Blind drawing: investigation into screen location tracking for computer aided interactive drawing

One of the main problems faced by blind learners is lack of drawing technologies that support images and diagram drawing without the help of a sighted support worker. Even though some technologies have been experimented in the past, blind learners have not been keen on tactile drawing due to: the difficulty of the drawing task, the length of time taken to complete a simple task and the inefficiency of the drawing experience. This paper presents a blind drawing technology that introduces a drawing technique with screen navigation, sectioning and sizing. This will provide blind learner with an interactive drawing environment, which will improve the understanding of a concept or, a subject matter. It will contribute to the improvement of the overall quality of learning and drawing experience by mapping their mind images into objects and spatial information. This technique promotes an interactive and easy drawing environment to build objects, associations, layout information by zooming, navigation, and grouping. It will lead to future possibilities such as 3D world modelling, printing and multisensory integration of inputs and output methods

A Formal Approach to Computer Aided 2D Graphical Design for Blind People

The growth of computer aided drawing systems for blind people (CADB) has long been recognised and has increased in interest within the assistive technology research area. The representation of pictorial data by blind and visually impaired (BVI) people has recently gathered momentum with research and development; however, a survey of published literature on CADB reveals that only marginal research has been focused on the use of a formal approach for on screen spatial orientation, creation and reuse of graphics artefacts. To realise the full potential of CADB, such systems should possess attributes of usability, spatial navigation and shape creation features without which blind users drawing activities are less likely to be achieved. As a result of this, usable, effective and self-reliant CADB have arisen from new assistive Technology (AT) research. This thesis contributes a novel, abstract, formal approach that facilitates BVI users to navigate on the screen, create computer graphics/diagrams using 2D shapes and user-defined images. Moreover, the research addresses the specific issues involved with user language by formulating specific rules that make BVI user interaction with the drawing effective and easier. The formal approach proposed here is descriptive and it is specified at a level of abstraction above the concrete level of system technologies. The proposed approach is unique in problem modelling and syntheses of an abstract computer-based graphics/drawings using a formal set of user interaction commands. This technology has been applied to enable blind users to independently construct drawings to satisfy their specific needs without recourse to a specific technology and without the intervention of support workers. The specification aims to be the foundation for a system scope, investigation guidelines and user-initiated command-driven interaction. Such an approach will allow system designers and developers to proceed with greater conceptual clarity than it is possible with current technologies that is built on concrete system-driven prototypes. In addition to the scope of the research the proposed model has been verified by various types of blind users who have independently constructed drawings to satisfy their specific needs without the intervention of support workers. The effectiveness and usability of the proposed approach has been compared against conventional non-command driven drawing systems by different types of blind users. The results confirm that the abstract formal approach proposed here using command-driven means in the context of CADB enables greater comprehension by BVI users. The innovation can be used for both educational and training purposes. The research, thereby sustaining the claim that the abstract formal approach taken allows for the greater comprehension of the command-driven means in the context of CADB, and how the specification aid the design of such a system

Shared secrets: Web 2.0 and research in Social Sciences

Web 2.0 represents a revolution in terms of the possibilities it offers for facilitating communication and collaboration between users – something that has become increasingly common in the world of research. A mere few years ago, the information produced by scientists and scholars remained in the hands of a very limited circle of institutions and publishers, as if it were a guarded secret. Today that secret is being shouted from the rooftops and shared with the rest of the scientific community in order to make it more accessible and to allow new advances. A clear example of this can be found in the social sciences, where there is a constant increase in the production of articles and materials that in turn serve for the pursuit of further research, thereby promoting the continuous development of scientific knowledge. This new situation is being fostered by the proliferation of tools and applications that make it possible, but also by a change in mentality towards a philosophy of exchange and open access. In this article, we will examine this phenomenon using a methodological system based on the analysis of platforms for the exchange of scientific knowledge, and especially social networks (both general and specialising in the social sciences), in order to demonstrate their potential in a society that is becoming increasingly aware of the need to overcome physical or institutional boundaries and move forward together

