Papers by Robert Wall Emerson
Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, May 1, 2019
Introduction:The modern long cane has been used by people who are blind for traveling for decades... more Introduction:The modern long cane has been used by people who are blind for traveling for decades. This article describes parameters surrounding the collection of over 10,000 trials of people walking with the long cane to detect drop-offs or obstacles.Methods:The data include 10,069 trials representing 101 different participants in 366 conditions over 11 studies spanning the 9 years from 2007 to 2016. Each of the studies investigated different participant or cane characteristics or both in terms of their effect on either drop-off or obstacle detection. Results of detection performance in these studies appear in other articles. This article describes biomechanical measures derived from 3-D motion analysis equipment used during the studies.Results:Initial treatment of the large data set indicated that participants tended to not center their cane arc laterally on their body, deviating up to about 20 centimeters from midline. Arc widths averaged almost a meter, and arcs were generally centered. Participants were generally poor at being in step or having consistent rhythm. Coverage rates averaged about 85%.Discussion:Although participants might have demonstrated artificially high skill performance due to being in a research study, data do offer insights into mechanical performance of skills. This survey of the data set indicates that not centering the hand holding the cane does not decrease body coverage less than about 85%. However, further analyses will be conducted to delve more deeply into all aspects of the data.Implications for practitioners:Basic cane skills can be taught with short sessions and massed practice. Novices can acquire basic cane skills on par with cane users who are blind, but individual differences exist and the interplay of biomechanical variables needs to more fully understood.
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The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2017
People who are blind use traffic sounds to determine alignment, verify relative position to a str... more People who are blind use traffic sounds to determine alignment, verify relative position to a street, identify their location, and decide an appropriate time to cross a street. With quieter vehicles, these pedestrians often do not have the amount or kind of acoustic information needed to make good, reliable travel decisions. Blind participants listened to internal combustion vehicles and hybrid vehicles (with and without added artificial sounds) approaching while moving forward, approaching while backing, and turning at an intersection. Participants indicated when they heard a vehicle and the direction of travel. Participants also aligned themselves to passing vehicles or indicated when crossable gaps between vehicles existed. Performance degraded most when ambient sound levels increased. However, even under extremely low ambient conditions, some tasks were not performed well. Some artificial sounds improved performance of particular tasks, but no artificial sound adequately enhance...
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Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2020
Guidance tactile walking surface indicators (TWSIs), typically a surface of raised bars, are used... more Guidance tactile walking surface indicators (TWSIs), typically a surface of raised bars, are used internationally to provide location and directional information at crosswalks to pedestrians who are blind. The bars are installed across the sidewalk, with the bars perpendicular to the travel path on the sidewalk and parallel to the direction of travel on the crosswalk. In the U.S., there has been little or no use of such surfaces at crosswalks because of concerns about the effect of these bars on individuals with mobility disabilities. However, difficulties of blind pedestrians in locating crosswalks and aligning to cross have been documented, and the installation of surfaces with bars parallel to the direction of travel on the sidewalk has been shown to be a possible solution. This research investigated the effects of crossings of TWSIs installed perpendicular versus parallel to the direction of travel on the sidewalk on 38 participants with mobility disabilities who used a variety ...
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Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2010
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Typescript. Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Dakota, 1992. Includes bibliographical references ... more Typescript. Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Dakota, 1992. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-75). Microfiche.
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RE view Rehabilitation and Education for Blindness and Visual Impairment
A survey examined attitudes of teachers toward children with visual impairment and implications f... more A survey examined attitudes of teachers toward children with visual impairment and implications for inclusion. Teachers with direct or indirect experience with students with either low vision or blindness held a more positive attitude toward inclusion than randomly selected teachers, but only toward students with low vision. Teachers demonstrated generally negative attitudes toward inclusion of students who are blind. (Contains references.) (DB)
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Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 2013
The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative risk and efficiency of road crossing experienc... more The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative risk and efficiency of road crossing experienced by blind and sighted pedestrians at a single-lane roundabout with two levels of traffic volume and at two distances from the roundabout. With the rapid spread of modern roundabouts across the United States,their accessibility to blind pedestrians has become an important concern. To date, accessibility research relevant to blind pedestrians has focused on multilane roundabouts, and single-lane roundabouts have been virtually ignored. Blind and sighted participants made judgments about when they would cross a single-lane roundabout with high and low traffic volumes, at exit and entry lanes, and at the actual crosswalks and at locations farther from the roundabout. Relative to sighted participants, blind participants' judgments about when to cross were more frequently risky, especially when traffic volume was high. Blind participants also were slower to make crossing judgments and accepted fewer crossing opportunities. Both groups made somewhat safer and more efficient judgments at locations farther from the roundabout. Some single-lane roundabouts may pose greater risk to blind pedestrians than to sighted pedestrians, especially when traffic volume is high. Crosswalk location merits further investigation as a design issue. These findings are relevant to transportation planners and engineers who are responsible for the accessibility of public rights-of-way.
