The Social Network: How People with Visual Impairment use Mobile Phones in Kibera, Kenya
Abstract
Living in an informal settlement with a visual impairment can be very challenging resulting in social exclusion. Mobile phones have been shown to be hugely beneficial to people with sight loss in formal and high-income settings. However, little is known about whether these results hold true for people with visual impairment (VIPs) in informal settlements. We present the findings of a case study of mobile technology use by 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.
... Another study in Kenya on the use of mobile phones by the visually impaired finds that accessibility turns into 'social' if the support system works. It overlaps with the concept of human infrastructure as 'social system' is a combination of human actors, relationships, activities, spaces, networks and goals (Barbareschi, Holloway, Arnold, Magomere, Wetende, Ngare and Olenja, 2020). However, an HCI study in Kashmir, India focused on uncertainty and disruption in education, demonstrating that human infrastructure, such as local teachers, can be leveraged to access content, and that community ties, neighbourhood ties, and extended family ties may help to share devices and learn during disruption. ...
Based on fieldwork in five distinct projects, this thesis investigates the role of human infrastructure in the context of digital interventions in the Global South. The settings are an agriculture voice message service for smallholder farmers in Bangladesh, an agricultural information service using phone text messages (SMS) also for farmers in Bangladesh, a for-profit service for farmers in Cambodia using digital applications, a digital mental health intervention for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and a study of the reordering of everyday life through digital technologies in Bangladesh during the Covid-19 pandemic. The focus on human infrastructure is inspired by research within Information & Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD), Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Science Technology Studies (STS) and more. My findings contribute to research and practice by nuancing our understanding of the role of human infrastructure in digital interventions in the Global South. That is, I empirically and conceptually extend the discussion by pointing out how human infrastructure may be 'configured,' 'trained' and 'unravelled' in the context of digital interventions in the Global South. I show how one cannot take the human infrastructure for granted in the sense that it has to be both configured and trained and hence is not simply somehow there. Further, I discuss how a human infrastructure may unravel in the context of digital interventions in the global South and the consequences this may have for continued service provision. These contributions may be useful for both researchers and practitioners as it adds to our understanding of the key role of human infrastructure in digital interventions in the Global South and elsewhere.
... handing over the phone for mobile top-ups with no control on if the action will be completed as requested) and restricted (e.g. unable to access the Internet due to lack of funds) [11]. This new evidence offered by AT2030 research stands with the AT user in considering innovation, utility, and impact. ...
The AT2030 programme was launched in 2018 to test 'what works' in getting assistive technology (AT) to people globally, specifically in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where there is often a systematic lack of provision. After four years, this paper reviews the project outcomes, focussing on published material. It provides the backdrop to the AT2030 program, contextualises current developments in global AT global and funding, and unpacks the key learnings of what works to get AT to the people that need it around the world, with a focus on ICT. The paper does this by applying Global Disability Innovation Hub's mission-led and transformative approach, concluding with contemporary actions to improve access to AT to illustrate the value of embracing complexity for AT ecosystem stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, AT users and policymakers.
... Pathways to resilience are also formed by independence, allowing people with visual impairments to understand their self-identity, create social connections, and engage in recreational activities [39]. For people with visual impairments in low-income contexts, mobile interactions with technologies are mediated through existing social infrastructure support that influences the use and experience of technology and, therefore, the perception of self [40]. It is also evident that to holistically support individuals with disabilities in India, cross-cutting health issues, caste, religion, gender, and hierarchy must be considered alongside fostering resilience [11]. ...
