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

In 1998, the United States Congress amended Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to require federal agencies to make electronic and information technology accessible. The first accessibility guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, were published in 1999. This study tests the usable accessibility of cultural institution web sites. Four cultural institution web sites were selected, two that were WCAG 1.0 compliant and that were not, were selected for evaluation. A combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis was conducted. Significant differences were found in the perceived usability of the guideline-compliant web sites; significance was found for one of three tasks. Overall, the guideline-compliant sites received higher usability ratings, but the task completion rates did not support a claim of greater usability.

The data gathered from disability service professionals in six different states through an on-line survey and follow up interviews was used to determine if there was a correlation between specific professional practices and the magnitude of the disparity in four-year college graduation and employment rates between individuals with visual impairments and the general population.. The frequency of use of an individual professional practice that addressed technology that could be aligned with the social model disability was associated with reduced disparities in rates of employment and post-secondary graduation, as was an aggregate variable that represented the average frequency of use of professional practices that addressed concerns related to the attitudes of others; social connections; and access to the environment, print, and technology that could be aligned with the social model of disability. In addition, the professional practice that addressed environmental access concerns that could be aligned with the political model of disability was associated with reduced disparities post-secondary graduation rates and the professional practice that addressed access to print concerns that could be aligned with the social model of disability was associated with reduced disparities in rates of employment. Overall, participants cited personal professional experience as the main source of influence for initiating practices regardless of the model of disability with which each practice could be aligned. At the same time, participant responses suggested that those practices that could be aligned with the medical model were more likely to be known to the participant and originate from personal professional experiences than practices that aligned with the social model and the political model. The results from this study suggested that of the external influences, laws and regulations may have been the most influential in initiating practices that could be aligned with the social model of disability and subsequently associated with positive educational and employment outcomes. The data generated through the interviews reinforced the survey findings but also revealed pragmatic perspectives on disability that informed practice, including the use of multiple models of disability at the same time in response to individual situations.

This exploratory study investigated the techniques used by teachers of the visually impaired when administering math questions with graphics to students with blindness or low vision. The researcher observed and videotaped 10 pairs of students with visual impairments and their teachers while the students were taking a test that consisted of 12 graphic math items and found a wide variance existed between teachers in the administering of mathematical test items with graphics to their students. The most prevalent teacher behaviors observed were teacher initiation and graph detail description. For the majority of the teacher initiated responses, teachers gave information on a specific detail of the math graphic. Students predominantly asked for clarification regarding the math graphic itself or clarification of the math problem itself. Teachers used a variety of factors in determining if and when students required assistance during testing for large print or tactile graphics. No statistical significance was found between braille and large print groups with regard to teacher variation, student variation, and scores on test items, No relationship was found between correct answers on the test and teacher variation scores but a strong, positive correlation existed for total test time and teacher variation scores. In addition, there was no statistical significance, between the six math graph types used in this study. Hand movements of braille students were also observed, 90% of students using either both hands or mostly both hands when exploring the tactile graphic math problem. A horizontal movement was the primary direction students used when examining the tactile graphic. Recommendations were made regarding future research with large print and tactile graphics

