Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Accessibility In The Time Of Limited Resources, Robin Camille Davis, Mark Eaton, Stephen Klein, Junior R. Tidal

Publications and Research

In the spirit of this year’s theme of “opening access,” our panel highlights how library faculty are making technology more accessible for the CUNY community. Despite the rising costs of journal prices and the stagnation of library budgets, librarians have employed low-cost and free techniques to improve access to library services. The panelists’ projects provide helpful examples of CUNY librarians’ work to increase access for our communities through technology.

Barriers To Fanfiction Access: Results From A Usability Inspection Of Fanfiction.Net, Jayne C. Lammers, Nicholas P. Palumbo

Journal of Media Literacy Education

As researchers encourage teachers to bring fanfiction into classrooms, questions remain about whether online fanfiction communities are accessible to all students. This paper presents results from a practitioner-oriented usability inspection of FanFiction.net, investigating challenges students with disabilities might encounter as they participate. Operating this website with screen reader assistive technology reveals navigation, social connection, and reading barriers users may face when trying to engage in typical fanfiction practices. This study offers implications for media literacy educators to consider as they work to bring online media into classrooms without further marginalizing students with disabilities.

Universal Design For Learning: Guiding Principles To Reduce Barriers To Digital & Media Literacy Competence, Elizabeth M. Dalton

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework for designing instruction to address the wide range of learner variation in today’s inclusive classrooms, can be applied effectively to broaden access, understanding, and engagement in digital and media literacy learning for ALL. UDL supports constructivist learning principles. UDL strategiesand methods encouragedevelopment of expert learners though personal engagement and motivation. UDL transforms one-size-fits-all instruction into diverse, multiple, and accessible learning opportunities that embrace student variation. UDL principles and guidelines offer a unique way for educators in digital and media literacy fields to ensure that their work will benefit the widest range of learners, …

Alton's Sidewalks, Jenna Flemming

Faculty of Applied Health and Community Studies - Exceptional Student Work, 2017

This reflection and PowerPoint presentation were part of an assignment in the course Policy and Justice in an Aging Society (Year 2, Semester 1) in the Social Service Worker Gerontology program. The purpose of this assignment was to engage in advocacy work on issues and promote change and solutions by raising awareness.

Jenna describes her process for advocating for change "I decided to advocate for change to the lack of accessibility of sidewalks. I chose to focus on this because it is an issue I see everywhere, it effects a lot of people including seniors, people with disabilities or parents …

Awareness, Availability And Accessibility Of Library Resources By Students Of Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria, Kennedy Arebamen Eiriemiokhale Cln, Moses Oladele Ibeun Phd

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

This study investigated the awareness, availability and accessibility of library resources by students of Kwara State University, Malete. The descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study and 210 undergraduate students provided the data. The findings of the study revealed that information resources were available and accessible in Kwara State University Library. The study showed that students do not know the usefulness of some of the resources and this has hampered their desire for them. Also there is a dire need of varieties of information repackaging to enhance awareness, availability and accessibility of resources in the library. Also …

“On Your Feet!”: Addressing Ableism In Theatre Of The Oppressed Facilitation, Caitlin E. Ray

Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Journal

Theatre of the Oppressed workshops strive to be inclusive and democratic; however, the facilitation of such workshops may actually limit inclusiveness when facilitators assume a certain level of physical ability in its participants. By considering disability scholarship and Universal Design pedagogy, I introduce specific ways in which facilitators can be more inclusive to the diversity of bodies in our workshops. I also include an example Image Theatre activity that applies my disability-conscious suggestions.

Understanding Household, Network, And Organizational Drivers Of Adoption Of Cleaner Cooking Fuels In Rural India, Praveen Kumar

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Adoption of evidence-based cleaner cooking systems such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a crucial first step in eventually providing a sustainable solution for household air pollution. To promote adoption of LPG in below poverty line households, we require evidence-based implementation strategies. For these strategies to be feasible and scalable, they need to be grounded in a thorough understanding of the household, network, and organizational level drivers of LPG adoption. However, systematic research on adoption of LPG by poor communities is still lacking.

The overall objective of the study was to develop a better understanding about new insights on the …

Maneuverability Experiences Faced By Individuals Who Use Wheelchairs In Rural Settings: A Qualitative Analysis, Kaycee Lynn Bills

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

People who have never been in a wheelchair do not understand how difficult simple tasks such as going to work, school, or completely daily living tasks can be. Many studies have discussed the experiences of those who use wheelchairs for mobility. This study qualitatively examines the daily experiences those who use wheelchairs face, despite the advances in policies to accommodate for people who have disabilities. The purpose of this study was to address this social problem by interviewing those who use wheelchairs in order to identify the day-to-day challenges that these individuals face. The sample derived from young adults living …

Pedagogy For A Plugged-In Age, Independent Study 2017, Andrew Hladkyj

Publications and Scholarship

This is an independent study for Hladkyj's graduate studies in Strategic Foresight and Innovation (MDes) at OCAD University. The study’s goal is to establish a “lay of the land” informing how technology and pedagogy might be designed in the Web Design Graduate Certificate program Hladkyj spearheaded at Sheridan College.

