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There are millions of people worldwide using e-Learning platforms. However, people with disabilities still have problems using these platforms due to a lack of accessibility. In the present study, a model for the generation of the profiles of users with disabilities is proposed. This model enables e-Learning platforms to have information on users’ accessibility needs as input for automated adaptation of its interfaces. This would enable equal access for all learners with and without disabilities. In this context, different studies related to the profiling of users on e-Learning platforms were identified and analyzed. The model presented considers the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) that can be implemented in the interfaces of the e-Learning platforms and the metadata that represent the accessibility needs of users based on Schema.org. The researchers used Unified Modelling Language diagrams to design the model and define a description of the interaction between users, user interfaces, WCAG, Schema.org., and the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) profile generated. The testing of the prototype was carried out using WAVE and ARC Toolkit. The validation with the support of forty-four users was conducted using the System Usability Scale (SUS). The most outstanding results of this study are the identification of WCAG success criteria that are automatically implementable, the inclusion of two special categories for combined accessibility needs related to the elderly and linguistics, and the automatic generation of the profile as an XML file containing the metadata needed to enable the adaptation of e-Learning platform interfaces.

People living with some type of disability continue to encounter barriers that prevent them from participating in society on equal terms and their rights continue to be violated. Among these rights, the full enjoyment of communication in an independent and accessible manner, using information and communication technologies, is a commitment acquired by the signatory countries of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Inclusive and equitable access to full participation in democratic processes is fundamental. Elections to designate constitutional president and vice president of the Republic of Ecuador for the period 2021-2025 were held on February 7, 2021. Some 13 million citizens were called to vote, including more than 425,000 citizens with disabilities. In Ecuador, voting is compulsory for citizens between 18 and 65 years of age, and the voting document is requisite for access to services in government offices. Ecuador was the sixth country in Latin America to call its citizens to the polls amid the pandemic. This unprecedented situation forced the National Electoral Council to change the traditional voting process, including a larger number of polling stations and ordering voters to go to the polls unaccompanied to avoid crowds and minimize contagion. In this context, the National Electoral Council made available to citizens a website that allowed, among other features, to consult the voting location and follow the election results in real-time. The objective of this study was to identify accessibility barriers in these web pages for users using assistive technology. The methodology employed for the analysis was experiential introspection complemented with the use of two automatic evaluation tools based on the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and the Usability.gov guidelines. Accessibility and usability problems were found on the voting location consultation page. Additionally, the voting results page presented very serious accessibility problems to the extent that prevented blind users from obtaining such information.

Intermediate cities have specific characteristics due to their size, population, economy, and regional dynamics. The metropolises represent poles of attraction that do not allow the development of the surrounding villages. These poles absorb peripheral accentuations during their boundary expansion processes. Not far from this phenomenon, it is observed that intermediate cities act similarly in front of smaller towns, having a repeated effect than their higher similes. The relationship between villages leads to emigration and population immigration and can be confused with gentrification processes. For this reason, it is necessary to differentiate the original inhabitants of neighborhoods or areas that have been displaced from those who have preferred to change their place of residence by free will. The various study scales are directed towards understanding the phenomenon within a block, neighborhood, sector, city, and finally territory, with the desire to understand the gentrifying phenomenon's propagation speed.

In the recent years, software applications for medical assistance, including the tele-rehabilitation, have known a high and continuous presence in the medical field. Guaranteeing the correct use of these applications induces to incorporate a study of usability in the life cycle of any interactive system. This paper synthesizes the results obtained from a study of effectiveness, efficiency, and subjective user satisfaction conducted with ePHoRt. ePHoRt is a web-based platform for home motor rehabilitation; 39 participants tested the platform. We report the empirical results based on the subjective usability perception and self-reported feedback based on the IBM Computer System Usability Questionnaire. The results suggest that ePHoRt is useful, effective, efficient, easy to use, and its interfaces are acceptable. Overall, the participants are satisfied to use the platform. The main findings of this paper show that the user guidance is a critical aspect to ensure a good usability of the tele-rehabilitation platform.

This article reviews the literature on the study of the gentrification phenomenon with emphasis on the mutation that it has experienced from the 1960s to the present, differentiating its various consequences that depend not only on the country analyzed but also on the scales of the city from which the problem develops. Through this analysis, a prior theoretical framework is developed that is capable of supporting the effects of this phenomenon in intermediate cities of Ecuador in a context of territorial planning.

