Examining How Dyslexics Adjust Their Visual Environments to Aid

Examining How Dyslexics Adjust Their
Visual Environments to Aid Reading
BY SABIRAH ISLAM
Bachelor of Science in Computer Information
Systems with Honours
May 2008
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Examining How Dyslexics Adjust Their Visual Environments to
Aid Reading
Submitted by: Sabirah Islam
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Abstract
Dyslexics struggle to read as well as having a combination of more complex
difficulties. Special assistive technologies have been designed to make reading easier
for Dyslexics; however it is unclear how affective they are. This project sets out to
investigate how Dyslexics adjust their reading environment to make reading easier. A
simple reading tool was developed using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). This was
studied alongside a widely available reader called SeeWord to investigate how
Dyslexics interact with different reading tools. The study showed a consistent
strategy among participants who first highlighted words, sentences and difficult
fragments of text and then that piece of text. It also showed that participants
constantly adjusted the text display throughout the task rather than choosing a
setting initially to match their preference. Implication of the findings on future
reading tool designs: Participants changed the text display often to enable them to
continue reading. Highlighting the segments of text was along with changing font
size found to the most popular alteration made. Fatigue and comfort level were just
over the half way mark. .
4
Contents
Table of Contents
CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 5
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ 7
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 9
1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 10
1.1
1.2
2
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................. 10
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................... 11
LITERATURE SURVEY IS INCOMPLETE ................................................................... 12
2.1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 12
2.2
DYSLEXIA....................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 12
2.2.2 Definition................................................................................................................... 13
2.2.3
Characteristics ...................................................................................................... 14
2.2.4 Types and Subtypes ................................................................................................... 14
2.3
HISTORY OF PROBLEMS DYSLEXIC HAVE READING......................................................... 15
2.4
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR DYSLEXIA AND READING .............................................. 16
2.5
IMPLICATIONS FOR YOUR RESEARCH .............................................................................. 18
3
OVERVIEW OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES ............................................................ 20
3.1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 20
3.2
TEXTHELP READ & WRITE V7 ...................................................................................... 21
3.3
INSPIRATION ................................................................................................................... 21
3.4
SEEWORD....................................................................................................................... 23
4.7
SEEWORD....................................................................................................................... 25
4.7.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 25
3.5
IMPLICATION FOR STUDY ................................................................................................ 25
4
SOFTWARE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................ 26
4.1
INTRODUCTION: .............................................................................................................. 26
4.2 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................................... 30
4.2.1 Implementation of the Web Application .................................................................... 31
4.3 Integrating PHP, XHTML, CSS and JavaScript ............................................................... 32
4.4
PHP: The template system........................................................................................ 34
4.5
JavaScript .................................................................................................................. 35
5
STUDY DESIGN .................................................................................................................. 39
5.1
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 39
5.1.1 Purpose of study: ....................................................................................................... 39
5.2
METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 39
5.2.1 Pilot study .................................................................................................................. 39
5.2.2 Participants ................................................................................................................... 40
5.2.3 Materials ....................................................................................................................... 40
5.2.4 Procedure .................................................................................................................. 40
5.2.5 Data Recording ......................................................................................................... 42
5.3
RESULTS & ANALYSIS .................................................................................................... 44
5
5.3.1 Quantitative Results and Discussion ............................................................................. 44
5.3.2 Qualitative Analysis and Discussion ............................................................................. 46
6
OVERALL DISCUSSION ................................................................................................... 52
6.1 IMPLICATION OF THE STUDY .................................................................................................. 52
7
CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................... 54
7.2 CRITICISMS OF THE STUDY ..................................................................................................... 54
7.4 FURTHER WORK ..................................................................................................................... 55
7.5 PERSONAL EVALUATION: ....................................................................................................... 55
8
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES ........................................................................... 57
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 57
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................ 57
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................... 60
APPENDIX A: ............................................................................................................................... 61
Code-CSS ............................................................................................................................... 61
Code-JavaScript ..................................................................................................................... 71
HTML and PHP code ............................................................................................................. 72
APPENDIX B: ARTICLES .......................................................................................................... 82
Science-Radio Interferometry ................................................................................................. 82
History-Post-War ................................................................................................................... 82
APPENDIX C: CONSENT FORM ................................................................................................. 84
APPENDIX D: STUDY PROCEDURES ......................................................................................... 86
APPENDIX E: ARTICLES QUESTIONS ....................................................................................... 87
APPENDIX F: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ..................................................................................... 88
APPENDIX G: KEY FOR THE RAW DATA TABLES BELOW: ......................................................... 89
APPENDIX H: RAW DATA TABLE ............................................................................................. 90
6
List of Figures
FIGURE 2.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF DYSLEXIA. .................................................................................................................. 13
FIGURE 3.1 TEXHELP TOOLBAR. ....................................................................................................................................... 21
FIGURE 3.2 MAIN WINDOW OF INSPIRATION 7.5. .......................................................................................................... 22
FIGURE 3.3 TEXT WINDOW IN INSPIRATION. .................................................................................................................. 22
FIGURE 3.4 TEXT BEING ALTERNATED IN INSPIRATION. ............................................................................................... 23
FIGURE 3.5 TEXT DISPLAY IN SEEWORD APPLICATION ................................................................................................. 24
FIGURE 3.6 SETTINGS THROUGH THE MENU. .................................................................................................................. 24
FIGURE 3.7 SETTINGS THROUGH THE ICON. .................................................................................................................... 24
FIGURE 4.1 PREVIOUS LEARNING SUPPORT WEBSITE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BATH. .............................................. 27
FIGURE 4.2 BRITISH DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION. ................................................................................................................ 28
FIGURE 4.3 TEXT DISPLAYED IN VERDANA FONT. .......................................................................................................... 29
FIGURE 4.4 MAIN PAGE OF THE WEB APPLICATION. ...................................................................................................... 30
FIGURE 4.5 WEB APPLICATION, TEXT WITH SPACING. ................................................................................................... 31
FIGURE 4.6 CONTENT OF HISTORY TEXT CONTAINED IN AN XHTML PAGE ................................................................ 33
FIGURE 4.7 CSS PARAGRAPH ELEMENT ........................................................................................................................... 33
FIGURE 4.8 A FONT-SIZE CONTROL TOOLBOX .................................................................................................................. 33
FIGURE 4.9 INDEX.PHP ....................................................................................................................................................... 34
FIGURE 4.10 TEMPLATE.PHP............................................................................................................................................. 35
FIGURE 4.11 THE WEB SITE CONTROL PANEL ................................................................................................................ 35
FIGURE 4.12: TEMPLATE.PHP ........................................................................................................................................... 37
FIGURE 4.13 CHANGE BACKGROUND COLOUR DROP-DOWN MENU. ............................................................................. 37
FIGURE 5.1 WEB APPLICATION WHEN THE MEDIUM FONT SIZE IN SELECTED. ...................................................... 47
FIGURE 5.2 WEB BROWSER WHEN THE LARGE FONT SIZE IN SELECTED. ................................................................. 47
FIGURE 5.3 WEB BROWSER WHEN THE EXTRA LARGE FONT SIZE IN SELECTED................................................... 48
7
List of Tables
TABLE 2.1 CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF ICT MODEL................................................................................................................... 16
TABLE 3.1 COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES FOR STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES {24} ................................... 20
TABLE 5.1 APPLICATION ALTERATIONS. ................................................................................................................................. 41
TABLE 5.2 MEANS OF READING TIMES. ................................................................................................................................... 44
TABLE 5.3 MEAN OF QUESTION COMPREHENSION TIMES ................................................................................................... 45
TABLE 5.4 NUMBER OF ADJUSTMENTS MADE DURING THE TASK. ..................................................................................... 45
TABLE 5.5 MEANS OF FATIGUE LEVEL RANKED BY PARTICIPANTS.................................................................................... 46
TABLE 5.6 NUMBER OF CORRECT ANSWERS ........................................................................................................................... 49
8
Acknowledgements
I would sincerely like to thank my supervisor Dr. Leon Watts who has provided me
with invaluable support and direction throughout this project. Thanks to Prof.
James Davenport, Dr. Hilary Johnson, Dr. Marina De Vos, and Dr. Alessandra Vecchi
for their assistance and understanding.
A special thanks to my support workers, Mayuree Srikulwong and Freya Palmer
for their constant support, commitment, patience, and understanding and for their
time.
Thanks to Ali Rahman, Ayesha Begum and Sabah Abdullah for proof reading this
dissertation and for their words of encouragement and support throughout this
process.
To my father and sister who have given me the strength to go on when times have
become rough.
