Design and User Satisfaction of Interactive Maps for Visually Impaired People

Multimodal interactive maps are a solution for presenting spatial information to visually impaired people. In this paper, we present an interactive multimodal map prototype that is based on a tactile paper map, a multi-touch screen and audio output. We first describe the different steps for designing an interactive map: drawing and printing the tactile paper map, choice of multi-touch technology, interaction technologies and the software architecture. Then we describe the method used to assess user satisfaction. We provide data showing that an interactive map - although based on a unique, elementary, double tap interaction - has been met with a high level of user satisfaction. Interestingly, satisfaction is independent of a user's age, previous visual experience or Braille experience. This prototype will be used as a platform to design advanced interactions for spatial learning

Interactivity Improves Usability of Geographic Maps for Visually Impaired People

International audienceTactile relief maps are used by visually impaired people to acquire mental representation of space, but they retain important limitations (limited amount of information, braille text, etc.). Interactive maps may overcome these limitations. However, usability of these two types of maps had never been compared. It is then unknown whether interactive maps are equivalent or even better solutions than traditional raised-line maps. This study presents a comparison of usability of a classical raised-line map vs. an interactive map composed by a multi-touch screen, a raised-line overlay and audio output. Both maps were tested by 24 blind participants. We measured usability as efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction. Our results show that replacing braille with simple audio-tactile interaction significantly improved efficiency and user satisfaction. Effectiveness was not related to the map type but depended on users' characteristics as well as the category of assessed spatial knowledge. Long-term evaluation of acquired spatial information revealed that maps, whether interactive or not, are useful to build robust survey-type mental representations in blind users. Altogether, these results are encouraging as they show that interactive maps are a good solution for improving map exploration and cognitive mapping in visually impaired people

Study of e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 process using initial state radiation with BABAR

The process e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 gamma has been studied at a center-of-mass energy near the Y(4S) resonance using a 89.3 fb-1 data sample collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II collider. From the measured 3pi mass spectrum we have obtained the products of branching fractions for the omega and phi mesons, B(omega --> e+e-)B(omega --> 3pi)=(6.70 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.27)10-5 and B(phi --> e+e-)B(phi --> 3pi)=(4.30 +/- 0.08 +/- 0.21)10-5, and evaluated the e+e- --> pi+ pi- pi0 cross section for the e+e- center-of-mass energy range 1.05 to 3.00 GeV. About 900 e+e- --> J/psi gamma --> pi+ pi- pi0 gamma events have been selected and the branching fraction B(J/psi --> pi+ pi- pi0)=(2.18 +/- 0.19)% has been measured.Comment: 21 pages, 37 postscript figues, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Measurement of Branching Fraction and Dalitz Distribution for B0->D(*)+/- K0 pi-/+ Decays

We present measurements of the branching fractions for the three-body decays B0 -> D(*)-/+ K0 pi^+/-$and their resonant submodes$B0 -> D(*)-/+ K*+/- using a sample of approximately 88 million BBbar pairs collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric energy storage ring. We measure: B(B0->D-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(4.9 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D*-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(3.0 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D-/+ K*+/-)=(4.6 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D*-/+ K*+/-)=(3.2 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4} From these measurements we determine the fractions of resonant events to be : f(B0-> D-/+ K*+/-) = 0.63 +/- 0.08(stat) +/- 0.04(syst) f(B0-> D*-/+ K*+/-) = 0.72 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.05(syst)Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Measurement of the B+ --> p pbar K+ Branching Fraction and Study of the Decay Dynamics

With a sample of 232x10^6 Upsilon(4S) --> BBbar events collected with the BaBar detector, we study the decay B+ --> p pbar K+ excluding charmonium decays to ppbar. We measure a branching fraction Br(B+ --> p pbar K+)=(6.7+/-0.5+/-0.4)x10^{-6}. An enhancement at low ppbar mass is observed and the Dalitz plot asymmetry suggests dominance of the penguin amplitude in this B decay. We search for a pentaquark candidate Theta*++ decaying into pK+ in the mass range 1.43 to 2.00 GeV/c2 and set limits on Br(B+ --> Theta*++pbar)xBr(Theta*++ --> pK+) at the 10^{-7} level.Comment: 8 pages, 7 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

Search for the W-exchange decays B0 --> Ds(*)- Ds(*)+

We report a search for the decays $B^{0} \to D_{s}^{-} D_{s}^{+}$, $B^{0} \to D_{s}^{*-} D_{s}^{+}$, $B^{0} \to D_{s}^{*-} D_{s}^{*+}$ in a sample of 232 million $\Upsilon(4S)$ decays to \BBb ~pairs collected with the \babar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ storage ring. We find no significant signal and set upper bounds for the branching fractions: ${\cal B}(B^{0} \to D_{s}^{-} D_{s}^{+}) < 1.0 \times 10^{-4}, {\cal B}(B^{0} \to D_{s}^{*-} D_{s}^{+}) < 1.3 \times 10^{-4}$ and ${\cal B}(B^{0} \to D_{s}^{*-} D_{s}^{*+}) < 2.4 \times 10^{-4}$ at 90% confidence level.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PRD-R