People with visual impairments in India have low literacy rates and only a few pursue higher education at the country's top universities. We present an insight into the educational experiences of these few university students with visual impairment based on the Frame of Interdependence. We found that educational challenges arise when interdependence fails due to restricted or misfitted assistance from social relations and ableist social interactions. Analysis of practices to overcome these challenges from the lens of Resilience Theory revealed that students develop a sense of self-confidence through successful academic experiences, internalise external stressors into intrinsic motivation, and find ways to navigate inaccessibility with the available social resources. In addition, students express the need to increase the integration of assistive technologies in education and facilitate social integration. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for equitable and inclusive education practices.KeywordsVisual ImpairmentEducationAssistive TechnologiesGlobal SouthInterdependenceResilienceInterview Study
Visual impairment is a condition that hinders someone from performing their daily tasks due to vision loss. This research focused on the most trending software and applications utilized by persons with visual impairment and also highlighted the accessibility issues on social media platforms. The major objective of this study is to find out the increasing usage of social media and assistive technology among persons with visual impairment. The data was collected through convenient sampling and 200 students from grade 8 till post-graduate were targeted. Findings show that the most common platform utilized by persons with visual impairment is YouTube. Most individuals with visual impairments occasionally face accessibility difficulties when utilizing social media platforms. The study concluded that web developers don’t pay attention to accessibility features while developing any website. The government should minimize the cost of assistive technology to make it affordable for visually impaired persons.
People with visual impairments often have to rely on the assistance of sighted guides in airports, which prevents them from having an independent travel experience. In order to learn about their perspectives on current airport accessibility, we conducted two focus groups that discussed their needs and experiences in-depth, as well as the potential role of assistive technologies. We found that independent navigation is a main challenge and severely impacts their overall experience. As a result, we equipped an airport with a Blue-tooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon-based navigation system and performed a real-world study where users navigated routes relevant for their travel experience. We found that despite the challenging environment participants were able to complete their itinerary independently, presenting none to few navigation errors and reasonable timings. This study presents the frst systematic evaluation posing BLE technology as a strong approach to increase the independence of visually impaired people in airports.
We present an assistive suitcase system, BBeep, for supporting blind people when walking through crowded environments. BBeep uses pre-emptive sound notifcations to help clear a path by alerting both the user and nearby pedestrians about the potential risk of collision. BBeep triggers notifca-tions by tracking pedestrians, predicting their future position in real-time, and provides sound notifcations only when it anticipates a future collision. We investigate how diferent types and timings of sound afect nearby pedestrian behavior. In our experiments, we found that sound emission timing has a signifcant impact on nearby pedestrian trajectories when compared to diferent sound types. Based on these fndings, we performed a real-world user study at an international airport, where blind participants navigated with the suitcase in crowded areas. We observed that the proposed system signifcantly reduces the number of imminent collisions.
Ride-hailing services have received attention as part of the growing work around the sharing economy, but the focus of these studies has largely been on drivers. In this paper, we examine how ride-hailing is transforming the transportation practices of one group of passengers - people with visual impairments in metropolitan India. Through a qualitative study consisting of interviews and observations, we examined the use and impact of these services on our target population, who otherwise contend with chaotic, unreliable, and largely inaccessible modes of transportation. We found that ride-hailing services positively affects participants' notions of independence, and we tease out how independence for our participants is not just about 'doing things alone, without help' but is also situated, social and relative. Furthermore, we show how accessibility, in the case of ride-hailing in India, is a socio-technical and collaborative achievement, involving interactions between the passenger, the driver, and the technology.
Objective
To examine the association between disability exclusion and psychological distress.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
Population-based study of individuals living in households across Australia.
Participants
Respondents were persons aged 15 and over living with a disability.
Primary outcome measures
Reporting an experience of discrimination or avoidance behaviour due to a respondent’s disability. High or very high levels of psychological distress measured using the Kessler K10 instrument.
Methodology
Using the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers, we calculated the prevalence of persons with a disability experiencing psychological distress, disaggregated by experiences of disability exclusion, including discrimination and avoidance. Logistic regression models were fitted to examine the association between disability exclusion and psychological distress, once extensive controls and adjustments for survey design and presence of psychosocial disabilities were considered.
