Empirical validation of the Windows® accessibility settings and multimodal feedback for a menu selection task for users with Diabetic Retinopathy

Abstract

This study investigates the effectiveness of two design interventions, the Microsoft® Windows® accessibility settings and multimodal feedback, aimed at the enhancement of a menu selection task, for users with diabetic retinopathy (DR) with stratified levels of visual dysfunction. Several menu selection task performance measures, both time- and accuracy-based, were explored across different interface conditions and across groups of participants stratified by different degrees of vision loss. The results showed that the Windows® accessibility settings had a significant positive impact on performance for participants with DR. Moreover, multimodal feedback had a negligible effect for all participants. Strategies for applying multimodal feedback to menu selection are discussed, as well as the potential benefits and drawbacks of the Windows® accessibility settings.

Acknowledgements

This research was made possible through funding awarded to Julie A. Jacko by the Intel Corporation and the National Science Foundation (BES-9896304). Paula Edwards's participation was supported in part with a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The invaluable contributions of Mr Young Sang Choi of the Georgia Institute of Technology and of Drs Pamela Oliver, Josephine Shallo-Hoffmann, Joseph Pizzimenti, Gregory Fecho and Annette Bade of Nova Southeastern University are gratefully acknowledged.

Notes

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