Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University / Research suggests that web-based education increases opportunities for underserved populations to be integrated into educational activities (Schmetzke, 2001; Burgstahler, 2002; Opitz, Savenye, & Rowland, 2003). This may be true for students with disabilities because they have more flexibility to participate in formal education. However, Moisey (2004) found that people with disabilities had lower rates of enrollment and educational achievement than people without disabilities. These findings raise the question of whether or not web-based = education helps increase students with disabilities' access to learning opportunities and improve their learning outcome. This study investigated the degree of difficulty blind persons had in accessing and using web-based educational resources provided by Thailand Cyber University (TCU). Based on a mixed methods design, the data were collected in two phases. Quantitative data were collected first, in order to identify accessibility problems and conformance levels reported by automated web accessibility evaluation tools. Qualitative data was collected from interviews with blind participants in the second phase to expand the understanding of the accessibility problems and usability issues that were not discovered in the quantitative phase by the automated web accessibility evaluation tools. The findings indicate that all of the 13 selected web pages failed to meet a minimum requirement of WCAG 2.0. This means those selected web pages would be inaccessible for the blind. However, the findings indicate blind participants rated only one of the 13 pages as inaccessible. Moreover, their ratings of difficulty on "usability" were higher than their ratings of difficulty on "accessibility" on the same web page. On six out of 22 tasks, blind and sighted user groups agreed on the ratings. Nevertheless, the time that it took to complete each task varied greatly between the two user groups. / 2999-01-01

Yes / Purpose: The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature to investigate the link (if any) between vision and dizziness. Methods: Medline, CINAHL, AMED, Web of Science and The Cochrane Library were searched with keywords chosen to find articles which investigated the causes of dizziness and considered vision as a possible trigger. Citation chaining of all included papers was performed in addition to the hand searching of all reference lists. Unpublished literature was identified using www.opengrey.eu. The review considered studies involving adults which link, measure or attempt to improve any aspect of vision in relation to dizziness. Results: Nine thousand six hundred and eighty one possible references were found, and the abstracts were screened independently by two reviewers to determine if they should be included in the study. Thirteen papers were found which investigated whether dizziness was linked to an assessment of vision. Visual impairment measures were crude and typically self-report, or Snellen visual acuity with little or no measurement details. Five studies found an independent link between dizziness and vision, five found a weak association (typically finding a link when univariate analyses were used, but not when multivariate analyses were used), and three found no association. Studies finding a strong link were usually cross-sectional with a large study population whereas those finding a weak association had relatively small numbers of participants. Studies which did not find an association used a broad definition of dizziness that included the term light-headedness, an unreliable Rosenbaum near visual acuity chart or an unusual categorisation of visual acuity. Conclusions: This review suggests that dizziness (although likely not ‘light-headedness’) is linked with poor vision although further studies using more appropriate measures of vision are recommended. / Deborah Armstrong was funded by a College of Optometrists Research Scholarship and Emily Charlesworth by a College of Optometrists summer studentship.

No / Visual impairment is an important risk factor for falls. However, relatively little is known about how visual impairment affects stair or step negotiation. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of blurred vision on the mechanics of landing during stepping down by the elderly. Twelve elderly subjects (72.3±4.7 year) stepped down from three levels (7.2 cm, 14.4 cm and 21.6 cm). Step execution time, ankle and knee joint angular displacements at the instance of ground contact, and vertical landing stiffness and the amount of bodyweight supported by the contralateral (support) limb during the initial contact period were recorded. Measurements were repeated with vision blurred by light scattering lenses. With blurred vision, step execution time increased (P<0.05), knee flexion and ankle plantar-flexion increased (P<0.05), vertical stiffness decreased (P<0.01), and the amount of bodyweight being supported by the contralateral leg increased (P<0.05). These findings suggest that under conditions of blurred vision, subjects were more cautious and attempted to ‘feel’ their way to the floor rather than ‘drop’ on to it. This may have been an adaptation to increase the kinaesthetic information from the lower limb to make up for the unreliable or incomplete visual information. Correcting common visual problems such as uncorrected refractive errors and cataract may be an important intervention strategy in improving how the elderly negotiate stairs.

