Jinjuan Heidi Feng

Developing usable CAPTCHAs for blind users

CAPTCHAs are widely used by websites for security and privacy purposes. However, traditional text-based CAPTCHAs are not suitable for individuals with visual impairments. We proposed and developed a new form of CAPTCHA that combines both visual and audio information to allow easy access by users with visual impairments. A preliminary evaluation suggests strong potential for the new form of CAPTCHA for both blind and visual users.

Investigating the effects of sound masking on the use of audio CAPTCHAs

The SoundsRight Audio Completely Automated Public Turing tests to tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA) was developed with the goal of providing a usable and secure audio CAPTCHA for people with visual impairments. Its design requires users to repeatedly identify a specific sound from a group of different sounds (e.g. baby crying and bird chirping) in real time. Adding background noise (sound masks) to the sounds may make it more difficult for automated software to recognise the sounds and therefore, improve security. However, the sound masks may also make it more challenging for human users to recognise the sound. We conducted a user study involving 20 blind participants and 20 sighted participants to investigate the effect of sound masks on the usability of the SoundsRight CAPTCHA. The results suggest that sound masks do have a significant impact on the failure rate and response time. Sighted participants had significantly a higher failure rate than blind participants and were more vulnerable to the negative effect of sound masks.

Investigating authentication methods used by individuals with down syndrome

Although there have been numerous studies investigating password usage by neurotypical users, a paucity of research has been conducted to examine the use of authentication methods used by individuals with cognitive impairment. In this paper, we report a longitudinal study that investigates how individuals with Down syndrome interact with three user authentication mechanisms. It confirms that many individuals with DS are capable of using traditional alphanumeric passwords as well as learning other authentication methods. Contrary to previous belief, the result suggests that mnemonic passwords may not be easier to remember for individuals with DS during initial usage.

Expanding job options: potential computer-related employment for adults with Down syndrome

There is currently an emerging body of human-computer interaction research on computer skills in children and adults with Down syndrome, which so far seems to conflict with the assumptions based on the medical/clinical literature. Based on the medical/clinical literature, it would seem that the documented sensory and motor issues in children with Down syndrome would lead to difficulty with computer usage. Yet the research literature emerging from the human-computer interaction community indicates that many children and adults with Down syndrome can effectively use computers at an intermediate or advanced level. In the past, computer skills have not been considered as a potential job skill for adults with Down syndrome. This article discusses the existing literature on computer use and skills in people with Down syndrome, the existing environment of employment for adults with Down syndrome, and potential computer-related job categories for adults with Down syndrome.

Interviews and focus groups

Although not without their limitations, interviews can be powerful tools. Targeted discussions with potential users and stakeholders can help human-computer interaction researchers understand needs, challenges, reactions to new tools, and uses of tools in practice. Conducting effective interviews requires careful consideration of who to involve as participants and how the sessions might be structured, with possibilities ranging from completely structured interviews to semistructured and unstructured interviews. Contextual interviews focusing on close examination of work done in context, have also proven useful. Focus groups involving multiple participants can be useful for understanding a range of perspectives, but execution and analysis can be complicated by the dynamics of individuals working in a group. Additional topics discussed in this chapter include selection of questions, execution of the interview, use of telephone or web conferencing to conduct interviews, and interview analysis.

Working with research participants with disabilities

It is important that users with disabilities be involved with all types of human-computer interaction (HCI) research. Furthermore, many technologies that start out as designed for people with disabilities, later become mainstream technologies enjoyed by all (e.g., captioning, e-books, and voice recognition), and therefore, HCI research involving people with disabilities, has an impact on all HCI research. It is therefore important to pay close attention to the best practices in doing HCI research involving people with disabilities. This chapter describes how research involving people with disabilities, may differ from research with the general population. This chapter describes three areas which researchers need to pay careful attention to: (1) participants, (2) logistics, and (3) research methodology. Due to the diversity of disability, researchers need to pay careful attention to ensuring that the participants are the “right” ones for a study, meaning that the participants meet all of the inclusion criteria, including type of employment, technology experience, and specific qualities of their disability and their related skills (e.g., sign language, Braille, etc.). Participant recruitment may be challenging, and the chapter describes some possible techniques for recruitment, such as partnering with advocacy organizations, and doing distributed research. When recruiting participants with disabilities, it is important to ensure that your facilities and materials are fully accessible for your participants. For instance, you need to ensure that the building and any rooms where the research will take place, are accessible for wheelchairs, there is appropriate Braille signage on the doorways, and sign language interpreters are available when needed. The materials, such as any handouts, or institutional review board forms, as well as payment details, must also be accessible. The overall research methods (experimental design, surveys, time diaries, case studies, etc.) are typically the same as for research involving other users. However for people with cognitive disabilities, individual modifications to the research methods may sometimes need to be made. This chapter provides a step-by-step guide to creating successful HCI research involving people with disabilities.

