Dosvox Usability: recommendations for improving interaction of blind people with the web using the system

At present, it is recognized that the Internet plays key role in universalization of opportunities in society in which we live. For people with disabilities, the content must be accessible in all websites, but the assistive technologies used must be adequate to the specific needs of people with disabilities. Dosvox is a free system developed in the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) specially designed for blind people and used by them in the performance of their tasks with the use of computers. Previously, through exploratory research based on the observation of the interaction of blind students with the Web, usability problems were identified in the Dosvox interface and in the Webvox, the Web browser included in the system, and these problems were related to the fact that the interface is designed in accordance with the mental model of these Information Technology professionals. This study consolidate the problems in earlier phases of the research, link the results with usability heuristics of Nielsen and propose several improvements to Dosvox and its development process.     

Mapping the two levels of digital divide: Internet access and social network site adoption among older adults in the USA

Older adults have increasingly adopted Internet and social network sites (SNSs), but little communication scholarship has explored systematic differences in access within this population. Using a nationally representative sample of Americans over the age of 50 years from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study, we examine Internet access (N?=?18,851) and SNS adoption patterns (N?=?869) among this sample and explore how these patterns vary by age. Regarding Internet access, results suggest that while the gender divide has reversed in favor of women, older adults who are economically, socioculturally, or physically disadvantaged are less likely to have reliable Internet access. In addition, the view that the various divides in Internet access are less of a concern for those who are younger is only partially supported, as some access-related divides do not vary by age or even decrease with age. For SNS adoption, we found that access to technological resources (diversity of online activities) positively predicts SNS use. Moreover, SNS users are more likely to be younger, female, widowed, and homemakers, perhaps because these individuals are more motivated to use SNSs to complement or compensate for their existing social status. These findings reveal unique challenges and motivations in relation to Internet access and SNS adoption patterns across the later life span.     

Digital skills and social media use: how Internet skills are related to different types of Facebook use among ‘digital natives’

Based on the idea that Internet use can be conceptualized in terms of depth (frequency) and width (differentiated) uses of the Web, this study explored how socio-demographic factors and digital skills are related to frequency and types of Facebook use among young adults. It used a face-to-face representative survey conducted in the three main urban areas of Chile among a sample of 18-to 29-year olds. The results found that men and more educated young people had higher levels of skills, confirming that the so-called ‘digital natives’ are not a monolithic group. They also revealed that digital skills did not predict frequency of Facebook use. Furthermore, lower educated young people tended to use Facebook more frequently. Although these results go against the long-established digital divide research, traditional digital gaps emerged when types of use were analyzed. While more educated and skillful individuals tended to use Facebook for informational and mobilizing purposes, socio-demographic factors and skills did not make a difference in Facebook use for social purposes.     

'Reconnecting' the Unemployed

This paper discusses the potential uses of the Internet and other forms of information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool for delivering information services for unemployed people, comparing the experiences and attitudes of jobseekers in peri-urban and remote rural labour markets. The analysis is based upon research carried out in two areas: the first combining a remote rural town with a much larger, more sparsely populated, rural 'travel-to-work area'; the second, a centrally located peri-urban labour market. Survey research undertaken in the study areas gathered responses from 490 unemployed jobseekers. Emerging issues were then followed up during twelve focus groups. The study found that the use of ICT for job seeking remained a marginal activity for most unemployed people, but was much more important in remote rural communities. In these areas, jobseekers were more likely to use the Internet as a search tool and were particularly dependent on telephone helplines provided by the public employment service (PES). However, the study also found that a 'digital divide' was evident within the unemployed client group. Those with low educational attainment, the long-term unemployed, young people and those perceiving their ICT skills to be 'poor' were less likely to use the Internet. Although respondents in rural areas were more likely to use ICT to look for work, they also pointed to the overriding importance of informal, social networks as a means of sharing job information in remote communities. We conclude that ICT may have a future role in the delivery of services for jobseekers, especially in rural areas. However, policies are required to ensure that information provided through ICT-based services is locally relevant, and disadvantaged groups have access to the facilities and training they require.     

