Equal Access to Higher Education Institutions: An Analysis of Big East Universities\u27 Web Accessibility

More than 26% of the United States nation\u27s population lives with a disability that inhibits the way they navigate and interact with the world. Some impairments may limit the accessibility of information, especially when it comes to viewing websites, applications, and online documents, but modern web accessibility standards aim to eliminate those barriers. The accessibility of information for those with disabilities is especially pertinent when it comes to colleges and universities. While a few researchers have delved into the realm of accessibility for higher education institutions, the current study questions whether small to mid-sized, private, liberal arts university websites are accessible to those with disabilities using the ten schools enrolled in the Big East Athletic Conference. Each evaluation was conducted based on the top five most frequently visited pages and through the automated accessibility checker, WAVE. This study ranks the sites, recognizes prominent accessibility shortcomings, suggests improvements on bettering both the institutions\u27 websites and the national standards of web accessibility, and develops additional research ideas for others to advance the field, helping those with disabilities have equal access to higher education institutions and create a more inclusive web for all

Alternative excavation methods in undeground coal mining

With the recent turbulent nature of the global financial environment, project drivers have been challenged with the emphasis being placed on methods to gain early access to ore bodies, rapid development techniques, lower capital costs and reduced labour requirements to name a few. Recently work commenced on a project that is challenging the norm and implementing an alternative excavation method into the Australian coal mining industry by the use of a tunnel boring machine. The tunnel boring machine will mechanically excavate both the Conveyor Drift and Transport Drift at Anglo American’s Grosvenor Mine in Moranbah, Queensland. This paper will review this project and provide technical and operational insight into some of the challenges faced in implementing this and other alternative excavation methods in the Australian underground coal industry

Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation Ameliorates Mixed and Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia: Case Reports and Proof of Concept

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE Spasmodic dysphonia (SD) is a dystonia of the vocal folds causing difficulty with speech. A recent randomized controlled trial showed that thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) was safe and could improve this condition in the most common subtype—adductor SD. We investigated if thalamic DBS could also improve the other subtypes of abductor SD and mixed SD. These prospective blinded trials of 1 were designed to assess the safety of thalamic DBS in mixed and abductor SD and to quantify the magnitude of any benefit from unilateral or bilateral thalamic stimulation. CLINICAL PRESENTATION One patient with mixed SD and one patient with abductor SD received bilateral thalamic DBS. After optimizing their DBS settings for vocal improvement, they were blinded and prospectively randomized to receive 1 mo of left, right, both, or neither hemisphere stimulation. Outcome was assessed by a speech language pathologist, blinded to the settings, rating voice recordings with the Unified Spasmodic Dysphonia Rating Scale, and by patient self-reported quality-of-life questionnaires. Additional outcomes included scores of mood and cognition. There were no complications. Both patients reported a subjective improvement of their voice and quality of life with blinded left thalamic DBS. The quality of their voice was also objectively rated as improved with blinded left thalamic DBS. CONCLUSION This small proof-of-concept study suggests that left thalamic DBS can improve the quality of voice and quality of life of patients with mixed SD and abductor SD

Freedom and Communication

This project explores different aspects of media and communication in relation to freedom.https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/freedom-movement-fall-2018/1013/thumbnail.jp

Prospective cohort study of voice outcomes following secondary tracheoesophageal puncture in gastric pull-up reconstruction after total laryngopharyngoesophagectomy

Background: Gastric pull-up is a reconstructive option for circumferential defects after resection of advanced laryngopharyngeal malignancy. Voice loss is expected and vocal rehabilitation remains a challenge. Our study objectives were to investigate the feasibility of secondary tracheoesophageal puncture following gastric pull-up and to analyze voice outcomes. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of patients with advanced laryngopharyngeal malignancies who underwent gastric pull-up and secondary tracheoesophageal puncture between 1988 and 2017 at a tertiary-care academic institution. Objective acoustic measures included fundamental frequency and vocal intensity. Perceptual analysis was performed using voice recordings (“Rainbow Passage”) randomly presented in a blinded fashion to four clinicians using the validated GRBAS scale. Speech intelligibility was assessed in a blinded fashion using a validated 7-point scale. Additionally, the Voice Handicap Index-10 was administered as a validated patient self-reporting tool. Results: Ten patients (7 male, 3 female) were included, all of whom preferentially used tracheoesophageal puncture for communication. These patients had abnormal median fundamental frequency of 250 (interquartile range (IQR) 214–265) Hz and a limited median vocal intensity of 65.8 (IQR 64.1–68.3) dB. Perceptual analysis (GRBAS) revealed a median ‘moderate’ degree of impairment [grade 2 (IQR 2–3), roughness 2 (IQR 2–3), breathiness 3 (IQR 2–3), asthenia 2 (IQR 1–2), strain 2 (IQR 1–2)] as did median intelligibility scores [median 5 (IQR 4–7)]. Most patients self-reported an abnormal voice handicap-10 [median 26.5 (IQR 22.8–35.0)]. Conclusion: Secondary tracheoesophageal puncture is a safe and feasible option for voice rehabilitation after gastric pull-up. Although analyses demonstrated moderate subjective and objective impairment, tracheoesophageal puncture provided patients with a self-reported means of functional verbal communication and was their preferred method of communication. Graphical abstractMedicine, Faculty ofAudiology and Speech Sciences, School ofSurgery, Department ofReviewedFacult