Measurement of Branching Fractions for B0 ->K*2(1430)0 gamma and B+ -> K*2(1430)+ gamma

We have investigated the exclusive, radiative B-meson decay to K_2^*(1430) in 88.5 * 10^6 BBbar events. We present a preliminary measurement of the branching fractions BR(B->K^*_2(1430)^0 gamma) = (1.22+-0.25+-0.11) * 10^{-5} and BR(B->K^*_2(1430)^+ gamma) = (1.44+-0.40+-0.13) * 10^{-5}.Comment: 17 pages, 7 postscript figures, contributed to the 21st International Symposium on Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energies, 8/11-8/16/2003, Fermilab, Illinois US

Measurement of the Branching Fractions for Inclusive B−B^- and Bˉ0\bar B^0 Decays to Flavor-tagged DD, DsD_s and Λc\Lambda_c

We report on the inclusive branching fractions of $B^-$ and of ${\bar B}^0$ mesons decaying to ${D^0 X}$, ${{\bar D}^0 X}$, ${D^+ X}$, ${D^- X}$, ${D_s^+ X}$, ${D_s^- X}$, ${\Lambda_c^+ X}$, ${{\bar \Lambda}_c^- X}$, based on a sample of 88.9 million $B \bar B$ events recorded with the $BABAR$ detector at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance. Events are selected by completely reconstructing one $B$ and searching for a reconstructed charmed particle in the rest of the event. We measure the number of charmed and of anti-charmed particles per $B$ decay and derive the total charm yield per $B^-$ decay, $n_c^- = 1.313 \pm 0.037 \pm 0.062 ^{+0.063}_{-0.042}$, and per ${\bar B}^0$ decay, $n_c^0 = 1.276 \pm 0.062 \pm 0.058 ^{+0.066}_{-0.046}$ where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is systematic, and the third reflects the charm branching-fraction uncertainties.Comment: 8 pages, 6 Encapsulated PostScript figures submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

Search for D0-D0bar Mixing Using Semileptonic Decay Modes

Based on an 87-fb$^{-1}$ dataset collected by the Babar detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy $B$-Factory, a search for $D^{0}$--$\bar{D}^{0}$ mixing has been made using the semileptonic decay modes $D^{*+} \to \pi^{+} D^{0}, D^{0} \to K^{(*)}e\nu$ (+c.c.). The use of these modes allows unambiguous flavor tagging and a combined fit of the $D^{0}$ decay time and $D^{*+}$--$D^{0}$ mass difference ($\Delta M$) distributions. The high-statistics sample of unmixed semileptonic $D^{0}$ decays is used to model the $\Delta M$ distribution and time-dependence of mixed events directly from the data. Neural networks are used to select events and reconstruct the $D^{0}$. A result consistent with no charm mixing has been obtained, $R_{\rm{mix}}=0.0023 \pm 0.0012 \pm 0.0004$. This corresponds to an upper limit of $R_{\rm{mix}}<0.0042$ (90% CL).Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

Near infrared spectroscopy and fecal chemistry as predictors of the diet composition of white-tailed deer

Overbrowsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) on Anticosti Island (Canada) created a need to develop efficient methods for estimating their foraging patterns. We tested the ability of near infrared (NIR) spectra of feces and of fecal chemical properties to predict diet composition of different individuals. We first used a principal component-based discriminant analysis to sort the NIR spectra of fecal samples (n-=-102) obtained from two groups of captive deer that had been fed two different diets. The diets differed only in their relative abundance of balsam fir (Abies balsamea "L." P.Mill.) and white spruce (Picea glauca "Moench" Voss.) foliage. The calibrated model allowed us to assign 28 of 30 validation fecal samples (93.3 %) to the correct diet. In a second study, we attempted to estimate the proportion of coniferous, deciduous, herbaceous, and lichenous forages in diets of free-ranging white-tailed deer, as determined by fecal microhistology. Both NIR spectra and chemical properties of feces were used as predictors of diet composition. NIR spectra were analyzed using partial least-squares regression (PLSR), whereas fecal chemical properties were analyzed using mixed-linear regressions (MLRs). The PLSR models were robust (R2-=-0.89; ratio of prediction to deviation-=-3.2) for predicting the amount of coniferous fragments, but not for predicting the relative amounts of balsam fir, white spruce, and deciduous and lichenous fragments within feces. MLR models revealed a positive relationship (47% variance explained) between acid detergent lignin (ADL) and coniferous fragments within feces. ADL and cellulose explained 24% of variance in deciduous fecal fragments, whereas ADL alone explained 22% of variance in balsam fir fecal fragments. These results suggest that NIR spectroscopy and fecal chemical properties have several applications on Anticosti Island, such as measuring the degree of variation in diets within a given home range or determining dietary conifer intake during winter. © 2014 The Society for Range Management.The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information