Benefactors and Beneficiaries? Disability and Care to Others

Individuals with disabilities often have limitations that require care from others to increase functioning and facilitate activities of daily living. Despite these care‐receiving needs, evidence suggests people with disabilities are also care givers. This study uses the 2008–2015 American Time Use Survey to examine the association between the presence of sensory, mental or cognitive, physical, or multiple limitations and the likelihood and intensity of time spent in primary child care, secondary child care, adult care, care of nonhouseholders, and support care (housework). Net of socioeconomic characteristics, the authors do not observe consistent differences in predicted child care time by disability status, although men with disabilities spend less time in care to adults and nonhouseholders. The largest difference in predicted care time by disability status occurs in support care. Overall, the results challenge the traditional focus on people with disabilities as only beneficiaries of care to document their role as benefactors.     

Holding the line online: exploring wired relationships for people with disabilities

Clearly, the Internet represents a huge new step in interpersonal communications. It offers people with disabilities the possibility of confronting the issues of time, space, communication and the body, but what happens when people with disabilities engage with the computer? Do they use the Internet to develop friendships and intimate relationships? Does online communication enhance self‐identity and social being? Do people use the Internet to transcend the vagaries of their frail and vulnerable bodies? Or are they simply ‘holding the line’ online, using the Internet as they would use a letter or a telephone? Is the Internet a chimera, a failed promise, for people with disabilities?     

How information technology affects wages: Evidence using internet usage as a proxy for IT skills

Many research studies have found a positive link between information technology (IT) in the work place and wages. Using data from the December, 1998 Current Population Survey, we examine the impact of IT, as proxied by on-the-job Internet usage, on wages. After controlling for selectivity bias, we estimate an average wage gain of 13.5 percent for on-the- job Internet usage. This wage advantage is consistent with estimates from studies based on data collected earlier in the 1990s examining the impact of computers in the workplace. We also tested for differences across industries in the manufacturing sector. We conclude that industries marked by less intensive use of technology offered significantly higher wage premiums than industries characterized by more intensive use of technology. This finding undermines the argument that higher wages go to those working in high-tech firms, not to those with high IT skills. We also find evidence that high-tech firms sort workers by skill level, which is also consistent with earlier studies.     

THE PARTICIPATION DIVIDE: Content creation and sharing in the digital age

This paper looks at the prevalence of creative activity and sharing in an age when the barriers to disseminating material have been considerably lowered compared with earlier times. The authors use unique data to explore the extent to which young adults create video, music, writing and artistic photography, as well as the prevalence of sharing such material online. Findings suggest that despite new opportunities to engage in such distribution of content, relatively few people are taking advantage of these recent developments. Moreover, neither creation nor sharing is randomly distributed among a diverse group of young adults. Consistent with existing literature, creative activity is related to a person's socioeconomic status as measured by parental schooling. The novel act of sharing online, however, is considerably different by gender with men much more likely to engage in it. However, once internet user skill is controlled for, men and women are equally likely to post their materials on the Web.     

Digital Na(t)ives? Variation in Internet Skills and Uses among Members of the “Net Generation”*

People who have grown up with digital media are often assumed to be universally savvy with information and communication technologies. Such assumptions are rarely grounded in empirical evidence, however. This article draws on unique data with information about a diverse group of young adults’ Internet uses and skills to suggest that even when controlling for Internet access and experiences, people differ in their online abilities and activities. Additionally, findings suggest that Internet know‐how is not randomly distributed among the population, rather, higher levels of parental education, being a male, and being white or Asian American are associated with higher levels of Web‐use skill. These user characteristics are also related to the extent to which young adults engage in diverse types of online activities. Moreover, skill itself is positively associated with types of uses. Overall, these findings suggest that even when controlling for basic Internet access, among a group of young adults, socioeconomic status is an important predictor of how people are incorporating the Web into their everyday lives with those from more privileged backgrounds using it in more informed ways for a larger number of activities.     

