Web navigation for individuals with dyslexia: An exploratory study

In this paper, we present an exploratory study of the web navigation experiences of dyslexic users. Findings indicate that dyslexics exhibit distinctive web navigation behaviour and preferences. We believe that the outcomes of this study add to our understanding of the particular needs of this web user population and have implications for the design of effective navigation structures

Reflip Type: Developing Visual Strategies for Teaching Typography to Collegiate Students with Dyslexia

In educational facilities today, the approaches to teaching typography to college students with dyslexia are limited. This thesis provides a research-based pedagogy for teaching typography to students in a way that accommodates the visual, processing, and auditory differences present in students with dyslexia. Through the analysis of the learning disability itself, existing material for graphic designers with dyslexia, and current accessibility standards for those with dyslexia, this thesis offers a practical solution to provide a more balanced learning experience for all students, especially those with dyslexia. The aim of this study was to examine the current graphic design standards and refocus and modify them for ease of readability for all individuals, especially those with dyslexia

Experimental Methods in IIR: The Tension between Rigour and Ethics in Studies Involving Users with Dyslexia

Designing user studies in the interactive information retrieval (IIR) paradigm on people with impairments may sometimes require different methodological considerations than for other users. Consequently, there may be a tension between what the community regards as being a rigorous methodology against what researchers can do ethically with their users. This paper discusses issues to consider when designing IIR studies involving people with dyslexia, such as sampling, informed consent and data collection. The conclusion is that conducting user studies on participants with dyslexia requires special considerations at all stages of the experimental design. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness and understanding in the research community about experimental methods involving users with dyslexia, and addresses researchers, as well as editors and reviewers. Several of the issues raised do not only apply to people with dyslexia, but have implications when researching other groups, for instance elderly people and users with learning, cognitive, sensory or motor impairments

An exploration of the potential of Automatic Speech Recognition to assist and enable receptive communication in higher education

The potential use of Automatic Speech Recognition to assist receptive communication is explored. The opportunities and challenges that this technology presents students and staff to provide captioning of speech online or in classrooms for deaf or hard of hearing students and assist blind, visually impaired or dyslexic learners to read and search learning material more readily by augmenting synthetic speech with natural recorded real speech is also discussed and evaluated. The automatic provision of online lecture notes, synchronised with speech, enables staff and students to focus on learning and teaching issues, while also benefiting learners unable to attend the lecture or who find it difficult or impossible to take notes at the same time as listening, watching and thinking

Investigating which processes influence reading fluency in dyslexic and non-dyslexic groups

This thesis reports an investigation of the component processes underlying reading fluency. A current controversy in reading research is whether reading ability and development is determined solely by linguistic processes such as phonological (sound-based) skill, or whether it can also be influenced by non-linguistic processes such as visual processing of print, attention and general timing capacity. One way of addressing this problem is to investigate naming speed; the speed with which objects, colours, letters or digits can be named. Letter naming in particular represents a ‘microcosm’ of the processes required for fluent reading. The experiments in this thesis systematically manipulate the letter naming process to investigate a) what determines naming-speed performance and b) which processes, when aberrant, cause slower naming in dyslexic readers. Results suggest that non-dyslexic readers are better able to process multiple letter items simultaneously than dyslexic readers. Further, we find evidence suggesting a strong role for phonological retrieval in determining naming latencies and contributing to the naming-speed deficit. We also identify a strong attentional component and a role for visual processing in naming speed which discriminates dyslexic and non-dyslexic reading groups. The results support models emphasising the multi-componential nature of reading fluency and suggest that naming deficits in dyslexia reflect processing difficulties in non-phonological, as well as phonological domains

Library Services for Blind and Visually Impaired People

This literature review summarizes, evaluates and compares some of the existent literature about Library Services for Blind and Visually Impaired People. It provides a critical overview of the presence and organization in different areas of Library Services for readers who cannot make use of the traditional printed material, while pointing out their strengths and weak points. It also singles out themes and critical trends regarding the subject, while suggesting ways to improve the above said services. The necessity of further studies in the field is also put forward and strongly recommended