If it was not for the belief and support of everyone mentioned I would not be
where I am today. I owe much to those who have stood by me, during this time; not
forgetting all the students who took time out to participate in my study, without
whom there would be no dissertation
Thank you!
9
1 Introduction
Reading is a skill which we all take for granted, it’s almost always assumed that an
individual who has a certain level of intelligence i.e. has been schooled etc. should
be or have the ability to read [11] However, for someone who suffers with the
condition Dyslexia this can be a very daunting experience fraught which difficulties.
In order to understand the difficulties they face, we must first understand the
condition. Only then, can we begin to cater for there particular needs. Thus it is
imperative to read as much Literature on the subject to acquire a broader
understanding of the difficulties they face and the solutions which are available to
them.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the difficulties dyslexic individuals face
when ‘Reading’ a task and subsequently the adjustments they make to their
viewer/screen to alleviate any discomfort they may experience.
The users who will take part in the study will all come from an undergraduate
sample from the University of Bath campus. They will be examined using two
applications, namely SeeWord and a Web based application, in a control lab
environment (HCI lab).
As the main focus of the study is looking at how Dyslexics adjust their screens to
enable them to read with ease. It was important to look at the characteristics of
dyslexics and the problems/difficulties they face when reading is required.
Furthermore it was important to look at the solutions which had been
recommended by researchers and institutions to help with this particular difficult.
Assistive technologies have allowed developers to automate some of the
recommendations made by researchers in the past, suggesting enhanced ways of
over-coming these issues. We will investigate some of the more widely used
assistive technologies to see if they and how they have catered for individuals with
reading difficulties, in particular Dyslexics.
1.1 Problem Description
Dyslexia is primarily described as learning difficulty which affects various
processes to do with learning including writing, spelling and reading. Our main
focus will concentrate on the visual impact of the environment in which dyslexics
read. So provided with the appropriate features incorporated within both
applications, would manipulating them improve there overall time and
comprehension. Both the time and comprehension will be measured and looked at
in detail to see if any conclusion can be drawn for the study.
10
1.2 Aims and Objectives
In this dissertation we have explained/discussed/illustrated (in sections 2:
literature review, Section 3: A review of assistive technologies to aid reading tasks
for dyslexia, Section 4: The design of software and implementation, Section 5: The
design and results of study, Section 6 Discussion and Section 7 conclusion and
future work.)
Our key objectives of this study are as follows:
•
To research and read through Literature on Dyslexia, Reading, and Assistive
technologies
•
To conduct an overview of existing technologies whereby a possible
problem area could be indentified. Namely textHelp, Inspiration and
SeeWord (which the study was based on).
•
To develop a Web based application using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets),
that would attempt to include some of the features found to be useful.
•
To design a study which would cater for the needs of the dyslexic
participants but which would also be adhere to a study conducted under lab
conditions.
•
To carry out in depth analysis of both Qualitative and Quantitative data
gathered.
•
To evaluate the entire study process and see where improvements could
have been made
•
To consider any implications for future research. And suggest ideas for
future work.
Reading is an integral part of education and learning, thus, it is important to gain an
understanding of how dyslexic individuals use and interact with the technologies
which have been designed to help them read.
The following chapter will present research conducted in the field of dyslexia from
many different perspective focusing mainly on implications for those with reading
difficulties.
11
2 Literature Survey IS INCOMPLETE
2.1 Introduction
This section will examine literature from various disciplines on the theories behind
and surrounding dyslexia. It will attempt to provide a definition. Problems and
characteristics of dyslexia are explained. A review of existing technology solutions
are presented to the problem of reading. The causes of reading difficulties are
looked at in depth.
2.2 Dyslexia
2.2.1 Introduction
Dyslexia is specific learning disabilities (SLC) which affects an estimated 7-15% of
the population in the US (L Peer and G Reid, 2001) [15] However; in the UK
dyslexia affects 4% of the total population [20]
It is the most common reading disabilities, which affects across all cultural
boundaries and it a life-long condition which has no cure. It has been said that it’s a
“disorder manifested by difficulty in learning to read despite conventional
instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural opportunity” [19]
An assistive technology survey carried out in 2004 of 23 institutions (colleges and
universities) found that 53% of their student population were disabled, where
dyslexics accounted for 41% of the total disabled population. Therefore, 22% of the
student population had some form and level of dyslexia. [20]
The number of students registering as being dyslexic has risen considerably. In
2004 alone UCAS published, figures for dyslexia showing that in 1999 1.6% of the
UK’s population were dyslexic. By 2004, this had risen to 2.7%. [20] Tinkin, Riddell
and Wilson (2004) also carried out researched which suggested an increase of
double between 1995-1996 to 1999-2000. [20 chapter 2]
Dyslexia varies in severity and often occurs alongside others specific learning
disabilities such a as Dyspraxia ( ) or Attention Defcit Disoorder plus other physical
conditions. [25]
Dyslexia is a difficult learning disability to define; there is no single accepted
definition and depending on where you look there are variations. However there
seems to be general consensus amongst researchers, educators and governments
that having difficulties in certain areas equals dyslexia. These are named below.
[25]
12
Figure 2.1 Characteristics of dyslexia.
It is important to mention that although the items in the list above are seen as
weaknesses, dyslexics have developed strategies and strengths which help them
compensate for them, as is evidenced by the large number of dyslexic college
students. Some of these strengths are listed below. [BDA]
•
Innovative thinking
•
Excellent trouble shooting
•
Intuitive problem solving
•
Lateral thinking
•
Being creative in many different ways
Dyslexics tend to learn the same material as non-dyslexics at their own pace. They
may also be inconsistent in their ability to perform the same task across time, such
as spelling a word correctly on Monday and then not being able to spell the same
word on Wednesday. This inconsistency is a result of a combination of factors
shown in diagram 1.
2.2.2 Definition
Dyslexia is derived from the Greek and means ‘difficulty with words’ [BDA] Dyslexia
is often defined as a discrepancy between intelligence and language ability (British
Dyslexics, 2003). [13] Despite a hundred years of dyslexia research, there still is no
general clear agreed upon definition. According to Tonessen (1995) ‘the same
phenomenon if often given different names and the same concept is often assigned
different boundaries. The terminology is often unclear and inconsistency.
Dyslexia has been classed as a neurological, psychological, biological disability
across several disciplines. Thus defining it exactly is a problem. However, the
British Dyslexia Association provides the following definition, which is derived
from what others have stated.
13
‘Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which mainly affects the
development of literacy and language related skills. It is likely to be
present at birth and to be lifelong in its effects. It is characterised by
difficulties with phonological processing, rapid naming, working
memory, processing speed, and the automatic development of skills
that may not match up to an individual’s other cognitive abilities. It
tends to be resistant to conventional teaching methods, but its effects
can be mitigated by appropriately specific intervention, including
the application of information technology and supportive
counselling’ British Dyslexia Association [BDA]
Another definition is provided by the National Working Party (1995) which states
that ‘Dyslexia is a complex neurological condition that occurs in approximately 4%
of the population , and which primarily affects acquisition and use of written
language, memory and organisational skill, It is legally recognised disability, and
there is strong evidence that supports a genetic causation of the condition’ .
2.2.3 Characteristics
There seems to be more of consensus when it comes to what makes-up
dyslexia i.e. the characteristics. According to (Hammond and Hercules,
2003) the indicators in Dyslexia are;
•
Poor handwriting
•
Poor spelling
•
Poor reading
•
Poor composition and writing skills
•
Poor short term memory
•
Poor organisation.
West (1997), Turner and Wooden, (2003) all suggest that dyslexics may
be stronger in these areas despite there lack of the above skills, at;
•
Visualisation
•
Spatial awareness
•
Creativity
•
Lateral thinking
2.2.4 Types and Subtypes
14
Just as there is no single agreed-upon definition of dyslexia, so, too, is there no
single classification. Different attempts to classify dyslexia are documented in this
section.
In 1964, Ingram stated that all dyslexics did not possess the same set of symptoms.
Thus, he suggested dividing dyslexia into three categories: visuo-spatial difficulties,
speech-sound difficulties, and correlating difficulties.
•
Dyslexics suffering from visuo-spatial difficulties fails to recognize groups
of letters. They attempt to guess words by shape and not context.
•
Dyslexics suffering from speech-sound difficulties have problems
understanding spoken language. Difficulties arise when breaking words
into symbols and forming sentences.
•
Dyslexics suffering from correlating difficulties are unable to correlate
appropriate speech sounds to individual letters.
There are two distinct types of dyslexia: developmental dyslexia and cognitive
dyslexia. Developmental dyslexia is caused by biological anomalies in the brain,
which are usually genetic in nature, and which progress through childhood
development.
