Award Data

THE POOR PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ON TESTS DESIGNED FOR THE NON-HANDICAPPED HAS LONG BEEN A CONCERN OF SPECIAL EDUCATORS. SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS MAY BE PENALIZED BY THE FORMAT AND PRESENTATION OF TEST ITEMS AND BY CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE TESTS ARE ADMINISTERED. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT LOW PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES ON MINIMUM COMPETENCY TESTS IS A PARTICULARL ...

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USING AN ALTO SAXOPHONE WE WILL DESIGN A BRACKET AND A FRAME SYSTEM UPON WHICH WILL BE MOUNTED A SERIES OF ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SOLENOIDS. THE SOLENOIDS WILL BE MOUNTED OVER THE KEYS ON HALF OF THE SAXOPHONE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE THE KEYS INDIVIDUALLY OR IN GROUPS. THE SOLENOIDS WILL BE CONNECTED TO AND ACTIVATED BY A MECHANISM SIMILAR TO A JOYSTICK FROM A VIDEO GAME. ONLY SIX OF THE TERMIN ...

ONE OF THE MAJOR OBSTACLES TO EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH SEVERE VISUAL DISABILITIES IS THE INABILITY TO ACCESS VISUAL IMAGES FOUND IN THE EDUCATIONAL SETTING OR REQUIRED FOR SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE IN THE WORKPLACE. EFFORTS TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO VISUAL IMAGES HAVE INCLUDED TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS SUCH AS COMPUTER-BASED BRAILLE PRINTERS, TACTILE BRAILLE DISPLAYS AND RAISED-RELI ...

VARIOUS ACTIVITIES (EDUCATION, GOVERNMENT, RESEARCH) GENERATE LARGE AMOUNTS OF RAW DATA. HOWEVER, DATA IS COLLECTED IN A DISJOINTED AND ISOLATED FASHION (I.E., ACTS, LITERATURE) CREATING BARRIERS IN DATA ACCESS AND DISSEMINATION. THERE IS A CONSENSUS AMONG FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS, THAT NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND SERVICES PROVIDED TO THESE INDIVIDUALS COULD BE GREATLY IMPROVED IF ...

MOUTHSTICKS OR ORTHODONTIC ORTHOSES ARE WIDELY USED BY PEOPLE WITH SPINAL CHORD INJURIES OR SIMILAR DISABILITIES TO INCREASE CONTROL OVER THEIR ENVIRONMENT. PEOPLE WITH THE ADDITIONAL LIMITATION OF LITTLE OR NO ANTERIOR/POSTERIOR HEAD MOTION MAY BENEFIT FROM AN EXTENDIBLE MOUTHSTICK. HOWEVER, COMMERCIAL EXTENDIBLE MOUTHSTICKS SUFFER IN THAT THEIR ACTION IS OFTEN SLOW, EXTENDIBILITY IS LIMITED, OR ...

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THE PROLIFERATION OF GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACES (GUIS) IN PERSONAL COMPUTERS, SUCH AS MICROSOFT WINDOWS AND MACINTOSH, IS A THREAT TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED PERSONS' ABILITY TO USE COMPUTERS BECAUSE GUIS REPRESENT INFORMATION ICONICLY AND SPATIALLY, AS WELL AS TEXTUALLY. THE GUIS VISUAL ORIENTATION MAKES GUIS DIFFICULT FOR THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED TO ACCESS THROUGH TRADITIONAL ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES. WE PR ...

THE NETWORK ARCHITECTURE SPEECH SYSTEM (NASS) UTILIZES A NEW APPROACH IN PROVIDING EXCELLENT ACCESS FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED PEOPLE TO OFF THE SHELF PROGRAMS (E.G., WORDPERFECT, LOTUS 1-2-3) THAT RUN ON THE IBM PC, AT, PS/2, AND COMPATIBLES. IT DRAMATICALLY CHANGES THE CURRENT SENSORY ADAPTIVE AID ARCHITECTURE BY TRANSFERRING THE "SCREEN READER" SOFTWARE FROM THE PC TO A NEW TYPE OF "SMART" OUTPUT DE ...

THE NEED FOR AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO TRAINING IN THE FIELD OF JOB DEVELOPMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IS PARAMOUNT IN A CHANGING LABOR MARKET. THIS PROJECT WILL EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A JOB DEVELOPMENT TELEVISION TRAINING NETWORK (JOBNET) TO ENHANCE JOB DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES FOR PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL, EMOTIONAL, AND PHYSICAL DISABILITIES. USING DISTANCE EDUCATION METHOD ...