Designing technology for and with special populations : and exploration of participatory design with people with aphasia

Computer technology has become ubiquitous in today's society and many daily activities depend on the ability to use and interact with computer systems. Most computer technology, however, is currently designed for the "average" user, and thus ignores substantial segments of the population excluding them from many common activities. The goal of our research is to address, in part, the problem of designing inclusive technology, focusing on the design of technology for users with aphasia. Aphasia is a cognitive disorder that impairs language abilities, including some or all of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. It results from damage to the brain and most commonly occurs after a stroke, brain tumor, or head trauma. From interviews with aphasic individuals, their caregivers, and speech-language pathologists, several needs were identified that could be met with new application software. Among those needs was a daily planner application that would allow aphasic users to independently manage their appointments using a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). This research was conducted in two phases: (1) a participatory design phase in which ESI Planner (the Enhanced with Sound and Images Planner) was iteratively developed with input from aphasic participants, and (2) an evaluation phase where a lab study was performed to assess the effectiveness of the resulting tri-modal design, which incorporates triplets of images, sound, and text to represent appointment data. This methodology was used to achieve both usable and adoptable technology. An additional goal in performing this research was to identify where traditional user-centered design methodology and experimental evaluation are inadequate for our target population. Several guidelines have emerged from our work, which are likely to be relevant to others engaging in research with special populations.Science, Faculty ofComputer Science, Department ofGraduat

Addressing age-related pen-based target acquisition difficulties

Technology is increasingly being promoted as a means of addressing age-related cognitive and sensory impairments and enabling seniors to live more independently. Pen-based devices such as Personal Digital Assistants and Tablet PCs are appealing platforms for these endeavors because they are small, mobile, and powerful. Relative to the mouse, pen-based devices have been shown to be particularly beneficial for older adults. However, in terms of garnering wide-spread adoption, the mouse has historically dominated, leading researchers to focus chiefly on identifying and addressing its age- and motor-related limitations. In contrast, pen-based limitations for older users have been relatively unexplored. This thesis begins to fill that gap in the literature. Our first experiment, an empirical evaluation of pen-based target acquisition across the adult lifespan, identified three main sources of pen-based target acquisition difficulty—missing-just-below, slipping, and drifting—and demonstrated how these difficulties vary across task situation and age. In addition, this work showed that including older adults as participants can help uncover general pen-interaction problems: the missing-just-below and drifting difficulties were evident in both younger and older users alike. We next developed seven new target acquisition techniques to improve pen-based interaction, specifically addressing the three difficulties identified, and particularly targeting older adults. Our techniques built upon existing mouse-based techniques developed for older users and pen techniques for younger users. In total, we conducted three experiments to evaluate the seven new pen-based techniques: Reassigned and Deactivated (for missing-just-below), Tap and Glide (for drifting), and Steady, Bubble, and Steadied-Bubble (for slipping). Through these evaluations, we established where our proposed designs were successful at reducing errors, and where further refinement is needed. Finally, we reflected on our findings across studies to identify age-related, contextual, and technological factors which contributed to our results. These factors help illuminate the underlying reasons for pen-based targeting difficulties and shed light onto areas still needing attention. Overall, the results of this research support our main thesis that the accessibility of pen-based interfaces can be improved for older adults by first examining the sources of age-related acquisition difficulty, and then using the results of this examination to develop improved techniques.Science, Faculty ofComputer Science, Department ofGraduat

Representing First Aid Problem Solving Knowledge ABSTRACT

In this paper a framework for representing problem solving knowledge for the task of solving first aid problems is presented. Although, the current methods for teaching first aid problem solving are vital and irreplaceable, there is a deficiency inherent in them that could be met by augmenting their use with an intelligent tutor. This paper describes the target knowledge domain used to build problem solver, and presents the problem solver in the context of a hypothetical system in which the problem solve

Individual responses to a method of cursor assistance

Purpose. The aim of this study was to evaluate a new click assistance technique, Steady Clicks, designed to help computer users with motor impairments to click more accurately using a mouse. Specifically, Steady Clicks suppresses two types of errors: slipping while clicking and accidentally clicking. Steady Clicks suppresses these errors by freezing the cursor during mouse clicks, preventing overlapping button presses and suppressing clicks made while the mouse is moving at a high velocity. Method. Eleven individuals with motor impairments participated in a repeated-measures evaluation of Steady Clicks. This evaluation involved performing a clicking task both with and without Steady Clicks, while time-stamped log files detailing each participant's cursor movements and mouse button presses were recorded. Results. When using Steady Clicks, five of the 11 participants were able to select targets using significantly fewer attempts, and had significantly improved overall task performance times. Blocking of overlapping and high velocity clicks also shows promise as an error filter. For some participants, Steady Clicks had effects beyond a simple reduction in errors and error correction time, including faster positioning times with fewer, shorter pauses. Two participants slipped a greater distance when using Steady Clicks, suggesting they were taking advantage of the support. Two were much less fatigued, and one was able to start using a simpler clicking strategy. Nine participants preferred Steady Clicks to the unassisted condition. Conclusion. Large individual differences were found not only in performance but also in the ways that individuals reacted to and benefited from the cursor assistance. The results showed that Steady Clicks can be used to effectively block slipping and accidental clicks by individuals for whom this is a problem. This assistance could be used in conjunction with existing techniques for cursor positioning, to enable faster and more effective mouse use for those who currently struggle with the standard computer mouse