Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2014

The purpose of this study was to get a better sense of what collaborative efforts between the allopathic and indigenous health systems to address HIV/ AIDS look like 'on the ground' with the hope that revealed successes and failures could inform other initiatives. The pilot investigation took the form of a small case study of the Community Health and HIV/AIDS project at the Valley Trust in KwaZulu Natal's Valley of a Thousand Hills where HIV/AIDS collaboration with traditional healers has taken primarily three forms: 1) incorporation in the formal primary health care system as CHWs (TH/CHWs); 2) formal short-term HIV/AIDS training (Trained); and 3) informal second-hand HIV/AIDS training or information sharing (Untrained). The investigation focused primarily on how the indigenous healers' involvement in the Valley Trust's varying training programs affected their knowledge ofthe disease, their engagement in HIV/ AIDS awareness and prevention efforts, their treatment of HIV/AIDS patients, and their perception and relationship with the formal medical system. The findings show that collaboration between traditional and formal health services, in the form of the Valley Trust's training, results in 'better' HIV/AIDS work by participating traditional healers through enhanced performance on HIV/AIDS knowledge tests. As indicated by their superior performance on correlating knowledge indices, TH/CHWs engaged in the most effectual community prevention activities of the three groups. Additionally, the TH/CHW group appeared to have the most confidence and experience in treating patients with HIV/AIDS. Additionally as compared to the other two groups, their treatment methods were more varied, induding psycho-spiritual ceremonies, diet, traditional medicinal herbs, and support of biomedical efforts. Given the comparative success of TH/CHWs, it was ironic that only the healers' themselves indicated wanting more izangomas to serve as Community Health Workers. As leaders among participating healers, TH/CHWs were critical to the success of the Valley Trust's collaborative project. The findings of this case study suggest that the nature of the varying trainings offered by the Valley Trust accounted for the primary difference in the effectiveness of the healers' subsequent HIV/AIDS work. The study implies that both the skills-based nature and long-term supervision of the CHW training were instrumental in their superior performance. These findings point to the fact that indigenous healers can not function effectively as extension services without investment in infrastructure development and ongoing support. In terms of the collaboration between biomedical and indigenous health systems operating at the Valley Trust, the primary point of contention between the participating parties was the collaboration's unidirectional referral system (healers would refer patients to the clinic and not vice versa). Discrepancies in the collaborative partners' perceptions of one another, which were revealed in the study, point to the need for greater dialogue and formal linkages between participating groups. A referral system of some content and magnitude appears to be the most critical and pressing issue the new structure needs to address. / Thesis (M.Dev. Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

Les cartes sur ce document ont été toutes conçues par l'auteur avec la logiciel ARCGIS version 9.3. / L’immigration dans les grandes métropoles comme Montréal est un phénomène qui prend de l’ampleur, ces dernières années. Or, si les ménages immigrants récents constituent un apport positif important dans la croissance démographique, sociale, culturelle et économique de notre société, l’amélioration de leur situation socioéconomique et des conditions des logements qu’ils occupent ne semble pas être la priorité des politiques d’habitation des pouvoirs publics. Malgré l’abondance des données statistiques sur l’immigration, il s’avère que l’on connaît peu sur les conditions de logement de ce type de ménages et de la qualité des aides publiques en matière de logements sociaux qui leur sont destinées. Notre recherche, par une méthode quantitative et une technique d’analyse statistique, a mené une recherche empirique sur la population de l’agglomération de Montréal, spécialement celle de Côte-des-Neiges, pour analyser la situation socioéconomique des ménages immigrants récents et leurs conditions de logement. Ceci pour connaître si les ménages immigrants récents ont un niveau socioéconomique inférieur à la moyenne des ménages de l’agglomération, pour constituer les ménages les plus démunis, et si leurs conditions de logement sont défavorables par rapport à celles de la moyenne des ménages de l’agglomération et ainsi figurent parmi les plus mal-logés. Dans un deuxième temps, notre recherche, par une méthode graphique et une technique de cartographie, a voulu illustrer puis comprendre la logique d’implantation des logements développés par l’opération 5000/15000 logements sociaux communautaires. Comprendre cette logique dans sa prise en considération du choix de logement initial des ménages immigrants récents et dans l’uniformité de la répartition de ses logements sur le territoire de l’agglomération de Montréal. / Immigration in big cities like Montreal is a phenomenon which is growing in recent years. However, if households recent immigrants are an important positive contribution in the population growth, social, cultural and economic development of our society, improving their socioeconomic situation and conditions of housing they occupy, do not seem to be the priority housing policies of the government. Despite abundance of statistical data on immigration, it turns out that we know little about the housing conditions of such households and Quality of public support for their social housing are intended. Our research, by a quantitative method and analysis technique Statistics conducted empirical research on population Greater Montreal, especially that of Côte-des-Neiges, for analyze the socioeconomic situation of households and recent immigrants their housing conditions. This to know if households Recent immigrants have a lower socioeconomic level than the average of households in the city, to constitute the poorest households poor, and if their housing conditions are unfavorable report to those of average households in the city and so are among the most poorly housed. In our search for a second time, by a graphical method and mapping technique, we want to illustrate and then understand the logic implementation of housing, developed by the operation 5000/15000 housing community. Understanding this logic in its decision considering the initial choice of accommodation of households recent immigrants and in its uniformity of distribution of its units on the agglomeration of Montreal.

