Exploring alternative devices for blind users

The ability to take advantage of the information society is becoming a must for everyone. Computer literacy is becoming more and more important for individuals as well as corporations. Therefore no efforts must be spared to integrate everyone in this new and exciting development. If for non-disabled persons this can be a challenge, for certain types of disabilities the effort of adaptation is huge. In this paper we focus on blind users. One of the current alternatives for blind users is based on specific hardware that tends to be limited in features and expansibility or very expensive. The other alternative is PC based software. This latest option, although very powerful, has also several disadvantages, namely the lack of practical mobility. In this paper we present a new approach, the PalmPCs. PalmPCs are a cheap alternative compared to the hardware mentioned above, they are truly mobile, and they are widely available today. We argue that software can be written for these devices that satisfies the needs of the majority of the blind users. A small application for WindowsCE is presented in which the interface was specifically designed for blind users.Secretariado Nacional para a Reabilitação e Integração das Pessoas com Deficiência - Programa CITE IV

An approach about health games to social network environment

The need for contact, sharing and socializing is part of human nature, so that the community's role is vital to the survival of the species. With the development of Information and Communication Technologies and their influence on society and everyday life, led the search for new ways to build relationships and create communities among people, creating virtual communities; turn social networks emerge as new forms of association that respond to more complex understanding of human interaction in a way that the wider community; these to promote your main goal, more integrated into the games as a tool of socialization. The impact of current games at various levels, as the social and economic development, and its applicability in various fields, it becomes important to analyze the contribution of the community. It is intended in this article, a description of the factors that motivate this research to a later stage to develop the proposed objectives: to analyze the new social reality and develop a model that allows adapting the health games to social games in order to foster the creation / sustainability of communities based on social networks, aiming to raise awareness of health issues, increasing knowledge and sharing of experiences of members of communities

Using choreographies to support the gamification process on the development of an application to reduce electricity costs

Building automation systems contribute to reduce electricity costs by managing distributed energy resources in an efficient way. However, a large share of consumption cannot be optimized through automation alone, since it mainly depends on human interactions. Gamification can be used as one form of changing users’ behaviours [1], but its implementation does require assumptions on the behaviour patterns that need to be identified, encouraged, or discouraged. To tackle this problem, we propose a framework that joins building automation solutions with gamification techniques to enable behavioural demand response.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Non-verbal aspects of collaboration in virtual worlds: a CSCW taxonomy-development proposal integrating the presence dimension

Virtual worlds, particularly those able to provide a three-dimensional physical space, have features that make them suitable to support collaborative activities. These features distinguish virtual worlds from other collaboration tools, but current taxonomies of the field of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work do not account for several distinctive features of virtual worlds, namely those related with non-verbal communication. We intended to find out how the use of an avatar, gestures, spatial sounds, etc., influence collaboration in order to be able to include non-verbal communication in taxonomies of the field Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Several cases of collaboration in virtual worlds are analysed, to find the impact of these non-verbal characteristics of virtual worlds. We proposed adding the concept of Presence to taxonomies of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and contribute with guidance for future taxonomy development that includes it as a new dimension. This new dimension of Presence is subdivided into "avatar" and "physical space" subdimensions. In turn, these are divided into "physical appearance", "gestures, sounds and animations" and "focus, nimbus and aura"; "environment" and "objects / artefacts". This new taxonomy-development proposal may contribute to inform better design of virtual worlds in support of cooperative work.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Simple VR for better living

Physical and cognitive rehabilitation based on natural interaction and VR has been on our horizon for several years, and we have been conducting experimentation towards that goal through several exploratory research initiatives.This article addresses some aspects of the state-of-the-art of VR in healthcare and well-being, with opportunities in the domain of rehabilitation based on natural interaction and VR being analyzed and put in perspective with the SmartAL ecosystem roadmap.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A different approach to real web accessibility

Accessibility is sometimes taken for granted, however for people with certain disabilities there are still a number of obstacles between them and the Information Society. At a time where the Information Society is becoming more and more important it is imperative to make sure that no one is left out. The web is becoming the centerpiece of this new information age; therefore if the sentence Information Society for All is to have any meaning then the web must be accessible to everyone. Nevertheless the web is turning into a showcase for designers and technology experts. Although this is pushing many people to the web it does drive some sectors away. People with specific disabilities, namely the blind community, find it harder and harder to read common web pages. This paper reports on a work on a talking browser showing some features that either are not yet widely implemented or, in some cases, have never been reported. Furthermore a new approach is presented, based on information extraction scripts for template urls, to provide real accessibility for blind users. This latter approach, although restricted to a small subset of the web by its nature, aims at giving blind users further views of a web page which will provide them with a clean extraction of the main information on a web page.Secretariado Nacional para a Reabilitação e Integração das Pessoas com Deficiência - Programa CITE IV

Collaboration in 3D virtual worlds: designing a protocol for case study research

Three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVW) have been growing fast in number of users, and are used for the most diverse purposes. In collaboration, 3DVW are used with good results due to features such as immersion, interaction capabilities, use of avatar embodiment, and physical space. In the particular cases of avatar embodiment and physical space, these features support nonverbal communication, but its impact on collaboration is not well known. In this work we present the initial steps for creation of a protocol for case study research, aiming to assert itself as a tool to collect data on how nonverbal communication influences collaboration in 3DVW. We define the propositions and units of analysis, and a pilot case to validate them

