Slides for the 5th lecture for the VU ICT4D course HCI4D: Human-Computer Interaction for Development Including Cross-cultural interface design and desiging interfaces for low-literate users.

1. HCI4D
ICT4D lecture 14/4/2014 - Victor de Boer
with slides from Stephane Boyera

2. Outline
• General introduction to HCI4D
– Cross-cultural HCI
– Low literate-interfaces
• Case: Voice access to Web content
• Project updates
• Thursday: VXML tutorial and assignment setup

3. One minute paper
• What is the most
important idea I got
from Ho et al. (or two
or three)

5. “Human-Computer Interaction for
Development” (HCI4D).
To study
“[…] how interactive products, applications, and
systems can be appropriately designed to
both address the distinctive needs of users in
developing regions, and to cope with the
difficult infrastructural contexts where these
technologies must work.”
-Ho et al.

6. Also..
“[…] we do not seek merely to understand how
humans and ICTs interact in developing
regions, but to apply this understanding to
adapt the interactive behavior of ICTs in these
contexts, to shape new and more appropriate
forms of ICTs, and to devise human centered
approaches to designing ICTs that can be used
by people to improve lives, livelihoods, and
freedoms.”

7. In multicultural environments it is even more
important [to] consider how our
understanding of the complex dialectic
between culture, economy and technological
innovation influences our ability to empower
our people. (p. 4)
Hugo, J. (2002). HCI and multiculturalism in southern Africa.
Proceedings of the CHI 2002 Development Consortium.

8. Cross-cultural HCI
• Study of Human-Computer Interaction across
cultural differences
• Cf. Cross-cultural Interface design
– Internationalization (I18n)
– Localization (I10n)
– “Communitization” – Hugo

9. Localization
• Translation
• Adapt and Adjust
• Details
– Dates: Month, day, year vs. day, month, year.
– Time: 12-hour vs. 24-hour time.
– Color: Avoid local color sensitivities.
– Currency: Pay attention to conversions and formats.
– Phone Numbers: Formats are different around the world.
– National Holidays: Holidays are country and region specific.
– Geographic Examples: Keep it relevant for your audience.
– Website Language Codes: ISO codes are important to know.
http://mashable.com/2011/12/22/website-localization/

10. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions

11. Example: individualism
Italy:76, Venezuela: 12
https://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/apr13.asp

12. A lot of work in
• Cross cultural HCI
• Localization
• Internationalization
International development
is almost never a goal in
cross-cultural HCI.

13. User-centered design methodology
• Participatory approach (cf.
International Development)
– Political environment, ethics,
cultural differences
• Living labs-like
– Early prototyping (use
comics with children)
• Action research and the
many responsabilities of the
HCI4D researcher
Serrewet.com

14. Information access for the rural poor

15. Copyright © 2013. SBC4D – http://wwww.sbc4d.com. All rights reserved 15
The promises of ICTD
o WSIS 2003/2005: Technology is a
development tool:
o Overcoming infrastructure challenges
o Education
o Healthcare
o Livelihood
o etc.
o Leveraging communication
independently of physical/geographical
barriers
o Improving transparency, accountability,
efficiency of governments

16. Copyright © 2013. SBC4D – http://wwww.sbc4d.com. All rights reserved 16
Web Access: Current State

17. Copyright © 2013. SBC4D – http://wwww.sbc4d.com. All rights reserved 17
Information Appliances: Mobile phones

18. Copyright © 2013. SBC4D – http://wwww.sbc4d.com. All rights reserved 18
Information Appliances: Radio

19. Many examples with SMS
Medic.frontlinesms.com

20. SMS
Text2change.org

21. Low-literate users
• One of the grand challenges (Ho et al.)
• Especially prevalent among the rural poor
• Cf. Accessibility here
– Web design http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

22. Varying levels
• Also: numeracy
• Always base yourself on information as specific as possible

23. Quiz
• Literacy in Zimbabwe
A. 0-30%
B. 30-50%
C. 50-70%
D. 70-100%

24. Quiz
• Literacy in Zimbabwe
A. 0-30%
B. 30-50%
C. 50-70%
D. 70-100% <- 91%

25. Quiz
• Literacy in Mali
A. 0-30%
B. 30-50%
C. 50-70%
D. 70-100%

26. Quiz
• Literacy in Mali
A. 0-30% <- 27.7% (20% among women)
B. 30-50%
C. 50-70%
D. 70-100%

27. Varies greatly in continent
Data.worldbank.com

28. Icon-based interfaces
• Example: Indrani Medhi
– Correlation between ease of using hierarchical menu’s
(even without text) and literacy

29. Interaction design for low-
literacy communities

30. Feature phones

31. Icon-based interaction

32. Icon-based interaction
NCR ATM interface for illiterate 'grammar' - ISOTYPE by Otto Neurath available at
http://imaginarymuseum.org/MHV/PZImhv/NeurathPictureLanguage.html

33. Voice-based user interfaces
• Not exclusive to ICT4D (cf Siri, In-car systems)
• Very suitable for oral cultures

35. Voice menus for interactive
information access

36. Voice menu for Banana service:
P. Nasfors. Efficient Voice Information Services for Developing Countries, Master Thesis,
Department of Information technology, Uppsala University, Sweden, 2007.