The purpose of this study was to examine a select set of organizational variables and determine their relationship to nursing assistants' intentions to quit in state-owned veterans' long-term care facilities located across the United States. America's long-term care industry (e.g., nursing homes, assisted living facilities) is a multibillion dollar industry. Because the U.S. government is projecting a 250% increase in the elderly population, staffing these nursing homes and related facilities is a critical concern. A vitally important but often overlooked factor of the long-term care industry is employee turnover. Of the staff in long-term care facilities, the nursing assistant (NA) position is particularly susceptible to turnover. Approximately 80% of NAs who enter the workforce leave within the 1st year and many leave within the first 3 months of employment. Some facilities report that they are unable to accept new residents because of a lack of qualified NAs. While many studies have researched this issue, staff turnover in long-term care facilities remains a serious and widespread problem. This study provides a foundation for future research related to the perceptions of intentions to quit of nursing assistants (NAs) working in state-owned veterans long-term care facilities by providing primary data regarding NAs intentions to quit. Results of this study indicate that NA intentions to quit might be reduced provided that pay and rewards are increased, workplace violence is addressed, and better access to patient care plans is provided. This research is useful to state-owned and operated long-term care facilities by giving them additional insights into nursing assistants' intentions to quit perhaps resulting in lower rates of turnover. It is suggested that future research be performed using populations of individuals from other segments of the long-term care industry, mainly, for-profit institutional care nursing homes, and federally owned veterans long-term care facilities.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar as características das visitas domiciliares nos programas Agentes Comunitários de Saúde e Saúde da Família e sua possível contribuição para o alcance da integralidade. Em ambos os programas, a visita domiciliar apresenta-se como uma ação emblemática, como evidenciado pela designação de um profissional específico para essa atividade (o agente comunitário de saúde), embora se recomende que seja realizada por todos os profissionais de saúde. A integralidade foi buscada como representando um norte para a atenção primária, através de características do processo de trabalho em saúde. A metodologia adotada foi a pesquisa de tipo qualitativo, sendo os dados empíricos obtidos por meio de entrevistas com profissionais e usuários e pela observação do cotidiano de três equipes de agentes comunitários de saúde e três equipes de Saúde da Família em Campo Grande, MS, de novembro de 2005 a julho de 2006. A análise dos dados aponta que as coordenações estadual e municipal dos programas incentivam as visitas, mas consideram serem necessários critérios para as solicitações de visitas, definição do profissional que as realizará e mecanismos de avaliação, especialmente no que se refere às visitas feitas por profissionais com formação universitária. Na dinâmica de trabalho das equipes pesquisadas, as formas de organização do trabalho são diversas, podendo favorecer ou dificultar a realização das visitas domiciliares. As visitas são solicitadas majoritariamente por agentes comunitários de saúde, respondendo a demandas de usuários, ou decorrem de demandas internas dos serviços, com variados enfoques quanto às finalidades, conteúdos e prioridades. Os profissionais apontam como aspectos positivos das visitas uma leitura ampliada da realidade, das dinâmicas familiares, das condições de vida e das necessidades dos usuários, permitindo implementação de medidas preventivas e assistenciais e o fortalecimento do vínculo entre usuários e equipe de saúde. No entanto, evidenciam-se tensões relacionadas com o tipo de solicitações dos usuários, predominantemente de caráter clínico, muitas vezes requerendo referências secundárias e terciárias, nem sempre presentes. Por outro lado, a pobreza e as precárias condições de vida dos usuários, características das populações cobertas pelos programas, geram demandas de ações de assistência social, moradia, educação e trabalho, entre outras, que muitas vezes também permanecem sem resposta ou são tratadas de forma caritativa. Além disso, existem dificuldades relacionadas a horários, percursos, transporte e abordagem dos moradores durante as visitas, além de situações de resistência, de recusa e de contato com famílias em precárias condições de vida. Constatou-se que para atingir sua potencialidade de estimular a integralidade, a visita requer trabalho em equipe e respeito e singularização dos usuários. As visitas domiciliares constituem uma prática com potencial integrador, favorecendo o desenvolvimento de ações no domicílio, a ampliação do acesso à unidade de saúde, a adoção de medidas preventivas, a adesão ao