Information Studies

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    Contributing to Accessibility Datasets: Reflections on Sharing Study Data by Blind People
    (Association for Computer Machinery (ACM), 2023-04-23) Kamikubo, Rie; Lee, Kyungjun; Kacorri, Hernisa
    To ensure that AI-infused systems work for disabled people, we need to bring accessibility datasets sourced from this community in the development lifecycle. However, there are many ethical and privacy concerns limiting greater data inclusion, making such datasets not readily available. We present a pair of studies where 13 blind participants engage in data capturing activities and refect with and without probing on various factors that infuence their decision to share their data via an AI dataset. We see how diferent factors infuence blind participants’ willingness to share study data as they assess risk-beneft tradeofs. The majority support sharing of their data to improve technology but also express concerns over commercial use, associated metadata, and the lack of transparency about the impact of their data. These insights have implications for the development of responsible practices for stewarding accessibility datasets, and can contribute to broader discussions in this area.
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    "I love that they exist, even if imperfectly:" Disability, Music Archives, Descriptive Language, and Symbolic Annihilation
    (2023) Pineo, Elizabeth; Marsh, Diana E; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Drawing on scholarship that addresses symbolic annihilation, this thesis brings together three related studies to argue that music archivists need to address the symbolic annihilation of Disabled individuals within their materials. It offers an assessment of the current state of representation of Disabled individuals in music and non-music archives (chapter 2) and in Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) (chapter 3). From there, it explores the ways in which music and non-music archives are perceived by Disabled individuals with ties to music (chapter 4). Following the presentation of these three studies, the thesis relates combined implications, considerations for further research, and suggestions for methods archivists might use to combat symbolic annihilation and its underlying causes. The author provides practical steps for combatting symbolic annihilation of Disabled individuals throughout, but the final chapter (chapter 5) focuses exclusively on this topic.
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    EXPLORING THE ACCESSIBILITY OF HOME-BASED, VOICE-CONTROLLED INTELLIGENT PERSONAL ASSISTANTS
    (2018) Pradhan, Alisha; Lazar, Amanda; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    From an accessibility perspective, home-based, voice-controlled intelligent personal assistants (IPAs) have the potential to greatly expand speech interaction beyond dictation and screenreader output. This research examines the accessibility of off-the-shelf IPAs (e.g., Amazon Echo) by conducting two exploratory studies. To explore the use of IPAs by people with disabilities, we analyzed 346 Amazon Echo reviews mentioning users with disabilities, followed by interviews with 16 visually impaired IPA users. Although some accessibility challenges exist, individuals with a range of disabilities are using IPAs, including unexpected uses such as speech therapy and memory aids. The second study involved a three-week deployment of Echo Dot, a popular IPA, with five older adults who use technology infrequently. Findings indicate preferences for using IPAs over traditional computing devices. We identify design implications to improve IPAs for this population. Both studies highlight issues of discoverability and the need for feature-rich voice-based applications. The findings of this research can inform future work on accessible voice-based IPAs.