This study is about music teaching strategies for students with low vision, including blindness. Based on a two-case ethnographic design, this study focuses on understanding what decisions in terms of activities, lesson plans, and curricula, six participants from two different schools adopted for their students, as well as how these decisions relate to these students’ special needs and the context of these two schools. One of these school was located in Santiago, Chile, while the other in New York, USA. Data collection included observations and fieldnotes, interviews and informal conversations, artifact and document collections, and the use of a reflective journal. Findings encompass a variety of strategies recorded in several formal learning spaces such as instrumental private lessons, music theory lessons, instrumental ensemble rehearsals, choir rehearsal, accessible music technology lessons, braille lessons, general music lessons. These strategies, in turn, seemed to be highly conditioned by the students’ special need as well as the social, political, economic, and cultural contexts of the two schools observed.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to determine the therapeutic effectiveness of group counseling with visually-impaired elderly adults, and (b) to provide information concerning the effectiveness of group counseling to practitioners in the field. The study reviewed the literature regarding aging and vision, psychosocial reactions to vision loss, and group counseling with the visually-impaired and the elderly. Twenty subjects, who were above age 65 and had recently experienced a severe loss of vision, were selected to participate in the study. Ten subjects were assigned to an experimental counseling group and 10 subjects were assigned to a no-treatment control group. The experimental group participated in 1-1/2 hour group sessions once a week for 10 weeks. Both the experimental group and the control subjects were administered pre- and post-tests. The tests measured depression, anxiety, self-esteem, and life satisfaction.

An approach to introduce the visually impaired to personal computers is presented in this thesis. The PC used for this work was an IBM PC Portable. Use of the resident software developed in conjunction with a Votrax Voice Unit can greatly simplify PC applications for the visually impaired. Further, a method to communicate with a mainframe is also presented. Almost all of the commonly used DOS application software are supported by the software presented in this thesis. Two modes of operation are possible. The advantages and differences between these two modes are considered. A detailed discussion on the software implementation is also presented. A method to develop resident programs that need to trap PC BIOS vectors is presented. It should be noted that the shell concept presents a shell of user invoked resident applications and not a group of subprograms which can be used by other applications. / M.S.

The Employment Training Program has been mandated by the Federal Government to train and find unsubsidized employment for economically disadvantaged individuals and others facing serious barriers to employment. Keyboarding skills are of paramount importance in the clerical program. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of educational kinesiology on typewriting speed and accuracy for students with and without functional visual efficiency. It involved 75 subjects from the Employment Training Center (JTPA Program) in Arlington, Virginia. Typewriting pretests were administered to determine subjects speed and error averages. Eye screening was administered utilizing the Titmus Vision Tester and the King-Devick Saccade Test. Although the battery of tests for the Titmus were administered, only the lateral and vertical phoria near test that measures muscle balance, the relationship of the image of each eye to that of its fellow, provided meaningful data for this study. The K-D Test measures tracking ability of the eyes as they perceive copy for typewriting. Subjects were considered as functionally visually efficient by passing both vision tests. The concepts of educational kinesiology (education through movement) were explained to the subjects as a way to increase typing speed, reduce errors, and control stress. Volunteers for the training numbered 31; 44 subjects remained in the control group. The same straight-copy timed writing was used for the pretest and posttest. Analyses of variance were used to examine differences in pretest and posttest scores for both speed and accuracy. Some of the major findings of the study were as follows: 1. Training in educational kinesiology had no effect on typewriting speed and accuracy. 2. Functional visual efficiency had no effect on typewriting speed and accuracy. 3. No interaction exists between the typewriting pretest-posttest speed and accuracy scores for students who did and did not receive educational kinesiology training and for students with and without functional visual efficiency. / Ed. D.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