tratamento, o apoio aos cuidadores e a longitudinalidade. No entanto, apesar de potencialmente aumentarem a visibilidade de problemas de difícil abordagem, como alcoolismo, violência doméstica ou sexualidade, as visitas domiciliares não os tomam como objetos de trabalho, geralmente evitando essas situações nos domicílios. As visitas podem colaborar com a integração com os níveis secundário e terciário, com a abordagem familiar e com o desenvolvimento de ações intersetoriais, sempre que houver incentivo e condições para isso. A atividade é, porém, permeada de tensões, por seu caráter por vezes autoritário e de intromissão na vida privada, pelas frágeis condições de trabalho e por sua utilização como atenuante de deficiências no atendimento nas unidades de saúde e na ação do poder público em problemas estruturais. / The purpose of this study was to analyze the profile of home visits in the Brazilian health care programs \'Community Health Agents\' and \'Family Health\' with regard to their potential contribution toward integrality in health services. In both programs home visits occupy a prominent position, as shown by the assignment of a specific professional to carry out this activity--the community health agent--although performance of the visit is recommended for all health professionals. Integrality was the guiding principle intended for primary care, configuring the features of the work process in the health area. The methodology adopted was that of qualitative research. Empirical data were collected by interviewing health professionals and users and by observing the daily activities of three teams of community health agents and three teams of the Family Health Program in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, from November 2005 to July 2006. The activity is encouraged by program coordinators at the state and county level, who recognize the need for developing criteria for defining which newly detected cases should warrant the performance of home visits and which professionals should be assigned to perform them, in addition to mechanisms for evaluation of the activity, particularly in the case of home visits performed by health professionals holding higher education degrees. With regard to the operative dynamics of the teams investigated, workflow was found to be organized in various ways, which may facilitate or hinder the performance of visits. Most home visits are requested by community health agents in response to demands of users, but they can also be requested by the service itself, in response to internal demands, and the focus of the activity may vary in terms of purpose, content, and level of priority. According to the professionals interviewed, home visits have a number of positive aspects, as they provide a broader perception of reality, family dynamics, living conditions, and needs of users, in addition to facilitating the implementation of preventive and assistance measures and strengthening the connection between users and health care team. Nonetheless, the activity has inherent tensions, as those related to the type of requests placed by users, mostly of clinical nature, which may require secondary and tertiary care approaches, not always available. On the other hand, poverty and unfavorable living conditions, typical of the population assisted by the programs, generate demands for actions related to social assistance, housing, education and work, among many others, which often are not dealt with at all or are managed with a charitable focus. Additional difficulties involve schedules, transects, transportation, manner of establishing first contact and relating to residents during the visits, situations of resistance or refusal by residents, and the very contact with families living in dire conditions. It was found that in order to exert its potential for promotion of integrality, home visits require not only teamwork, by also respect for users and recognition of their singularity. Home visits have an integrative potential, facilitating the performance of health-related actions in the home setting, promoting broader access to health care units, encouraging adoption of preventive measures, adherence to treatment, and support to caretakers, and fostering the development of longitudinality. However, in spite of their potential for facilitating the perception of issues requiring a more sensitive approach, such as alcohol consumption, domestic violence, or sexuality, home visits do not take these occurrences as their object of action, but usually avoid direct contact with such situations. Visits also aid in the integration with secondary and tertiary levels, are valuable in the establishment of a family-focused approach, and are advantageous to the development of intersectoral actions whenever favorable conditions and incentive are available. The activity, however, is not without tensions. In some instances, its focus is authoritarian and intrusive into private life; working conditions are fragile; and visits play the extra role of lessening deficiencies in services and in the governmental ability to tackle structural issues.

