Use of consumer wireless technology by people with disabilities

1. Use of consumer wireless technology by people with disabilities Telecommunications Industry Association TR41.3 Working Group February 13, 2014 John Morris and Ben Lippincott The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies is sponsored by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education under grant number H133E110002. The opinions contained in this website are those of the Wireless RERC and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education or NIDRR.

2. AGENDA • What are the ownership rates of wireless devices by people with disabilities? What are the ownership rates of basic “feature” phones, smartphones, and tablets? Is there variation across disability type? • For smartphones and tablets which operating systems are the most common? Is there variation across disability types? • Do demographic variables like age and income impact wireless device ownership and use? (age and income divide) • Rates of landline phone ownership in the household for people with disabilities compared with general population (CDC’s “wireless substitution”) • Do people with disabilities use social media at the same rate as the general population? • What media do people use to receive, verify and share emergency information?

3. Overview of the Wireless RERC • Founded in 2001 • by grant from U.S. Dept of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) • Currently in Year 3 of our third 5-year grant cycle, which began in October 2011 • Partners • Shepherd Center • – consumer research, industry outreach and training • Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) • – policy research, technology development 3

4. Overview of the Wireless RERC Organized into 3 areas: • Research • User-Centered Research • Policy Approaches to Accelerate Wireless Accessibility • Engineering and Development • App Factory for Assistive and Accessibility Apps • Emergency Lifelines on Wireless Platforms • Training and Outreach • Promoting Awareness of Access and Usability Needs • State of the Technology Conference • Student Capacity Building 4

5. Research Projects • User Centered Research • Survey of User Needs (SUN) • Consumer Advisory Network (CAN) • Topical Surveys • Focus Groups/User Studies/Technology Evaluations Policy Approaches to Accelerate Access to Advanced Wireless Technologies • Regulatory Filings • Trends and Barriers Analysis • Technology and Policy Highlights

6. Development Projects The App Factory Development of accessible and/or assistive apps Wireless RERC funds app developers through annual RFP Ability to fund up to 8 apps per year IDEAL Currency Identifier Georgia Read More for ASL Learners BrailleTouch Access Note • Alternative text input app based on the Braille alphabet • Identifies three generations of U.S. currency notes beginning in 1993 • Note taking app designed for people with substantial loss of vision • Streams video of GPB’s Georgia Read More program with ASL overlay

7. Development Projects (cont.) Emergency Lifelines on Wireless Platforms External Alerting Interface- Control traditional altering devices such as bed shakers and light flashers from wireless devices via Bluetooth WEA Video Platform- Test methods to provide American Sign Language to Wireless Emergency Alerts AAC Emergency Alerts- Allow access to emergency communications channels such as 9-1-1 via AAC devices (Augmentative and Alternative Communications)

8. Training Projects • Promoting Awareness of Access and Usability Needs for Wireless Devices • Industry & Consumer Outreach/Education/Support • Re: Wireless - Industry/Consumer Newsletter • SUNspots • Events/Conferences/Webinars/Trade Shows • Building Research Capacity in Wireless Accessibility and Usability • Annual student design challenge • Annual Healthy Environments and Active Living (HEAL) event at Georgia Tech State of Technology Summit 2015 • Experts exploring micro and macro trends in wireless technology

9. Overview of the Wireless RERC User-Centered Research: • Survey of User Needs • Cornerstone survey of use and usability of wireless technology by people with all types of disabilities • Emergency Communications Survey • Conducted in 2010-2011 and 2012-2013 • Hearing Aid Compatibility Survey • Conducted in 2006-2010 and in 2013 • Just completed data collection 9

10. Overview of the Survey of User Needs • Survey of User Needs (SUN) • Background • Launched in 2002 • Now on its 4th version, which launched in 2012 • Results are shared with industry, developers, designers, regulators, advocates and consumers with disabilities

11. Overview of the Survey of User Needs

12. Survey of User Needs - Sample Data collection period: 10/01/2012 – 09/01/2013 Number of respondents/ with disabilities: 1450 / 1167 • Gender: • Female 57% • Male 43% • Age: • Range 18-89 • Mean 50 • Median 52 • Std Deviation 15.16

