137 research outputs found
Co-Designing wearable technology together with visually impaired children
No full textThis paper presents the process and results of a set of studies within the ABBI EU project, with the general aim to co-design wearable technology (an audio bracelet) together with visually impaired children, starting at a young age. The authors discuss user preferences related to sounds and tactile materials and present the results of a focus group with very young visually-impaired children under the age of 5, together with their parents. They find that multisensory feedback (visual, tactile/haptic, auditory) is useful and that preferences vary - also the drastic and potentially unpleasant sounds and materials may have a role. Further studies investigate the possibilities of using the ABBI wearable technology for social contexts and games. In a series of game workshops children with and without visual impairments created games with wearable technology employing very simple interactivity. The authors report the created games, and note that even with this simple interactivity it is possible to create fun, inclusive and rich socially co-located games
The Growth of Phrases. User-centred Design for Activity-based Voice Output Communication Aids
No full textAn activity-based vocabulary for Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs) was designed and evaluated through a user-centred, iterative design process, using expressions from the Gothenburg Spoken Language Corpus as well as other recorded, natural conversations. The growth and development of the vocabulary, called Phrases, was closely linked to its evaluation. The iterative design process included prototyping, collaboration with users, and modifications to the different versions of Phrases. The aims of the thesis were to investigate and visualise what goes on in interactions involving VOCAs, investigate the utility of a spoken language corpus in constructing AAC vocabulary, to evaluate the usability of Phrases, and to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of phrase creation to that of phrase selection. Four young adults with cerebral palsy, who used Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), took part in the evaluation, as did sixty adults without speech impairments. The Phrases vocabulary was primarily built around pre-stored expressions for shop interactions and general quickfire expressions, including greetings, acknowledgements, feedback and expressions for communication management. It was tested in real and role-played shopping activities, and in an experiment. The results showed that phrase selection under certain circumstances can be faster than phrase creation, and that pre-stored phrases can enhance both the speed and enjoyment of VOCA-mediated conversations, providing that the users have learned where to find the expressions. The quickfire section was appreciated by all participants, but the activity shopping turned out to be of lesser importance to the four participants using AAC than was presumed from the beginning. Using a VOCA in a service encounter such as shopping turned out to be a complex undertaking for individuals with severe motor impairments. A model from Cultural-Historical Activity Theory provided useful insights into the contributing factors. The evaluations of the second version of Phrases gave valuable suggestions for the modification of future versions, such as making the activity structure more transparent, keeping phrases which were used while removing others, and adding new activities. Sammanfattning på svenska: Avhandlingen “The Growth of Phrases. User-centred Design for Activity-based Voice Output Communication Aids” presenterar och analyserar vokabulär för talande samtalshjälpmedel som designats och utvärderats genom en användarcentrerad, iterativ designprocess. Vokabuläret, som kallas Phrases (fraser), är baserat på yttranden från Göteborgs Talspråkskorpus och andra inspelningar av naturliga samtal. Den iterativa designprocessen bestod av prototyputveckling, successiv utvärdering, samarbete med användare samt modifieringar av de olika versionerna av Phrases. Målen för avhandlingen var att undersöka och visualisera vad som sker i samspel där talande samtalshjälpmedel finns med, undersöka nyttan av en talspråkskorpus för att skapa vokabulär för AKK (Alternativ och Kompletterande Kommunikation), utvärdera användbarheten hos Phrases och att undersöka hur verkningsfullt och effektivt det är att välja bland fraser jämfört med att själv skapa dem. Fyra unga vuxna med cerebral pares, som använde AKK, och sextio vuxna personer utan talsvårigheter deltog i utvärderingen. Vokabuläret Phrases var främst uppbyggt kring färdiga uttryck för att samtala i affär, kompletterade med allmänna snabbuttryck (“quickfires”) för att hälsa, tacka, ge återkoppling och hantera kommunikationen. Phrases testades i verkliga affärssituationer och i rollspel samt i ett experiment. Resultaten visade att det under vissa omständligheter kan vara snabbare att använda färdiga fraser än att skapa dem ord för ord, och att färdiga fraser kan öka både hastigheten och nöjet i att använda samtalshjälpmedel, förutsatt att användarna har lärt sig var de ska hitta uttrycken. Modulen med snabbuttryck uppskattades av alla deltagare, men själva aktiviteten att handla i affär var inte så viktig som förväntat för de fyra AKK-användarna. Att som kund använda samtalshjälpmedel i en affär påverkades i praktiken av många faktorer. För att undersöka hur dessa hängde samman användes en modell från kulturhistorisk aktivitetsteori som gav värdefulla insikter. Utvärderingen av version nummer två av Phrases pekade mot att aktivitetsstrukturen behöver göras ännu tydligare i framtida versioner. Flertalet fraser bör bibehållas, men somliga kan tas bort och nya aktiviteter bör läggas till
