Paper Info
Title
Bridging the Divide: Exploring the use of digital and physical technology to aid mobility impaired people living in an informal settlement
Abstract
Living in informality is challenging. It is even harder when you have a mobility impairment. Traditional assistive products such as wheelchairs are essential to enable people to travel. Wheelchairs are considered a Human Right. However, they are difficult to access. On the other hand, mobile phones are becoming ubiquitous and are increasingly seen as an assistive technology. Should therefore a mobile phone be considered a Human Right? To help understand the role of the mobile phone in contrast of a more traditional assistive technology – the wheelchair, we conducted contextual interviews with eight mobility impaired people who live in Kibera, a large informal settlement in Nairobi. Our findings show mobile phones act as an accessibility bridge when physical accessibility becomes too challenging. We explore our findings from two perspective – human infrastructure and interdependence, contributing an understanding of the role supported interactions play in enabling both the wheelchair and the mobile phone to be used. This further demonstrates the critical nature of designing for context and understanding the social fabric that characterizes informal settlements. It is this social fabric which enables the technology to be useable.
Year
DOI
Venue
2020
10.1145/3373625.3417021
ASSETS '20: The 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility Virtual Event Greece October, 2020
DocType
ISBN
Citations 
Conference
978-1-4503-7103-2
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
9
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Giulia Barbareschi113.40
Ben Oldfrey200.34
Long Xin300.34
Grace Nyachomba Magomere400.34
Wycliffe Ambeyi Wetende500.34
Carol Wanjira600.34
joyce Olenja700.68
Victoria Austin800.68
Catherine Holloway923.75