Ambiguous keyboards for AAC

Purpose – “Ambiguous keyboards” and “disambiguation processes” are becoming universally recognised through the popularisation of “predictive text messaging” on mobile phones. As this paper shows, although originating in the AT and AAC fields, these terms and techniques no longer appear to be widely understood or adopted by practitioners or users. The purpose of this paper is to introduce these techniques, discussing the research and theory around them, and to suggest them as AT and AAC strategies to be considered by practitioners and users. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that describes the use of ambiguous keyboards and disambiguation. The hypothesis of the paper is that ambiguous keyboards and disambiguation processes offer potential to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of AAC and should thus be considered further in research and practice. Findings – The two broad methods for removing the ambiguity from the output of an ambiguous keyboard are presented. A summary of the literature around the use of disambiguation processes provided and the use of disambiguation processes for AAC discussed. Originality/value – This paper suggests that ambiguity should be adopted as a characteristic of an AAC keyboard as should the method of removing ambiguity – namely either coding or a disambiguation process

Investigating the success factors of expert users to inform device development

Objective: Expert user testing is a well recognised tool within user experience and human computer interaction design. Within the domain of assistive technology device design, however, this technique seems to be little used. It is suggested that studying the success factors of expert assistive technology device users may provide a valuable source of data to inform development of assistive technology devices. This paper presents an example of this technique, within the context of a number of studies carried out by the authors, using the example of preliminary data from a study informing the development of an innovative Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device. Main Content: The paper presents a qualitative study whose objective was to influence the design and further development of an innovative voice-input voice-output communication aid (Vivoca) which has previously reached proof-of-concept stage. The Vivoca device is designed for people with dysarthria and this dictates a number of specific constraints and considerations. In order to understand how Vivoca could be designed to be used successfully by people with dysarthria, this study aimed to identify the factors associated with expert users' successful use of current AAC devices. In order to allow comparison, the study included users with some understandable speech and also those with no understandable speech. The study procedure was designed to provide a profile of participants' communication methods and to identify the factors that participants felt made their communication successful. Results: Preliminary results from the study (currently underway) are presented, including a qualitative analysis of interview data, and data profiling participants' communication methods and context. Initial data has highlighted the very specific requirements for a communication aid design for people with some understandable speech. Conclusion: Study of expert users may provide an effective tool to help inform assistive technology device development

Asteroseismic Signatures of Stellar Magnetic Activity Cycles

Observations of stellar activity cycles provide an opportunity to study magnetic dynamos under many different physical conditions. Space-based asteroseismology missions will soon yield useful constraints on the interior conditions that nurture such magnetic cycles, and will be sensitive enough to detect shifts in the oscillation frequencies due to the magnetic variations. We derive a method for predicting these shifts from changes in the Mg II activity index by scaling from solar data. We demonstrate this technique on the solar-type subgiant beta Hyi, using archival International Ultraviolet Explorer spectra and two epochs of ground-based asteroseismic observations. We find qualitative evidence of the expected frequency shifts and predict the optimal timing for future asteroseismic observations of this star.Comment: 5 pages including 3 figures and 1 table, MNRAS Letters accepte

Using qualitative research methods to inform user centred design of an innovative assistive technology device

The SPECS project aims to develop a speech-driven device that will allow the home environment to be controlled (for example turning on or off the lights or television). The device developed will be targeted at older people and people with disabilities and will be sensitive to disordered speech. Current environmental control systems (ECS) work using either a switch interface or speech recognition software that does not comprehend disordered speech well. Switch-interface systems are often slow and complicated to use and the uptake of the available speech recognition system has been poor. A significant proportion of people requiring electronic assistive technology (EAT) have dysarthria, a motor speech disorder, associated with their physical disability. Speech control of EAT is seen as desirable for such people but machine recognition of dysarthric speech is a difficult problem due to the variability of their articulatory output. Other work on large vocabulary adaptive speech recognition systems and speaker dependent recognisers has not provided a solution for severely dysarthric speech. Building on the work of the STARDUST project our goal is to develop and implement speech recognition as a viable control interface for people with severe physical disability and severe dysarthria. The SPECS project is funded by the Health Technology Devices Programme of the Department of Health

