Developing an Integrated Traffic Corridor in Santa Fe through Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure

Santa Fe, NM experienced an increase in traffic congestion and accidents. Current traffic infrastructure is in need of improvement. This project inventoried traffic infrastructure around Santa Fe and investigated methods for calculating travel times through the city, with the goal of analyzing the implementation of an integrated traffic corridor. The project concluded that using INRIX data for travel times was reliable and that implementing an integrated traffic corridor in Santa Fe had a benefit-cost ratio of 75:1. Our results will provide accurate travel times to the public via dynamic message signs and potentially help the city of Santa Fe implement an integrated corridor in future years to help reduce traffic congestion and accidents

Mobile assistive technologies for the visually impaired

There are around 285 million visually impaired people worldwide, and around 370,000 people are registered as blind or partially sighted in the UK. Ongoing advances in information technology (IT) are increasing the scope for IT-based mobile assistive technologies to facilitate the independence, safety, and improved quality of life of the visually impaired. Research is being directed at making mobile phones and other handheld devices accessible via our haptic (touch) and audio sensory channels. We review research and innovation within the field of mobile assistive technology for the visually impaired and, in so doing, highlight the need for successful collaboration between clinical expertise, computer science, and domain users to realize fully the potential benefits of such technologies. We initially reflect on research that has been conducted to make mobile phones more accessible to people with vision loss. We then discuss innovative assistive applications designed for the visually impaired that are either delivered via mainstream devices and can be used while in motion (e.g., mobile phones) or are embedded within an environment that may be in motion (e.g., public transport) or within which the user may be in motion (e.g., smart homes)

How to Use Litigation Technology to Prepare & Present Your Case at Trial October 27, 2021

Meeting proceedings of a seminar by the same name, held October 27, 2021

Audio Personalisation for Accessible Augmented Reality Narratives

Augmented Reality (AR) is rapidly growing across a diverse range of uses. Along with other Extended Reality (XR) technologies, it has the potential to not only make the world more accessible but to provide new and unique opportunities for impaired users. This will not happen accidentally but requires greater thought and development with impaired users central to decision making. This work explores whether creative and personalisable audio practices can be used to develop mobile-based AR content which is accessible to Visually Impaired (VI) users and includes them in enjoyable, immersive ways. It begins by assessing the accessibility of current AR applications (apps). Despite developments in the use of AR to make the world more accessible, most mobile AR content does not take access needs into account. 37 AR apps were tested against a rubric of features with few found to be accessible. In Study 1, 8 VI participants validated these results by evaluating a subset of these apps. This work then tests the efficacy of accessibility strategies centred upon two concepts. First, using well-designed audio creatively to include and immerse users in meaningful and enjoyable ways. Second, allowing users to personalise experiences to suit their needs. To this end, a bespoke narrative AR app was developed, with accessibility features initially equivalent to those in Study 1. In Study 2, 6 VI participants and 5 content creators displayed positivity towards the strategies and suggested ideas for their implementation. Based on this, the app was updated to include enhanced audio accessibility features. These were evaluated in Study 3 by 12 VI participants and 3 content creators. The results demonstrate positivity towards the strategies’ potential to provide an enjoyable, immersive experience. However, they underline how difficult AR is for VI users, highlighting fundamental challenges which need addressing before such strategies can be applied

Web-based bug tracking solutions : applied to business

Estágio realizado na Wipro RetailTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Informátca e Computação. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Assessment of a novel computer aided learning tool in neuroanatomy education

Impaired understanding of intricate neuroanatomical concepts and structural inter-relationships has been associated with a fear of managing neurology patients, called neurophobia, among medical trainees. As technology advances, the role of e-learning pedagogies becomes more important to supplement the traditional dissection / prosection and lecture-based pedagogies for teaching neuroanatomy to undergraduate students. However, despite the availability of a myriad of e-learning resources, the neuro (-anatomy-) phobia – neurophobia nexus prevails. The focus of the PhD was to investigate the difficulties associated with learning neuroanatomy and to develop and assess the efficacy of a novel e-learning tool for teaching neuroanatomy, in the context of the strengths and pitfalls of the currently available e-learning resources. Firstly, we sought to provide direct evidence of the medical and health science students’ perception regarding specific challenges associated with learning neuroanatomy. The initial results showed that neuroanatomy is perceived as a more difficult subject compared to other anatomy topics, with spinal pathways being the most challenging to learn. Participants believed that computer assisted learning and online resources could enhance neuroanatomy understanding and decrease their neurophobia. Next, in the context of the significance of e-learning for supplementing traditional pedagogies, we identified features of neuroanatomy web-resources that were valued by students and educators with regards to learning neuroanatomy of the spinal pathways. Participants identified strengths and weaknesses of existing neuroanatomy web-resources and ranked one resource above the others in terms of information delivery and integration of clinical, physiological and medical imaging correlates. This provides a novel user perspective on the influence of specific elements of neuroanatomy web-resources to improve instructional design and enhance learner performance. Finally, considering the data acquired from students and educators, a novel, interactive, neuroanatomy learning e-resource was developed to support teaching of the neuroanatomy of the spinal pathways. The instructional design included a discussion of the clinical interpretation of basic neuroanatomical facts to aid in neurological localization. The e-learning tool was assessed and evaluated by undergraduate medical and neuroscience students using neuroanatomy knowledge quizzes and Likert-scale perception questionnaires and compared to the previously identified best-ranked neuroanatomy e-resource. Participants’ opinion regarding the usefulness of various components of the tools was also gauged. The results showed that usage of the UCC e-resource led to a significant increase in participants’ knowledge of the neuroanatomy of the spinal pathways compared to students’ who did not use e-resources. Moreover, the participants reported a greater interest in learning neuroanatomy with the novel tool, showing a greater appreciation for it while learning clinical neurological correlates compared to those using the best available e-resource identified earlier. In summary, the prevailing problem of neurophobia could be addressed by enhancing student-interest. Technological e-learning pedagogies, with intelligently designed interactive user-interface and clinical correlation of basic neuroanatomical facts can play a pivotal role in helping students learn neuroanatomy and breaking the nexus between neuro (-anatomy-) phobia and neurophobia