Gentrification is a worldwide phenomenon that generates population displacement due to various economic and social factors that change the way of life of residents in a geographical space. It also has a greater incidence in urban areas that have a Historic Center, as is the case for many Latin American countries that preserve these spaces as part of their cultural heritage. Quito stands out as an important case study of the gentrification phenomenon in its Historic Center. The increase in tourism and economic activity in the sector has generated the right environment for its development, elevating the cost of living by increasing the capital gain, thus promoting population displacement.

The change generated by the virtualization of activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the way people participate in countless activities. Scientific conferences, like many other events, were forced by the circumstances to change from face-to-face to online overnight. The goal of this study is to identify the accessibility barriers that the platforms used by scientific online conferences pose for blind participants. The research methodology used was experiential introspection complemented by automated testing. Exploratory tests were conducted by a blind researcher using the JAWS screen reader. Besides, the accessibility evaluation tool WAVE was used to identify non-conformances with the web content accessibility guidelines WCAG. As a result, it was found in some cases a null level of accessibility and, in other cases, complexity was detected in the access to activities. As for no conformances with WCAG, two of the most prominent were empty links and the absence of headings for efficient screen reader navigation. The automated tool showed errors and alerts that need to be fixed in the teleconferencing platforms evaluated. It is presumed that, unfortunately, the moderately or even basic concepts for the participation of users with visual disabilities and blind are not being considered in the platforms used to host virtual scientific conferences.

The technological proposal here elaborated consists of a cellphone app denominated Mind & Brain which encompasses subcomponents that allow the compensation of each frontal lobe function. In the component of planning, for example, this application allows a person to have an electronic diary to set daily activities to accomplish and will have the opportunity to set reminders and alarms with the patient´s own voice about the activities that must achieve in that specific day. For emotional regulation, the person will be able to be in control of every emotion and reaction. In monitoring, the subject must follow verbal instructions to solve successfully a problem, previously inserted. For decision making, the app will identify the possible consequences of choosing one or another option. With this technological innovation, people with any frontal lobe disorder will improve their quality of life.

Phonological awareness refers to a global awareness of the sound structures of speech and the ability to manipulate those structures. Children with phonological awareness problems may have difficulty associating environmental sounds with appropriate objects and they generally do not play with sounds. This paper describes the manufacturing process of an educational kit to strengthen phonological awareness skills. Kiteracy-PiFo is a kit based on the literacy method Picto Phonic (PiFo), which is made up of one teddy bear with a built-in RFID reader and 30 tags that represent the letters of the alphabet. The kit was designed to carry out a longitudinal study in order to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for children between 5 and 6 years old. In the manufacture of the kit participated 70 students, 5 from Computer Science Career, 20 from Digital and Multimedia Design Career, 45 from Psychology Career and 30 from Master in Education, mention Innovation and Leadership. All of them worked with 7 teachers who guided the development and intervention activities. A total of 25 kit were built, 5 of which were destined at 5 schools in Cartago-Costa Rica, 10 schools in Quito-Ecuador and 10 schools in Ambato-Ecuador. These kits were used to work on the development of phonological awareness with 667 children.

Assistive technologies have allowed people with disabilities to overcome many barriers. For instance, people with visual disabilities are able to access information on the Web by using screen readers and generating different actions in their navigation, which would not be possible without assistive technology. The generation of accessible resources and understanding user behavior from the journal editorial process point of view have created changes in the editorial process itself, from the reception to the publication of the articles. In this digital age, in which information has become global and open to a diverse population, resources should be accessible. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. Resources must be made accessible to people with different conditions, including visual and hearing impairments. The goal of this study is to identify the challenges faced by a person with a visual disability during the editorial process of journals on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. Such challenges include understanding the layout of the elements and controls on the platform interface, creating HTML versions of academic articles, configuring journal websites, and so on. The aim of addressing these challenges is to create accessible resources that can be used by all readers of OJS journals regardless of their conditions. The information presented in this study was collected over six months, and a descriptive analysis was performed. It can be noted that some accessible resources have already been implemented, such as the presentation of academic articles in MP3 format (which can be downloaded or reproduced online) and the publication of HTML versions of complete articles with navigation levels. There is also a video resource in which authors expose their research, and the articles themselves are presented in an accessible PDF format (which respects levels of accessibility that allow greater reading enjoyment for users with vision impairments). These contributions allow people with visual disabilities to better integrate into editorial teams of scientific journals. Work continues so that the resources published on the OJS platform can reach readers with disabilities at greater regional and global levels.

