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Improving the understanding of the innate abilities and navigational strategies (NSs) of visually impaired people (VIP) : an analysis and modelling of the variables and their spatial navigational abilities to assist in the design of the built environment

There may be a predominant tendency that current researchers and design practitioners approach research and designing for visually impaired people (VIP) by using a 'deficit-based' approach or model, which concentrates on addressing their disabilities or limitations resulting from visual impairment (VI), and through the kinds of design strategies and methods they use. Even though these kinds of deficit-based approaches may assist designers to get a sense of the limitations of impaired vision, they are not helpful for designers to understand the more resourceful 'assets' and strategies that VIP may already have developed and use in everyday life. Rather than addressing their disabilities, this research has used an 'asset-based' approach to develop a deeper understanding of VIP's innate capabilities and to establish the extent to which variables such as age, when and how VI occurred, and the kinds of environments they encounter which can affect their use of different kinds and combinations of navigational strategies (NSs), when making a variety of journeys within familiar and unfamiliar environments.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:693782
Date January 2014
CreatorsWu, Ji-Wei
PublisherGlasgow School of Art
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://radar.gsa.ac.uk/4744/

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