This thesis is based on five empirical studies of pupils with visual impairments, their reading ability and processes of reading acquisition within the framework of mainstream education in comprehensive schools. The aim of the thesis is to increase our understanding and knowledge of reading acquisition in pupils with visual impairments in mainstream education. A further aim is to find factors, which influence reading acquisition from an individual, as well as an environmental, perspective. Developmental theories regarding the individuals' possibilities to acquire an optimal development in interaction with their environment offer a theoretical framework for the thesis. Different research designs, descriptive and explorative, have been used to fulfil the purpose. The studies have revealed a heterogeneous group of readers with visual impairments bearing in mind functional visual ability, reading media (print and braille) and reading ability. As a result of these studies, it was possible to divide the readers into three groups with regard to reading performance. About one quarter of the population was average or high achievers, another quarter extremely low achievers, irrespective of visual acuity, reading media or reading devices. In most cases, additional impairments, intellectual impairment or language problems caused low achievement. The largest group, about half of the population, consisted of readers who were able to read but demonstrated difficulties in other ways. Visual acuity and reading media varied greatly in this group. There were uncertain readers, readers with low reading rate but good comprehension, readers with less stamina and readers who did not use their reading ability except for schoolwork. The pupils were well equipped with optical devices, lighting and special desks but seldom used the facilities for reading. In general, the pupils with visual impairments read less compared with their sighted peers. Nor were they exposed to text in natural situations in society, which decrease their incidental reading training. Consequently, a large group of readers with visual impairments need an adapted reading program in order to stimulate reading from the start and to use their potential ability. Competence in the school and home environment is necessary for compensating lack of training and preventing the visual impairment being the reason for reading difficulties. Reading disabilities due to biological factors were significant for a smaller group. Visual impairment as a reading handicap is, in this thesis, identified when a person, able to read, does not have access to the text in an appropriate reading medium or format, reading and writing tools are missing or reading must be performed in a badly adapted environment. Increased knowledge and effective environmental measures could reduce a reading handicap caused by a visual impairment for a larger group of children and young people. / <p>Härtill 5 uppsatser. Endast sammanfattning s. 1-93 i fulltext.</p><p></p>

The goal of this study was to explore the psychosocial aspects within the workplace of people with visual impairment, after mobility training at Optima College Pretoria. The objectives of this study were: To build up a theoretical framework by means of a literature study as well as consultation with experts on the psychosocial aspects of people with visual impairment within the workplace after mobility training at Optima College. To conduct an empirical study of the psychosocial aspects of people with visual impairment within the workplace after mobility training at Optima College. To come to conclusions and to make recommendations for improved adaptation of people with visual impairment within the workplace. This qualitative study endeavoured to answer the following research question: What are the psychosocial aspects experienced by people with visual impairment within the workplace and what are the viewpoints of supervisors and colleagues in this regard? By answering this question, the researcher aimed to document these experiences to understand the phenomenon and to make recommendations for improved adaptation within the workplace. Non-probability sampling methods were used to select the five respondents. Data was gathered by conducting interviews, using semi-structured interview schedules with five people with visual impairment, as well as a supervisor and colleague for each of the five respondents. These interviews were taped and transcribed and subsequently analysed, extracting themes as well as sub-themes. The study was feasible, as it was within the financial and practical means of the researcher. She had access to the target group and she had permission from Optima College to conduct the study, using their resources, clients and data. Five main themes emerged from the data analysis, namely: 1.The adaptation at Optima College and the experience of the training 2.Adaptation at the workplace and investments made by the employers 3.Psychosocial aspects experienced within the workplace as well as in the community 4.The experiences of the supervisor of the person with visual impairment 5.The experiences of the colleague of the person with visual impairment. From the research findings, recommendations were made on micro, macro and meso-levels. On micro-level, people with visual impairment can play a role by telling supervisors and colleagues about their needs and problems. On macro-level, recent employers of people with visual impairment can motivate other employers to employ people with visual impairment. When stigmatization as well as prejudices are removed from society, employers will be more motivated to employ people with visual impairment. On meso-level, Optima College, the South African National Council for the Blind, as well as public media, can play a leading role in publishing positive articles regarding people with visual impairment in the workplace. Optima College must continue with the training of people with visual impairment. / Dissertation (MSD (Health Care))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

It is apparent from the historical perspective regarding the theories of cognitive development and the cognitive functioning of individuals with visual impairments, that sight plays a major role in the development of certain cognitive processes. However, the affects of visual impairment on cognitive development remain to be at issue. Since sight seems to be highly integral in cognitive development beginning in the early stages of physical development, about the sixth month of life, and then begins to diminish in importance as verbal communication develops around eighteen months, then it should stand to reason that significant visual impairment or blindness occurring prior to this time would adversely impact an individual's cognitive development. Conversely, the occurrence of visual impairment or blindness after this critical period of development would have less of an impact. Cognitive theorists have proposed that visually impaired or blind persons may have developed different cognitive pathways to acquire, process, and accommodate sensory information. As a result, visually impaired or blind (VI/B) persons may "think differently" than sighted individuals. The present study was designed to address these issues as they relate to cognitive and neuropsychological development at various stages of growth and to examine possible differences in neuropsychological functioning dependent on the level of visual functioning a person retains; e.g. both the issues of age at onset and degree of impairment. It was also designed to study the possible interaction effects of degree of impairment with the age of onset. Findings indicated that the only differences in cognitive functioning appear to be related to age of onset and not the level of visual impairment. The findings further suggested that congenitally blind individuals have indeed developed alternate methods of cognitively processing nonverbal, abstract, or complex information, especially information involving a high degree of spatial orientation. Implications of this study may influence the educational methods used to teach congenitally blind individuals in order to reinforce these alternate pathways and facilitate more effective means of negotiating in a sighted environment.