In the actuality there are many devices to help people with visual disability, at the level of mobile devices like Smart Phones, tablets, PCS, some of them increasing the size of the letter, or reading icons or maybe incorporating voice technology to read the text or to recognize the voice, these devices help to people with visual disability that they can interact and do things that people couldn’t do every day, helping their day by day, and above all do activities of interaction of man with machine. Additionally there are several applications that incorporate GPS navigation technology, for localization and geography location, one person can use navigation applications for be able to locate even using just the GPS module without the need to have internet connection, little by little this service has become very popular, it is include in autonomous cars, to be able to go to one place to another easily, just showing the destination the people are directed without the need to drive, however this system doesn’t work inside of the buildings or internal structures because the GPS signal could be lost and the navigation and obtaining the location is not accurate.

Young children as well as children with special educational needs learn from their environment with social, emotional and physical stimuli. In this context, educational resources and teaching strategies play a main role for them in order to understand the new information. This paper describes the experience of building hybrid interfaces that combine technology with traditional educational resources. A total of 60 teachers divided in two groups completed some tasks which consisted of generating new educative resources with tecnology. Through Design Thinking methodology, teachers designed three hybrid interfaces: 1. Interactive books, combining traditional fairy tales books with mobile devices, where QR codes and NFC tags give life to the stories; 2. Educational Board Games, where augmented reality markers give an extra information to the players; 3. Tangible educational resources, which integrate Makey-Makey device and Scratch with fruit, clay, aluminum foil or water to build laboratory.

The body posture is not a purely aesthetic problem, due to it can produce a multitude of adverse effects on health, even extremities disorders (injuries) and malfunction of organs. This study focuses on the correct and incorrect detection of the position of the spine and extremities while walking. A database of three patients with lumbago and sciatica, with diagnosis of muscle tension due to poor posture while walking, has been used in this article. These patients underwent physiotherapy treatment and were later filmed taking a short walk of 2 min to see the results. This process was developed for a period of 4 weeks, divided into 2 h of physiotherapy per week and 1 h of compilation of videos with the results obtained. To detect the correct movement of each of the patients, the Kinect Xbox One device was used. It identifies all body points, alignment, speed and angles during the walk. 25 points of human body in three dimensions are detected in real time by the Kinect, which allows to generate a data collection in real time and more efficiently. With the database of patients, a pre-processing of the information is done to identify the most relevant points for our study. A fuzzy model is generated which determines maximum and minimum thresholds for the posture of the back (angle of inclination), shoulders posture (shoulders inclination with respect to the spine), head posture (inclination with respect to horizontal vision) and movement of arms. The model dynamically identifies which position is correct for the movement during the walk, and in addition, the progress that is generated during a time series. This prototype detector is used for rehabilitation of high-performance athletes and is an approximation for the correct posture during long and medium distance races, jumps, among other sports that use the walk as a basis in their workouts. This study was based on the solution of back problems in clinical patients. These preliminary tests have given excellent results in the testing phase, which validates it as an option to prevent injuries in patients with these conditions.

At present, the lack of adequate methods to test whether a mobile application is accessible has become a major challenge for accessibility experts. This study was applied to ten mobile applications, the most popular according to PCMAG. We propose to use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 through manual review and automatic review with the Google Play Store Accessibility Scanner validator for the Android. The evaluation results of the mobile applications indicate that the applications are not accessible because they do not comply with the minimum required level proposed by WCAG 2.1. The research proposes suggestions to improve and raise awareness among the designers of mobile applications, in such a way that more inclusive mobile applications accessible to all types of users are built.

