Enriquecimiento cognoscitivo: el hombre visto como sistema abierto

Texto sobre las aportaciones y los beneficios de la perspectiva psicológica del enriquecimiento cognoscitivo para la intervención educativa y terapéutica con personas que demuestran desempeño retardado y otros tipos de desviación emocional o conductual. Se incluye también texto sobre el Primer Coloquio Internacional de Psicología Comunitaria y la Décima Semana de Psicología en el ITESO

Designing assistive technology for getting more independence for blind people when performing everyday tasks: an auditory-based tool as a case study

Everyday activities and tasks should in theory be easily carried by everyone, including the blind. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been widely used for supporting solutions. However, the solutions can be problematic for the visually impaired since familiarity with digital devices is often required. Or, indeed the procedure can be perceived as fiddly or impractical particularly for repetitive tasks due to the number/type of steps required to complete the task. This paper introduces a simple audio-based tool aimed at supporting visually-impaired people in the seemingly simple activity of checking whether the light in a room is on or off. It is an example of potential low tech devices that can be designed without the need for specific skills or knowledge by the user, and that functions in a practical way. In this context, we discuss the main issues and considerations for totally blind users in identifying whether a light is switched on. The proposed prototype is based on a simple circuit and a form of auditory feedback which informs the user whether they are switching on or off the light. Two prototypes have been designed and built for two different kinds of installation. For the subsequent second prototype, three different versions are proposed to provide a blind person with further support in easily identifying the light status at home. The new design includes enhanced auditory feedback and modifications to the dimensions. The evaluation conducted by involving various groups of end-users revealed the usefulness of the proposed tool. In addition, a survey conducted with 100 visually-impaired people reported the limitations and difficulties encountered by the blind in using existing devices. Moreover, the study revealed the interest from 94% of the participants for a potential (new) basic tool integrable with the existing lighting system. This study gives a contribution in the ambient intelligence field by (1) showing how an auditory-based tool can be used to support totally blind people to check the lights in an autonomous and relatively simple way; (2) proposing an idea that can be exploited in other application cases that use light feedback; and (3) proposing seven potential recommendations for designing assistive technology tools and common everyday devices, based on information gathered from the online survey

enabling access to cultural heritage for the visually impaired an interactive 3d model of a cultural site

Abstract We have developed low cost interactive 3D models that improve access to architectural details of cultural sites for all, including people with vision impairments. Our approach uses rapid prototyping and 3D printing along with a very small single-board computer for automating user interaction. As a case study, we developed a prototype model of "Piazza dei Miracoli" (Pisa, Italy), the famous square where the Leaning Tower is located. The system is a combination of tactile information with audio descriptions to enable potential users to explore the artifact autonomously. We exploited low-cost and partially open-source technologies, thus rendering our system easily replicable. We evaluated the interactive system with a group of eight completely blind and partially sighted users. Our user test confirmed the validity of our approach: (1) the three-dimensional models and the tactile reproduction of details obtained via a low-cost 3D printing solution are well perceived by touch; (2) the semantic aural information activated via perceptible buttons on demand and the different content levels for the audio tracks are suitable for an interactive, autonomous and satisfying exploration

Using accessible digital resources for teaching database design: towards an inclusive distance learning proposal

[Proceedings of] 13th Annual Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE'08), Madrid, Spain, June 30-July 2, 2008This paper introduces a pilot experience in teaching database using accessible digital resources in 3er course of Computer Science degree at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. A platform containing learning material in different formats (video, audio, slides presentation) has been designed allowing students accessing resources as well as to be evaluated by means of tests. Preliminary results show that 46.81% of the students have already interacted with the system and 97.12% of the students passed the tests.Publicad

A study of the deep structure of the energy landscape of glassy polystyrene: the exponential distribution of the energy-barriers revealed by high-field Electron Spin Resonance spectroscopy

The reorientation of one small paramagnetic molecule (spin probe) in glassy polystyrene (PS) is studied by high-field Electron Spin Resonance spectroscopy at two different Larmor frequencies (190 and 285 GHz). The exponential distribution of the energy-barriers for the rotational motion of the spin probe is unambigously evidenced at both 240K and 270K. The same shape for the distribution of the energy-barriers of PS was evidenced by the master curves provided by previous mechanical and light scattering studies. The breadth of the energy-barriers distribution of the spin probe is in the range of the estimates of the breadth of the PS energy-barriers distribution. The evidence that the deep structure of the energy landscape of PS exhibits the exponential shape of the energy-barriers distribution agrees with results from extreme-value statistics and the trap model by Bouchaud and coworkers.Comment: Final version in press as Letter to the Editor on J.Phys.:Condensed Matter. Changes in bol

smart cultural site an interactive 3d model accessible to people with visual impairment

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Fredkin Gates for Finite-valued Reversible and Conservative Logics

The basic principles and results of Conservative Logic introduced by Fredkin and Toffoli on the basis of a seminal paper of Landauer are extended to d-valued logics, with a special attention to three-valued logics. Different approaches to d-valued logics are examined in order to determine some possible universal sets of logic primitives. In particular, we consider the typical connectives of Lukasiewicz and Godel logics, as well as Chang's MV-algebras. As a result, some possible three-valued and d-valued universal gates are described which realize a functionally complete set of fundamental connectives.Comment: 57 pages, 10 figures, 16 tables, 2 diagram

The kinetic fragility of liquids as manifestation of the elastic softening

We show that the fragility $m$, the steepness of the viscosity and relaxation time close to the vitrification, increases with the degree of elastic softening, i.e. the decrease of the elastic modulus with increasing temperature, in universal way. This provides a novel connection between the thermodynamics, via the modulus, and the kinetics. The finding is evidenced by numerical simulations and comparison with the experimental data of glassformers with widely different fragilities ($33 \le m \le 115$), leading to a fragility-independent elastic master curve extending over eighteen decades in viscosity and relaxation time. The master curve is accounted for by a cavity model pointing out the roles of both the available free volume and the cage softness. A major implication of our findings is that ultraslow relaxations, hardly characterised experimentally, become predictable by linear elasticity. As an example, the viscosity of supercooled silica is derived over about fifteen decades with no adjustable parameters.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures; Added new results, improved the theoretical sectio