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Type
Themes
Giulia Barbareschi, Catherine Holloway, Katherine Arnold, Grace Magomere, Wycliffe Ambeyi Wetende, Gabriel Ngare, Joyce Olenja
We present the findings of a case study of mobile technology use by People with Visual Impairment (VIPs) in Kibera, an informal settlement in Nairobi. We used contextual interviews, ethnographic observations and a co-design workshop to explore how VIPs use mobile phones in their daily lives, and how this use influences the social infrastructure of VIPs. Our findings suggest that mobile technology supports and shapes the creation of social infrastructure. However, this is only made possible through the existing support networks of the VIPs, which are mediated through four types of interaction: direct, supported, dependent and restricted.
CHI '20: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference; 2020
Type
Dafne Zuleima Morgado-Ramirez, Giulia Barbareschi, Maggie Kate Donovan-Hall, Mohammad Sobuh, Nida' Elayyan, Brenda T Nakandi, Robert Tamale Ssekitoleko, joyce Olenja, Grace Nyachomba Magomere, Sibylle Daymond, Jake Honeywill, Ian Harris, Nancy Mbugua, Laurence Kenney, Catherine Holloway
80% of people with disabilities worldwide live in low resourced settings, rural areas, informal settlements and in multidimensional poverty. ICT4D leverages technological innovations to deliver programs for international development. But very few do so with a focus on and involving people with disabilities in low resource settings. Also, most studies largely focus on publishing the results of the research with a focus on the positive stories and not the learnings and recommendations regarding research processes.
ASSETS '20: Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility; 2020
Type
Themes
Barbareschi, G; Daymond, S; Honeywill, J; Singh, A; Noble, D; Mbugua, N; Harris, I; Austin, V; Holloway, C
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Assistive Technology (AT) as “an umbrella term covering the systems and services related to the delivery of assistive products and services” [6]. This definition highlights how AT encompasses not only the physical and digital products used by millions of persons with disabilities (PWDs) worldwide, but also the systems and services that accompany the provision of these devices [78].
ASSETS '20: The 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility.; 2020
Type
Themes
Nusrat Jahan, Giulia Barbareschi, Clara Aranda Jan, Charles Musungu Mutuku, Naemur Rahman, Victoria Austin, Catherine Holloway
Worldwide it is estimated that there are over a billion people who live with some form of disability [1]. Approximately 80% of people with disabilities live in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). The combination of an inaccessible environment compounded by socio-economic factors such as poverty and stigma, makes it more likely for people with disabilities to be marginalised and excluded from society [1]. Assistive Technologies (ATs) are known to bridge the accessibility gaps and allow for greater social inclusion. However, there is a lack of adequate access to ATs in LMICs, combined with often poorly designed services, which only magnifies these challenges, thus limiting the opportunities for persons with disabilities to live an independent life [2]. Despite the importance of AT, access to AT globally is inadequate with only 10 percent of those in need having access to the ATs that they need [2].
2020 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference
Type
Themes
Research Group
Tigmanshu Bhatnagar, George Torrens, Ben Oldfrey, Priya Morjaria
Felipe Ramos Barajas, Katherine Perry and Catherine Holloway
Access to information on digital platforms not only facilitates education, employment, entertainment, social interaction but also facilitates critical governmental services, ecommerce, healthcare services and entrepreneurship [1]. Article 9 of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) enforces its signatories to commit to provide full accessibility to every citizen of the nation [2]. This has helped to spearhead accessibility directives such as the European Accessibility Act [3] that aims to improve the functioning of markets for accessible products and services. Such directives contribute to ensure that mainstream digital technologies (smartphones, computers etc.) are accessible for everyone and without being socially remarkable, they are able to assist in daily living. Additionally, there is evidence that improving access in mainstream technologies improves product experience and usability for everyone [4]. However, mainstream access has not been fully realized, leading to inferior opportunities for people with disabilities, a disparity which is more prominent in lower and middle-income countries [5].
RESNA Annual Conference; 2021
Type
As an entrepreneur, learning how to solve problems by creating and experimenting with different strategies is a core pillar of the entrepreneurial mindset you need to succeed. However, there’s rarely a single correct way to solve problems as an entrepreneur, so you need to learn how to create and compare different solutions.
The open entrepreneurship toolkit is a set of learning materials that can help you and your team do just that. Covering the domains of user, product, market and business development, the set of cards have been designed to be used by two or more group members to actively experiment with different solutions.
Innovate Now
Type
Themes
Research Group
Troy Bodkin
Doctoral Thesis. This work is one of four multidisciplinary research studies conducted by members of this research cluster, focusing on the area of Computer Aided Design (CAD) for improving the interface with Additive Manufacture (AM) to solve some of the challenges presented with improving prosthetic socket design, with an aim to improve and streamline the process to enable the involvement of clinicians and patients in the design process.
Loughborough University
Type
Themes
Research Group
Giulia Barbareschi
Doctoral Thesis. This thesis makes two contributions to facilitate wheelchair users’ engagement in the participatory design process for ATs, while being mindful of the burden of participation. The first contribution is a framework that provides a modular structure guiding the participatory design process from initial problem identification and analysis to facilitating collaborations between wheelchair users and designers. The framework identifies four factors determining the need and adoption process for ATs: (i) People focuses on the target population, (ii) Person includes personal characteristics, (iii) Activity refers to the challenges associated with the task, and (iv) Context encompasses the effect of the environment in which the activity takes place. The second contribution constitutes a rich picture of personal and external elements influencing real world wheelchair transfers that emerged from four studies carried out to investigate the effect of the framework factors on the design process for ATs.