This study proposes the use of Think Aloud and Focus Group methods for evaluating the usability of the Intelligent Police Patrolling System (I-Pat). The study was conducted with twenty-one students of computer engineering. The study included two evaluation methods. First, the application of Think Aloud using audio recordings, image capturing and questionnaires. Second, the application of a Focus Group for brainstorming. The total number of the usability problems identified was fifteen. Comprehensiveness (46%) and layout (43%) problems were the most frequently found. The study showed that the problems encountered were due to the lack of understanding of the system’s functions, so it is recommended increasing the users’ levels of knowledge about the system. The application of these methods caused the students to find a greater number of errors than when applying a single method, allowing them to generate a report with usability improvements according to the reported errors.

When evaluating the learning styles of several individuals using the Honey-Alonso test, some users did not understand the meaning of several of the questions. This may be due to problems of context, tiredness in front of the extension of the test, lack of understanding or disinterest. The Honey-Alonso test consists of four groups of twenty questions each. Each group of questions allows identifying the level that an individual possesses on each one of the four learning styles. These styles are: active, reflective, theoretical and pragmatic. Answering a questionnaire of eighty questions is not an easy task from an andragogical point of view. This article proposes the creation of an educational video game designed with a script based on the questions of the Honey-Alonso test. The answers selected by the player are taken as a condition to determine the order of the next questions presented to the player.

The goal of a telerehabilitation platform is to safely and securely facilitate the rehabilitation of patients through the use of telecommunication technologies complemented with the use of biomedical smart sensors. The purpose of this study was to perform a usability evaluation of a telerehabilitation platform. To improve the level of usability, the researchers developed and proposed an iterative process. The platform uses a digital representation of the patient which duplicates the therapeutic exercise being executed by the patient, this is detected by a Kinect camera and sensors in real time. This study used inspection methods to perform a usability evaluation of an exploratory prototype of a telerehabilitation platform. In addition, a cognitive workload assessment was performed to complement the usability evaluation. Users were involved through all the stages of the iterative refinement process. Usability issues were progressively reduced from the first iteration to the fourth iteration according to improvements which were developed and applied by the experts. Usability issues originally cataloged as catastrophic were reduced to zero, major usability problems were reduced to ten (2.75%) and minor usability problems were decreased to 141 (38.74%). This study also intends to serve as a guide to improve the usability of e-Health systems in alignment with the software development cycle.

In this research, a hybrid solution for indoor localization for users with blindness or visual disabilities is developed to be able to move inside a building. The solution has two subsystems that communicate through an accessible mobile web interface. The first subsystem determines the location of the user's mobile device in an indoor place. This subsystem uses Wi-Fi networks because they are a very common existing infrastructure and they are economically feasible. An approach named Network Beacon Analyzer is proposed and tested to verify the level of accuracy of the location calculations. This approach analyzes Wi-Fi signals radiated by different access points (APs) to calculate the physical position of the user mobile device. The tests performed showed that accuracy of the calculation depends on the number of APs used within the Wi-Fi networks. Four APs provided the correct calculation of the location in 85% of the samples with a minimum error. The second subsystem is an accessible mobile web application that complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. Level AA is the level required by the legislation in most countries. The mobile web application displays an indoor map built in Scalable Vector Graph format. This format helps the screen reader software to interpret the visual information and translate it to audio output for blind users. In addition, the application simulates main routes that users can select to get an idea of the environment of the indoor place before actually going there. Finally, a group of twenty users tested the application, included blind and blindfolded people. The solution is independent of the type of mobile device and operating system, since the first subsystem analyses Wi-Fi signals and the second subsystem executes on top of any browser.

This study presents the design of a conceptual software architecture for the development of accessible web maps for visually impaired users. The conceptual software architecture proposed has three components: the database component is responsible for storing the web maps, the accessible web server component is responsible for converting a web map into an accessible web map, and the user side component is responsible for presenting the accessible web map to the user. A web application has been developed that shows the feasibility of implementing the proposed architecture. This application displays accessible web maps that provide additional information for visually impaired users. In addition, the application offers some alternatives for better interpretation of each map element. Visually impaired users receive feedback from the map displayed on the interface using a screen reader. The application has accessibility features based on WCAG 2.0 that facilitate the interaction of the visually impaired users.