Superación kantiana de los límites de la ética discursiva

Publicación a texto completo no autorizada por el autorEl documento digital no refiere asesorManifiesta que la ética discursiva surgió como un esfuerzo por atender a las críticas hegelianas contra ética kantiana. Mediante el descenso epistemológico del imperativo categórico al ámbito práctico se pretendió conciliar el dualismo kantiano: el mundo nouménico y el fenoménico. Sin embargo la distancia entre Habermas y Apel, sus máximos representantes, yace en la interpretación que cada uno le da al descenso del imperativo categórico y tiene consecuencias en la forma en cada uno de ellos justifica su aplicación y la fundamentación normativa de los principios morales universales. Entonces la ética del discurso dista mucho de constituir una unidad, La estructura del sujeto trascendental kantiano es muy diferente a la del sujeto insular cartesiano, ya no se trata de la introspección metafísica confinada a un espacio privado incomunicable y ajeno al mundo. Mientras que Descartes basaba la certeza del sujeto epistemológico en su irrebasabilidad al permanecer fuera del mundo, en la forma de una substancia pensante, para la cual no era necesario un pensador. Para Kant, el sujeto dejó de ser una substancia, sino que es una conciencia que se determina al proyectarse en el mundo tanto en el plano especulativo como en el práctico. La conciencia trascendental, el “yo soy” permanece indeterminada, en el uso especulativo de la razón se determina mediante el tiempo, al permitir la adecuación entre las categorías y las intuiciones, entonces es su proyección cognoscitiva, el conocimiento de las cosas, lo que le permite determinarse como “yo pienso”. En el plano práctico de la moral, la conciencia trascendental se determina por medio de la acción judicativa, al ponerse a sí misma confrontada a sus pasiones y deseos, que juzga cuándo un deber es adecuado a una determinada situación. Entonces la determinación del agente moral se produce en consideración a la situación particular, en su proyección al mundo de la vida.Tesi

El desempeño docente y la competencia investigativa, según los estudiantes de Maestría en Educación de la Escuela de Posgrado de la UNMSM, UNE y UCV, 2012

Determina la relación existente entre el desempeño docente y la competencia investigativa, según los estudiantes de Maestría en Educación de la Escuela de Posgrado de la UNMSM, UNE y UCV en el año 2012. Desarrolla una investigación de tipo descriptivo correlacional y de corte trasversal. Aplica el método cuantitativo positivista. La muestra representativa es de 198 estudiantes obtenida por muestreo aleatorio simple. Luego se repartió esta cantidad mediante fijación proporcional: 94 de la UNMSM, 86 de la UNE y 18 de la UCV. En este último se pudo encuestar a 6 personas más por lo que finalmente se contó con 24 estudiantes de la UCV y una muestra final de 204 estudiantes de maestría. Encuentra que existe evidencia estadística suficiente para afirmar con un nivel de significancia del 5% que el desempeño docente se relaciona con la competencia investigativa, con un 95% de confianza que la responsabilidad se relaciona con la competencia investigativa, con un 5% de significancia que el dominio científico – tecnológico se relaciona con la competencia investigativa, y con un 95% de confianza que la relaciones interpersonales y formación en valores éticos se relaciona con la competencia investigativa según los estudiantes de Maestría en Educación de la UNE - UNMSM - UCV.Tesi

Fundamento filosófico de la economía colonial peruana (siglos XVII-XVIII)

Analiza el fundamento filosófico de la economía colonial peruana de los siglos XVII-XVIII. La presente investigación revela los procesos históricos y filosóficos que condicionaron la situación económica contemporánea y, cuya persistencia determinará el futuro de su estancamiento crítico. Para ello, es necesario comprender que la economía no es la misma en todos los países, que el capitalismo es solo un modelo económico-político que, aunque inevitable, no es posible aplicarlo sin más como en el caso de México, Brasil o Argentina, sino que la inserción dentro de este sistema debe producirse reconociendo la diferencia esencial en la que se fundan estos países y de la cual surgieron sus sistemas económicos inauditos, pero invisibilizados. La moral colonial en Perú es la probabilista, que consiste en el descenso del estatuto jurídico de las leyes al plano de las opiniones. Entonces, el principio vinculante de las leyes en la colonia no residía en una jerarquía divina que rebasaba la contingencia humana (leyes naturales/ leyes positivas), menos aún en un principio de la autodeterminación de la libertad moderna, sino más bien en la fuerza de la adecuación de la ley a la circunstancia; por eso se hizo de sentido común el dicho “la ley se acata, pero no se cumple”, la libertad estaba basada en la distancia que existe entre el objeto moral (ley) y la falibilidad de la conciencia humana. El probabilismo, como sistema moral, floreció en las colonias sudamericanas como producto del sincretismo de la sociedad ibérica peninsular y la andina; este sistema ya no respondía a ninguno de los regímenes políticos que le dieron origen, sino que es un sistema moral absolutamente nuevo y, por lo tanto, insólito. De esta manera, el probabilismo, como sistema moral, es el fundamento de la economía colonial peruana de los siglos XVII-XVIII, dado que las relaciones entre los agentes en un sistema político logran satisfacer su necesidad por medio del fundamento de la economía. Este fundamento filosófico de la economía puede ser rastreado a lo largo de su historia, que se ha manifestado de diferentes maneras, y cuyo abigarrado origen y obstinada persistencia se deja deshilvanar en la formación de las colonias latinoamericanas