In 1972, Boder developed a diagnostic screening tool for developmental dyslexia
from which she divided dyslexia into the following subtypes:
•
•
•
Dysphonetic – This is the largest of the three divisions. This is viewed as a
disability in associating symbols with sounds. The misspellings typical of
this disorder are phonetically inaccurate.
The misreadings are
substitutions based on small clues, and are also semantic.
Dysedetic - In this group there are deficits in vision and memory of letters
and word shapes. The person is unable to develop a sight vocabulary.
However they have the ability to acquire adequate phonetic skills.
Alexic or mixed dyseidetic and dysphonetic – This subtype combines the
deficit of the first two groups. This person may have disability in both sight
vocabulary and phonetic skills. People with this form of dyslexia are
usually unable to read or spell.
2.3 History of problems Dyslexic have reading
Dyslexics suffer from Visual Stress which is sometimes known as Meares-Irlen
syndrome. They have difficult focusing and moving their eyes in coordination with
the words, so words often move, swim or blur. These people may benefit from
having changed to font size and style, background and foreground colours and from
15
spacing. There was a conscious effort to include these features in the web
application. [21]
Dyslexic people benefit from clear and simple layout which incorporates direct,
active text and bullet points. [21]
[22] Thomas West author of ‘In the mind’s Eye and Thinking Like Einstein’
observers that visual thinkers such as dyslexic’s are leading the way in terms of
technological innovation making their visual strengths valuable just as their
academic language skills become more weaker.
2.3.1 Problems relating to reading
Of all the learning difficulties facing dyslexics, reading difficulties are amongst the
most prominent. These inabilities to read effectively and efficiently has an adverse
educational and psychological effect on this group. Dyslexics require special
adjustments to the text and text environment to be able to read more comfortably
and effectively. Assistive technologies have been developed to solve this problem
by providing features which allow dyslexics to change the text environment. These
assistive technologies were based on research on shortcomings found in traditional
word processors, such as Microsoft Word.
2.4 Assistive Technologies for Dyslexia and
reading
Historically assistive technologies were designed or used for and by people with
disabilities. However these were fairly simple and did not take into account for
example dyslexia and a medical condition. In addition many of the assistive
technologies were not specifically designed for dyslexia, but have been adapted to
their needs. [20]
A Conceptual model of ICT needs of the dyslexic student Ian Smythe, Paul
Blenkhorn, Gareth Evans, Linda Siegal and EA Draffan.
This is part the model which is relevant to our study.
Literacy
skill
Literacy
component
Software
Receptive
language
Reading single
words
Text to speech
Reading
comprehension
Text to speech
16
Listening
comprehension
Digital or tape
recorder
Concept
mapping
Table 2.1 Conceptual model of ICT model
Has suggested that matching technologies to specific needs is challenging, and it is
not only a case of individuals learning coping strategies but also, using assistive
technologies to help. Therefore we need to take into consideration not only the
complexities of the software’s but the human abilities to (cognitive, physical and
sensory) together with their learning preference [20]
Smythe and Dradffan (2004) indentified four key areas which one to should focus
when designing e-learning tools. Accessibility, Usability, Readability and Learn
ability, they suggest that success of learning via the web depends on user abilities
just as much as appearance of the site. It has been said that if the learning material
appear in a user-friendly setting than learning will be optimal and enjoyable. [20]
They have come up with a list of areas to consider when designing for dyslexics
which are as follows:
•
Font type
•
Font size
•
Line spacing and Justification
•
Text colour
•
Background colour
•
Content layout and navigation
•
Scrolling
•
Headings
•
Use of white space
Times , Arial and Comic Sans are the most popular typefaces which were used in
the design of the web application, however, it was suggested that any having
anymore then three choices would confuse the users.
When using a web browser, there are options to increase or decrease the text, by
enlarging text in this way, the frame of the page gets distorted, causing information
to disappear. An example is shown in the screenshot below;
Often people forget that screen resolution is a factor along with background colour
and contrast all of which have a impact on the font size. For example, bright yellow
text on a royal blue background will appear more intense that subsequently easier
to read then pale blue text on a dark blue background. The first combination was
used in reserve by two of the participants.
17
OCR scanner are used to help to help dyslexics read, as it scans in the text Abbyy,
Fine reader Pro and OmmiPage convert text and then reads it back to the user.
Research funded by the EU [20] suggested that the following would
ensure readability.
•
Make the average sentence 15-20 words in length
•
Be concise
•
Use bullet points whenever possible
•
Use simple, but not patronising, vocabulary
•
Use voice active voice rather then the passive
•
Introduce new ideas
•
Avoid cross-references
•
Use illustrations to help provide clear meaning
•
Obtain feedback from the user group.
Many solutions have been developed to help Dyslexic read from software’s
such as Lexia Reader to a font designed specifically for dyslexic. [25]
The following guidelines were taken from a paper which has gathered them
from (CITA. 1998; W3C, 1999; TechDis.2002) and (IMS, 2002; Rainger, 2003)
•
Allow the user to control the font sizes and styles and colour of the
background and text (IMS, 2002;). (Parker, 2001) suggested that serif fonts
can be problematic for dyslexic users , thus the recommendation made by
(IMS) were very important. Combinations of contrasting colours can aid the
reading of text (Draffan, 2002) Cascading style sheets was suggested as a
way of implementing these measures (W3C, 1999).
•
Using consistent layout reduces the cognitive load which in turn allows uses
to concentrate on the content (W3C, 1999)
•
Use white space so text does not appear to be cluttered (TechDis, 2002)
•
Place hyperlinks at the end of the piece of text rather then right the way
through (IMS, 2002)
(Edwards, 1995) suggested that by adopting the measures mentioned above, to
cater for dyslexic that they may also benefit non-dyslexia.
2.5 Implications for your research
18
19
3 Overview of Assistive
Technologies
3.1 Introduction
Assistive technologies are primarily designed to help a group of users that have
learning disabilities. Generally these are people who have some form of
disabilities, be it a physical mobility issue, a vision-related issue, or a learning
difficulty issue.
For an overview of assistive technologies being used to aid people with
learning disabilities, see table below.
Description
Brand Name
Free or Inexpensive
Text-to-speech software
that uses synthesized
speech to read what is on
the screen or on the
clipboard (but lacks many
of the powerful features
that a screen reader has)
Sophisticated text-tospeech software that uses
synthesized speech to
read text, menus, buttons,
dialogue boxes, etc.
Software - allows you to
dictate (into a microphone)
instead of typing on a
keyboard
Software - usually built
into word processors
• ZoomText (Level 2)
• ReadToMe
• Clip&Talk
• Jaws
• Artic
• Windows Bridge
Downloadable demos:
• Http://www.hj.com/
Adaptation
Document reader
Screen reader
Voice recognition
Spell checkers/grammar
checkers
Word prediction
Literacy software and
tutorials
Flow charting and concept
mapping
Portable note taking
device
"Shorthand" (macros) for
frequently used words
Software - a menu box
pops up as you type to
give you several possible
ways to complete a word
that you have begun to
type
Software - helps improve
grammar, math, and
typing
Software
• Dragon
• ViaVoice
• Franklin Language
•
•
•
•
• Most word
Master
Hugo 8+
Keyspell
TextHelp!
Co-Writer
processing
programs
• Plato
• Inspiration
• AlphaSmart
• Palm Pilot
Hardware
Software - quickly "pastes"
text
• HotKeyboard
• Word "AutoText"
feature
Table 3.1 Computer Technologies for Students with Learning Disabilities [20]
20
We have decided to study three applications, two of them are most commonly
used assistive technologies for dyslexics (i.e. textHELP and Inspiration) and the
other one is a free web-based application, which was designed specifically to
alleviate problems faced when reading text from a computer screen (i.e.
SeeWord). The other reason is that they are freely accessible at our university.
3.2 textHELP Read & Write V7
textHELP Read & Write (vesion 7) was designed as specific assistive technology
aimed at educational institutions with the aim to improve reading and writing for
students with difficulties at all levels. It incorporates a range of features,
including:
•
Text-to-speech reading
•
Phonetic spellchecking
•
Embedded dictionary
•
Word Prediction
•
Homophone differentiating facility
This application was found to be user-friendly, in that all features were
represented by icons, and the choice of icons were deemed to be quite illustrative.
(see figure) This was deemed useful as dyslexics are more receptive to pictorial
cues. Also, each icon has a ToolTip which appears promptly and clearly.
Furthermore, there were no menus, thus reducing confusion and disorientation.
REFERENCE MENUS.
Figure 3.1 texHelp toolbar.
A limitation of textHELP is that it provides many features, but has no method for
changing and reformatting the visual environment of the text itself, other than
highlighting text while it is being read.
textHELP is a toolbar application, and therefore can be used in conjunction with
other Windows-based systems. Therefore, although the design by itself is simple
and easy-to-use, its combination with other toolbars and menus could be
confusing.
