Vol. 2010 No. 1 (2010)
Designing User Interfaces for Low-Literacy Populations in African Contexts: A Systematic Literature Review
Abstract
The growing digital divide in Africa necessitates the design of user interfaces that accommodate low-literacy populations effectively. A comprehensive search strategy was employed across multiple databases, including Web of Science and Google Scholar, using keywords related to user interface design, low literacy, and Africa. The review followed PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. The analysis revealed that approximately 60% of the reviewed studies focused on developing interactive educational applications, while 40% explored adaptive interfaces with voice commands or text-to-speech features to accommodate varying levels of literacy among users in Egypt. The majority of these studies highlighted the importance of simplicity and clear instructions. Despite a significant body of work focusing on user interface design for low-literacy populations, there is a need for more research that considers cultural nuances and technological accessibility specific to African contexts, particularly in Egypt. Future research should prioritise empirical testing with actual users rather than just theoretical designs. Additionally, researchers are encouraged to incorporate user-centred design methodologies to ensure the usability of designed interfaces. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.
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