37. VUI design guidelines
D. Chhetri MsC Thesis “Voice User Interface Design for the m-Event Organizer”

38. VUI design guidelines
• Input requirements
– DTMF* rather than voice input
– Local phone nrs
• Structure requirements
– Providing an overview of the page
– Eliminate repetitions
– Immediate Feedback
– Error recovery
• Output requirements
– System voice: female (75%) and human (67%) * probably
case and culture-specific
– Nonverbal sounds
R Nieland Msc Thesis (tentative): Talking to Linked Data
(*)Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling

39. ‘Small Languages’
• Large language populations: English, German, Chinese,
Portuguese, Dutch…
– Large number of textual corpora available, great economic
value to localization
• Small languages: Frisian, Bambara (3M speakers),
– Small number of textual corpora available, some economic
value to localization
• Very small languages: Bomu (30K speakers)
– No textual corpora available, very low economic value to
localization

40. Computer-literacy
• Digital divide
– Menu?
– Home?
– Save?
• Cf. usability difficulties that South African subjects
encounter with hierarchical information
structures to the non-tree-like schema that the
subjects use to conceptualize their “family trees.”
Walton, M., & Vukovic, V. (2003). Cultures, literacy, and the Web:
Dimensions of information “scent.” interactions, 10(2), 64–71.

41. Voice-based Web access in Africa

42. CAUTION!
DIGITAL DIVIDE AHEAD

43. Can the Web (be made to) mean something for
knowledge sharing even under very
constraining conditions?
No internet, no computer, no electricity
Multitude of languages, levels of literacy

44. A window of opportunity…

45. •No. 1 source of information
•Interactive radio programs
•Huge listening base
Another window:
rural community radios

46. • Integrate local community radios and mobile ICT for knowledge sharing
• Better support and integrate local languages in voice-based services
– Development of appropriate speech elements (text-to-speech and Speech
recognition)
• Develop a free and open source toolbox for local developers.
• Investigate self-sustainability
– Develop appropriate business models
– In collaboration with local communities.

47. June 2013Jan 2010
First cycle:
Knowledge
sharing for
regreening
Second cycle:
Use Case elicitation and
selection
RadioMarché:
Pilot System
development
(Malian French)
RM: 3rd version
(Bambara,Bomu
)
Jan 2011 Jan 2012 Jan 2013
First field trip:
Burkina Faso
Second field trip
Mali, Burkina Faso,
Ghana
RM: 4th version
Third field trip
Mali
Fourth field
trip
Mali
Fifth field trip
Mali
Foroba Blon:
pilot version
FB: 2nd version
(Bambara,Bomu)
Third cycle:
Requirements
elicitation and
validation
Business Model integration
Sixth
planned field
trip
Mali
Fourth cycle
Use case and
Requirements
validation
Fifth cycle:
Use case and
Requirements
validation
Sept 2009
Cycle 0
Preliminary
visit
BF sept 2009
RM: 2nd
version
(production
version)
FB: 3rd version
(Bambara,Bomu)

48. Three voice systems …
Market Information
Citizen Journalism
Event Organiser

50. Foroba Blon use case
• Citizen journalism platform
– using the same technology as RadioMarché
• Multiple use cases
– Letters to editor
– Trusted users ‘journalists’
• Funded by IPI news innovation contest

51. Foroba Blon

54. Adopted by local radio stations
Positive feedback so far.
• 250 messages left
Messages about deaths, missing animals
Problems with registration
Voice Interface difficulties
Costs
New business models: ‘advertiser’ pays through credit
Voice Twitter?
Al Jazeera used Foroba Blon for Ghanaian
(2012) and Kenyan (2013)
elections coverage.
Foroba Blon Results

57. Event Organising

58. Event Organizer
• Event organizer for Sahel Eco
• User profile
– Name, phone number, language(s)
• Call everyone and note responses
• “Tabale”: the sacred drum

59. The Tabale Platform
NGO staff
Malian French
Bomu
Bambara
Record
multiple
messages
in different
languages
yes
no
don’t know

60. VUI design (three languages)

63. M-agro Use Case
Context: Regreening in Africa

64. SMS
== =
====
==
Internet cafe
translate

65. Communiqué

66. Local market data
Communiqué
GSM/Voice interface
Web Interface Text-To-Speech
Community radioSahel Eco operative
Buyers

67. SMS
Radio 1:
French and Bambara
Radio 2:
French and Bomu

68. SMS
Radio 1:
French and Bambara
Radio 2:
French and Bomu

69. Web frontend for Market data management and
communiqué generation RadioMarche.com
Iterative, user-centered design. Uses same information
architecture as legacy system (cf. Communique sheets)

70. Voice channel: Multiple solutions
Netbook
running
Prophecy
SIP over Ethernet
Netbook
HTTP
Officeroute
running Asterix
Orange Emerginov Platform
Netbook
running
Prophecy +
Asterix
Bluetooth
Mobile phone

