Industry

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can play an important role in leveraging social networks for emergency communications and recovery involving persons with disabilities, provided that proper consideration is given to the strengths and weaknesses of the distributed nature of online resources in relation to the instrumental, psychological and social needs of persons with disabilities in the context of disasters or other emergency events. Emergency and disaster events inherently...

We created “SUNspot” to share some of the latest findings from ongoing data collection for our Survey of User Needs (SUN), our cornerstone survey on use and usability of wireless technology by people with disabilities.  We launched the first version of the SUN in 2001. The latest version (Version 5) was conducted in the second half of 2015 and first half of 2016.

Introduction

This SUNspot addresses the following question related to use of...

We created “SUNspot” to share some of the latest findings from ongoing data collection for our Survey of User Needs (SUN), our cornerstone survey on use and usability of wireless technology by people with disabilities.  We launched the first version of the SUN in 2001. The latest version (Version 5) was conducted in the second half of 2015 and first half of 2016.

Introduction

This SUNspot addresses the following question related to use of...

We created “SUNspot” to share some of the latest findings from ongoing data collection for our Survey of User Needs (SUN), our cornerstone survey on use and usability of wireless technology by people with disabilities.  We launched the first version of the SUN in 2001. The latest version (Version 5) was conducted in the second half of 2015 and first half of 2016.

Introduction

This SUNspot addresses the following question related to wireless...

We created “SUNspot” to share some of the latest findings from ongoing data collection for our Survey of User Needs (SUN), our cornerstone survey on use and usability of wireless technology by people with disabilities.  We launched the first version of the SUN in 2001. The latest version (Version 5) was conducted in the second half of 2015 and first half of 2016.

Introduction

This SUNspot addresses the following question related to ownership of...

Communication-oriented Internet technologies and activities such as social media sites and blogs, have become an important component of community and employment participation, not just in the specific function of activities, but as a link to larger communities of practice and professional connections. The occurrence of these activities, evident in their presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and other online communities, represents an important opportunity...

This paper discusses the relationship between policy research and policy change, and it provides examples of the policy research outcomes informed by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Mobile Wireless Technologies for People with Disabilities’ (Wireless RERC) policy research process. In 2005 and 2006, the center conducted empirical research, using the policy Delphi polling methodology, to probe key stakeholders’ opinions on the most significant issues surrounding...

Encouraging wellness at home is a necessary step in alleviating the burden of an increasing number of older adults on the health care system and can also provide a vehicle for promoting independence and quality of life among older adults. However, aging at home comes with its own challenges, one of which is depression caused by isolation, a serious condition related to healthy aging and outcomes affecting a large number of older adults. Addressing communication needs across housing options...

A mental scanning paradigm was used to examine the representation of nonspeech sounds in working memory. Participants encoded sonifications – nonspeech auditory representations of quantitative data – as either verbal lists, visuospatial images, or auditory images. The number of tones and overall frequency changes in the sonifications were also manipulated to allow for different hypothesized patterns of reaction times across encoding strategies. Mental scanning times revealed...

Users interact with mobile devices through menus, which can include many items. Auditory menus have the potential to make those devices more accessible to a wide range of users. However, auditory menus are a relatively new concept, and there are few guidelines that describe how to design them. In this paper, we detail how visual menu concepts may be applied to auditory menus in order to help develop design guidelines. Specifically, we examine how to optimize the designs of a new contextual...