O objeto da pesquisa foram as relações sociais estabelecidas entre o agente comunitário de saúde ACS e a equipe de Saúde da Família SF em situações concretas de trabalho. A SF é estratégia prioritária para a reorganização da Atenção Básica no Brasil. A profissão do ACS foi regulamentada somente em 2002 e caracteriza-se pelo exercício de atividades de prevenção de doenças e promoção da saúde. A literatura aponta que os ACS desempenham ações preconizadas pelo Ministério da Saúde, mas enfrentam dificuldades para cumprirem com funções de caráter mais político e social, voltadas para mudanças nos modos de se cuidar e para o aumento da participação social. O ACS possui características híbridas e singulares, pois é membro da comunidade e da equipe de saúde, propiciando a ligação entre esses dois atores. Objetivou-se compreender as relações sociais estabelecidas entre o ACS e a equipe de SF a partir do trabalho em equipe na saúde, destacando os aspectos da articulação das ações e da interação entre os trabalhadores. A pesquisa foi de abordagem qualitativa com a realização de 23 observações participantes e 11 entrevistas semi-estruturadas junto a uma equipe de SF em um município do interior paulista, O material empírico foi interpretado segundo a análise temática e compreendeu a história da unidade de saúde e seus trabalhadores, o processo de trabalho da equipe e os ACS na equipe de SF na perspectiva da articulação e da interação. Os resultados mostraram que o ACS está inserido em um processo de trabalho em equipe que é dinâmico. O ACS vive as contradições de modelos de saúde que são diferentes e co-existem em um mesmo espaço. Os ACS são laços de ligação quando desempenham ações articuladas ao trabalho da equipe e interagem com os trabalhadores, construindo planos assistenciais em comum. Um núcleo de competência do ACS pode ser a característica de laço de ligação, aproximando equipe e comunidade e adequando as ações de cuidado às reais necessidades das pessoas. Na prática comunicativa com os trabalhadores; os ACS ao falarem de si, estão falando da própria comunidade, pois é ele seu representante e porta-voz na equipe. Como elos de ligação desenvolvem ações essencialmente operacionais para agilizar o trabalho da equipe e da unidade, tais como, entregar recados e encaminhamentos. As atividades desempenhadas dentro da unidade relacionam-se à cooperação e também estão muito atreladas às ações operacionais e instrumentais do trabalho, inclusive com certo caráter de troca. Concluímos que a inserção do ACS na equipe de SF enfrenta dificuldades e requer a criação de estratégias que favoreçam a relação dialógica entre os trabalhadores. Assim, o trabalho da equipe e a dimensão política e social dos ACS poderão ser potencializados, contribuindo para cuidados mais integrais e acolhedores e para um agir em saúde mais criativo e prazeroso. / The social relations established between the community health agent (ACS) and the health family team (SF) in work situations was the object of this study. SF has been a strategic priority to reorganize Primary Health Care in Brazil. ACS only became a regulated profession in 2002 and comprises activities of disease prevention and health promotion. Literature appoints that ACS develops actions recommended by the Ministry of Health but faces difficulties in complying with functions with a more political and social character focused on changing peoples self-care and increasing their social participation. These professionals possess hybrid and singular characteristics because they are both members of the community and the health team making linkages between them. The study aimed to understand the social relations established between the ACS and SF team as from the work developed by the health team, highlighting connections between actions and interaction between workers. This is a qualitative study with 23 participant observations and 11 semistructured interviews with the SF team in a city in the interior of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The empirical material was analyzed according to the thematic analysis and comprises the history of the health unit and its workers, the teamwork process and the perspective of connection and interaction of the ACS in the SF team. Results revealed that ACS is inserted in a dynamic teamwork process, that is, experiences the contradictions of co-existing different health models. These professionals work as links when they develop actions connected to the teamwork and interact with its workers developing common care plans. The ACS core of competency is characterized by the connection they establish approximating team and community and adapting care actions to peoples real needs. When these professionals talk about themselves during communication with workers, they talk about the community itself because they are its representatives and spokesman in the team. As links, they basically develop operational actions to speed up the team and units work such as delivering messages and referrals. The activities developed inside the unit are related to cooperation and are also very associated to operational and instrumental work, which includes a certain exchange. The conclusion is that the inclusion of the ACS in the SF team is difficult and requires strategies favoring the dialogical relation between workers. This way, the teamwork and the ACS political and social dimensions can be strengthened, contributing to more integral and welcoming care and also to more creative and gratifying work in health.