This thesis is an inquiry into the creative processes of poetry and poetic expression in documentary. The practice-based element is a 60 minute video about a poet living in Exeter, UK, called James Turner. The documentary is entitled, The Knotweed Factor. This written element of the thesis contextualises the investigation as a discourse on blindness and visual impairment. There are few representations of blindness and/or visual impairment (VI) in The Knotweed Factor. Rather, the documentary is concerned with how visual information (e.g., filming a poet) is translated non-visually (e.g., the sound of the poem being recited). It also addresses the issue of how the non-visual is translated into the visual. I argue in this text that blindness/VI is marginalised in visual studies/culture. This is unfortunate because blindness/VI studies provides valuable context for understanding the dynamics of sound and vision in creative media, which is a central concern of The Knotweed Factor. The rationale for taking this approach is as follows: During the editing, it was noticed that Turner (who is sighted) provides a kind of unprompted audio description (AD) of events in his environment to the audience, as if he is participating in a radio documentary. This raised questions, not only about the ekphrastic possibilities of his technique, but also about the potential to contextualise such scenes as a disquisition on blindness/VI. Blindness/VI is an important and under-theorised element of visual studies/culture (VS/C). Many films, plays, animations, documentaries, and television programmes are audio described. AD enables the blind/visually impaired (also VI) to comprehend and enjoy visual action. It is suggested here that AD theory is an insufficient model for critically reflecting on the creative processes in The Knotweed Factor. This is because the field is presently more concerned with practicability than with aesthetics. It seemed more helpful to address the broader question of how blindness/VI is positioned in VS/C. Doing so has highlighted instances of exclusion and marginalisation in VS/C. In the course of the video production, it was discovered that the interaction of dreams, memories, and ideas (the mindscape) informs the temporal creative process. Most analytical models within VS/C (e.g., Deleuze) offer a dialectical approach to understanding creativity. Henri Bergson, however, proposes a theory of multiplicity, which considers the interplay of phenomenological creativity of the mindscape as a homogenous, multifaceted process, in place of a dialectical one. Martha Blassnigg interrogates Bergson’s responses to audiovisual media and argues that Bergson’s multiplicity formula is more useful for understanding these processes, both for artist and audience. Blassnigg interprets Bergson’s theory as a universality of idea communication. This thesis considers what the universality of audiovisual experience implies for blindness/VI studies. It does so by contextualising the written research as a discourse on VS/C. In The Knotweed Factor, the emotions, sounds, and visual ideas, memories, and dreams which inform James Turner’s creativity are conveyed to the audience in two ways: 1) By sound (Turner’s recitations, interviews, and conversations), and 2) by the documentary’s abstracted audiovisualisations of Turner’s poetry and mindscape. For Turner, the ‘image’ is a personalised, innate phenomenon. It is ephemeral, intangible imagination. Turner’s experience (audiovisualised in The Knotweed Factor) is compared in this written part of the thesis to pre-Socratic ideations of image-making. It is argued that for many cultures, the image was (and for some remains) an emanation of spirit or idea. In other words, the image was considered a transcendent force, and the ‘soul’ of the image eternal and universal. This transcendence is considered in this written element of the thesis as a bridge between the present academic gap in the fields of blindness/VI studies and visual studies/culture. In this text, The Knotweed Factor serves as a case-study to test how non- and minimal-visual elements of audiovisual art and media are positioned in VS/C. Constructed here is a history of the interpretation of blindness and the image, from pre-Socratic aesthetics to the Enlightenment, where ideas concerning the phenomenology of blindness and visual impairment were transformed into epistemological inquiries. This approach enables the researcher to reflect critically on the aesthetics of The Knotweed Factor, using the framework of the non-visual (in this case recited poetry) to test and interrogate the visual (i.e., ‘poetically’ visualised poetry).

Submitted by Cristiane de Melo Shirayama (cristiane.shirayama@unifesp.br) on 2018-04-13T20:43:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Final.pdf: 1287777 bytes, checksum: 2bfe84a2c44a2de9a396ebec601efdd5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Diogo Misoguti (diogo.misoguti@gmail.com) on 2018-04-17T17:49:26Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Final.pdf: 1287777 bytes, checksum: 2bfe84a2c44a2de9a396ebec601efdd5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-17T17:49:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Final.pdf: 1287777 bytes, checksum: 2bfe84a2c44a2de9a396ebec601efdd5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-11-22 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Esta dissertação problematiza como “sexualidade” e “deficiência visual” aparecem imbricadas no campo da pesquisa. Tomando essas noções como construções histórico-sociais, importa considerar o caráter plural que as define nos discursos, relativizando seus significados contextualmente. A fim de recompor parte do itinerário etnográfico percorrido durante a pesquisa, discute-se como a “sexualidade” vem assumindo um lugar nos discursos de “pessoas com deficiência” a partir de uma retórica de direitos humanos e políticas de saúde. Como a “perda da visão” aparece nos discursos dos interlocutores conformando a percepção de si no mundo, apreende-se, por fim, como a “sexualidade” é conformada por relações erigidas a partir da “deficiência visual”. / This dissertation deals with the issue of how “sexuality” and “visual impairment” seems to overlap in the research field. Taking these concepts as a socio - historical construction, it is relevant consider the many features that define it in the discourses, having its meaning relativized due to the context. In order to rebuild part of the ethnographic itinerary from the research phase, it is debated how the “sexuality” is taking place in the discourses of “ persons with disability” from a human rights and health politics rhetoric. Once the “loss of vision” appears in the interlocutors discourses shaping how they perceive themselves in the world, lastly it is apprehended how the “sexuality” is shaped by the relationships put up from the “visual impairment”.

