The influence of social context on the perception of assistive technology: using a semantic differential scale to compare young adults' views from the United Kingdom and Pakistan.

Background and aim: A Society's view of disability may influence the perception and use of Assistive Technology (AT) products. Semantic cues or cultural coding provide the viewer with a series of visual stimuli to be given or ascribed meaning. Previous research has shown cognitive approaches to visual perception and assignment of meaning vary between diverse cultures. This study reviews the influence of contextual settings on perception, to provide the basis for a debate on the societal perception of communicative content (semantic/meaning) of an AT product; and, the relevance of different cultural cognitive styles. The paper explores, from a cultural viewpoint, the overall understanding of disability internationally.Method: A Semantic Differential (SD) scale was used to obtain views on the image of an attendant wheelchair from nine hundred and ninety-one (991) young adults from the United Kingdom (UK) and Pakistan (PAK), reflecting the individualist and collectivist societies, respectively. This survey follows a previous paper-based study using the same image and protocol. Comparing the two surveys, a consensus of views from the two groups was achieved.Results and conclusion: The responses from the UK group were skewed towards a negative view of disability compared to the Pakistan group. This inferred greater social stigma associated with this AT product in the UK. The combined findings from both surveys provide insights into societal perception of AT products and disability. Areas for future research are suggested, including what visual components of an AT product (graphemes) appear to be associated with positive or negative responses for collectivist and individual societal groups.Implications for rehabilitationAssistive Technology (AT) product designers, academics, professionals and stakeholders need to be aware of challenges which are originated from one's socio-cultural environment. AT products convey certain meanings, semantics, which are interpreted by the society and are subjective to a specific cultural setting.•For the effective communication of meanings and values an AT product relies on the visual clues and design features embedded within the design. However, there have been a limited number of studies reviewing this aspect of product semantics.•The survey and associated testing has highlighted the differences in cultural perception towards AT products and demonstrated the importance of effectively designing the semantic attributes of an AT product as well as its function.•The demonstration of the efficacy of methods within the study for exploring the interpretation of semantic attributes of AT products will help designers and developers better understand the perceptions of individual cultures and societal groups.•A better understanding of different cultures and societies will enable designers and clinicians who specify AT products to reduce AT product abandonment; and, the associated stigma around disability.

Cultural influences on perception of disability and disabled people: a comparison of opinions from students in the United Kingdom (UK) Pakistan (PAK) about a generic wheelchair using a semantic differential scale.

Assistive Technology (AT) product use occurs within a socio-cultural setting. The growth internationally in the AT product market suggests that designers need to be aware of the influences that diverse cultures may have on the societal perception of an AT product through its semantic attributes. The study aimed to evaluate the visual interaction with an AT product by young adults from Pakistan, a collectivist society, and the United Kingdom (UK), an individualist society. A paper-based questionnaire survey was carried out with 281 first-year undergraduate students from the UK and Pakistan to evaluate their perception towards the visual representation of a generic conventional wheelchair image. A semantics differential (SD) scale method was used involving a seven-point bipolar SD scale incorporating sixteen pairs of adjectives defining functional, meaning, and usability attributes of the product. The mean (M) and standard deviation (sd) values were obtained for each pair of adjectives and compared between both groups by employing appropriate parametric tests. The results show that having a diverse cultural background did not appear to have overtly influenced the meanings ascribed to the generic manual wheelchair, which was unexpected. The University 'Internationalist' environment may have influenced the results. Some minor but critical differences were found for some pairs of adjectives (bulky-compact, heavy-light), having p-value less than .05 (p < .05) that related to previous experience of wheelchairs and/or their use. Further studies are planned to investigate and validate outcomes with other student and non-student groups.Implications for RehabilitationThe semantic attributes of assistive technologies highlight a number of aspects that have implications for those involved in Assistive Technology (AT) product development, manufacturing and marketing.• For online sales, the AT products rely on the web page image to communicate the purpose and attributes of the product. There are limited explorations related to the semantic/communicative attributes of AT product presented in images, as perceived by individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds.• The knowledge towards semantic meaning ascribed to the AT product is important to investigate to provide a perspective that goes beyond practical functions of the AT product towards the communicative function.• Information of comprehending semantics and significance of the AT product from a social (non-users) viewpoint may benefits manufacturers in the development of AT products that best meet the societal needs, preferences and expectations.• A model of best practice, with a focus on semantic manipulation will offer Industrial Designers (ID) internationally with the suitable process and tools to reframe perceptions of disability and enhance acceptance of AT products not only for users, but also for the society around them.