3.3 Inspiration
Inspiration is primarily idea development software which also includes features
that enable the user to modify text, i.e. changing text and background. Changing
feature of the allows users to manipulate the font size, font type and font color of
the text (See figure nnn). However, there is an issue with changing background
21
color. This feature was located in the “effect” menu which was difficult to locate
(see figure nnn).
As seen in figure nnn, Inspiration’s menu and toolbar are cluttered. Although
icons are named, users can get confused by the combination of menus and a
sidebar toolbox.
Figure 3.2 Main window of Inspiration 7.5.
Figure 3.3 Text window in Inspiration.
22
Figure 3.4 Text being alternated in Inspiration.
3.4 SeeWord
SeeWord is an application developed by researchers at Dundee University to help
dyslexic users read by allowing them to adjust their screen to make text more
readable to them through an intuitive interface. These researchers posited that
many one area which had not been addressed properly was the visual processing
cues that dyslexics would benefit from when using a word processor. An
evaluation of Microsoft Word found that while text-changing features existed,
they were often difficult to find. SeeWord aims to solve this problem by replacing
long menus with short menus, reducing the number of icons, and a simplified
layout. (See figure for SeeWord layout).
SeeWord was designed to accommodate most dyslexic users with their broad
reading problems. However, since dyslexics suffer from a wide range of
difficulties, some issues were naturally overlooked.
It was deemed that certain design choices made for SeeWord were not optimal.
For example, some of the icons were considered by us to be non-representative of
the tasks they represent (e.g. settings icon.) Moving the mouse over the icons
produced a much delayed ToolTip which was highly confusing and frustrating.
The alternative to using icons was the menus. Although these were fewer and
shorter in number of steps than alternatives, there were still more steps than a
dyslexic user might prefer.
23
Figure 3.5 Text display in SeeWord application
Figure 3.6 Settings through the menu.
Figure 3.7 Settings through the icon.
24
4.7 SeeWord
4.7.1 Introduction
Researchers at Dundee University found that by changing the way text is presented
on screen one can dramatically improve the ability of dyslexic people to read.
These purposed changes were to text size, text colour, text font, line spacing and
text spacing. [24] [23] these changes were found in most word processors but
were hidden away in long menus. SeeWord was developed to compensate for the
poor design of word processors. The application developed included features
found to be useful for dyslexics. However for this study users found this software
application to be the most difficult to navigate through and the most time
consuming. REFERENCE FROM DATA!
For more information see chapter 2.
SeeWord
•
Participants were required to read one of the articles in this application
and were told to use the features incorporated to adjust the viewer until
they were happy to read on.
•
Through investigation of the site, many participant used techniques found
in most word processors and attempt to highlight the text, and then right
click hoping to find a option to change. However this led to them deleting
the entire text, which the evaluator then had to re-load.
3.5 Implication for study
There was no opportunity to gather information from dyslexic students prior to
this study, due to confidentially and ethics rules. Having studied the above three
applications, we were able to establish a problem area which we found consisted of
features that were inappropriately placed or were missing in the design. For
example, finding “changing background function” in Inspiration application. In
some cases, these weaknesses in software design led to unnecessary steps. These
studies allow us to address important features which would benefit readers with
reading difficulties. Thus, we design a very simple style sheet, to incorporate the
most useful features from each application and investigate.
25
4 Software Design and
Implementation
4.1 Introduction:
Dyslexia is a common learning disability which strongly affects its sufferer’s ability
to read and write. There have been some attempts to create software to alleviate
the difficulties faced by dyslexics. These programs employ different techniques to
achieve this end, from using voice recognition to predictive texting to allowing
users to change the visual reading environment. This last type of programs was the
basis of this study.
The purpose of this study was to establish whether or not users with dyslexia
would manipulate a computer-based text (changing font type, colour, size,
background colour and spacing) when the facility to do so was provided. The study
was run with texts displayed on a web browser (Mozilla Firefox) and on a specific
program designed to assist dyslexics with reading (SeeWord). Users of the web
browser could manipulate the text using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).
Together with research collected from evaluations conducted on popular assistive
technologies (namely Texthelp, Inspiration and SeeWord) we were able to identify
a clear problem area which was relatively small but was significant in assisting
Dyslexics to read.
A main problem we found with these assistive technologies revolved around the
lack of certain features that were deemed necessary, such as the ability to change
the background colour. Furthermore, even if these features did exist, they were
hidden away in menus, which were not always clear to the users. Considering that
dyslexics generally have difficulties navigating through applications and often
become disoriented and confused when doing so, this was an additional issue to
overcome when reading.
This helped form the basis of our study. In addition to evaluating an existing
software (SeeWord), a very simple web based application was created using CSS.
This application attempted to incorporate some of the key features we found to be
beneficial to dyslexics when reading was required. Namely these were: Font (size,
colour, type), Background Colour, Spacing (line and word). Accessibility issues
were important when designing the application. An effort was made to design a
simple layout, incorporating ease of navigation.
For this type of study a style sheet using CSS was chosen rather than developing a
full blown application, as the basis was to investigate whether users would adjust
their viewer using the features provided to assist them when reading.
26
It is fair to say that the software designed for this task was ‘very simple’. The
features incorporated within it came from the solutions other researchers had
previously investigated. The literature review found common difficulties endured
by people with learning difficulties.
Previous research has suggested on more than one occasion that changes to font
size and background colour have a significant impact on the way individuals with
learning difficulties read. However in many cases these findings have not been
implemented in a way that benefits Dyslexics.
Additionally, manipulating the spacing of lines and letters helps to reduce the
impact on the eyes and prevent fatigue, which Dyslexics are more susceptible to,
which makes reading very frustrating.
Most of the design concepts and layout came from 2 major websites: The British
Dyslexia Association (http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/) and the old Learning Support
website at the University Of Bath (http://www.bath.ac.uk/ls.old/studentinfo.html).
Figure 4.1 Previous Learning Support website at the University of Bath.
This is the Learning Support website, incorporating two key features: the ability to
change font size and the ability to change background colour, both of which are
easy to find. Also, they appear on every page maintaining consistency, which is
important feature for Dyslexics.
27
Figure 4.2 British Dyslexia Association.
The British Dyslexia website, also offers a range of features, which are not always
easy to locate; they appear at the bottom as opposed to across the top or even on the
left hand side.
Dyslexics prefer sans serif fonts and styles with look similar to hand-writing as it
familiar to them, however these types can lead to confusion, as with letter
combination like ‘oa’ and ‘oo’.
As dyslexia relies on recall and shapes, reading can be slower and less accurate when
the ascenders and descenders (‘stems’ on letters like p and b) of the letters are too
short.
Over the years Microsoft has designed many fonts with dyslexic users in mind. They
prompted Verdana as being very user-friendly and easy to use; consequently it
appears on many web sites. However according to the BDA this is not ideal it has
very tight spacing in-between lines. In saying that, three participants chose to use
Verdana font when reading in the web application all of whom did not feel the need
to add spacing. This suggest once again, that it is the how the user interacts with the
application and not only the appearance and usability of the interface.
28
Figure 4.3 Text displayed in Verdana font.
Other fonts which have been given included by the BDA are Arial and Comic Sans
both of which were used when designing the web application. [25]
29
4.2 Program Development
There were various prototypes made before a final version was reached. The first
attempt did not include line spacing in the options, as there were too many sizes to
include, which we felt would confuse the user. Thus, we decided to follow the [BDA]
model and added a checkbox which, when ticked, would reformat the text such that
line spacing would become 2em (defines the size in CSS) and word spacing 1em.
Our initial ideas was to have the user read three separate articles, and then answer a
related set of questions. We realised that due to the nature of dyslexia no time limit
could be set for the completion of these reading tasks. Thus we reduced it to two
articles, which was feasible for the 45 minutes slots we had allocated for our studies.
Lastly, we also decided that 300 words per article was too long, and subsequently
cut this down to 200 words per article.
Figure 4.4 Main page of the web application.
30
Figure 4.5 Web application, text with spacing.
We will explain how the implementation was conducted, briefly discussing the
languages and tools used. It will be illustrated by examples of application codes.
4.2.1 Implementation of the Web Application
To complete this task we used the following technologies:
• Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) - is used to represent the
content.
• Cascade Style Sheet (CSS) - allows content to be rendered.
• Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) – is used as a template system, which enables
one overlay to be written for all documents.
• JavaScript – enables us to modify the CSS attributes (for example, fonts and
colours) of HTML elements.