Drilling predation traces on recent limpets from northern Patagonia, Argentina

In this study we analyze the predator-prey relationship between muricid gastropods (mainly Trophon geversianus) and the limpets Nacella magellanica, Fissurella radiosa, Diodora patagonica and Siphonaria lessoni from recent mollusk death assemblages at Puerto Lobos (41°59’54.2’’ S), on the Atlantic coast of northern Patagonia. The majority of the drill holes fit the ichnospecies Oichnus simplex Bromley, 1981. In five cases the holes resemble Oichnus ovalis Bromley (1983), attributable to octopuses. In analyses of O. simplex, the drilling frequency of the whole mollusk assemblage was 4.72%, which is higher than for N. magellanica (3.97%) and for all limpet specimens together (1.57%). Drillings were site-selective in the apical sector of the shell, with a notable and statistically significant preference for the U-shaped muscle scar. There is also some evidence of selective predation with respect to size, although the pattern is not strong. The low drilling frequencies on limpets compared to mussels coincide with the general idea that muricid gastropods have a strong preference for sessile prey, due to their inability to handle mobile items. The quantitative incidence of drilling predation on limpets varies considerably between published examples and within the different species of prey studied. The absence of records of drilling predation on fossil limpets remains partially unexplained, except for the fact that limpets are rarely preserved in the fossil record, thus reducing the probability of finding drilled specimens, plus the low frequency in which muricids choose limpet prey for drilling. This is the first study in South America centered on this biotic interaction.Fil: Archuby, Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología; ArgentinaFil: Gordillo, Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra; Argentin

Academic success and competencies for learning in Portuguese higher educationstudents: a quantitative investigation

Concepts are discussed within the frame of educational development literature and research on student learning. Conceptions of learning, approaches to learning and studying derived from Marton and Säljö’s (1976, 1997) ideas on learning and on Entwistle and Ramsden (1983) descriptions of approaches to learning. An extensive body of quantitative and qualitative research focused on understanding learning from the student perspective. The results have suggested that students tend to adopt qualitatively different ways of learning and of studying, which, at a certain extent, may represent a reaction to their perceptions of the teaching-learning environments (Biggs, 2003; Entwistle, 2000; Prosser & Trigwell, 1999; Ramsden, 1997).Peer Reviewe

A phylogeny of Setaria (Poaceae, Panicoideae, Paniceae) and related genera based on the chloroplast gene ndhF

The genus Setaria is the largest genus in the so-called bristle clade, a monophyletic group of panicoid grasses distinguished by the presence of sterile branches, or bristles, in their inflorescences. The clade includes both foxtail millet and pearl millet, the latter an important cereal crop in dry parts of the world. Other members of the clade are weeds that are widespread agricultural pests. Previous molecular phylogenetic studies have suggested that Setaria might not be monophyletic but did not have a large enough sample of species to test this rigorously. In addition, taxonomic studies have suggested a close relationship between Setaria and Paspalidium, with some authors combining them into a single genus, but molecular studies included too few Paspalidium accessions for a meaningful conclusion. Accordingly, we have produced 77 new sequences of the chloroplast gene ndhF for 52 species not in previous analyses. These were added to available sequences for 35 species in 10 genera of the bristle clade and four outgroup taxa. We find that Setaria species fall into several moderately to strongly supported clades that correlate with geography but not with the existing subgeneric classification. Relationships among these clades and among other genera within the bristle clade are unclear. Constraint experiments using the approximately unbiased test reject the monophyly of Pennisetum, Setaria, and Setaria plus Paspalidium, as well as several other groupings, although the test may be overly sensitive and prone to Type I error. The more conservative Shimodaira-Hasegawa test fails to reject monophyly of any of the tested clades.Fil: Kellogg, Elizabeth Anne. University of Missouri; Estados UnidosFil: Aliscioni, Sandra Silvina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente. Cátedra de Botánica Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Morrone, Osvaldo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; ArgentinaFil: Pensiero, Jose Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Zuloaga, Fernando Omar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; Argentin