Automated data collection methods

HCI researchers rely heavily on software tools for data collection. Widely available general-purpose software tools such as web servers and proxies can track page requests, providing detailed logs of user activity, complete with timestamps. Applications ranging from GUI desktops to email programs, web browsers, and web tools leave detailed records of user interactions. Activity-logging tools can track keystrokes and mouse movements, both within web pages and more generally. Instrumented software tools add activity tracking facilities to existing software, while custom research tools support presentation of tasks and collection of data tuned to the needs of specific studies. Selection of appropriate techniques requires careful selection of data collection techniques appropriate for study goals and granularity of required data.

Investigating the Use of Gesture-Based Passwords by the Seniors

Older adults in the US are the fastest-growing demographic group, and also the fastest-growing group of internet users [1]. Many computer related tasks, such as user authentication, could be a challenge for the seniors as their cognitive and physical capabilities decline. To date, the most commonly used authentication method is alphanumeric passwords, which have substantial challenges regarding security and usability [2]. Authentication using traditional alphanumeric passwords can be particularly problematic for the seniors because secure passwords are usually hard to remember [3]. Therefore, due to memory loss, one common problem associated with aging, the traditional alphanumeric passwords could be challenging for the seniors to recall and manage. To address this challenge, we developed a gesture-based password application as an alternative to the traditional alphanumeric passwords [4]. Preliminary studies suggest that users could learn the new password method in fairly short amount of time [5]. In this paper, we report an empirical user study to investigate how the seniors interact with the gesture password application.

MyStudentScope: A Web Portal for Parental Management of Their Children's Educational Information.

Research shows that parents and caregivers have challenges optimizing their use of information they receive regarding their children’s education. The challenge hinders their ability to effectively participate in their children’s educational development. Existing electronic student information systems used by schools are designed from the perspective of the educator or student, not the parent. A prior study aimed at determining areas where challenges were perceived supported the need for a tool tailored to meet the parents’ needs. In order to understand current methods of information management using technology, we review literature on Personal Information Management (PIM) and Knowledge Management. Experts in education were interviewed for their opinions regarding the types of information parents should have accessible. The literature review, study results, and recommendations from experts in education were used to inform the design of MyStudentScope (MSS), a web portal for parental management of information regarding their children’s education. The portal has four primary functions: monitoring, retrieving, communication and decision making. Parents’ use of MSS to archive and retrieve information regarding their children’s education is expected to improve parental monitoring of the progress of their children’s education over paper-based methods. Studies are underway to evaluate the effectiveness of MSS in improving parental management of information regarding their children’s education.

User Evaluation of MyStudentScope: A Web Portal for Parental Management of Their Children’s Educational Information

Parents and caregivers often struggle to successfully manage data from a variety of sources in a myriad of formats regarding their children’s education. To address challenges that have been identified by previous research, a MyStudentScope (MSS) was designed with the integration of proposed solutions and recommendations from subject matter experts in education. In order to ensure that the system can fully meet users’ needs, a user study was conducted investigating participants’ perceptions of MSS. Because parents tend to use paper-based methods to archive and retrieve information regarding their children’s education, the task performance through the use of the MSS web portal was compared to the paper-based methods. Situations parents/caregivers may encounter related to their children’s education and extracurricular activities were simulated during the study. We present findings based on analysis of user responses and provide recommendations for improvement of the MSS design.