The present work proposes a model of detection of movements of patients in rehabilitation of hip surgery in real time. The model applies the Fuzzy Logic technique to identify correct and incorrect movements in the execution of rehabilitation exercises using the motion capture device called XBOXONE Microsoft’s Kinect. An algorithm generates a multivalent logical model that allows the simultaneous modeling of deductive and decision-making processes. This model identifies the correct and incorrect movements of the patient during the execution of rehabilitation exercises. This model uses all the information collected from 24 points of the body with their respective axes of coordinates (X, Y, Z). Using data mining analysis, the algorithm selects the most remarkable attributes, eliminating non-relevant information. The main contributions of this work are: creation of a patient profile based on the movement of the human being in a generic way for the detection and prediction of execution of physical exercises in rehabilitation. On the other hand, an avatar was developed in 3D, which copies and evidences graphically the exercises performed by patients in real time.

The Tele-Rehabilitation platform for hip surgery allows patients to carry out part of their rehabilitation at home, without the need to travel long distances to a rehabilitation centre. A lack of usability that may prevent effectiveness, efficiency, and the satisfaction of patients, may lead to problems of confusion, error and delay, or even abandonment of the physical therapy. To perform the usability analysis, a set of heuristics were selected relating to aspects such as navigation, visual clarity, coherence, prevention of errors, user guidance, online help and user control. A cognitive walkthrough technique was also applied. With the results of the analysis, the design and implementation of improvements were performed. The web interfaces of the Tele-Rehabilitation platform were evaluated once again and compared with the baseline to ensure there was an improvement in usability.

This research is part of a telemedicine platform project to guide and accompany the patient online, during rehabilitation after total or partial hip replacement surgery. The study proposes to apply the Accessibility Guidelines for educational content in accordance with the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) accessibility guidelines. The main functionalities of the tele-rehabilitation platform involve the execution of rehabilitation movements, remote communication with health professionals, and therapeutic education of the patient during the recovery process. This article discusses the guidelines that the teaching-learning resources for elderly patients must meet to generate inclusive and easily accessible resources. The present study takes into consideration specific parameters relevant to the design of educational resources, with the aim of providing more accessible and inclusive educational guidelines for elderly patients.

This paper explains some of the challenges that exist to make accessible the web interfaces of a Tele-rehabilitation platform for hip arthroplasty patients and propose an iterative method to improve the level of accessibility using automatic evaluation tools. Web accessibility is not concerned with the specific conditions of people who use the Web, but with the impact that their conditions have on their ability to use it. If the web interfaces of the Tele-rehabilitation platform for hip arthroplasty patients are not accessible enough, the patients will not be able to understand, perceive or operate adequately the platform to benefit completely of the physical therapy. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) provides a set of rules and recommendations to help solve the problems of Web accessibility. Additionally, there are evaluation tools that allow identifying main web accessibility problems. These tools are best exploited when used by accessibility experts. The purpose of this research is threefold. First, to present the results of a web accessibility evaluation of the web interfaces of the Tele-rehabilitation Platform for Hip Arthroplasty Patients using three the evaluation tools: WAVE, AChecker and TAW. Second, to analyze the results presented by the tools according to the WCAG 2.0 guidelines to define a list of accessibility improvements. Third, to implement the improvements through the re-factorization of the existing code and re-testing the improved web interfaces to verify that they meet acceptable accessibility levels.

Using a tele-rehabilitation platform for motor recovery obliges the user to interact at a remote distance from the computer. In such a situation, a natural user interface can be used both to record the therapeutic movements performed by the patient, and to navigate in the web application. Nevertheless, it is necessary to assess the user experience to validate the system usability. The present paper describes an experiment to test the usability of a platform designed to enhance the recovery of patients after hip replacement surgery. The user experience is evaluated through several metrics (completion time and usability questionnaire) and the results are related to a sociodemographic questionnaire. A clustering approach is implemented to identify a relationship between the user’s profile and the interaction performance with the platform.

This paper presents the description of a project to develop an accessible indoor plan to help blind people to localize landmarks within a building from a pedagogical perspective. This project has been employed to foster engineering students to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to use technologies and tools to develop accessible engineering products within the context of a collaborative learning experience. This paper describe the step by step process followed to make an accessible indoor plan that complies with WCAG 2.0 accessibility guidelines. Also, conclusions and future work regarding the potentialities of the approach used in this project for generating collaborative learning experiences are presented.