From Forbidden Coronal Lines to Meaningful Coronal Magnetic Fields

We review methods to measure magnetic fields within the corona using the polarized light in magnetic-dipole (M1) lines. We are particularly interested in both the global magnetic-field evolution over a solar cycle, and the local storage of magnetic free energy within coronal plasmas. We address commonly held skepticisms concerning angular ambiguities and line-of-sight confusion. We argue that ambiguities are in principle no worse than more familiar remotely sensed photospheric vector-fields, and that the diagnosis of M1 line data would benefit from simultaneous observations of EUV lines. Based on calculations and data from eclipses, we discuss the most promising lines and different approaches that might be used. We point to the S-like [Fe {\sc XI}] line (J=2 to J=1) at 789.2nm as a prime target line (for ATST for example) to augment the hotter 1074.7 and 1079.8 nm Si-like lines of [Fe {\sc XIII}] currently observed by the Coronal Multi-channel Polarimeter (CoMP). Significant breakthroughs will be made possible with the new generation of coronagraphs, in three distinct ways: (i) through single point inversions (which encompasses also the analysis of MHD wave modes), (ii) using direct comparisons of synthetic MHD or force-free models with polarization data, and (iii) using tomographic techniques.Comment: Accepted by Solar Physics, April 201

A User-Centred Approach Exploring the Potential of a Novel EMG Switch for Control of Assistive Technology

This study examines the potential application of an EMG technology as an assistive control method for individuals with severe physical disabilities. The usability and acceptability of a prototype EMG switch was evaluated with health care professionals, researchers and end users using participatory approaches

On the Quantum Phase Operator for Coherent States

In papers by Lynch [Phys. Rev. A41, 2841 (1990)] and Gerry and Urbanski [Phys. Rev. A42, 662 (1990)] it has been argued that the phase-fluctuation laser experiments of Gerhardt, B\"uchler and Lifkin [Phys. Lett. 49A, 119 (1974)] are in good agreement with the variance of the Pegg-Barnett phase operator for a coherent state, even for a small number of photons. We argue that this is not conclusive. In fact, we show that the variance of the phase in fact depends on the relative phase between the phase of the coherent state and the off-set phase $\phi_0$ of the Pegg-Barnett phase operator. This off-set phase is replaced with the phase of a reference beam in an actual experiment and we show that several choices of such a relative phase can be fitted to the experimental data. We also discuss the Noh, Foug\`{e}res and Mandel [Phys.Rev. A46, 2840 (1992)] relative phase experiment in terms of the Pegg-Barnett phase taking post-selection conditions into account.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. Typographical errors and misprints have been corrected. The outline of the paper has also been changed. Physica Scripta (in press

'This is what democracy looks like' : New Labour's blind spot and peripheral vision

New Labour in government since 1997 has been roundly criticized for not possessing a clear, coherent and consistent democratic vision. The absence of such a grand vision has resulted, from this critical perspective, in an absence of 'joined-up' thinking about democracy in an evolving multi-level state. Tensions have been all too apparent between the government's desire to exert central direction - manifested in its most pathological form as 'control freakery' - and its democratising initiatives derived from 'third-way' obsessions with 'decentralising', 'empowering' and 'enabling'. The purpose of this article is to examine why New Labour displayed such apparently impaired democratic vision and why it appeared incapable of conceiving of democratic reform 'in the round'. This article seeks to explain these apparent paradoxes, however, through utilising the notion of 'macular degeneration'. In this analysis, the perceived democratic blind spot of New Labour at Westminster is connected to a democratic peripheral vision, which has envisaged innovative participatory and decentred initiatives in governance beyond Westminster