research-article

Piracy and the Impaired Cyborg: Assistive Technologies, Accessibility, and Access

Author:

Priyank ChandraAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 4, Issue CSCW3

Article No.: 242, Pages 1 - 21

https://doi.org/10.1145/3432941

Published: 05 January 2021 Publication History

Abstract

This paper examines software piracy in the Global South from an accessibility lens, using the bio-technical metaphor of the 'cyborg.' Drawing on qualitative interviews with people with visual impairment (VI) from India and Peru, the paper interrogates the intimate relationships that users have with assistive technologies (ATs). It outlines the effectiveness of ATs in allowing users to actively control and shape their own lives and identities, and describes the various modalities that regulate the human body, technology, and human body-technology linkages. The paper argues that software piracy, when looked through the lens of the 'cyborg,' is an act of self-making that is motivated by a desire to gain autonomy and independence, i.e., it can be understood as a way to overcome the barriers that undermine access to the technological self. Further, software piracy allows a shift in the distribution of power from those who control and regulate the assistive technologies to the cyborgs themselves.

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Cited By

Amin NSaeed AKhalid AUsman MAkram F(2024)Comparative study between JAWS® And NVDA® in academic performance of students with visual impairmentBritish Journal of Visual Impairment10.1177/02646196241255889Online publication date: 3-Jun-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/02646196241255889
Anuyah OBadillo-Urquiola KMetoyer R(2023)Characterizing the Technology Needs of Vulnerable Populations for Participation in Research and Design by Adopting Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsProceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544548.3581221(1-20)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544548.3581221
Barbareschi GKawaguchi MKato HNagahiro MTakeuchi KShiiba YKasahara SKunze KMinamizawa K(2023)“I am both here and there” Parallel Control of Multiple Robotic Avatars by Disabled Workers in a CaféProceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544548.3581124(1-17)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
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Index Terms

Piracy and the Impaired Cyborg: Assistive Technologies, Accessibility, and Access
1. Human-centered computing

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 4, Issue CSCW3

CSCW

December 2020

1825 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3446568

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Apple Inc., United States

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Published: 05 January 2021

Published in PACMHCI Volume 4, Issue CSCW3

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Cited By

Amin NSaeed AKhalid AUsman MAkram F(2024)Comparative study between JAWS® And NVDA® in academic performance of students with visual impairmentBritish Journal of Visual Impairment10.1177/02646196241255889Online publication date: 3-Jun-2024
https://doi.org/10.1177/02646196241255889
Anuyah OBadillo-Urquiola KMetoyer R(2023)Characterizing the Technology Needs of Vulnerable Populations for Participation in Research and Design by Adopting Maslow’s Hierarchy of NeedsProceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544548.3581221(1-20)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544548.3581221
Barbareschi GKawaguchi MKato HNagahiro MTakeuchi KShiiba YKasahara SKunze KMinamizawa K(2023)“I am both here and there” Parallel Control of Multiple Robotic Avatars by Disabled Workers in a CaféProceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544548.3581124(1-17)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544548.3581124
Ochsner B(2023)Providing AccessDisability and Video Games10.1007/978-3-031-34374-2_11(295-317)Online publication date: 19-Dec-2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34374-2_11
Coles-Kemp LRobinson NHeath C(2022)Protecting The VulnerableProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/35556476:CSCW2(1-26)Online publication date: 11-Nov-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3555647

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