No description available.

The vital role played by pictures and diagrams in modern communication is stated with the need for adequate substitutes so that visually impaired people can take full advantage of educational and career opportunities. The multiplicity of purposes to which pictures and diagrams can be put and the diversity of styles which result are discussed. Available methods for producing tactile versions of these (some devised and improved by the author) are described and provisionally evaluated.

The ultimate aim of this empirical study has been to investigate the obstacles visually impaired women in Tanzania face in their struggle for accessing and gaining education. It explores issues of culture, gender, disability, education and development, and examines the ways these interact with one another in shaping the lives of the women under discussion. These issues are conceptualised to establish the theoretical framework of the study. The epistemological and ontological position of the social model of disability has guided the conceptualisation and analysis of the problem under review. Using this model, this study critiques the way in which society perceives disabled people in general, and disabled women in particular. The social model approach emphasises a need to move society's perception of disability away from the medical model approach, which individualises disability. There are two main reasons for my choice of topic for this investigation. Firstly, the research is as much about my own experiences as it is about other visually impaired women. It is argued that the way the identity of visually impaired women is socially constructed, drawing on cultural understandings, social/economic and political barriers and society's negative attitudes towards sex and impairment, has served to inhibit their access to education. Secondly, I decided to research gender disparities in the provision of education for visually impaired persons because it has never previously (to my knowledge) been on research agendas of academics or disability activists in Tanzania. In setting the scene, the thesis starts by justifying the need for researching the problem of inaccessibility of visually impaired women to education in Tanzania. Semi structured interviews were used to generate the primary data for the study. 58 visually impaired women and 26 parents/guardians participated in the research, as well as other 36 key informants. Research findings reveal various obstacles visually impaired women in Tanzania encounter in their struggle for accessing and gaining education. These include cultural, social, economic, political and physicaldifficulties. The findings further highlight outcomes of the educational obstacles on the lives of visually impaired women; reviewing the coping strategies they use in their struggle for survival, and record their views about the ways their education could be improved. The study concludes by suggesting key issues for the way forward. Recommendations directed to all involved in the provision of education for visually impaired women are oriented toward changing attitudes and ensuring that education is their human right and not a matter of charity.

It is possible for Visually Impaired people to do most jobs if they have the right training, technological assistance and emotional support. Yet it is difficult for Visually Impaired people to get employment, and also difficult to adapt to the workplace when a person becomes Visually Impaired. The purpose of the study is to explore how those who become Visually Impaired adapt to their work environment. In exploring these adaptations, the research aims to discover, firstly, if the Visually Impaired are doing the jobs they want to and how they go about doing so. Secondly, to discover which technology, equipment, support and training is helpful in aiding the VI in the workplace. Thirdly, to discover if the Visually Impaired person feels normal if physical and social barriers in the workplace are removed. And lastly, if the Visually Impaired do adapt to the workplace after they become Visually Impaired. The physical and social barriers a Visually Impaired person faces at work, the emotional adaptation that needs to be made when Visual Impairment sets in, the adaptive technology and equipment that assist the Visually Impaired at work, as well as the legislation relevant to the Visually Impaired worker are discussed. The qualitative approach is used as the method of research as the objective of the study is to understand the experience of those becoming Visually Impaired and adapting to their workplaces from within their own environments. Data was collected by means of interviews from five participants, and case studies written to describe their experiences. Comparisons were drawn to assist in analyzing the participants’ experiences. A number of assumptions were then made about Visually Impaired people, as a number of possible issues came to light that the majority of Visually Impaired people might experience in some way or other, as a result of the similarities in the experiences of the Visually Impaired participants. The following assumptions were made: The Visually Impaired do adapt to the work environment. The Visually Impaired must make certain adaptations to cope at work under their new circumstances. Adaptive technology and equipment, training and support are necessary and helpful to the Visually Impaired in the workplace. Some of the Visually Impaired participants are doing jobs they want to do, and others are not. Some Visually Impaired people feel normal and have always feel normal; others need physical and social barriers removed, to feel normal; and yet others would feel normal if they could have those things they took for granted before, back. The positive reaction of colleagues, clients and managers depends on two things: their knowledge of the Visually Impaired and the Visually Impaired person’s attitude to life and his/her impairment. Most Visually Impaired people need and can find some form of meaningful activity in their lives. Copyright 2002, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: De Kock, HC 2002, Adapting to the work environment by the recently visually impaired, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-02152012-120931 / > C12/4/125/gm / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

This thesis embodies the results of an investigation of a residence exclusively devoted to those who r blind. Working within the theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism, the primary focus of this study was to discover whether relationship existed between the pattern of group organization within the residence and the perception of the attitudes of the sighted towards the blind. Underlying its approach was the assumption that how the residents perceived the attitudes of the sighted was related to how they evaluated themselves. A second focus of this study was to determine the basis and extent of group formation within the residence. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

No description available.