4.2.1.1 Tools
We used jEdit 4.3pre12 (http://www.jedit.org) for developing the application. In
addition, we used Mozilla Firefox Browser with the Firebug extension
(http://www.firefox.com) to test and debug programs. Firebug was also
important to gather how previous version of Learning Support website
(http://www.bath.ac.uk/ls.old/studentinfo.html) and British Dyslexia Association
(http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/) implemented functionalities such as ability to
change font size, font type, and background.
31
4.2.1.2 Folder structure
We divided the code into many files and directories for convenience. Here we
enumerate them:
Root folder contains:
•
•
•
template.php: It has the overlay html and also the references to the
javascript and CSS code. It is included by one of the other three files in
this directory. It includes a file from the content folder, depending on the
value of the variable $content_file, placing its content in the page centre.
index.php: This is the start point, it includes template.php and sets
$content_file to the welcome message.
text1.php and text2.php: As index.php, they set $content_file to a different
content file name and include template.php.
Content folder contains:
• welcome.php, history.php and science.php: These files contain different
content texts to be manipulated. They were rendered by included from
template.php, providing that $content_file is set appropriately.
CSS folder contains:
•
uob.css: It contains the style and layout of the page. It is a modification of
the previous version of Learning Support CSS web site
(http://www.bath.ac.uk/ls.old/studentinfo.html).
JavaScript folder contains:
• changeview.js: It contains functions invoked when the user wants to
change any parameters of visualization.
4.3 Integrating PHP, XHTML, CSS and JavaScript
4.3.1
XHTML and CSS; presentation and content
separation.
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a language to describe content
presentation that has been used from the first implementation of the Internet
World Wide Web. XHTML is a proposed successor to HTML, which conforms
Extensible Markup Language (XML) syntax. CSS is used to describe the
presentation of a document.
Briefly, the information will be written in XHTML and how it is presented to the
user will be described in CSS. The most important aim is to try to achieve
reutilization. For example, the same CSS file can be used with many XHTML
pages. This allows different contents to have the same presentation layout. On
32
the other hand, the same XHTML file can use many different CSSs. This allows
different presentations for the same content.
In our web application we allow the user to modify the viewer adjusting the
presentation of the content. In order to provide this, we separated the contents
from its presentation layout. Contents are presented by XHTML and layouts
were written in CSS.
For example in our web application every paragraph in the text is inside a p
element, coded in XHTML as follows:
<p > The Mäori protest movement was just one of several movements which
emerged at this time to challenge the conservatism of mainstream New
Zealand culture. This culture, and the country's economy, was based on being
an offshoot of Britain. From the 1890s, the economy had been based almost
entirely on the export of frozen meat and dairy products to Britain, and in
1961, the share of New Zealand exports going to the United Kingdom was
still at slightly over 51%, with approximately 15% more going to other
European countries.[14] This system was irreparably damaged by Britain
joining the European Economic Community in 1973. Britain's accession to
the European Community forced New Zealand to not only find new markets,
but also re-examine its national identity and place in the world. </p>
Figure 4.6 Content of history text contained in an XHTML page
In our CSS we codified how every p element of XHTML page is shown. For
example:
P{
font-size:95%;
}
Figure 4.7 CSS paragraph element
In the above example, Figure nn2 indicates the font size of paragraph in figure
nn1 to be displayed. However, the font size can be altered to a further three
different sizes (as seen in Figure nn3). For example, when either of the ‘M’, ‘L’
and ‘XL’ font size chosen, different paragraph element in a CSS file was selected.
Figure 4.8 a font-size control toolbox
JavaScript enables the dynamic modification of the CSS information of the page
at user request, without interfering in the content.
33
4.3.2
Problems Encountered
We have taken previous version of the University of Bath’s Learning Support
Centre web site as an example. It contained CSS instructions that would
highlight content texts in orange colour for a short flash during content
manipulation. This behaviour was not intended, it was a bug in the original
page.
It was not detected by the original developer because the previous version of
the Learning Support web site appeared to be developed and tested with
Microsoft Internet Explorer. Nonetheless, this problem only showed up when
using any other standard compliance browser, e.g. Mozilla Firefox. We, later,
fixed this problem by commenting one statement in the CSS source file which
made our application compatible with all browsers.
4.4
PHP: The template system
PHP is a server side scripting language. PHP programs execute inside the web
server and its output is usually a XHTML page. It is widely used to make web
applications; especially in conjunction with free software Database Management
System (DBMS) like MySQL or PostgreSQL.
Every page has much more content than just the main text presented to the
user. It has a title bar, a menu and a set of controls to allow the user to change
the viewer. To repeat this overlay content, writing it down in every page would
lead to problems during implementation. Every change would have to
propagate in many files.
A basic usage of PHP allows us to solve this problem, as it allows inserting and
modifying XHTML before sending it to the user. This allows us to mix the
content of every different page with the overlay, but keeping them in different
files.
For example the page the user accessed to see welcome page is index.php.
Figure nn4 illustrates its contents:
<?php
$content_file = 'welcome';
include 'template.php';
?>
Figure 4.9 index.php
What it does is to set the variable $content_file to ‘welcome’ and to include
template.php. This file contains the overlay, which includes the file in
34
welcome.php in the content folder. In template.php, it contains the following
code:
[…]
<td id="content" align="left" width="98%" ><br>
<?php include 'content/'.$content_file.'.php' ?>
</tr>
[…]
Figure 4.10 template.php
PHP allows the mix of HTML and PHP code. Only the instructions inside <?php and ?>
are interpreted. The rest is output directly. This code includes the content of the file,
which its name is calculated using the value stored in the variable $content_file. The
effect produced is the same HTML code surrounding one of the files in the content
folder.
All this processes were executed in the server before the user receives the finished
web page.
4.5
JavaScript
We use JavaScript to dynamically trigger the CSS codes. Some JavaScript
functions or code were invoked when the user interacted with the controls
on the left side of the page.
Figure 4.11 The web site control panel
35
Contradictory to PHP which were executed in the server side, JavaScript were
executed in the client side (web browsers). This enabled us to the make the page
dynamic, by changing it from inside the browser, instead a new page.
Every time to user changed something inside the control panel (containing all the
adjustments) a new page is not needed by the server, the JavaScript code executed inside
the browser changes in the layout inside the browser (Mozilla FireFox or Internet
Explorer 7)
36
<p>Change background colour:</p>
<select name="Background_colour" id="Background_colour"
onchange="document.bgColor=this.options[this.selectedIndex].value">
<option value="#FFFFFF" selected="selected">White </option>
<option value="#C6EF8C">Green </option>
<option value="#C6EFF7">Blue </option>
<option value="#FFFF42">Yellow </option>
<option value="#F7BDDE">Pink </option>
<option value="#e0e0e0">Grey </option>
<option value="#ffe7c6">Cream</option>
</select>
Figure 4.12: template.php
For example, this XHTML code (in Figure nn7) shows a list of optional colours to the
user. The onchange attribute contains JavaScript code that actually changes the
background colour. This code can be found inside template.php.
The onchange attribute may contain JavaScript code that will be executed if the user
changes their preferred option in one for the option list namely font colour, font type or
background colour in control panel.
For each one of these options (font colour, font type or background colour) there a code
similar to the one shown in the above figure. In this example the user will see the
different options for background colour. When the user changes the option, the
JavaScript code in the onchange attribute (document.bgColor = this.options
[this.selectedIndex] . value) is executed. In this example the code changes the
background colour.
Figure 4.13 Change background colour drop-down menu.
37
function Spacing(value)
{
if(value)
{
document.getElementById('content').style.letterSpacing='0.15em';
document.getElementById('content').style.lineHeight='2em';
document.getElementById('content').style.wordSpacing='1em';
}
else
{
document.getElementById('content').style.letterSpacing='';
document.getElementById('content').style.lineHeight='';
document.getElementById('content').style.wordSpacing='';
}
}
Figure 4.14 js/changeview.js
The above example illustrates a JavaScript function that changes the text spacing.
The document.getElementById('content') instruction gets a handle to the element
that includes the main text in the XHTML file. It is an element of type div with id
attribute content(<div id=”content”>) in template.php. In the same line, we modify
the style attribute which contains the CSS information of that element.
This Spacing(value) function is called from an onchange event if a check box in the
control panel (Figure 4.10) is ticked.
38
5 Study Design
5.1 Introduction
Dyslexics suffer difficulties in writing, spelling, reading, organisation and memory. In
our research we have focused on the reading aspect of these difficulties. As there is
no cure for dyslexia most attempts to tackle these difficulties involves changing the
text itself to make it more readable to the dyslexic. These include paper-based
solutions, such as Dyslexia-friendly books as well as computer-based solutions, such
as the assistive technologies mentioned in Chapter three, which we decided to
evaluate the effectiveness and usability of.