Du, jag och något att tala om : Om kommunikation och kommunikationshjälpmedel för och med barn och ungdomar med flerfunktionsnedsättning
No full textLanguage Use with Blissymbolics
No full textThree young adults with cerebral palsy who used Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs) with Blissymbolics took part in a study where they tried pre-stored phrases for specific activities. Before and after the study, 1 ½ years apart, they took part in semi-structured interviews where they answered open ended questions about the activity shopping. Analyses of the expressions they constructed with their VOCAs, revealed that the participants used longer utterances and more advanced grammar during the second interview, despite the fact that these skills were not targeted during the study. On the other hand, the pre-stored phrases that the participants were given were not used to the extent that had been expected. When they used the pre-stored phrases, the participants tended to only use phrases that performed functions they already had in their Bliss vocabularies. Features that were lacking in these Bliss vocabularies, but were included among the pre-stored phrases, were words and expressions that could be used for starting and ending conversations, for turn taking, as evaluations and as feedback. Pre-stored expressions that were used functioned as greetings, thanks and answers to yes and no questions
You, me and something to talk about [Elektronisk resurs] : On communication and communication aids for and with children and youth with severe and multiple disabilities
No full textLanguage Use with Blissymbolics
No full textThree young adults with cerebral palsy who used Voice Output Communication Aids (VOCAs) with Blissymbolics took part in a study where they tried pre-stored phrases for specific activities. Before and after the study, 1 ½ years apart, they took part in semi-structured interviews where they answered open ended questions about the activity shopping. Analyses of the expressions they constructed with their VOCAs, revealed that the participants used longer utterances and more advanced grammar during the second interview, despite the fact that these skills were not targeted during the study. On the other hand, the pre-stored phrases that the participants were given were not used to the extent that had been expected. When they used the pre-stored phrases, the participants tended to only use phrases that performed functions they already had in their Bliss vocabularies. Features that were lacking in these Bliss vocabularies, but were included among the pre-stored phrases, were words and expressions that could be used for starting and ending conversations, for turn taking, as evaluations and as feedback. Pre-stored expressions that were used functioned as greetings, thanks and answers to yes and no questions
Bitte Liebt Österreich: Christoph Schlingensief and the immunity of the spectator
No full textEste artículo versa, a través del análisis de la acción vienesa Bitte Liebt Österreich de Christoph Schlingensief, sobre los dispositivos de inmunidad (nacional) que posibilitan la construcción de una mirada distanciada sobre el otro. Dicha mirada permitió, en la performance, activar una problemática capacidad de decisión sobre la vida (efectiva) del refugiado extranjero. Mediante una controvertida acción expandida en el espacio público, a modo de Gran Hermano, donde los límites entre lo auténtico y lo ficticio se diluyen, el autor alemán consiguió evidenciar los mecanismos de generación de la identidad nacional y del sentido de pertenencia del pueblo austríaco –y por analogía, de todos los demás.In analysing Christoph Schlingensief’s Viennese performance action Bitte Liebt Österreich, this article discusses the (national) immune mechanisms that construct a particular type of gaze that objectifies the ‘Other’. Such a gaze imbues the Austrian people with the ability to decide on the (effective) lives of ‘others’, in this case, foreign refugees. Through a controversial performance in a public space (similar to the Big Brother), where the boundaries between real and fictional life have been diluted, the German author highlights the ways in which Austrian people (as well as other communities) generate their sense of belonging and their national identity
Empowerment and participation through online photo diaries for children and adults with intellectual disabilities
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