En años recientes, el uso de tabletas y teléfonos o dispositivos inteligentes ha incrementado continuamente gracias a la facilidad y disponibilidad de acceso a la información, entretenimiento y comunicación que ofrecen con su creciente variedad de aplicativos y especialmente su acceso a internet. A diferencia de computadoras o notebooks, estos dispositivos tienen tecnologías para mejorar la usabilidad para personas con dificultades visuales que también pueden ser utilizadas para crear nuevos aplicativos de asistencia sin la necesidad de aparatos externos. Esto genera oportunidades para un desarrollo inclusivo que mantiene la misma portabilidad. Sin embargo, estos dispositivos principalmente usan una pantalla táctil y aún entre sus tecnologías incorporadas, no tienen medios para ingresar datos que sean permitan que personas con ceguera ingresen información por otros medios que no sean su voz o un complejo teclado QWERTY. En este artículo, proponemos el uso de una solución adaptativa que permite al usuario usar la misma pantalla táctil como una alternativa para ingresar datos al simular un teclado Braille y demostramos su uso, además de tecnologías de lector de texto, con una aplicación que permite que una persona ciega chatee mediante mensajes instantáneos.

Thesis advisor: David Scanlon / Classroom accommodations are a primary means of providing an appropriate education for students with disabilities. While there is value in student involvement in the accommodations process, the process continues to be teacher-driven, so we need to teach students to be strategic in selecting and utilizing their own accommodations. This problem holds true across disabilities, and students with visual impairments are no exception. The Student Self-Accommodation Strategy (SSA) was developed to support students with high-incidence disabilities in strategically selecting and utilizing their own accommodations. This study investigated SSA learning and performance for students with visual impairments and how learning the SSA impacted their classroom accommodation practices. The learning experiences of four students with visual impairments were compared using comparative case studies (Cresswell, Plano Clark, Gutmann, & Hanson, 2003) within a sequential explanatory design (Hanson, Creswell, Plano Clark, Petska, & Creswell, 2008). Mixed methods data were collected before, during, and after strategy instruction pertaining to accommodations knowledge and practices, strategy learning and performance, metacognition and self-regulated learning, and student perceptions of the SSA. Cross-case analysis revealed key findings regarding strategy instruction, strategy learning and performance, and metacognition and self-regulated learning. These key findings have implications for educating students with visual impairments and future research on the SSA. Ultimately, this study indicates that the SSA is a valuable tool for strategically selecting and utilizing accommodations; however, characteristics of individual students and their learning environments have a considerable impact on the development of strategic thinking. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