An examination of the composing processes of blind writers was conducted to determine the strategies used by these composers. Two individuals blind from birth and two persons blinded later in life participated in the study. Using participant observation and stimulated recall, the researcher examined the composing processes of these subjects. Each individual participated in four writing sessions and used the compose-aloud technique where by the composer repeats orally any thoughts that occur during writing. In addition, an interview was conducted with each participant which provided a writing history, attitude toward writing, and composing strategies. Results of the research indicated that blind writers use the same basic processes of writing as reported for sighted writers. Blind writers in this study did not make written plans prior to writing and spent between one and four minutes in prewriting. Planning was an ongoing feature of the composing process. The writers in this study demonstrated the recursive feature of composing. Rescanning was a continual part of their composing sessions . Three of the subjects reported using rescanning for planning and editing. One individual reported using rescanning for editing only. Some differences were found in the blind writers as compared to the research on sighted composers. First, blind writers averaged 39 rescansions per essay, while research on the sighted reported approximately six rescansions in each session. The difference in the number of rescansions between these two groups may be a result of the blind writer's need to locate position on the page or from a difference in short-term memory in the sighted and non-sighted. Writers blind from birth demonstrated a difference in the ability to organize an essay in the extensive mode. These composers made no global plans. Rather they allowed the writings to unfold as they wrote. This research would indicate that sight may have a role in composing.

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Architecturally, my thesis project is a new type of design for children who have visual impairments. Most of the children who have visual impairments need more attention to receive a full education. With a proper education they will be able to start living by themselves without any assistance. I decided to design a school which would support the needs of the children and the aspirations of their parents; a place of safety and ambition that would free instructors and inspire the children. Then, I began to seek an architectural site program where I could locate my design. Old town Alexandria is an excellent location for the planned education center. Old town has its own urban context with boundaries like  the Potomac River,  trees, old railroad ways,  a  tunnel,  and other landmarks  like churches,  libraries, museums,  etc.  The children  in  the education  center  have  an  opportunity  to  learn  more  and  show  their  life  skills  easily  in  the  old town.  Also the site selection and location was important due to the history of the town, easy transportation and connections with surroundings, being right next to the Potomac River and minutes away from the Washington DC. / Master of Architecture / As far as I remember, what do we understand by visual impairments? This disability is not just limitations for a few people; actually it is a part of human life which everyone would experience at some point, temporarily or permanently. You might wonder what disabilities have in common with architectural writing, but isn’t architecture for human comfort? And clearly what does architecture & design for the disabled stand for? However, education is important because it’s the base of our life. Disability (student who has autism, physical disability or down syndrome) is one of the problems which exist in all countries of the world. Of course, hundreds of millions of people with special needs don’t have opportunities and resources to fulfill their basic human. Designing an inclusive environment in schools is the best possible option to enroll maximum number of children with disability in education. Therefore, it is an environment where they can receive real attention, the right support, specialist attention as well as excellent education from primary to secondary education, side by side with their classmates.

This study explores experiential access to outdoor environments. This qualitative thesis presents the results of open-ended interviews with four people who have severe visual impairment. The interviews gathered information about the participants leisure activities in outdoor settings. The purpose of the study was to discover the factors in the environment that contribute to a positive recreation experience for people with visual impairment. Experiential qualities of the environment for both people who are sighted and those who are blind were compared through the analysis of eight contemporary authors' writings related to environmental understanding and the transcripts of the four interviews. The overlap of experience in outdoor environments between these two user groups was explored. Two areas of significant influence on the participants' experience was discovered; (a) wayfinding and making sense, and (b) affective response. The specific factors in the environment that influenced the quality of experience for these participants, other than those that contribute to making sense, were found to include: (a) interaction with nature, (b) awareness of enclosure & openness of the setting, (c) intellectual and physical stimulation and challenge, and (d) direct physical interaction with the surrounding environment. This study provides some of the specific benefits and advantages of incorporation of multi-sensory stimulation in design for people of all abilities. / Master of Landscape Architecture