment emulating an M/M/1 queue and used the proposed method to evaluate AoI and PAoI. The values were compared to the expressions presented previously in the literature. Our results show that the proposed method is accurate for the M/M/1 queue. A statistical test was conducted to confirm the reliability of this conclusion

Designer requirements for visual capability loss simulator tools: Differences between design disciplines

There is a low uptake of inclusive design tools in industry, partly due to a poor fit between design tools and the thought and work processes of designers. Simulating visual capability losses is a technique with great potential in helping designers improve inclusivity and accessibility. However, we need to understand the needs of designers from different disciplines to improve the fit of these tools and their uptake in industry. This study aims to determine designers’ needs for vision loss simulators, and how this varies between disciplines. Interviews were carried out with 15 designers from five disciplines. The results suggest that one tool is not suitable for all. The graphic and web designers interviewed required a tool to aid communication with clients, hoever, the industrial and engineering designers required two tools, depending on the stage of the design process. To increase their uptake, simulator tools should be used in education.We would like to thank the EPSRC for funding this work, and Wolfson College Cambridge for their support.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07437-5_

Deriving Machine to Machine (M2M) Traffic Model from Communication Model

© 2018 IEEE. The typical traffic models proposed in literature can be considered as heuristic models since they only reflect the stochastic characteristic of the generated traffic. In this paper, we propose a model for M2M communications that generates the traffic. Therefore, the proposed model is able to capture a wider picture than the state-of-the-art traffic models. The proposed model illustrates the behaviour of M2M uplink communication in a network with multiple-access limited information capacity shared channels. In this paper, we analyzed the number of transmitted packets using the traffic model extracted from our proposed communication model and compared it with the state-of- the-art traffic models using simulations. The simulation results show that the proposed model has a significantly higher accuracy in estimating the number of transmitted packets compared with the liteature model