Objetivos: Avaliar a freqüência de miopia como causa de deficiência visual em sujeitos com idade entre 10 a 15 anos residentes na cidade de Gurupi assim como a sua relação com a distribuição com idade e sexo. Métodos: Estudo transversal populacional. Foram sorteados e avaliados 50 conglomerados dos 59 anteriormente utilizados pelo IBGE para a realização do Censo 2000 compreendendo toda a cidade de Gurupi. Uma equipe treinada visitou as casas seguindo uma ordem de quarteirões definidos previamente pelo IBGE. Foram usados como critérios de inclusão idade de 10 a 15 anos e residir no local por, pelo menos, seis meses. As residências em que não houve resposta foram revisitadas em uma segunda oportunidade. Após explicação do trabalho e o consentimento por escrito de um responsável, com a ajuda deste, foi preenchida uma ficha com os dados do sujeito. Foi avaliada a acuidade visual de cada olho sem correção, separadamente com cinco optotipos impressos de Snellen em linha correspondentes a visão 20/32 da tabela logMAR, a uma distância de 4 metros. Os sujeitos que apresentaram dificuldade de visualizar mais de um optotipo com um ou ambos os olhos foram encaminhados para avaliação em consultório por um oftalmologista. Foi realizado teste de motilidade ocular e revistada a acuidade visual com tabela de logMar retro iluminada a 4 metros. Após cicloplegia, foi feita a auto-refração, seguido da refração subjetiva utilizando tabela logMar , exame externo, biomicroscopia e fundoscopia. Foi prescrita a correção para os sujeitos que apresentaram melhora da acuidade visual após a refração. A deficiência foi classificada em refrativa, catarata, tracoma, ambliopia, alterações retinianas, estrabismo e outros. Resultados: Foram examinados 1590 sujeitos com idade variando entre 10 a 15 anos, sendo 814 (51%) do sexo masculino e 776 (49%) do sexo feminino. Dos 167 que apresentaram limitações para identificar os optotipos de Snellen, 127 (76%) compareceram para a avaliação em consultório, sendo que 61 (59%) não necessitaram de correção. Das correções, 15 (22%) foram corrigidos com lentes com equivalente esférico positivo. As prescrições com equivalente esférico negativo somaram 51 (77%) com variação entre -0,5 até -7,00 dioptrias esféricas, correspondendo a uma freqüência de miopia de 3,2%. Destes, 23 (45%) eram do sexo masculino e 28 (55%) do sexo feminino. Dos sujeitos que necessitaram de óculos, nove (10%) ainda não faziam uso prévio de correção. Os erros refrativos foram a principal causa de deficiência de visão, responsáveis por 53 (80%) dos casos, sendo 45 (90%) míopes e oito (10%) hipermetropes. Em seguida, ambliopia com 8 (12%) sujeitos, 4 (6%) com alterações retinianas e 1 (1%) com catarata congênita. As variáveis sexo, idade, região onde residia, uso prévio de óculos foram associadas com a miopia por regressão multivariada sem nenhuma relação significativa. Conclusão: Os erros refrativos são a principal causa de baixa de visão na faixa de idade examinada, com destaque para a miopia, que apresentou uma freqüência de 3,2%. Nenhum dos fatores estudados apresentou relação estatística com a presença de miopia / Objective: To evaluate the frequency of visual impairment caused by myopia in subjects from 10 to 15 years old in the city of Gurupi and its relation with some factors studied in this age group. Methods: Population-based, transversal study. 50 from 59 clusters from Gurupi - TO, previously used by IBGE (2000), were randomized. All subjects from 10 to 15 years old, living in the same place for at least 6 months were included. Vision was tested in each eye, without correction, with five Snelle\'s optotypes, corresponding to 20/32 in logMar chart, at four meters distance. When the subjects could not see one or more optotypes with one or both eyes, they were referred to an ophthalmological examination. In the physician office, eye motility was tested and visual acuity was retested the with the logMar chart. After cicloplegia, auto refraction was performed, followed by the subjective refraction (using a retroilluminated logMar chart), inspection, biomicroscopy and fundoscopy. Lenses were prescribed after refraction to patients who showed visual acuity improvement. The causes of visual impairment were classified in refractive, cataract, trachoma, ambliopia, retinopathy, strabismus and others. Results: 1,590 subjects were examined, in which 814 (51%) were male and 776 (49%) were female. Among the 167 subjects screened, 127 (76%) were examined at the physician office and 76 (59%) did not receive lens prescription. 15 patients (22%) of those displayed positive spherical equivalent and 51 (77%) presented with negative spherical equivalent (varying from -0,5 to -7,00 D), totalizing a frequency of 3.2%. 23 (45%) myopic patients were male and 28 (55%) female. Refractive errors were the main cause of visual impairment [53 (80%); myopia in 45 and hypermetropia in 8), followed by ambliopia (8, 12%), retinopathies (4, 6%) and congenital cataract (1, 1%). Multivariate analysis of the association of the variables gender, age, region, previous ophthalmic examination and previous glasses with myopia did not present significant relation. Conclusion: Refractive errors were the major cause of visual impairment in this age group (80%), mainly represented by myopia, with a general frequency of 3.2%. No co-variable studied displayed statistical relation with the presence of myopia

The Web has been a blessing for visually impaired users as with the help of assistive technologies such as screen readers, they can access previously inaccessible information independently. However, for screen reader users, web-based information seeking can still be challenging as web pages are mainly designed for visual interaction. This affects visually impaired users’ perception of theWeb as an information space as well as their experience of search interfaces. The aim of this thesis is therefore to consider visually impaired users’ information seeking behaviour, abilities and interactions via screen readers in the design of a search interface to support complex information seeking. We first conduct a review of how visually impaired users navigate the Web using screen readers. We highlight the strategies employed, the challenges encountered and the solutions to enhance web navigation through screen readers. We then investigate the information seeking behaviour of visually impaired users on the Web through an observational study and we compare this behaviour to that of sighted users to examine the impact of screen reader interaction on the information seeking process. To engage visually impaired users in the design process, we propose and evaluate a novel participatory approach based on a narrative scenario and a dialogue-led interaction to verify user requirements and to brainstorm design ideas. The development of the search interface is informed by the requirements gathered from the observational study and is supported through the inclusion of visually impaired users in the design process. We implement and evaluate the proposed search interface with novel features to support visually impaired users for complex information seeking. This thesis shows that considerations for information seeking behaviour and users’ abilities and mode of interaction contribute significantly to the design of search user interfaces to ensure that interface components are accessible as well as usable.