UCL (University College London)
Type
Themes
Research Group
Charlotte Pyatt
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Loughborough University.
Loughborough University
Type
Themes
Dr Chinemelu Ejiamatu Muoma Ezeh
Doctoral Thesis. Independent mobility is fundamental to the quality of life of people with impairment. Most people with severe mobility impairments, whether congenital, e.g., from cerebral palsy, or acquired, e.g., from spinal cord injury, are prescribed a wheelchair. A small yet significant number of people are unable to use a typical powered wheelchair controlled with a joystick. Instead, some of these people require alternative interfaces such as a head- array or Sip/Puff switch to drive their powered wheelchairs. However, these alternative interfaces do not work for everyone and often cause frustration, fatigue and collisions. This thesis develops a novel technique to help improve the usability of some of these alternative interfaces, in particular, the head-array and Sip/Puff switch.
UCL (University College London)
Type
Themes
Research Group
Sophia Esther Liiba Tetteh
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Type
Themes
Research Group
Rhys James Williams
Thesis: Firstly, the research provides a methodological contribution showing how to conduct mixed-methods research to obtain rich insights into complex prosthesis phenomena. Secondly, the research highlights the need to appreciate psychological and contextual factors when researching prosthesis wearer thermal comfort. The research contributions are also converted into an implication for prosthesis design. The concept of 'regaining control' to psychologically mitigate thermal discomfort could be incorporated into technologies by using 'on-demand' thermal discomfort relief, rather than 'always-on' solutions, as have been created in the past.
UCL, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing
Type
Themes
Research Group
Sarah Kelly
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.
Loughborough University
Type
Themes
Anna Vlachaki
The literature shows that research into the aesthetic aspects of prostheses is limited. Although there are suggestions that prostheses with high levels of emotionally-driven design may improve users’ well-being, they are based only on theoretical findings. Therefore, in this thesis the effects of emotionally-driven prostheses on users’ lives and society’s attitudes were explored, with respect to culture and more specifically, the theories of individualism/ collectivism. In order to investigate the effects of culture, the research was conducted in two countries with different cultures; the UK (individualistic) and Greece (collectivistic). The thesis began with a literature review across three core areas: user, product and environment, and revealed the importance of investigating an additional area; that of prosthetists. The research employed a qualitative approach and consisted of four studies.
Loughborough University
Type
Themes
Maryam Bandukda, Catherine Holloway, Aneesha Singh, Giulia Barbareschi, Nadia Berthouze
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 BPS people and 8 Mobility and Orientation Trainers (MOT). The interviews were thematically analysed and organised into four overarching themes discussing factors influencing the self-efficacy belief of BPS people: Tools and Strategies for O&M training, Technology Use in O&M Training, Changing Personal and Social Circumstances, and Social Influences. We further highlight opportunities for combinations of multimodal technologies to increase access to and effectiveness of O&M training.
ASSETS '21: Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility
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Themes
Giulia Barbareschi, Norah Shitawa Kopi, Ben Oldfrey, Catherine Holloway
In this paper, we examine how young Kenyans without disabilities view people with disabilities and AT users. Findings show that while the portrayal of disability is often shaped by negative emotion, participants felt that many of the barriers affecting people with disabilities were created by society. Perceptions of AT differed –devices were not only seen as a mark of disability but also as a sign of access to resources. Therefore, what we see is an emergent picture where social barriers can be reinforced by poverty, and where poverty reinforces social barriers faced by people with disabilities. We conclude that access to appropriate technology alongside societal interventions tackling incorrect beliefs about disability can help to overcome the stigma faced by people with disabilities.
ASSETS '21: Proceedings of the 23rd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility
Type
Themes
Tigmanshu Bhatnagar, Nicolai Marquardt, Mark Miodownik, Catherine Holloway
Shape changing materials create a unique opportunity to design reconfigurable tactile display actuators. In this paper, we present a method that transforms a single thin monolithic sheet of Nitinol into a passive reconfigurable tactile pixel array at Braille resolution. We have designed a 27x27 tactile pixel array in which each pixel can be selectively actuated with an external source of heat. The pixels rise 0.4mm vertically with a peak blocked force of 0.28kg and have an average blocked force of 0.23kg at room temperature. After cooling, the pixels can be mechanically reconfigured back to their flat state for repeatable actuation. We demonstrate this actuator’s interactive capabilities through a novel erasable tactile drawing interface.
IEEE World Haptics Conference; 2021
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Themes
Maria Kett, Victoria Austin, Giulia Barbareschi, Nusrat Jahan, Paul Lynch, Catherine Holloway, Joel Burman, Felipe Ramos-Barajas, Lea Simpson
Information and communication technology (ICT) tools can have a catalytic effect in advancing both educational access and learning outcomes for children with disabilities. Despite tremendous potential, a gap exists between technology advancements and their large-scale application in educating children with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries. This landscape review of ICTs for disability-inclusive education by the Inclusive Education Initiative seeks to understand the current status and trends in the practice of educational technology (EdTech) and the use of ICT in improving the educational participation and outcomes of children with disabilities. The review explores what factors enable or restrict this improvement within the wider EdTech ecosystem.
GDI Hub partnered with the World Bank to design and conduct the research, and author the ICT Landscape review: The use of ICT in improving the educational participation and outcomes of children with disabilities. This report is a global knowledge product from the Inclusive Education Initiative (IEI)—a multi-donor trust fund on disability-inclusive education managed by the World Bank, with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
World Bank; 2021