Sylvan Lobo

GappaGoshti™: a social networking platform for information dissemination in the rural world

The poor, rural, semi-literate farmer in India is in dire need of credible information services for sustenance. Various telephony, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), Short Messaging Service (SMS) texts, kiosks, and mobile based approaches have attempted to cater to their information needs, but have failed to give an engaging and useful experience. We have attempted to give the rural farmer a rich and useful Internet-like experience through a mobile based multimedia social networking platform - GappaGoshti#8482;. We have created an engaging user experience which transforms into a platform used for information exchange, advice exchange, announcement board and more such services in spite of the technology and social challenges.

GappaGoshti™: Digital inclusion for rural mass

In this paper we present our experiences and learnings accrued over more than a year while piloting a rural social network in India. We share our views on the challenges faced, both - technical and social. We also share our analysis of how the system was and is being used across various versions of the platform. We conclude with a summary of key observations necessary for deploying a rural mobile based platform.

KLM operator values for rural mobile phone user

Keystroke-Level Model (KLM) is a simplified cognitive modelling technique. The value of KLM operators have been defined for keyboard/mouse based interaction and literate western users. We conjectured that the values of the operators, especially the mental operator, would change for semi-literate Indian users using mobile phones, given their diversity. We have conducted tests with two user groups -- highly literate and semi-literate, to derive KLM operators. We discovered that the values of all the operators remain unaffected by literacy levels. However, the mental operator still varies according to the complexity of the interface. While performing the analysis we also discovered certain qualitative aspects of mobile based interactions which we have shared in this paper. Our findings would aid the upcoming rural mobile application HCI industry in India.

A User Study About Security Practices of Less-Literate Smartphone Users

This paper describes the insights gained from user studies conducted with less-literate smartphone users in the context of Usable Smartphone Information Security. For the purpose of this study, we present the analysis and findings from 70 users. 37 users were selected using convenient sampling from a metropolitan city and 33 from a nearby town. We report findings on PINs and Pattern passwords, Phone as an Information Device and as a Commodity, Asset Valuation, Risk Identification, Risk Assessment, Risk Mitigation, Password Management, Privacy, amongst others.

A Grounded Theory Approach for Designing Communication and Collaboration System for Visually Impaired Chess Players

Social interactions for visually impaired take place in the traditional way, such as meeting and calling, digital platforms are largely not utilized by them. Empirical research for visually impaired has focused largely on accessibility, usability and is yet to understand the problems from CSCW aspect holistically. We carried out a qualitative study of communication and collaboration activities for 43 visually impaired chess players in India. Through semi-structured interviews, the participants’ experiences in using existing collaboration and communication channels were noted. A Grounded Theory based analysis was performed using Atlas.ti and themes were identified. Research indicates that - social collaboration and ‘staying in touch’, searching and sharing new information, exploiting existing ways of mobile interactions, and having several interests help visually impaired in their daily lives for social collaboration and communication. This study provides insights concerning designing CSCW mediums for them.

Cache Enabled MVC for Latency Reduction for Data Display on Mobile

Data display on a mobile device is not the same as on a desktop system. There are constraints of memory and screen size, which make it difficult to display large a amount of data. We have proposed a simple but novel caching and data replenishment mechanism through which a large amount of data can be displayed efficiently on a mobile device without slowing down the mobile.

Coping with Accessibility Challenges for Security - A User Study with Blind Smartphone Users

Widespread adoption of touchscreen phones among blind users seems inevitable. Blind users face significant challenges in terms of accessibility and inclusion in the smartphone environment, despite prevalence of screen-readers and assistive software. This can lead to a variety of security and privacy risks while using smartphones. This paper presents qualitative research findings of a user study about security and usability aspects of smartphone usage by 51 blind smartphone users of age 18 to 40 years in a metropolitan city of India. We discuss the challenges users face, their coping strategies, and key insights that could inform design for security and usability.

Modeling Less-Literate User’s Choices of Smartphone Authentication Modes

Smartphones are increasingly becoming a device of choice or are imperative in the discourse of Digitization of services such as banking within a developing country like India. At the same time, a large population within India is less-literate [1, 4, 5] who are also the primary beneficiaries of our research. We believe that Emergent Users [2] are the next set of users who are likely to adopt smartphones and technology in a larger context. Amongst these emergent users we expect that a large class of users are less-literate, more comfortable with native languages and have never directly consumed any digital technology based information system. For this fieldtrip study, we would be considering only users who fall under such criteria. Specifically those within an age limit of 40 years, prior exposure to a smartphone for a duration of at least 6 months, education not more than class 10, and no prior (non-mediated) use of desktop computer information systems.

Participatory Design of Vaccination Services with Less-Literate Users

Participatory Design (PD) in an ICTD context can be challenging due to various constraints of lesser literacy, exposure to technology, infrastructure, socio-cultural factors and power distances amongst others inhibiting users to participate. In this paper, we explored this phenomenon with Vaccination and Immunization as a case study. Our team in the field comprised of two Designers and a student of Public Health Policy who is also a qualified Dentist. We recruited users who were migrants to the city, less literate, and had a child within the past 18 months. We used Contextual Inquiry (CI) as a probing method. The team visited the users at their convenient time to conduct the PD sessions with individual users. We anticipated users to face difficulties in participating, designing and expressing critical and creative opinions, as they would have less formal awareness of the processes and systems. This paper discusses outcomes of the PD process, and shares the insights about conducting PD with users in an ICTD context.

A Critique on Participatory Design in Developmental Context: A Case Study

The dimensions of understanding and involving users and their context while constructing a system have become important. Participatory Design has shown promising success in recent times. The concept of Participatory Design originates from developed countries [11, 13, 16, 17]. Its nature and methods are more oriented toward the Western setting where there is more privilege in terms of economy, education, and technology and a different socio-economic context. However, in the Developmental context, these presumptions may operate differently. In this paper, we critique the operationalization of Participatory Design in a healthcare case study in a developmental context. The study was conducted in urban-poor areas in a metropolitan city in India with 5 users individually, by a Designer and Public Health policy student. All users were recruited on the basis of their education (not more than 8th standard) and the age of their child (below 18 months). This paper reports findings on various factors such as social-cultural barriers, family power hierarchy, language barriers, power distance issues which affect and limit an attempt to facilitate Participatory Design in a developmental context.