Designing an Adaptive Web Navigation Interface for Users with Variable Pointing Performance

Many online services and products require users to point and interact with user interface elements. For individuals who experience variable pointing ability due to physical impairments, environmental issues or age, using an input device (e.g., a computer mouse) to select elements on a website can be difficult. Adaptive user interfaces dynamically change their functionality in response to user behavior. They can support individuals with variable pointing abilities by 1) adapting dynamically to make element selection easier when a user is experiencing pointing difficulties, and 2) informing users about these pointing errors. While adaptive interfaces are increasingly prevalent on the Web, little is known about the preferences and expectations of users with variable pointing abilities and how to design systems that dynamically support them given these preferences. We conducted an investigation with 27 individuals who intermittently experience pointing problems to inform the design of an adaptive interface for web navigation. We used a functional high-fidelity prototype as a probe to gather information about user preferences and expectations. Our participants expected the system to recognize and integrate their preferences for how pointing tasks were carried out, preferred to receive information about system functionality and wanted to be in control of the interaction. We used findings from the study to inform the design of an adaptive Web navigation interface, PINATA that tracks user pointing performance over time and provides dynamic notifications and assistance tailored to their specifications. Our work contributes to a better understanding of users' preferences and expectations of the design of an adaptive pointing system

Teaching Culturally Sensitive Care to Dental Students: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Dental schools must prepare future dentists to deliver culturally sensitive care to diverse patient populations, but there is little agreement on how best to teach these skills to students. This article examines this question by exploring the historical and theoretical foundations of this area of education in dentistry, analyzes what is needed for students to learn to provide culturally sensitive care in a dental setting, and identifies the discipline-specific skills students must master to develop this competence. The problems associated with single-discipline, lecture-based approaches to teaching culturally sensitive care are outlined, and the advantages of an interdisciplinary, patient-centered, skills-based approach to teaching culturally sensitive care are described. The authors advocate for an approach to teaching culturally sensitive care that builds upon learning in the behavioral sciences, ethics, and public health. Component skills and perspectives offered by each of these curriculum areas are identified, and their contributions to the teaching of culturally sensitive care are described. Finally, the need to consider the timing of this instruction in the dental curriculum is examined, along with instructional advantages associated with an approach that is shared by faculty across the curriculum

The contribution of injury severity, executive and implicit functions to awareness of defi cits after traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Deficits in self-awareness are commonly seen after Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and adversely affect rehabilitative efforts, independence and quality of life (Ponsford, 2004). Awareness models predict that executive and implicit functions are important cognitive components of awareness though the putative relationship between implicit and awareness processes has not been subject to empirical investigation (Crosson et al., 1989; Ownsworth, Clare, & Morris, 2006; Toglia & Kirk, 2000). Severity of injury, also thought to be a crucial determinant of awareness outcome post-insult, is under-explored in awareness studies (Sherer, Boake, Levin, Silver, Ringholz, & Walter, 1998 ). The present study measured the contribution of injury severity, IQ, mood state, executive and implicit functions to awareness in head-injured patients assigned to moderate/severe head-injured groups using several awareness, executive, and implicit measures. Severe injuries resulted in greater impairments across most awareness, executive and implicit measures compared with moderate injuries, although deficits were still seen in the moderate group. Hierarchical regression results showed that severity of injury, IQ, mood state, executive and implicit functions made signifi cant unique contributions to selective aspects of awareness. Future models of awareness should account for both implicit and executive contributions to awareness and the possibility that both are vulnerable to disruption after neuropathology. ( JINS , 2010, 16 , 1– 10 .