Information technology (IT) accessibility: implications for employment of people with disabilities

Online technology has made significant inroads into human resource (HR) processes such as recruitment, benefits, and training, yet many web sites are inaccessible to people with disabilities. Cornell University surveyed 433 HR representatives regarding their organizations' use of information and Web technology in HR processes. Survey results report that nine of the ten organizations use Web processes for job postings, eight of ten for online benefits information dissemination, and about six out of ten for online benefits self service and online employee training. Employee use of computers was extensive, with the majority using computers more than half the workday. Knowledge of assistive technologies for computer users with disabilities and of Web accessibility considerations was low, but nearly half the respondents reported having made some type of adaptation to make a computer accessible to an employee with a disability. Very few organizations had trained any of their staff in Web accessibility topics or in making computers accessible, and the majority desired more information on those topics. These findings have implications not only for people with disabilities, but for the general workforce, which is aging.     

Are persons with disabilities included in the Colombian peace process?

This article follows on from our previous one about the armed conflict in Colombia and its relationship with disability. We seek here to explore the ways in which people with disabilities are starting to be involved in the peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP), and the avenues there are for representative organizations of disabled people to have a louder voice in Colombia. Currently, while legal and human rights approaches are important, people with disabilities in Colombia do not generally have the resources to fight for their own rights. However, there could be opportunities in the negotiations currently with the National Liberation Army (ELN) to include a specific focus on the rights of people with disabilities.     

Developing Independence: the experience of the Lawnmowers Theatre Company

This paper describes an action research project in which the Lawnmowers Theatre Company (a company of performers with learning disabilities) mounted drama clubs and a series of night clubs for people with learning disabilities. The objective of the project was to demonstrate that initiatives involving what might loosely be called 'drama' offer important opportunities for adult education and that night clubs for people with learning disabilities can be effective in providing new opportunities for social contact and also recognition for disability arts. All of these factors, it is argued, are important if people with learning disabilities are to be taken seriously as capable, interesting individuals with something useful to say. The project found high levels of participation and a range of skills acquisition.     

Involving People with Disabilities in Volunteer Roles

Abstract

According to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, 33.7 million non-institutionalized Americans have limitations in usual activities. A recent poll on community participation found that, overall, people with disabilities have lower rates of community participation compared to those without disabilities. An analysis of that same poll concluded that people with disabilities continue to be treated as second class citizens by being excluded from the mainstream of everyday life. Social role valorization theory proposes creating and supporting socially valued roles for people who are kept at a social distance. It is through these valued social roles that they gain equal access to other opportunities that society has to offer. One such socially valued role is that of a community volunteer. Volunteer activities can foster a social environment where people with disabilities are seen as credible coping individuals. This paper reports the results of a survey of twenty-six community agencies which regularly use volunteers. The purpose of the survey was to identify barriers to volunteer opportunities for people with disabilities and to explore openness to methods to remove the barriers through community collaborations.     

Variations in provider capacity to offer accessible health care for people with disabilities

Since social workers are likely to practice in a range of health care settings, their training focusing on human behavior in the social environment could help providers develop strategies to improve access to care for people with disabilities. In this article, results from a comprehensive survey of providers about access to health care for people with a broad range of disabilities are reported. Results suggest that a minority of providers report difficulty serving people with disabilities. However, dentists and mental health/substance abuse providers are significantly less likely than other providers to report that they provide accessible services to individuals with disabilities. These providers are less likely to report having had training related to mobility impairments, providing mirrors at their facility, having an accessible door, or providing assistance with personal care needs, and are more likely to report that their building poses a barrier for people with disabilities. Social workers are well positioned to take a leadership role in working with providers and patients to improve access to health care for people with disabilities. A social work framework of understanding the individual in a social environment may be the most appropriate perspective for creating innovative strategies for addressing the complex, multidimensional needs of people with disabilities who experience limited access to care.     

