Aziz Zeidieh
Graduate Research Assistant and Informatics PhD Student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- MS in Cybersecurity from DePaul University
- BA in Communications from Northern Illinois University
👋🏼 Thank you for swinging by!
My name is Aziz Zeidieh, and put simply, I am an interdisciplinary organism fueled by curiosity. I’m a photographer, media producer, amateur radio operator, and technology enthusiast. As a graduate research assistant and Informatics PhD student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, I strive to investigate and advance accessibility and inclusivity for all people with dis/abilities. At the core, I am a learner and a teacher as I believe everything in life starts with the learning process.
In December of 2019 I graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Art in Communications, emphasis in media studies. I then went on to DePaul University to pursue a Master of Science in Cybersecurity with a concentration in networking and infrastructure, where I graduated in June of 2022.
Designing and Conducting Usability Research on Social Media Misinformation with Low Vision or Blind Users
Filipo Sharevski (DePaul University), Aziz Zeidieh (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
ABSTRACT: Users as targets of misinformation are continuously involved in research studies aiming to uncover the best ways to counter false and misleading content on social media. In all of them, routinely, users are assumed to be visually able and the countering interventions — covers or labels — to produce visual frictions as a warning to them about potential content inaccuracies. While this is a respectable research agenda, it nonetheless fails to consider users who are low vision or blind. Users with visual impairments participate in equal degree on social media as their visually able counterparts and receive equal exposure to misinformation. Why their needs for accessible usability of misinformation interventions is not considered in broader misinformation research was a pressing question and we took it upon ourselves to investigate it. In this paper, we report the research design together with the experience experimenting with misinformation amongst users who are low vision or blind that we undertook to answer this question and produce first-hand design recommendations for inclusive and accessible interventions.
Usability Assessment of the OnlyKey Hardware Two-Factor Authentication Key Among Low Vision or Blind Users
Aziz Zeidieh (DePaul UNiversity), Filipo Sharevski (DePaul University)
ABSTRACT: Hardware security keys undoubtedly have advantage for users as “usability” pain is trivial compared to the maximum “security” gain in authentication. Naturally, the hardware factor in the authentication received a widespread adoption amongst average users, as it is ergonomically less demanding than phone texts or authentication prompts. This ergonomic advantage in particular is essential for users who are blind or low vision, as their interaction with a phone is impractical. However, the “usability” for low vision or blind users” pain might be much higher than an average well-bodied user for the same “security” gain. In an effort to learn more we conducted a usability assessment with ten low vision or blind users setting up the OnlyKey two-factor authentication key. First, the setup process was insurmountable for more than half of the participants, resulting in a situation where the hardware key was abandoned. Secondly, the lack of tactile orientation led participants to consider it as both impractical, and prone to difficulties locating or losing it. We discuss the implications of our findings for future improvements in usable authentication for visually impaired users.