Tout d'abord, en ce qui concerne le premier chapitre, cette thèse vise à vérifier l'impact des normes des Traités, comme, par exemple, la liberté d'établissement et la libre prestation de services, par rapport aux activités économiques qui sont offerts sur les espaces domaniales. Ensuite, après avoir examiné la jurisprudence de la Cour de justice en matière de services, en ce qui concerne le deuxième chapitre, nous avons examiné aussi l'impact des principes généraux du droit européen et de l'art. 16 de la Charte des Droits Fondamentaux sur les services offerts sur le domaine public. En ce qui concerne le troisième chapitre, nous avons adressé un examen approfondi de la Directive « Services » : après avoir analysé sa genèse, plutôt problématique et difficile, nous en avons décrit les objectifs et la ratio. Le résultat qui a émergé est une fragmentation du marché commun de services, en particulier pour ce qui concerne les services qu’on prend en examen dans cette recherche. L'une des phases les plus critiques par rapport à la Directive « Services », c'est sa transposition. Ce qui semble clair, c'est une fragmentation générale qui entrave l’achèvement et le bon fonctionnement du marché commun. Une fois qu'on a examiné le rôle de la directive « Bolkestein », on a montré la nécessité d'évaluer l'impact de cette norme sur les services offerts sur le domaine public. Dans le quatrième chapitre, on a décidé d'examiner le rôle des directives sur les contrats publics. D'un point de vue juridique, les contrats publics et les concessions sont deux choses distinctes, même si la logique sous-jacente à l’article 12 de la Directive « Services » et le principe de concurrence établissent que les espaces (et, indirectement, par conséquence, les services qui sont intéressés) concernés doivent être attribués dans le cadre d'une procédure de sélection publique. Il convient de rappeler que, avant la présentation d'une proposition de directive de la Commission Européenne pour réglementer les concessions, les principes applicables à ces dernières ont été (et sont encore aujourd’hui) empruntés à la discipline des contrats publics. Nous avons décidé de mettre en évidence comment l'état actuel des contrats publics et les concessions sont interconnectés. On montre aussi que les directives sur les marchés publics jouent un rôle important dans la régulation des types de concessions examinées dans le présent document. On a décidé d'examiner l'impact potentiel de la Directive « concessions ». Dans le cinquième et le sixième chapitre, nous avons examiné et comparé les différents systèmes des États membres de l’Union Européenne. En particulier, nous avons vu comment les concessions des plages sont réglementées en Italie, où, par exemple, il y a un problème juridique qui est loin d’être adressé, en France, en Croatie, en Portugal, et, finalement, en Espagne. Dans le septième et le huitième chapitre, nous avons choisi de parler du risque éventuel de violation des normes en matière d'aides d’État. / With regard to the first chapter, this thesis aims at analysing the impact of the Freedom of Establishment and of the Free Movement of Services on those economic activities which are offered in areas belonging to the public domain. Thus, after examining the relevant case-law of the ECJ in the field of services, in the second chapter what has been analysed is the impact of the general principles and of Art. 16 of the Charter on the services provided in areas belonging to the public domain. In the third chapter, a deep analysis of the Services Directive has been conducted: after addressing its genesis, which was quite problematic, both its objectives and its rationale have been analysed. What has emerged is a fragmentation of the internal market of services, especially with regard to the activities that are examined in this research. One of the most problematic issues related to that Directive is its implementation. Again, what has emerged is a fragmentation of the market of services. Thus, what has been addressed is the impact of the Directive on the services provided in areas belonging to the public domain. In the fourth chapter, the impact of the Public Contracts Directives has been examined. Legally speaking, public procurement contracts and concessions are different, even if the rationale beyond Art. 12 of the Services Directive together with the general principle of competition require the services at issue to be awarded through a selection procedure. Indeed, even before the adoption of what is now the Concessions Directive, the principles applicable to concessions have always been the same as those applicable to public procurement contracts. What emerges is that the public procurement contracts and concessions are strongly interconnected. The potential impact of the Concessions Directive has been addressed as well. In the fifth and in the sixth chapter a comparison between the Italian status quo with regard to those services provided in areas belonging to the public domain and the situation in Portugal, Croatia, France and Spain has been drawn. In the seventh and in the eighth chapter all the implications regarding potential violations of the State Aid rules have been addressed.