Higher education provision for students with disabilities in Cyprus

Internationally, the number of students with disabilities entering higher education institutions is on the rise. Research estimates that 8–10% of students attending higher education are registered with disability, with learning difficulties being the most commonly reported disability. Widening participation in higher education has been supported by legislative changes, inclusive education practices, the use of ICT and accessible facilities and programs and, ultimately, an increasing belief among students with disabilities that higher education maximizes their opportunities for employment and independent living. Within the Cypriot context, research on disability, access and provision in higher education is limited. This study was a part of a large-scale study (PERSEAS) funded by the EU. From the original sample, 15 students attending private higher education institutions in Cyprus reported disability (i.e., sensory impairment, dyslexia, physical disabilities) and were selected for focus group discussions. Also, interviews and focus groups were conducted with the Headmasters and teachers, respectively, in 10 private higher education institutions. This study yielded interesting results regarding the current state of provision (e.g., concessions for exams and assignments, infrastructure, teaching modification, counseling services) as well as issues of social inclusion, equality of opportunity and entitlement to education

Early Childhood ABA: Issues of Early ASD Detection and Access to Intervention

This paper provides an overview of ABA, summarizes findings from studies of early childhood ABA with a focus on intervention dosage, and addresses the influence of demographics and culture on early ASD detection and access to early childhood ABA intervention. Although, this paper is not inclusive of all the ABA studies conducted between 1987-2007 and beyond, it summarizes the findings of some of the historical studies in early childhood ABA. These historical studies were located through two systematic reviews including studies between the years 1987- 2007 and selected if they met the following criteria: (1) intervention was based on behavioral principals (2) participants were five years of age or younger at the onset of intervention (3) intervention was in-home or clinic-based (4) utilized a group research design. A total of seven studies met the inclusion criteria. All seven studies reported increasing intellectual, educational, and behavioral gains for children with ASD. However, three of the studies did not report significant differences across all outcome measures favoring the treatment group. The seven studies reported mixed findings regarding treatment dosage with weekly treatment dosage ranging from 40 to 19.45 hours. Additional findings indicated that demographics and culture should be considered as they influence the early detection of ASD and access to intervention. Based on these findings, future research should further investigate how these variables along with others moderate or mediate early childhood ABA outcomes associated with early ASD detection and access to intervention

Speculations on a privileged state of cognitive dissonance

This paper examines two commonly held and conflicting cognitions in the modern world, each based on a belief vital to the individual's sense of self, both maintained in what is here considered as a chronic state of dissonance. This psychological inconsistency consists of an inherent practical belief in the goodness of empirical knowledge and a culturally-developed transcendent belief denying, or at least mitigating, empirical evidence about the finite nature of individual life and affirming a counter-empirical belief in supernatural: supra-cause-and-effect forces that influence life. I argue that since both beliefs are highly resistant to change, they lead to an impasse that individuals in diverse cultures have borne and been motivated to maintain. They have borne it, as I hope to show, because the consonant “cure” has proved to be more discomforting than the dissonant condition. \ud \u

An exploration of concepts of community through a case study of UK university web production

The paper explores the inter-relation and differences between the concepts of occupational community, community of practice, online community and social network. It uses as a case study illustration the domain of UK university web site production and specifically a listserv for those involved in it. Different latent occupational communities are explored, and the potential for the listserv to help realize these as an active sense of community is considered. The listserv is not (for most participants) a tight knit community of practice, indeed it fails many criteria for an online community. It is perhaps best conceived as a loose knit network of practice, valued for information, implicit support and for the maintenance of weak ties. Through the analysis the case for using strict definitions of the theoretical concepts is made

Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions

In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this field. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research

Prison-based Education and Its New Pedagogical Perspective

This article presents how unconventional teaching environments, such as the prison system, can participate in the elaboration of new pedagogical methods and, in the process, reveal the diverse responses of marginalized groups to the study of the law. Over the course of this article, I provide valuable insight about underexplored teaching techniques to academics seeking to open up their approach beyond traditional methods. Through this partially reflective piece, I relay my experience as a law instructor in a maximum security prison, and demonstrate how those who have bore the brunt of the law can still think critically about legal topics. I also support the idea that by taking in the perspectives of peripheral groups, legal educators will be led to use innovative methods to deliver legal knowledge. Essentially this article explores the intersection between legal pedagogy and the prison system to uncover a site previously neglected by conventional work on criminology and education. Pointing out how experiencing the law differently can shape individual interpretations of legal knowledge, I hope to situate learning within a larger criminological process

Nutrition-sensitive value chains from a smallholder perspective: A framework for project design

"The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) gratefully acknowledges permission from IFAD to re-publish that work as an Alliance Working Paper, with updated acknowledgements, author information and information on additional resources.