Designing for dyslexic students in higher education

The definition of dyslexia is variable, from traditional and mainstream view of it is a specific learning disability to the more liberal modern view of dyslexia as unique brain functionality. It can be overwhelming for dyslexic students making the transition from high school to university, which requires more independent learning, assistance and tools. These range from bespoke specialist typefaces to note taking technologies that can record spoken word. The variable definitions of dyslexia cause no standardisation of tools, which causes the market to be limited, causing a majority of tools are often unsuitable for a mature student in higher education, leaving a gap where there is a demand. I have used practice-based research through the design process to develop an understanding of what is best suited for dyslexic’s students. This included background research that utilised traditional research methods including semi-structured interviews with professionals and analysis of literature. As a result of this, I have created a design solution that exampled the knowledge gained in the background research. This was designed and underwent through a process of testing and developing on used in the design processes on the demographic to gain further insight into what they desired from these tools, where previous research methods did not provide knowledge on. This paper questions the success of the government funded Dyslexia Funding Allowance (DSA) assistance and offers a solution that is beneficial, cheaper and more suitable to the demographic. Further insight is discussed and demonstrated what suitable for those who wishto design a tool for dyslexics. The results provide information of the best ways to design for dyslexic and why it is necessary for suitable design to assist in making a dyslexic work with their strengths and develop their weaknesses

Historical background and design evolution of the transonic aircraft technology supercritical wing

Two dimensional wind tunnel test results obtained for supercritical airfoils indicated that substantial improvements in aircraft performance at high subsonic speeds could be achieved by shaping the airfoil to improve the supercritical flow above the upper surface. Significant increases in the drag divergence Mach number, the maximum lift coefficient for buffer onset, and the Mach number for buffet onset at a given lift coefficient were demonstrated for the supercritical airfoil, as compared with a NACA 6 series airfoil of comparable thickness. These trends were corroborated by results from three dimensional wind tunnel and flight tests. Because these indicated extensions of the buffet boundaries could provide significant improvements in the maneuverability of a fighter airplane, an exploratory wind tunnel investigation was initiated which demonstrated that significant aerodynamic improvements could be achieved from the direct substitution of a supercritical airfoil on a variable wing sweep multimission airplane model

A Wind-Tunnel Investigation of the Application of the NASA Supercritical Airfoil to a Variable-Wing-Sweep Fighter Airplane

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 8 foot transonic pressure tunnel and the Langley Unitary Plan wind tunnel to evaluate the effectiveness of three variations of the NASA supercritical airfoil as applied to a model of a variable wing sweep fighter airplane. Wing panels incorporating conventional NACA 64A series airfoil with 0.20 and 0.40 camber were used as bases of reference for this evaluation. Static force and moment measurements were obtained for wing leading edge sweep angles of 26, 33, 39, and 72.5 degrees. Fluctuating wing root bending moment data were obtained at subsonic speeds to determine buffet characteristics. Subsonic data were also obtained for determining the effects of wing transition location and spoiler deflection. Limited lateral directional data are included for the conventional 0.20 cambered wing and the supercritical wing

Effect of wing-transition location and slotted and unslotted flaps on aerodynamic characteristics of a fighter model at high subsonic speeds

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 8 foot transonic pressure tunnel to determine the effects of wing transition location and of slotted and unslotted full span flaps on the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of a 1/15 scale model of a variable wing sweep tactical fighter model. Tests were at Mach numbers from 0.70 to 0.85 for a wing leading edge sweep of 26 deg

Transonic wind-tunnel investigation of the maneuver potential of the NASA supercritical wing concept, phase 1

An investigation was conducted in the NASA Langley 8-foot transonic pressure tunnel at Mach numbers from 0.60 to 0.975 with a variable-wing-sweep airplane model in order to evaluate a series of wings designed to demonstrate the maneuver potential of the supercritical airfoil concept. Both conventional and supercritical wing designs for several planform configurations were investigated with wing sweep angles from 16.0 deg to 72.5 deg, depending on Mach number and wing configuration. The supercritical wing configuration showed significant improvements over the conventional configurations in drag-divergence Mach number and in drag level at transonic maneuver conditions