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Journal of Visual Impairment Blindness, Dec 1, 2011
This article examines the Alphabetic Braille Contracted Braille Study in relation to the dimensio... more This article examines the Alphabetic Braille Contracted Braille Study in relation to the dimensions of collaborative research: extent, intensity, substance, heterogeneity, velocity, formality, and productivity. It also discusses the dimensions of financing research and ...
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Journal of Visual Impairment Blindness, Nov 1, 2005
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Introduction A recent PET study has shown that reading Braille increases blood flow in the occipi... more Introduction A recent PET study has shown that reading Braille increases blood flow in the occipital lobes of persons with severe visual disability [1]. Furthermore, transient disrup-tion of neural function in the occipital lobes with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation perturbes Braille reading [2]. The aims of the present study were to test with fMRI [3, 4] (i) whether the occipital change in blood oxygenation and flow during Braille reading is, indeed, associated with the loss of vision and (ii) to identify the areas in the occipital lobes that undergo changes in blood flow. Materials and Methods Three male volunteers with severe visual disability (two right-and one left-hander) and one sighted right-hander were employed in the present study. One subject lost com-plete vision at birth owing to retinopathy of prematurity. Another suffered from macular degeneration that was noticed first ten weeks after birth. He lost vision entirely in an accident at the age of seven. The...
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International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities, 2014
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... Ph.D., and Paul Ponchilla, Ph.D. Researchers at Accessible Design for the Blind were Janet Ba... more ... Ph.D., and Paul Ponchilla, Ph.D. Researchers at Accessible Design for the Blind were Janet Barlow and Billie Louise (Beezy) Bentzen, Ph.D ... treatments tested through this project, includ-ing Mr. Richard Nassi from the city of Tucson, AZ, John McGaffey and Lynn Mack at Polara ...
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Journal of Visual Impairment Blindness, Jun 1, 2006
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Journal of Visual Impairment Blindness, Dec 1, 2011
Abstract: Participants who are blind discriminated vehicle paths and made crossing decisions for ... more Abstract: Participants who are blind discriminated vehicle paths and made crossing decisions for hybrid vehicles with and without artificial sounds added. Several artificial sounds matched the performance of tasks observed with vehicles with internal combustion ...
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This study investigated practices in the production and distribution of braille and large-print t... more This study investigated practices in the production and distribution of braille and large-print textbooks, highlighting changes in production and delivery systems from 2000 to 2004. The findings indicate that fewer states use production models for the statewide acquisition and distribution of special materials and that there is a greater reliance on materials from the American Printing House for the Blind and a greater use of publishers' electronic files for production.
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This survey of the use of technology and multimedia presentations by 410 teachers of students wit... more This survey of the use of technology and multimedia presentations by 410 teachers of students with visual impairments found that the teachers were more at ease with general technology than with technology designed specifically for students with visual impairments. When adapting traditional materials, the teachers tended to use simpler, less technological solutions even when they were not entirely appropriate.
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Journal of visual impairment & blindness
Introduction: Transition-age youths with visual impairments have higher rates of unemployment tha... more Introduction: Transition-age youths with visual impairments have higher rates of unemployment than their peers without impairment, and factors associated with success after graduation have been examined; however, it is unknown whether these factors remain influential across the first decade after exiting high school. Methods: Five waves of the 10-year National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 data were used for this analysis. The following factors-number of years since leaving high school, specific year exiting high school, paid work experience during high school, and high school completion were examined for their longitudinal relationship with successful outcomes using generalized estimating equations. Results: Specific year exiting high school, paid work experience during high school, and high school completion were shown to be predictive of successful outcomes (as measured by post-high school employment or enrollment in post-secondary school or both). Youths with visual impairment...
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Journal of visual impairment & blindness
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Journal of visual impairment & blindness
Introduction: Following the passage of the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in the United States... more Introduction: Following the passage of the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act in the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is setting a minimum sound level for hybrid and battery electric vehicles. With an aim to aid this effort, the present study investigated the timing and performance of critical street-crossing decisions by pedestrians who are visually impaired (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) at selected intersections. Methods: Fourteen visually impaired adults with typical hearing along with a sighted experimenter made street-crossing decisions by indicating when they would initiate crossing using radio controller handsets. Participants' decisions were compared with the sighted experimenter's decisions to determine the level of their risk. Results: At the residential intersection, the percentage of risky crossing decisions by participants was significantly lower when the decisions were made at lower ambient sound levels (M = 8...
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Papers by Robert Wall Emerson