The motivation for examining this set of assistive technologies is not simply to say
which works best. Rather it is to explore how these technologies are used by people
with Dyslexia to accomplish reading tasks.
It is also important to mention that this is an exploratory study and is neither an
experiment nor a comparison of the two technologies featured in this study. By
exposing how people with Dyslexia interact with these different technologies we
hope to indentify critical usability issues which are specific to Dyslexia, and thus help
in the design of future software.
5.1.1 Purpose of study:
The study is designed to answer two questions:
• Are existing assistive technologies for reading adequate for Dyslexia?
• Do changes to font and colour of background make a difference when
reading a piece of text?
5.2 Methodology
5.2.1 Pilot study
Pilot study is a small trial run of the main study. The aim is to make sure that the
proposed method is viable before embarking on the actual study. [16] A short pilot
study was conducted on two members of the target group (not connected to the
main study) to see if any flaws could be indentified. This proved very useful as
users gave feedback which resulted in changing not only the study design but the
software too. We found that our initial prototype, in which users had to read three
articles and answer three questions per article, was taking a considerable amount
of time. Dyslexics tend to suffer from fatigue and consequently a lack of
concentration, and it was not viable to continue conducting the study in this way.
As a result, we reduced the number of articles to two. In addition, as the consent
form was rather long and detailed it was decided to incorporate them into the two
applications rather than have them on paper. The interview questions changed
39
throughout the pilot. There were some which were too vague and did not provide
enough information. We attached a Likert scale to some. Also, there were some
spelling and grammatical problems with the questions. All these issues were
resolved before the actual study begun.
5.2.2 Participants
Our population sample came from the University of Bath. We chose six
undergraduate students, three male and three female, aged between 18 and 22
years, all of whom suffer from varying degrees of dyslexia (mild, moderate and
severe).
Each participant read both texts (Historic and Scientific) once, using each of the
applications (SeeWord and the Web Browser) once. The combination of text and
application were alternated between users, such that half read the historic text in
the web browser and the scientific text in SeeWord and vice versa. The order of the
texts was also alternated. Each participant was given a five pound note as incentive
to participate in the study.
5.2.3 Materials
The study was conducted on a Sony VAIO laptop (VHN-A297XP).
o Screen Size: 17inchs
o Screen resolution: 1280 by 768 pixels
o Wireless mouse
o Laptop touchpad
o Cam-corded
o Articles
History
Science
We chose articles which were academic in content from two very different subject areas
(Science and History). The science article was on interferometry which is a combination
on radio physics and Astronomy. The history article was based on the Maori post war
movement in New Zealand. It was important to subject areas which were not commonly
known and were somewhat boring to read, thus forcing participants to concentrate
harder and consequently change their viewers. Both articles contained 1 paragraph of
210 words, with a mixture of text and numerical data. (see Appendix B). We read
through many articles on subjects ranging from wildlife to food before settling with
history and science articles. A main reason for was the word limit, most articles were
far too long to include. A word limit in the range of 210 words was long in enough to
contain content rich information.
5.2.4 Procedure
•
Each participant was placed in the University of Bath HCI Lab, seated at a
table and facing a laptop computer screen. A camera was positioned behind
them. The evaluator would be seated in a separate section of the Lab. Both
40
•
•
•
•
evaluator and participant could see and communicate with each other
throughout the experiment.
The participants were offered a choice of non-alcoholic drink (orange juice
or water).
Each participant was asked to read the consent form (see Appendix A), in
the application they were to begin with either SeeWord or the Web
Browser.
After which they were asked whether they had any concerns or questions
and were asked to sign a form agreeing to participate.
The participant was then asked to read through the study procedure sheet
was on paper (see Appendix E).
It was mentioned again that the screen was being filmed and not them. At this
point, it was made very clear that although time was recorded, that there was no
time limit on their reading or answering the questions. Also, it was mentioned that
the evaluator had Dyslexia, so that there would be no pressure or embarrassment.
•
For the first run, each participant began with either SeeWord or the Web
Browser, and either the history or science text. For the second run, the
participant would then work with the remaining application and text (see
Table 5.1 below).
Participants
Application 1 & Text 1
Application 2 & Text 2
1
Web Browser & History
SeeWord & Science
2
Web Browser & Science
SeeWord & History
3
SeeWord &History
Web Brower & Science
4
SeeWord & Science
Web Brower & History
5
SeeWord & Science
Web Browser & History
6
SeeWord & History
Web Browser & Science
Table 5.1 Application alterations.
•
•
Each participant was told they may speak aloud / read aloud during the
study, but may not ask questions. However many did end up asking
questions anyway. The evaluator would then state that they could not
answer such questions and that the participant should continue with the
task.
Each participant was timed in minutes whilst they read the article.
41
•
•
•
After they had read the article they were then asked to answer three short
questions (see appendix C) on what they had just read. This was conducted
to test their comprehension. This task was also timed.
Once they had completed the task, they were given a semi-formal interview
regarding the text they had read and the application on which it was read.
This was done to ascertain a range of things from their comfort level to the
features and combinations which they found to be most beneficial.
Upon completion of the interview (see appendix D), the participants were
given their five pound incentive and thanked for their participation.
5.2.5 Data Recording
Data recording can be conducted in various forms, for example, video recording
and photographing. It usually involves the combination of several techniques.
[16] As mentioned above, data for this study was collected in several ways. We can
divide the types of data into quantitative and qualitative data.
Quantitative data included the time recorded for task performance (reading time
and question answering) and comprehension. Comprehension was measured by
correctness of answers given to the questions. Explain how measuring
comprehension is quantitative (yes or no/ scale & how came to that decision)
Qualitative data was gathered through the interview, evaluator observation, and
camera recordings. We describe each of these in detail below.
A) Interview
It has been said that interview can be thought of as ‘conversations with a purpose’
(Kahn and Cannell, 1957). With this in mind and to gain additional information
from the study, we decided to conduct a short interview consisting of 10 questions.
The interview followed a semi-structured style combining both open and closeended questions. To ensure standardization across the board, all participants were
given exactly the same questions in the interview. [16] Questions included asking
about the comfort level of the user, comparison between the two applications, their
reaction to the different colour combinations, and suggestions for features they
would like to see incorporated (see Appendix D).
B) Observation
Observation is a useful data gathering technique which can be adopted at any stage
of the study. [16] Think-aloud was adopted to gather additional information. For
the purposes of this study, it did not produce any particularly relevant information,
but did highlight users’ frustrations, such as confusion regarding where features
were to be found. Also it alerted the evaluator to the occasions in which text was
accidentally deleted in the SeeWord application.
C) Video recording and note-taking
42
During the study data was recorded by a video camera and by the evaluator taking
notes.
The video recordings were useful in capturing both audio and visual data the
evaluator may have missed or overlooked. Videoing for this study was particularly
difficult as many elements and angles needed to be captured [16]. The screen was
the main focus area, which allowed us to examine exactly what the users were
changing and how often. Due to the nature of the study we placed the camera
behind the users to avoid intruding on their space. However by doing this we
missed out on capturing the users’ keyboard activities, as well as their preferences
between touchpad and arrow keys. The choice of input may have made a difference
to the amount of time spent altering the appearance of the screen. We placed the
laptop in a position which best fit our filming area, but noticed that during the task,
not only were the users changing what they were reading but also the positioning
of the laptop and their sitting arrangements. This affected the usefulness of the
content of some of the video recordings.
The note-taking is generally considered the least technical way of recording data as
it is difficult and tiring to write and observe at the same time [16]. Note-taking for
this study was done to record the numbers of adjustments each participant made
to the viewer while reading in each application.
43
5.3 Results & Analysis
In this section, we examine the data collected during this study consisting of both
Quantitative and Qualitative data, analysis of the Quantitative and Qualitative data
found in (see appendix H).
5.3.1 Quantitative Results and Discussion
As the sample size was very small, it was not viable to get much confidence in any
statistical analysis. Nevertheless, we employed a simple comparison looking at the
means of our measures, which include:
•
Reading time performance
•
Question comprehension time performance
•
Numbers of adjustments made during the tasks
•
Fatigue level
Tables 5.2 to 5.5 describe the above measures accordingly.
Reading
Topics
Web Application
Time
Performance(Mins)
History
Science
Average
SeeWord
Time
Performance
(Mins)
5.80
3.99
3.14
6.32
4.47
5.15
Table 5.2 Means of reading times.
We can see from the table 5.2 that there was not a significant difference in average
reading times between the Web Browser and the SeeWord applications, only a 0.68
second difference. However, the reading time for history article in the web
application was slightly higher than that in SeeWord. Whereas the reading time for
science article in the web application was half that of SeeWord. Results shown that
time performance in both applications did not appear to be uniformed across
reading topics. We assume this inconsistency is a direct result of a small sample size,
as no conclusion can be drawn from this data. Given a larger sample and more time,
we believe that it would have been possible to conduct further analysis on this
inconsistency.