For humans, walking is the principle means of locomotion, or moving from one point to another. While upright locomotion is a human characteristic, the way humans direct their locomotion has not been studied extensively. Prior to the late 1940's, little research or scholarly thought was published regarding locomotion. In 1950, J. J. Gibson published one of the first texts on visual perception, which included theories and research on how humans interpret and react to a world of movement, even as they move within that world. Published research on the topic has been sporadic since then, especially when compared to the volume of work on eye-hand coordination and other eye-brain perception issues. Very little work has been documented on humans moving in a "real world" setting, not laboratory settings or under very specific timing requirements. This study begins by proposing a heuristic framework of human navigation, a description of how humans move from point to point, navigating over and across navigation hazards in the walking path. The heuristic model provides an engineering perspective for the safe design of pedestrian areas, allowing sufficient area for visual recognition of hazards. Two observational studies were performed, one with four different navigation hazards humans come in contact with and the other one with two different hazards that humans pass without contacting. These two classes of hazards involve different perceptual principles. The studies examined the effects of ambient lighting available affected the time required for high attention, fine navigation when approaching a navigation hazard. Specific comparisons between types of navigation hazards were not contemplated, since the perceptual and motor requirements varied considerably among the hazards. Low ambient light levels, representing twilight and night conditions, increase the amount of time required for fine navigation. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a statistically significant difference in the fine navigation time to contact a navigation hazard for stairs travelling down, a 900 turn in the path, and walking downhill with a step midway. ANOVA also showed a significant difference in the fine navigation time to pass a navigation hazard for two different hazards. Under all conditions, post hoc analysis showed Night lighting levels were different from Day lighting levels. Practical applications of this research are in the facilities planning and safety design fields. The individual's locomotion speed combined with the fine navigation time required determines the distance needed for visual recognition of the hazard and preparatory locomotor changes. With extensive research, formalized guidelines and standards can be developed for the safe planning, design and redesign of pedestrian walkways. The human factors engineer could interact knowledgeably with other professional designers to assure that walking paths are designed to meet the human's requirements for safe locomotion. / Master of Science

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Richard Jackson / Interest in the psychosocial wellbeing of the visually impaired has existed for years as a nebulous and undefined goal of educational programs for children. Yet there is a dearth of systematic inquiry into the influence of teachers on social and emotional development of children and families. The purpose of this study was therefore to develop a foundation of knowledge relating to the role of specialist teachers in addressing the affective adjustment needs of visually impaired children and their families. Drawing upon the theories and intervention practices commonly used in the human service professions, 59 family consultation competencies were identified and grouped into four major knowledge areas, namely affective adjustment to blindness, principles and processes of change, interpersonal communication skills, and specific intervention strategies. This research was exploratory and descriptive in nature, utilizing a semistructured interview format to produce data for both numerical and qualitative analysis. A 3-part questionnaire was administered orally to a sample of 20 certified and fulltime employed teachers of the visually impaired who were working in one of five major service delivery systems found in the Greater Northeast. Participating teachers reported a range of 13.5 to 38.6% of their professional time spent in consultative interactions with teachers, parents, administrators, and related service providers, as compared to a range of 15 to 50% of time given to direct student instruction and assessment. Furthermore, regardless of situational differences in educational and occupational backgrounds, teachers perceived the process skills of interpersonal communication and relationship-building as necessary competencies in their ability to meet vision-specific psychosocial needs of visually impaired children and their families. Variables which were considered by practitioners to influence their proficiency in providing consultative services included the nature and degree of professional preparation, trial and error experience, and interpersonal style or personality. In summary, 49 of the original family consultation competencies presented in this survey were confirmed by participating teachers to be necessary, relevant, and appropriate to their professional responsibilities as educators of the visually impaired. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 1987. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Education.