The research consists of a literature review validated by primary sources, composed of four 30-minute, semi-structured expert interviews with college-level design educators, administrators, and students (both current and former).

A modified, “human-centred” STEEP V (Social, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Values) framework provides context to the findings.The output is actionable and threefold: …

Emotional Facial Expressions In Synthesised Sign Language Avatars: A Manual Evaluation, Robert G. Smith Mr, Brian Nolan

The ITB Journal

This research explores and evaluates the contribution that facial expressions might have regarding improved comprehension and acceptability in sign language avatars. Focusing specifically on Irish Sign Language (ISL), we examine the Deaf 1 community’s responsiveness to sign language avatars. The hypothesis of this is: Augmenting an existing avatar with the 7 widely accepted universal emotions identified by Ekman [1] to achieve underlying facial expressions, will make that avatar more human-like and improve usability and understandability for the ISL user. Using human evaluation methods [2] we compare an augmented set of avatar utterances against a baseline set, focusing on 2 key …

Vietnam Veterans And Illicit Drug Use, Joyce Roberts

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study examined the correlation between Vietnam veterans and dependency to illicit drugs, due to their exposure and accessibility during their deployment in Vietnam. This study consisted of a sample size of 58 respondents to a survey that was disbursed throughout 2 agencies that comprise of Vietnam veterans.The survey design was implemented to ensure the consistency and accuracy of the quantitative data. Furthermore, this study included a Chi-square test to determine relevance and implications to micro social work practices. As expected, there was a positively significant statistical relationship between the exposure and accessibility that some Vietnam veterans experienced during their …

Walkability And Accessibility: Users' Perspectives Of A Planned Neighborhood, Nancy S. Chu

Theses and Dissertations

The transformation of the Westlawn Housing Development, one of the largest housing projects in Wisconsin, has led to this research. The old development, which was modeled after the military barracks style for its uniformity and practicality, is in extreme contrast to the new design influenced by the Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND). TND was well received by the middle class as an alternative to the suburban sprawl sweeping the nation in the 1980s. However, research suggests that most TND’s are premised on upper-middle-class preference and do not focus on the housing needs of the general population.

This research will explore if …

Socioeconomic And Spatial Impacts Of Rail Transit Stations On The Surrounding Areas In Dallas-Fort Worth Region: Changes In Housing Values, Racial Make-Up, And Population Density, Saad Mohammed-A Alquhtani

Public Affairs Dissertations

Dependency on the automobile in the United States has been associated with many urban problems, such as urban sprawl, traffic congestion, air pollution, etc. As the use of automobiles increases, negative externalities also increase. As a result, many American cities have seen a rebound of public transportation systems—many of which have built modern rail transit systems to mitigate the negative impacts of higher dependency on automobiles, to improve mobility and accessibility for commuters, to offer alternative to drivers, to shape development patterns, and to increase economic growth. This rebound of rail transit systems has caused apparent shifts in economic, social, …

Witness The Spectacle, If You Can: An Investigative Analysis Of The Accessibility Of Democracy In Syracuse Local Government, Alexis Rinck

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This qualitative study seeks to explore, analyze, and challenge the structure and participants in Syracuse local government. In 2015, a study done by Rutgers University professor, Paul Jargowsky, named Syracuse as the city with the poorest Black and Latino populations in the United States (Jargowsky 2015). This study has culminated into an in-depth examination of Syracuse local government and the accessibility of its representative democracy. This study utilizes qualitative methods: participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore how groups of citizens engage with the local government through attending public meetings. Three primary themes include: the emergence of a political …

Evaluating Variables Of Patient Experience And The Correlation With Design, Dyutima Jha, Amy Keller Frye, Jennifer Schlimgen

Patient Experience Journal

The objective of this paper was to understand the variables of patient experience by analyzing recent and relevant evidence and to identify design solutions within the hospital environment that positively impact those variables. A systematic review of literature published from 2008-present was conducted to identify variables that contribute to patient experience benefits. Identified variables were documented and categorized into a design, organizational, and outcome variable matrix. Interviews were conducted with professionals from healthcare institutions, architecture firms and organizations committed to improving the patient experience. Data from healthcare facilities, with high patient experience scores, was also examined to derive effective design …

Bike Route Choice Modeling Using Gps Data Without Choice Sets Of Paths, Maëlle Zimmermann, Tien Mai, Emma Frejinger