44
Question
Topics
Web Application
Time
Performance
(Mins)
History
Science
Average
SeeWord
Time
Performance
(Mins)
4.35
4.55
10.62
7.11
7.49
5.83
Table 5.3 Mean of question comprehension times
During the study, each participant was required to answer 2 sets of questions, each
set containing 3 questions on each article, i.e. history and science. Table 5.3 shows
average time duration that participants took to answer those questions. For this
study, we call this measure the question comprehension time.
We can see from the table 5.3 that the average comprehension time was better in
SeeWord than that in the web application. However, the comprehension time for
history article in the web application was slightly lower than that in SeeWord.
Whereas the comprehension time for science article in the web application was
higher than that of SeeWord. Results shown that comprehension performance in
both applications did not appear to be uniformed across reading topics. We assume
this inconsistency is again a direct result of a small sample size, as no conclusion can
be drawn from this data. Given a larger sample and more time, we believe that it
would have been possible to conduct further analysis on this inconsistency.
Numbers of
Adjustment
Web
Application
(No. of steps)
SeeWord Time
(No. of steps)
History
22
9
Science
13
27
17
16
Average
Table 5.4 Number of adjustments made during the task.
Table 5.4 shows the number of time that participants adjusted their viewers, i.e. the
applications, in order to complete reading tasks. These adjustments included
changing fonts (size, colour, type), changing background colour and spacing
(line/word).
We can see from the table 5.4 that the difference of the average number of
adjustment between applications was 1 step. We might be able to infer from these
45
results that participants explored both applications equally in term of settings.
However, the number of adjustment for history article in the web application was
much higher than that in SeeWord. Whereas the number of adjustment for science
article in the web application was much lower than that of SeeWord. Results shown
that the number of adjustment in both applications did not appear to be uniformed
across reading topics. We assume this inconsistency is again a direct result of a
small sample size, as no conclusion can be drawn from this data. Even though it is
assumed that our sample have access to the Internet, we still presume that they may
be curious when using new interfaces such as our application which may lead to the
high number of adjustments in both applications. Given a larger sample and more
time, we believe that it would have been possible to conduct further analysis on this
inconsistency.
Fatigue Level
Web Application
(n of 10)
SeeWord Time
(n of 10)
Fatigue Level
4.80
4.60
Table 5.5 Means of fatigue level ranked by participants.
Fatigue is a level of tiredness which could occur during these tasks as there was no
fixed time limit for task completion. Fatigue was measured on a scale of 1 to 10,
which 1 being less tired and 10 being extremely tired. Each participant was asked
what their fatigue level was for both applications. Table 5.5 shows average level of
fatigue participants endured.
We can see from the table 5.5 that fatigue level was very similar regardless of
applications. In this study, participants spent on the average of 1 hour to complete
reading tasks for both applications. We can infer from the results that dyslexic
participants suffer fatigue regardless of assistive technologies deployed for reading
tasks. Indeed, fatigue and lack of concentration are characteristics of dyslexia thus
it is safe to assume that may be responsible for these results. [19]
5.3.2 Qualitative Analysis and Discussion
Due to the small sample, the majority of our analysis is therefore focused on the
Qualitative data, which is made up of observation made throughout the study,
interview questions, question they answered and from the think-aloud process.
5.3.2.1 Observation:
Across both applications (Web Browser and SeeWord) participants opted for the
BLUE font colour three out of twelve times and BLACK eight out of twelve times.
Interestingly enough, the combination of BLACK text and WHITE background was
used six times out of twelve by three participants in both applications, by two
males and one female.
46
BLUE and YELLOW was used twice by different participants when reading the
science article in SeeWord application
Spacing is often considered to alleviate strain on reading for Dyslexic. However
spacing was only used in the Web application as it was clearly defined as an option;
two of the twelve participants used this function. One participant struggled to read
the history text in SeeWord and manually inserted spacing (x2) between every
single line and sometimes between words they found difficult to understand.
Individuals found highlighting words, whole sentences and difficult parts of text
whilst reading was found to be particularly useful to the participants during the
tasks. When single words were highlighted, participants were trying to gather the
meaning, by right clicking on the highlighted word to see if a drop down menu
would appear this approach was attempted numerous times in SeeWord. Others
highlighted the text constantly throughout both applications to enable them to
grasp and understand the text.
Whilst participants were trying to find there way around the application(s)
SeeWord in particular they started by highlighting to entire text then, right clicking
hoping to find a drop down menu containing setting and adjustments for altering
the text. The data shows that six of the twelve participants deleted the text in
SeeWord which then had to be re-loaded by the evaluator.
In the Web Browser application all the sizes M, L and XL were used read the
material as shown in figure(s) 5.1-5.3.
Figure 5.1 Web application when the MEDIUM font size in selected.
Figure 5.2 Web browser when the LARGE font size in selected.
47
Figure 5.3 Web browser when the EXTRA LARGE font size in selected.
However, participants using SeeWord seem to prefer fonts of 14 or 16, but one
participant did increase the text size to 22. By increasing the font size,
dyslexic’s who suffer from some form of visual stress, also known as MearesIrlen syndrome, can help them to focus on what they reading [25] [19]
For background colour WHITE and YELLOW were preferred, however two
participants chose to GREEN and BLUE. Although it is possible to dynamically
modify text and background colours. It is important to mention that colour can
make a difference to how an individual reads text. However it also depends on
the screen contrast and resolution, for example, if a letter that appear 5mm high
on an 800x600 screen will be 3mm high on a 1400x1050 screen. Background
colour has an impact on font size, for example, bright yellow text on a royal blue
background will appear more intense and easier to read then compared to a
pale blue background even if the font was indeed smaller [20] All these factors
combined contribute to reading more comfortably and in some cases alleviate
fatigue.
In the Web browser application a range of fonts were used; VERDANA, TIMES
NEW ROMAN, COMIC SANS and ARIAL. Verdana was the choice being used three
out of six times in this application. Whereas, in SeeWord application the range of
fonts used were TIMES, COMIC, ARIAL and FALIA. Time New Roman was the
easier to read with. It has been suggested that particular typefaces are better for
dyslexics, included in which are Verdana and Arial, two of which were used
repeatedly in both application. [25]
Many participants appeared to be shy and consequently did not speak aloud,
thus not producing anything more then questions about where features were to
be found and what particular words meant, none of which could be disclosed to
them.
It was expressed that due the nature of the subject areas they had to read, they
were increasingly bored and subsequently experienced levels of discomfort
which meant they were more willing to miss-out words during the task.
Boredom originates from their frustration at not be able to do the task combined
with a lack of concentration all of which contribute to the failure of the task.
Scrolling through both applications, the users had access to both the touchpad
on the keyboard, the arrows keys and the wireless mouse all of which were
used throughout each of the tasks. [20]
48
5.3.1.2 Questions and comprehension:
All participants attempted both sets of questions they were given, however one
participant failed to answer a question relating to the ‘science’ article.
Comprehension of the questions was measured by the evaluator using the
articles as a reference, so already there was some bias. (see appendix E)
The table 5.6 below shows the number of questions answered correctly across
both the applications and articles. An effort was made to ask questions which
would require the participants to have not only read but also understand the
text instead of just memorising section. In saying that, it can be seen that Q2 in
both articles were answered correctly. However, the remaining figures show a
consistent pattern across both application when the participant read the science
article. This would indicate that comprehension was not attributed to visual aid
and adjustment made in both applications, but rather the content and nature of
the text which produced the exact same results.
Question
Topics
History
Science
Web App Comprehension
(correctly answered)
SeeWord
Comprehension
(correctly
answered)
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q1
Q2
Q3
1/3
3/3
2/3
3/3
2/3
3/3
2/3
3/3
1/3
2/3
3/3
1/3
Table 5.6 number of correct answers
Although, some participants answered in more depth then others, in some cases
they completely misunderstood what they were being asked. This could be a
result of not them not understanding the questions, however, this is very
difficult to establish.
It was noted whilst marking the questions, that Q3 relating to the science article,
was inappropriately structured, which could have caused confusion. The
question was meant to be ambiguous but not confusion. It read ‘What two
disciplines lead to interferometry’ it should have been written ‘Which two subject
fields make-up interferometry’. However, if the latter was used, the question
would have been too easy. The results clearly show poor performance is this
question, which may be a result of the way it was written. (see appendix E)
5.3.2.3 Interview questions:
It was important to establish whether any of the participants had an interest in
either Astronomy or World History, as this would have distorted our results. As
it turned out, none of them claimed to have any interest in either. According to
the participants, the overall comfort level whilst reading was ranked six out of
ten on the scale provided, which was encouraging. The Web based application
was rated higher four out of the six times.