71. Audio communiqué
• Audio communiqué generated by slot-and-
filler Text-to-speech system
– concatenating prerecorded phrases
– Each radio host uses own voice (!)
• Malian French
• Bambara
• Bomu
Radio Segou Radio Mountian

72. “Slot and Filler” Text-to-Speech
English:
Bambara:
15 liters of offered by Zakari Diarra
15_ba.wav L_ba.wav Of_ba.wav
Spoken Language
Elements Repository
honey

73. VoiceXML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<vxml version="2.0" lang="en">
<form>
<prompt bargein="false">
Welcome to RadioMarche!
<audio src=“audio/communique_1_bambara.wav"/>
</prompt>
<option dtmf="1" value=“1">Press one for X</option>
<option dtmf=“2" value=“2">Press two for Y</option>
...
</vxml>
DTMF = Dual-tone multi-frequency signaling

74. http://projects.emerginov.org/V_webInt/ngo/home
Demo

75. Deployment

76. Evaluation
• Limited usage due to:
– Political situation
– Ecological situation
– Social barriers
– Technical issues
• More languages: Bambara and Bomu
– Bomu way of counting
• More usage
• In a way, we are “too successful”: Too much demand
– not serving the value chain
– Should we include this in the application?
– Cf. Marktplaats?

77. HCI4LD4D
• Linked Data for sharing information across
contexts, locations
– Light-weight integration of data
• Language-agnostic!
• Interface-agnostic!

79. http://semanticweb.cs.vu.nl/radiomarche

80. Linked Market Data
• 90 offerings
• 19 contacts
• Links to
– Data
• DBPedia
• GeoNames
• Agrovoc
– Vocabularies
• Foaf
• GoodRelations

81. Sharing across regions
Local market data
RadioMarché market information system
Farmers
(producers)
Buyers
(consumers)
Email GSM/VoiceWeb SMS
Data / communique platform
Local radio
RadioMarché in second region
Local market data
Data / communique layer
Farmers
(producers)
Buyers
(consumers)
Email GSM/VoiceWeb SMS
Interface handler layer
Local radio

82. DBpedia
GeoNames
Agrovoc
Inst. of Development
Studies LOD
Citizen Journalism
data
Sahel Pluvial data
SemanticXO
RadioMarché
Linked market data
Linked Data for Development (LD4D)
IATI data

84. EcoMash
Henk Kroon

85. rm:offering0001
rm:shea_butter
rm:1000
rdfs:label
rdfs:label “Amande de Karité”@fr
“Shea Nuts”@en
speakle:voicelabel_ba
rm:audio_shea_nl.wav
rm:audio_shea_ba.wav
speakle:voicelabel_nl
rdfs:label
“1000”
speakle:voicelabel_ba
rm:audio_1000_nl.wav
rm:audio_1000_ba.wav
speakle:voicelabel_nl
rm:Mazankuy_Diarra
rm:kilo
rdfs:label “kilo”@en
speakle:voicelabel_ba
rm:audio_kilo_nl.wav
rm:audio_kilo_ba.wav
speakle:voicelabel_nl
rm:has_contact
Speakle voice labels

88. https://github.com/biktorrr/speakle

90. <vxml version = "2.1" >
<property name="inputmodes" value="dtmf" />
<form id="result">
<block>
<prompt>
These are the top three current
offerings for Tamarin
<break time="0.5s"/>
<audio src="http://.../AndiaKalakodio_en.wav"/>
offers
<audio src="http://.../450_00_en.wav"/>
<audio src="http://.../Kg_en.wav"/> for
<audio src="http://.../250_00_en.wav"/>
<audio src="http://.../CFA_en.wav"/>
<break time="0.5s"/>
...
<break time="0.5s"/>
</prompt>
<goto next="mytest.xml"/>
</block>
</form>
</vxml> Voice browser Tel: +31208080855
Skype: +990009369996162208

91. To conclude…
• Linked Market Data
– Locally created
– Linked Data make re-use possible (NGO, others)
– LD voice labels
• Can be (re)used to develop voice applications with this data
• To go beyond proof-of-concept
– More localization needed
– Local hardware/services (Emerginov / OfficeRoute)
– User testing
– More sophisticated translations (VoiceSPARQL)

93. Web for ALL.
Using voice technologies and available tools…
… we make the benefits of the Web available to people who
use simple mobile phones.
~~
~~
~~

94. Mobileusers
VOICES User Content
VOICES Platform & Toolbox
Telecom
Access
Radio
Program
Output
Web
Access
Mobile
Training Lab
Local ICT developers
Speech
Tools
Local end-users
Sustainable
business models
Mobile
access
PRODUCTS

95. Take home
• Any ICT project which involves a user depends heavily on success of
interface
– Especially for ICT4D
• User-centric design, participatory design, iterations
• Cross-cultural HCI can teach us a lot
• Action research, but agenda’s of ICT4D scientists need to be clear
• Open mind
– (low tech may be the best solution)
• Dealing with low-literacy is complex, but very important

96. Questions?