The purpose of this study is to examine, gain, and ultimately share an understanding of certain cognitive differences, similarities, intelligence patterns, and preferences between competent monolingual (English) and multicompetent bilingual/multilingual first-year composition (FYC) college students. Within this project is an attempt to address the following questions: Do monolingual and bilingual/multilingual FYC students show different strengths and weaknesses in their cognitive abilities? Are there learning preferences and literacy differences or similarities between monolingual and bilingual/multilingual FYC students? Primarily, two cognitive concepts were used in this examination to provide perspectives and quantitative data in response to the above questions. First, is Vivian Cook’s (1992, 1999) multicompetence theory, which involves cognitive differences between monolingual (L1) and bilingual/multilingual (L2/L3) speakers/users; and second, Howard Gardner’s (1999, 2004, 2006) multiple intelligences (MI) theory, whereby two types of MI assessments were used to study any such differences and similarities among FYC students. To fulfill the requirements for this particular thesis, included is a conference proposal (abstract), a conference paper, and a publishable scholarly article. The necessary charts, graphs, tables, and appendices are provided, accordingly.

Cette thèse aborde le problème de l'évaluation des politiques publiques comme un problème de décision. Lesmérites respectifs des approches statistique (utilisant lesmodèles à résultats potentiels) et économétrique (utilisant les systèmes d'équations simultanées) sont analysés au regard de leur capacité à envisager cette décision. L'approche économétrique est retenue car elle permet notamment de modéliser simplement les interventions publiques. Les paramètres d'effets causals moyens habituellement estimés dans la littérature sont reliés aux problèmes de décision qu'ils permettent de résoudre. De nouveaux paramètres plus largement pertinents sont définis. Les problèmes pratiques de l'identification de l'impact des politiques publiques sont étudiés à travers l'exemple des subventions à l'investissement. Leur impact sur la demande de travail et de matériaux est étudié par la méthode des effets fixes. Cet estimateur est modifié pour estimer le profil temporel de l'impact des aides et permettre de tester ses hypothèses de validité. Enfin, l'importance des critères de jugement de la politique est présentée à travers l'exemple de l'impact des politiques agricoles des pays développés au Brésil. Onmontre que si les évaluations utilisant la somme des surplus concluent à un effet positif de cette réforme, c'est que les gains des plus riches compensent les pertes des plus défavorisés.

Ce travail de thèse porte sur la conception et la réalisation d'un nouveau concept d'interface tactile compacte, portable, légère, à faible coût et à haute résolution. Cette interface, dédiée aux personnes aveugles et malvoyantes, est à la base d'une nouvelle approche d'aide à la mobilité basée sur la substitution/suppléance visuo-tactile.<br /><br />En s'appuyant sur la psychophysiologie du sens du toucher associée à une technologie d'actionnement de type Alliages à Mémoire de Forme (AMF), un dispositif mécatronique a été conçu et réalisé pour générer, via le toucher, des sensations de contact à l'extrémité des doigts. Le prototype est constitué d'une matrice de 64 micro-actionneurs en AMF de 1,5 mm de diamètre offrant des courses maximales de 1,4 mm chacun. L'espacement entre les actionneurs est de 2,6 mm. Les efforts développés par chaque actionneur sont de l'ordre de 300 mN. Enfin, la bande passante maximale sans dégradation des performances est de 1,5 Hz. Le dispositif réalisé est compact et ne pèse que 200 g. Ses faibles dimensions (un cube de 8 cm de côté) le rendent facilement portable par l'utilisateur. L'interface est en mesure d'afficher un grand nombre d'informations binaires sur sa matrice 8 x 8. Par ailleurs, ses conceptions mécanique et électronique de commande peuvent être facilement redimensionnées pour un nombre supérieur d'actionneurs tout en conservant un faible coût. <br /><br />Des études psychophysiques conduites sur des sujets voyants montrent la pertinence de l'information transmise via l'interface et démontrent l'intérêt du dispositif réalisé pour l'assistance aux personnes aveugles et malvoyantes.