Exploring gaps in the online economic inclusion of persons with disabilities in Korea

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the difference in the online economic activities of people with and without disabilities in Korea. We conducted a multiple regression analysis to investigate the impact of socioeconomic characteristics, internet access, and internet skills on online economic activities. Our sample, based on a 2016 dataset that included 1554 people with disabilities and 6004 people without disabilities, was developed using quota sampling based on gender, age, and residence. We determined that individuals with disabilities were more likely to engage in online economic activities if they had higher levels of education, lived in urban areas, were employed, or had greater internet skills. Individuals without disabilities were more likely to engage in online economic activities if they were women, had higher levels of education, were employed, lived in a two-generation or more household, or had greater internet skills. For both people with and without disabilities, the level of education, employment status, and internet skills positively contribute to online economic activites. We also determined that education level, participation in economic activity, living in a two-generation or more household, and internet skills had a statistically significant influence on online economic activity for people both with and without disabilities. These results highlight the importance of education and internet training for people with disabilities, as well as social support systems that help them learn to use the internet in diverse ways through both formal and informal networks. The study also underscores the importance of information and communications technology that adequately addresses people’s needs.     

Variations in Provider Capacity to Offer Accessible Health Care for People with Disabilities

Abstract

Since social workers are likely to practice in a range of health care settings, their training focusing on human behavior in the social environment could help providers develop strategies to improve access to care for people with disabilities. In this article, results from a comprehensive survey of providers about access to health care for people with a broad range of disabilities are reported. Results suggest that a minority of providers report difficulty serving people with disabilities. However, dentists and mental health/substance abuse providers are significantly less likely than other providers to report that they provide accessible services to individuals with disabilities. These providers are less likely to report having had training related to mobility impairments, providing mirrors at their facility, having an accessible door, or providing assistance with personal care needs, and are more likely to report that their building poses a barrier for people with disabilities. Social workers are well positioned to take a leadership role in working with providers and patients to improve access to health care for people with disabilities. A social work framework of understanding the individual in a social environment may be the most appropriate perspective for creating innovative strategies for addressing the complex, multidimensional needs of people with disabilities who experience limited access to care.     

The use of photovoice with people with intellectual disabilities: reflections,challenges and opportunities

Photovoice is part of the growing use of participatory research approaches with people with intellectual disabilities. In this paper we explore the process, opportunities and challenges associated with the use of photovoice with people with intellectual disabilities, illustrated through a research project entitled ‘This Is Me’. Photovoice requires researchers to share power and control in the research process and to tolerate uncertainty. Large investments in time and money are also required. These challenges, however, are outweighed by the benefits of the use of photovoice with people with intellectual disabilities. Photovoice creates a space where people with intellectual disabilities can meaningfully participate and exert control in the research process, and as such is an empowering experience. As a participatory research approach, photovoice is accessible and offers the opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities to develop new skills, confidence and experience inclusiveness in their own terms.     

Courting LULUs: Characteristics of Suitor and Objector Communities*

Abstract This research examines nonmetropolitan places most likely to support or oppose proposals for locally undesirable land uses (LULUs) involving waste management facilities. Two hypotheses are tested: (1) that relatively remote communities of lower socioeconomic status will be less likely to oppose such proposals; and (2) that support for such proposals is widespread among nonmetropolitan communities because of growth machine activities. Using key informants and secondary data for 166 non‐metropolitan Pennsylvania places, we find that local growth promotion, especially efforts to promote business and industry, is related positively to community experience with plant closings and to proposals for these LULUs. Where these proposals are made, community opposition tends to be present as well, particularly in larger communities and, surprisingly, in those of lower socioeconomic status. The significance of these findings is discussed in terms of the growth machine and the opposition they can provoke to protect the use value of land in a single nonmetropolitan region.     

Internet use, abuse, and dependence among students at a southeastern regional university

OBJECTIVE: To assess Internet use, abuse, and dependence. PARTICIPANTS: 411 undergraduate students. RESULTS: Ninety percent of participants reported daily Internet use. Approximately half of the sample met criteria for Internet abuse, and one-quarter met criteria for Internet dependence. Men and women did not differ on the mean amount of time accessing the Internet each day; however, the reasons for accessing the Internet differed between the 2 groups. Depression was correlated with more frequent use of the Internet to meet people, socially experiment, and participate in chat rooms, and with less frequent face-to-face socialization. In addition, individuals meeting criteria for Internet abuse and dependence endorsed more depressive symptoms, more time online, and less face-to-face socialization than did those not meeting the criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health and student affairs professionals should be alert to the problems associated with Internet overuse, especially as computers become an integral part of college life.