Results
About 62% of persons citing an experience of disability discrimination were in psychological distress, compared with 27% of those citing no discrimination. Furthermore, 53% of those who actively avoided social, familial or economic activities because of their disability experienced psychological distress, compared with 19% of those who did not avoid these situations. After controlling for demographic characteristics and disabling conditions, reporting an experience of disability discrimination or disability avoidance increased the odds of psychological distress by 2.2 (95% CI 1.74 to 2.26) and 2.6 (95% CI 2.28 to 2.97) times, respectively. Those who experienced both avoidance and discrimination were 3.7 (95% CI 2.95 to 4.72) times more likely to be in psychological distress than those experiencing neither. Avoidance and discrimination in healthcare settings were also found to be strongly associated with experiencing psychological distress.
Conclusions
Given new policy initiatives to improve disability care, coupled with the increasing speed of population ageing, the onus is on governments and its citizenry to address disability exclusion to offset potential mental health impacts.
This research takes an orientation to visual impairment (VI) that does not regard it as fixed or determined alone in or through the body. Instead, we consider (dis)ability as produced through interactions with the environment and configured by the people and technology within it. Specifically, we explore how abilities become negotiated through video ethnography with six VI athletes and spectators during the Rio 2016 Paralympics. We use generated in-depth examples to identify how technology can be a meaningful part of ability negotiations, emphasizing how these embed into the social interactions and lives of people with VI. In contrast to treating technology as a solution to a 'sensory deficit', we understand it to support the triangulation process of sense-making through provision of appropriate additional information. Further, we suggest that technology should not try and replace human assistance, but instead enable people with VI to better identify and interact with other people in-situ.
We present the first analysis of the use and non-use of social media platforms by low-income blind users in rural and peri-urban India. Using a mixed-methods approach of semi-structured interviews and observations, we examine the benefits received by low-income blind people from Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp and investigate constraints that impede their social media participation. We also present a detailed analysis of how low-income blind people used a voice-based social media platform deployed in India that received significant traction from low-income people in rural and peri-urban areas. In eleven-weeks of deployment, fifty-three blind participants in our sample collectively placed 4784 voice calls, contributed 1312 voice messages, cast 33,909 votes and listened to the messages 46,090 times. Using a mixed-methods analysis of call logs, qualitative interviews, and phone surveys, we evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the platform and benefits it offered to low-income blind people.
International development efforts up to and including the Millennium Development Goals have improved the lives of millions of people over the past 15 years through significant advances in health, education, economic development, communications and human rights However in this paper, we argue that there has been little attention to the systematic inclusion of the world’s one billion persons with disabilities in these initiatives – and because they have not been included they have lagged behind their non-disabled peers. This ‘lag’ has created what we term here a ‘disability and development gap’ in many countries where the socioeconomic status of persons with disabilities has remained stationary while the well-being of many of their fellow citizens has moved ahead. We further argue that unless specific measures are taken to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities in current and future international development efforts, including the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals, the 15% of the world’s population who live with a physical, sensory (i.e. deafness, blindness) intellectual or mental health disability are at risk of continuing to live in poverty and social isolation, remaining poorer in both relative and absolute terms as their non-disabled peers rise out of poverty.
Relatively few studies of accessibility and transportation for people with vision impairments have investigated forms of transportation besides public transportation and walking. To develop a more nuanced understanding of this context, we turn to ridesharing, an increasingly used mode of transportation. We interviewed 16 visually-impaired individuals about their active use of ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft. Our findings show that, while people with vision impairments value independence, ridesharing involves building trust across a complex network of stakeholders and technologies. This data is used to start a discussion on how other systems can facilitate trust for people with vision impairments by considering the role of conversation, affordances of system incentives, and increased agency.
In this paper, we describe interdependence for assistive technology design, a frame developed to complement the traditional focus on independence in the Assistive Technology field. Interdependence emphasizes collaborative access and people with disabilities' important and often understated contribution in these efforts. We lay the foundation of this frame with literature from the academic discipline of Disability Studies and popular media contributed by contemporary disability justice activists. Then, drawing on cases from our own work, we show how the interdependence frame (1) synthesizes findings from a growing body of research in the Assistive Technology field and (2) helps us orient to additional technology design opportunities. We position interdependence as one possible orientation to, not a prescription for, research and design practice--one that opens new design possibilities and affirms our commitment to equal access for people with disabilities.