Mobile device impairment … similar problems, similar solutions?

Abstract

Previous studies have defined a new type of impairment in which an able-bodied user's behaviour is impaired by both the characteristics of a device and the environment in which it is used. This behavioural change is defined as a situationally-induced impairment and is often associated with small devices used in a mobile setting or constrained environment. Relatively little is known of its extent or the magnitude of the problems faced by the user. Here, we place the work that has been undertaken into a comparative framework of impairment in the context of data input. Our survey finds that 12 problems exist which define all impaired input and we look to understand the similarities and possible solutions in the new impairment group of small device users. For instance, from the literature, we find that users who are both situationally and motor impaired: press keys more than once, do not use enough force and so a key is not activated, and accidentally type keys in reverse order. A wealth of other errors exist in the motor impaired domain but work does not exist to support their existence in the situational domain. However, if commonalities exist for some -it seems work should be enacted to uncover the commonalities of all. Establishing these possible commonalities is important because solutions from one domain can be leveraged into another thereby saving the need to reinvent interventions which already exist elsewhere.

Evolution of technology perceptions over time

“…The present study provides several practical outcomes for both the initial and later stages of use. Recent studies stated that appropriately designed interfaces improve elderly access to technologies (Carpenter and Buday, 2007;Harper et al, 2011), which, by our findings, means effortless use and the fit of processes to habits. We propose that cognition of users and learned behavioural models should be better employed in appliance design and service information content.…”

“…We assume that the diminishing dependence between functional ability and ease of use is driven by today's elder user who has a greater ability to adapt technology to their daily activities (Hu et al, 2003), as well as the effect of prior computer usage in searching for effective ways to use technology (Ko and Dennis, 2011). Furthermore, we suppose that functional decline is not so influential on technology usage in the future, as was expected in previous studies (Harper et al, 2011).…”

“…The studies focusing on long-term use of computers have found that the evolution of technology causes similar outcomes as the rate of natural age-related physical and cognitive impairments increase, regardless of an individual's prior experiences, skills or abilities (Hanson, 2011;Harper et al, 2011). This finding is significant because it reveals that time erodes the effects of some positive drivers for computer use because of natural aging and continuously expressed new technologies.…”

“…Personal characteristics, such as functional ability, influence perceived behavioural control and ease of use, which define an individual's ability to adapt new technology to the routines of daily life (Hu et al, 2003;Kher et al, 2013;Kim and Glassman, 2013;Sintonen and Immonen, 2013;Chang et al, 2015a, b). The studies focusing on long-term use of computers have found that the evolution of technology causes similar outcomes as the rate of natural age-related physical and cognitive impairments increase, regardless of an individual's prior experiences, skills or abilities (Hanson, 2011;Harper et al, 2011). This finding is significant because it reveals that time erodes the effects of some positive drivers for computer use because of natural aging and continuously expressed new technologies.…”

Enhancing the quality of service of mobile video technology by increasing multimodal synergy

“…But it also shows the potential of improving the QoS of mobile video technology. Multimodal synergy has the potential to alleviate auditory and visual issues that emerged in parallel with mobile technology (Harper, Yesilada, and Chen 2011;Škařupová, Ólafsson, and Blinka 2016; Broek 2017), whilst using the same bandwidth.…”