13. Survey of User Needs - Sample • Home location: • Urban area 34% • Suburban 48% • Rural area 17% • Employment • Full time 36% • Part time 14% • Retired 20% • Not employed 31%

14. Survey of User Needs - Sample

15. Survey of User Needs - Sample

16. Survey of User Needs - Sample *Percent of total respondents with disabilities.

17. Survey of User Needs - Sample

18. Survey of User Needs - Sample • Weighting • Necessary - Our convenience sample does not provide the degree of representativeness of a random sample • Technique – What values multiplied by a probability distribution in SUN sample will give me the corresponding distribution in a reference sample? • weight X sample = reference sample • weight = reference sample / sample • Reference Sample - Steven Ruggles, J. Trent Alexander, Katie Genadek, Ronald Goeken, Matthew B. Schroeder, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series: Version 5.0 [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2010.

19. Data analysis – Respondents with disability • Use of wireless technology – adoption rates • Preferences for operating systems • Wireless substitution - “cutting the cord” • Economic divide • Urban-rural wireless connectivity divide • Age divide • Data analysis by disability

20. Wireless Use – All Respondents with Disability *Cell phone only; http://pewinternet.org/Commentary/2012/February/Pew-Internet-Mobile.aspx

21. Wireless Use – All Respondents with Disability 21

22. Wireless Use – All Respondents with Disability

23. WireLINE Use – Respondents with Disability

24. WireLINE Use – Respondents with Disability

25. Wireless Use – All Respondents with Disability

26. Wireless Use – All Respondents with Disability

27. Wireless Use – All Respondents with Disability

28. Wireless Use – All Respondents with Disability

29. Wireless Use – All Respondents with Disability

30. Overview of the Wireless RERC User-Centered Research: • Survey of User Needs • Cornerstone survey of use and usability of wireless technology by people with all types of disabilities • Emergency Communications Survey • Conducted in 2010-2011 and 2012-2013 • Hearing Aid Compatibility Survey • Conducted in 2006-2010 and in 2013 • Just completed data collection 30

31. Emergency Communications Table 1. Percentageof Respondents by Disability Type, 2012-2013 *Percentages add up to more than 100% because respondents were asked to check all that apply. 31

32. Emergency Communications Table 2. Percentage of respondents who usesocial media and online communities – by income* *The Pew Research Center reports income data in the ranges shown above. The Emergency Communications Survey asked respondents to indicate their annual household income by choosing from a list of seven income ranges. The lowest three ranges in our survey were collapsed to best approximate the ranges reported by Pew. **Percentages reported for all respondents with at least one of the disabilities listed in Table 1. ***Percentage of internet users. 32

33. Emergency Communications Table 3. Percentage of respondents who usesocial media and online communities – by age *Percentages reported for all respondents with at least one of the disabilities listed in Table 1. Sample was weighted by income to match distribution of income for these age ranges in the American Community Survey sample for people with disabilities. **Percentage of internet users who also use social media. 33

34. Emergency Communications Table 4. Methods of receiving, verifying, and sharing emergency alert information – All respondents with a disability 34

35. Emergency Communications Table 5. Methods of receiving emergency information – Results from three studies 35

36. Emergency Communications Table 6. Percentage of each disability group that received, verified, or shared their most recent public alert via social media 36

37. Emergency Communications Table 7. Percentage of respondents with vision and hearing loss who received, verified, or shared most recent public alert via social media 37

38. Overview of the Wireless RERC User-Centered Research: • Survey of User Needs • Cornerstone survey of use and usability of wireless technology by people with all types of disabilities • Emergency Communications Survey • Conducted in 2010-2011 and 2012-2013 • Hearing Aid Compatibility Survey • Conducted in 2006-2010 and in 2013 • Just completed data collection 38

39. Thank you! John Morris, Ph.D. john_morris@shepherd.org 404-367-1348 Ben Lippincott ben@imtc@gatech.eu 404-894-7034