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Concerned by the nuisances of motorized travel on urban life, policy makers are faced with the challenge of making cycling a more attractive alternative for everyday transportation. Route choice models can help achieve this objective by gaining insights into the trade-offs cyclists make when choosing their routes and by allowing the effect of infrastructure improvements to be analyzed. We estimate a link-based bike route choice model from a sample of GPS observations in the city of Eugene on a network comprising over 40,000 links. The so-called recursive logit (RL) model (Fosgerau et al., 2013) does not require to sample any …

Disability And Accessibility In The Library And Information Science Literature: A Content Analysis, Heather Hill

Heather Hill

The library profession is often a strong and vocal proponent of increased access for persons with disabilities. With the profession's long-standing interest in the subject of services to persons with disabilities come questions that get to how the profession perceives the phenomenon. How is library and information science (LIS), as a field, conceptualizing disability and accessibility? The space for examining this question is a content analysis of the LIS literature. The literature provides a fertile ground for study as it reflects the profession's approaches to, and perceptions of, a topic. This research identifies the major issues and trends in the …

What Can Gis + 3d Mean For Landscape Archaeology?, Heather Richards-Rissetto

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Until recently Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have held center stage in the archaeologist's geospatial toolkit, and there is no doubt that archaeologists have moved beyond the mapdbut into what? In the early years, criticisms voicing GIS as environmentally-deterministic were abundant. What methods and tool have archaeologists used to overcome these criticisms? New geospatial technologies such as airborne lidar and aerial photogrammetry are allowing us to acquire inordinate amounts of georeferenced 3D datad but do these 3D technologies help overcome criticisms of environmental determinism? TogetherdGIS þ 3Dd can link georeferenced 3D models to underlying data adding a ground-based humanistic perspective lacking …

Beyond Ada Compliance: The Library As A Place For All, Jj Pionke

Urban Library Journal

In 2015, the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) celebrated its 25^th anniversary. While libraries have instituted ADA compliance initiatives since the law came into effect in 1990, and new libraries are generally designed with compliance in mind, to be truly accessible for all people, libraries must incorporate principles of universal design not just into the physical building but into all aspects of the library, including our web presence and the services we provide to patrons. This paper argues that libraries are falling far short of true accessibility and that there needs to be a serious mental shift in how …

“There Is Nothing Inherently Mysterious About Assistive Technology”: A Qualitative Study About Blind User Experiences In Us Academic Libraries, Adina Mulliken

Publications and Research

Eighteen academic library users who are blind were interviewed about their experiences with academic libraries and the libraries’ websites using an open-ended questionnaire and recorded telephone interviews. The study approaches these topics from a user-centered perspective, with the idea that blind users themselves can provide particularly reliable insights into the issues and potential solutions that are most critical to them. Most participants used reference librarians’ assistance, and most had positive experiences. High-level screen reader users requested help with specific needs. A larger number of participants reported contacting a librarian because of feeling overwhelmed by the library website. In some cases, …

Availability And Accessibility Of Information Resources As Predictor Of Lecturers’ Teaching Effectiveness, Racheal Opeyemi Odunlade Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Information resources utilisation plays a major role in the teaching profession. The quality of teaching, research, and self development of teachers in any institution depends largely on the level of their interaction with the various information resources at their disposal. This study examined the types of information resources available for teaching and learning in Nigerian polytechnics and their impact on lecturers’ teaching effectiveness. Using a survey research design, 1,411people comprising 46 lecturers teaching 4 selected courses (electric circuit theory, engineering management, inorganic chemistry, computer graphics and animation) at the HND level and 1,365 HND II students (offering those courses) across …

Interrogating The "And": A Study Of Environmentalism And Disability, Melissa Cabat

Honors Papers

Mainstream environmental activists often draw the correlation between environment and disability as being a matter of public health inequities, including air quality, pollution, and now the aftereffects of fracking. These are important, but they only scratch the surface of the link between these movements. I will discuss the movement of ecodisablism and how climate justice activists with disabilities, including the Crips for Climate Justice movement, have been influenced by climate and disability activism. This research is relevant as the massive baby boomer population ages and risks losing their connection to nature due to inaccessible green spaces. Moreover, discussing disability rights …

Students' Experiences Of The Scent-Free Initiative At The Faculty Of Social Work, Tanya Marie Smith

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research project sought to explore how students experienced the introduction of a scent-free initiative within the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University. An intersectional, critical disability approach is used to understand participants' experiences and to identify gaps in implementation, as well as recommendations for future policy development. Working from a transformative paradigm, this study used a mixed methods design, including an online survey and in-person focus groups. Findings indicate that social work students felt well-informed about the initiative, however they did not feel adequately knowledgeable about how to embody the initiative via scent-free practices. Participants expressed stigmatizing …