An empirical evaluation of a graphics creation technique for blind and visually impaired individuals

The representation of pictorial data by people who are blind and sight impaired has gathered momentum with research and development; however, little research has focused on the use of a screen layout to provide people who are blind and sight impaired users with the spatial orientation to create and reuse graphics. This article contributes an approach to navigating on the screen, manipulating computer graphics, and user-defined images. The technique described in this article enables features such as zooming, grouping, and drawing by calling primitive and user-defined shapes. It enables blind people to engage in and experience drawing and art production on their own. The navigation technique gives an initiative sense of autonomy with compass directions, makes it easy to learn, efficient to manipulate shape with a the simple drawing language, and takes less time to complete with system support features. An empirical evaluation was conducted to validate the suitability of the SETUP09 technique and to evaluate the accuracy, and efficiency of the navigation and drawing techniques proposed. The drawing experiment results confirmed high accuracy (88%) and efficiency among blind and visually impaired (BVI) users

Opinion on moderate/low cancer genetic risk markers in medical practice including comment on the article Genetic contribution to all cancers: the first demonstration using the model of breast cancers from Poland stratified by age at diagnosis and tumour pathology by Lubinski et al., Breast Cancer Res Treat 2008 Apr 15

[Excerpt] Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease characterized by a widely variable morphological appearance, many risk factors and distinct gene expression profiles [1, 2]. Common genetic alterations (e.g. polymorphisms), with possible effects on protein function and/or expression, within genes involved in essential cellular pathways, such as carcinogen metabolism, DNA repair, cell cycle control and cell proliferation, can predispose individuals to various tumours, including breast cancer [3-7]. [...

I want to be a teacher! The construction of professional identity between classrooms

En los últimos años se han producido ciertos cambios sustanciales en todos los niveles (educativo, social, económico, político, legislativo…) que nos han llevado, como profesionales de la educación, a reestructurar, repensar y reconstruir la formación inicial (planes de estudios) de los futuros docentes noveles. Sujetos que asisten a las aulas universitarias por vocación, deseo y motivación en busca de aprendizajes, estrategias, metodologías y recursos que podrán poner en práctica en las diversas situaciones que se les presentarán en el día a día de una escuela. Entre aula y aula, la universitaria y la del centro educativo, los docentes irán forjando su identidad en procesos dinámicos de constante interacción con diversos contextos, y en relación con diferentes personas; de este modo, irán dando respuestas a una profesión cada vez más compleja. El presente trabajo, vinculado a un proyecto de investigación educativa (Identidoc1) en la Universidad de Barcelona, tiene como finalidad: conocer, describir y analizar cómo los docentes “noveles”, de escuelas públicas y privadas que transitan entre el primer y el quinto año de docencia, están construyendo su identidad profesional en la Educación Primaria. Se han realizado diferentes entrevistas, encuentros (acompañamiento a sus escuelas) y grupos de discusión, con la intención de responder a tres grandes interrogantes: ¿qué les ha llevado a ser maestros y maestras? ¿cuál ha sido el papel que ha jugado la formación inicial (universidad y prácticas externas)? Y, ¿cuál es el papel que está brindando la formación permanente en su desarrollo como profesional de la educación? Paralelamente a todo este proceso de indagación, en conversaciones más informales, se han recogido las inquietudes y las voces de los estudiantes que en estos momentos están cursando los grados de Educación Infantil y Educación Primaria. En nuestro papel de formadores de futuros maestros y maestras, nos interesa conocer cuáles son los dilemas que emergen a la hora de enfrentarse en su práctica docente, y de conjugar conocimientos, procedimientos, destrezas y capacidades entre la universidad y la escuela.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España) EDU2010-20852-C02-0