Thesis (M. A. (Information Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The contribution of library and information services in general towards academic performance improvement of visually impaired students cannot be emphasised. At the University of Limpopo, visually impaired students, like any other students, are continually exposed to an overwhelming mass of visual materials such as textbooks, course outlines, class timetables, lecture notes, whiteboards, writing, memos etcetera. In addition, the use of videos, computers and Blackboard adds to the volume of visual materials to which they have only limited access. One would content that the University of Limpopo, especially after establishing the Audio-Braille library, has done reasonably well in a bid to improving library services of students living with disabilities, however, this is not the reality to the visually impaired themselves. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of the Audio-Braille library in contributing towards the academic performance of students with visual impairments at the University of Limpopo, South Africa. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in this study. The researcher distributed questionnaires to all visually impaired students registered for the 2017 academic year at the University of Limpopo’s Reakgona Disability Centre and conducted interviews with the lecturers who teach these students. The findings indicate that although many students acknowledged the library’s contribution, a greater number of respondents revealed that the library lack relevant up-to-date academic reading material in alternative formats such as braille, large print as well as electronic. The main value of this study is to impart knowledge by pointing out major contributions of the Audio-Braille library with hope that this knowledge will encourage and motivates visually impaired students to make use of the library. Students could improve on their academic performance, abilities and possibilities, and boost their confidence and self-esteem by fully using the Audio-Braille library and its resources. Access to the relevant library facilities and resources ameliorates effects of their disabilities and gives them a chance to be “equal” to the so-called normal students v The findings of this study will also help in enhancing both the quality of education for the visually impaired, as well as the Audio-Braille library services because there is still a lot of inexperience around library services for visually impaired students at the University of Limpopo and maybe in other universities as well. Therefore, the AudioBraille library must ensure that all visually impaired students receive unsurpassed library and information services like any other students by expanding its collection so that student receive books, information, lecturer notes and other study materials that they need in their academic development process in appropriate formats.

Design and evaluation of real-time descriptive mediation (RTDM) for live aquarium exhibits was proposed to support the participation of visitors with and without vision loss. RTDM was developed to address learning, entertainment, restorative, and social motivations. Data was collected during a lab study with adults to get feedback about the RTDM and compare it to traditional docent presentations and audio tours. Findings show that the RTDM made it possible for participants to address their exhibit motivations and led to specific personal and social aspects of participation. A majority of participants with and without vision loss reported that the RTDM was supportive of their motivations and perceived it to be more effective at supporting learning, social, and restoration motivations compared to audio tour and docent mediation. The main contributions of this work are in: 1) developing evidence-based information design criteria for mediation at live animal exhibits; 2) demonstrating that mediation designed to support exhibit motivations can facilitate participation in adults with and without vision loss; and 3) validating participation as a design goal.

Over the past two decades, increasing attention has focused on inclusive education and how it can contribute to improved teaching and learning experiences and thus to the attainment of better learning outcomes for all learners, including those with special educational needs. Initially, attention centred on inclusion in primary and secondary schools, but increasing interest is now being shown to students with special educational needs and their inclusion in tertiary institutions of learning as well. Research on the inclusion of students with special educational needs has largely focused on either one particular group of students, such as students with a particular disability, or on students with disabilities in general, such that these findings are often either only applicable to a specific group or are too general. Not many studies have attempted to compare the experiences of students with different educational needs without being too general. This study explores issues related to the experiences of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students in relation to their inclusion in three Rwandan universities. Inclusive education as an educational policy has a very young history in Rwanda and there is insufficient empirical evidence about its implementation. This study therefore adds to the little knowledge there is about this subject. The study addressed the following questions: what are the experiences of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students in Rwandan universities in terms of educational access and social inclusion in the university environment? What are the similarities and differences between the experiences of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students? What are the underlying causes of these experiences? In what ways do these experiences, either negative or positive, influence the academic performance of these students? How do these experiences influence these students’ perspectives, expectations and hopes for the future? How do the attitudes of students and lecturers in universities with deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students concerning inclusion influence the interaction between these students and lecturers on the one hand and the deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students on the other? The study was conducted using the mixed methods research approach. Triangulation was the research design employed. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were completed by 220 students who were neither deaf/hard of hearing nor visually impaired and 55 lecturers without disabilities from three of the five Rwandan universities with deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students. Interviews were conducted with six deaf/hard of hearing students, nine visually impaired students, and three lecturers from the same universities. The study found that deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students had both positive and negative experiences in their inclusion in Rwandan universities. There were, however, major differences between the perceptions of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students concerning their inclusion in these universities. There were also differences between the deaf students and hard of hearing student about the level of their inclusion. Finally, there were significant differences between the efforts of the three universities to meet the needs of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students. This work concludes by making some recommendations for improving the inclusion of deaf/hard of hearing and visually impaired students in Rwandan universities, recommendations which could be useful to other higher institutions of learning as well in their efforts to include students with special educational needs.

Thesis (M.Ed. (Community and Continuing Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / This research is about establishing the needs and assets of a public adult learning centre for the visually impaired. The research is important because South Africa, as a signatory to the Salamanca Statement on Principles and Practice in Special Needs Education (UNESCO, 1994) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006 (Väyrynen, 2008), has an obligation to ensure the provision of quality education and training through inclusion. This also includes adult learners. The research emanated from the assumption that Public Adult Learning Centres for the Visually Impaired are not well equipped to provide quality education as envisaged by the Salamanca Statement and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In order to resolve this assumption, a qualitative case study with Bosele Public Adult Learning Centre (BPALC) for the Visually Impaired was designed. The research participants from this centre were purposely sampled due to the importance of their shared experiences and opinions in answering the research question. Multiple perspectives were applied in data collection by means of semi-structured and focus group interviews and documents were examined and analysed to obtain in-depth information about the research. The analysis of the participants’ shared experiences and opinions, combined with observation and data analysis, assisted in deriving at the conclusion that, although Bosele is a Public Adult Learning Centre for the visually impaired, it is still deficient in terms of the capacity to provide quality education as envisaged in the Salamanca Statement and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The learning and teaching support materials are inadequate and have not been modified for many years. The facilitators do not receive the necessary professional support and as such are inadequately prepared to provide quality education to the visually impaired adult learners. The available assets within and outside BPALC are not mapped and therefore not recognized for effective utilization. The teaching, learning and physical environment around BPALC is not conducive to the promotion of quality education for visually impaired adults. iii To respond to the findings of this research, several recommendations have been suggested and an empowerment programme has also been provided with a view to improve the quality of teaching and learning at BPALC. Suggestions for future research topics have also been made in order to close the gap that exists in research for the education of learners with visual impairment.

Individuals with blindness or visual impairments as a major cause of disability are at an extreme disadvantage to obtain and maintain employment and thus may seek the assistance of vocational rehabilitation counselors. Information on these individuals, encompassing demographics, disability, public support, and vocational rehabilitation services, is collected by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and becomes a part of the RSA-911 data file. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among demographics, service provisions, competitive employment, and earnings of vocational rehabilitation consumers with blindness or visual impairments. Using a sample of 3,610 cases from the RSA-911 data file from Fiscal Year 2006, logistic regression was utilized to examine the relationships among 20 consumer demographic and 14 case service variables related to competitive employment outcomes. With a sample of 2,320 cases, multiple regression was used to examine which 20 consumer demographic and 14 case service variables predicted weekly earnings at closure for those consumers with competitive employment outcomes. Results from the logistic regression indicated the most important consumer demographic predictors of competitive employment were age, gender, receipt of Medicaid, severity of vision loss, source of referral, and weekly earnings at application. Specifically, those aged 36 or younger who were self-referred, male, had lesser severity of vision loss, and did not receive Medicaid were more likely to find competitive employment. Among case service variables, receiving job-placement assistance and maintenance services were related to competitive employment; receipt of disability-related augmentative skills training and miscellaneous training had a negative impact. Multiple regression revealed that the consumer demographics of gender, higher level of education at closure, receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and weekly earnings at application were important predictors of weekly earnings at closure. Disability-related augmentative skills training was the only case service related to weekly earnings, with a negative impact. Based on these findings, males with earnings at application who did not receive disability-related augmentative skills training were most likely to reach competitive employment outcomes and to have higher earning potential at closure. Limitations of the study as well as implications for practice and future research are discussed. / text