49
Interestingly enough, a feature which all participants found helped them to read
was changing font size. In the words of a participant 1;
‘The font size, need text big enough to identify each letter in a
word, this stops words from jumping around, Black and White
insanely difficult to read thus changing colours helped a lot’
Spacing was another feature which was beneficial to the readers. The web
application failed to deliver on this task, as it incorporated both line and word
spacing into one as a checkbox, which meant there was no room to alter it, this may
have caused confusion for the user. The design should have allowed both options
separately and not combined into one function. Line/word and justification spacing
is a major issue for Dyslexics. Usually they prefer a spacing of 30%, due to nature of
dyslexia this is not always the case, if the spacing is more then 30% they begin to
have difficulties reading text. [20]
Visually the participants preferred a range of font size, spacing, background colour
and font type. It is evident that a combination of these features does help when
reading is required.
A major problem with the interview questions were that they focused more on the
applications feature and functionality rather then focusing on ‘reading’ within
those two application environments. The questions were not specific enough to the
study and the questions surrounding reading, whether users would adjusted there
viewer to read.
5.3.2.4 Flaws and problems encountered with the study
The lack of participants was a major problem, as the study is not representative of
the dyslexic population. Ideally we would have wanted sixteen participants in total
(8 females and 8 males). This number would have allowed us to conduct a more
through statistical analysis.
Due to the participants moving the laptop from the set position on the desk and
rearranging their sitting positions. It was incredibly difficult to capture all the
adjustments they were making to the text whilst reading, as the camera was placed
directly behind them.
Upon looking over the results, it was apparent that some interview questions were
inconsistent and could have caused confusion amongst the participants. For
example; Question 2 asked, ‘What was your comfort level during this task’? (In
SeeWord, Web application and overall comfort) Scale 10 GREAT and 1 WORSE.
However in question 10 a similar scale was used to rank level of fatigue. In this
case the scale was 10 BAD and 1 was GOOD.
A very important factor which was left out when designing the web application was
left justification of the text. This is vitally important for dyslexia’s as it allows them
to see a jagged pattern down the right hand side which helps them to return when
text needs re-reading, it’s like a location finder. [20]
If there was more time we would have used NVIVO which is a software design
specifically to analysis qualitative data i.e. collected for interviews and focus
groups. This software scans the data which has been inputted, searches for a
pattern/correlation and then generates a model illustrating the relationship
50
amongst the findings. We attempted this process with a few participants, but due
to software difficulties we decided to discontinue.
51
6 Overall Discussion
It can be said that difficulties we establish as being predominately to do with
dyslexia, may also suggest that to a certain degree we all can be prone to having
dyslexic traits which makes reading difficult [3].
Because dyslexia is so complex, it is often defined in as a list of symptoms which
are apparent rather in terms of the underlying causes. The development of reading
abilities depends on the variety of conditions and experiences one has. Thus
designing appropriate tools can be a challenging and measuring abilities can be
heavily distorted, as no two dyslexics are the same. [19]
Poor comprehension skill amongst dyslexics is due to the fact they often perceive
different text from the one they have begun to read.
Most word processors depend on help from skilled individual to configure the
system to suit their needs. This process demands the investment of skilled time;
however it also removes control from the dyslexia user. In saying this, dyslexics
find changing the visual features within a word processor is dependant upon
external help. [19]
It has been suggested by many that dyslexia is associated with the right
hemisphere of the brain which controls and is primarily responsible for creativity
and visual thinking. If this is so, then modern assistive technologies have even
more to offer the dyslexia user as it allows direct manipulation of user interfaces.
Shneiderman wrote “physical, spatial or visual representation…appear to be easier
to retain and manipulate then are textual or numeric representations” [25] [19]
The study appeared to reinforce what the researchers found when developing the
SeeWord application. That the ability of reading text on a computer screen can
dramatically improves by changing the way the text is presented. By changing the
font type, font size, font colour, background colour and spacing. [24] Having said
that, our sample was too small to draw a definitive conclusion, also we would have
had to conduct a comparison between an assistive technology and a standard
application like Word to see how beneficial is all was. It was noticed that time and
comprehension not only depended on the participants manipulating the viewer but
on the text itself. If the participants found the text demanding in terms of content,
then no –matter how much they changed the appearance we believe the levels of
difficult and stress would still remain. However we can not back this claim up.
There is no real significance of the study, it is very difficult to draw a conclusion.
We can say that in every single interaction with text, users changed there viewers
and found the features to be useful.
6.1 Implication of the study
Due to the rapid growth of sectors such as media and Education, visual
presentation has become crucial as they relying more heavily on visual aids to
present their information/message to a wider audience via the net, whether it is as
a webpage or advertisement. Thus it is essential to understand what adjustments
the appearance would not only benefits dyslexics but non-dyslexic too.
52
Popularity of virtual learning environment amongst universities and learning
institutions are steadily increasing and begs the question should more thought and
effort go into designing and allowing manipulation of information for ‘all’ user
regardless of disabilities rather then a one fits all rule.
53
7 Conclusions
We set ourselves two questions for the purpose of the study. The first was; Are
existing assistive technologies for reading adequate for Dyslexia readers? This was a
difficult statement to verify or deny as the majority of assistive technologies
available to dyslexics are not just designed for reading, they incorporate many
other features like writing and text to speech functions. If we look at it in terms of
when they were required to read, was it easy to manipulate the text. According the
participants the web based application provided the features to change the text
combined with easy of navigation.
The Second was; Do changes to font and colours of background make a difference
when reading a piece of text? The participants found by altering the appearance
they could read with some degree of ease, but as mentioned above, the content
played a large role in both comprehension and their times for completion.
In this section we will describe our achievements and if they meant the initially
objectives set out at the beginning of the project. Criticisms the whole process will
be highlighted. Plus a personal evaluation of the journey untaken to complete this
project.
7.2 Criticisms of the study
The web-based application designed using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) was too
basis and lacked some key features namely text Justification and a separate
function for line and word spacing. During the interview users mentioned how not
having these features hindered them when they read the text.
Aspects of the design plan were weak, such as, interview questions were not well
thought out and resulted in the evaluator altering them before the first study
began. If they were, we would have gotten better insight into how the participants
were altering the features.
The issue of access to dyslexic participants should have been investigated more
thoroughly which would have avoided the sample size being so small.
The ages of the participant were not taken during the study, which was a mistake
as demographics are always important to a study and could, if the sample was large
enough provided some useful data.
Because the pilot studies were conducted outside of lab conditions and without the
equipment set-up. On the first day of testing there were major delays locating and
setting up the study which subsequently led to cancelling a participant.
7.3 Limitations
The most important limitation we faced throughout this study was obtaining
participants who suffered from dyslexia. Due to confidentiality and data protection,
we did not have access to this group of people.
54
Having the five pound incentive, lured people to participate in the study, however
their motives for doing so were unclear. Also it was impossible to ascertain
whether all the participants suffered from dyslexia.
Also, it was impossible categorized the severity of dyslexia suffered by the
participants. Dyslexics have various numbers of difficulties and needs from one
individual to another, therefore it is impossible to cater for all the difficulties they
may encountered.
As participants constantly moved the laptop around, video recording was
incredibly difficult. We should have had a camera attached to the user, thus when
they moved so did the camera capturing images otherwise missed by the evaluator.
Better preparation was needed from the start not only with the design but with the
direction of the study, to ensure that it was not a comparison of two application but
rather an evaluation of adjustments made throughout the task.
Time was a constraint; we only had a window of ten days available for conducting
the study. If the design was completed earlier we could have allowed for a long
period of testing which may have led to an increase in participant participation.
7.4 Further work
If we had time, conducting the same study on a much larger population sample to
gain more comprehensive set of results. To analysis those in more depth with
NVIVO an application designed to analysis qualitative data. Helping to extract
important information from the answers provided.
Have designed a cascading style sheet (CSS) using XHTML incorporating more
features found to be helpful, which could be applied to all webpage’s. Meaning this
application would over ride the existing web application of the page and replace it
with the CSS for dyslexia’s reader, allowing them to manipulate text and read with
easy.
To have the opportunity to test on a wider all dyslexia participants outside of
education.
If given the opportunity to conduct this study again, focus group and telephone
interviews and questionnaires would have been deployed to establish a problem
area rather than the evaluator conducting overviews on existing assistive
technologies, which creates bias within the study. [8]
This is the chapter in which you review the major achievements in the light of your
original objectives, critique the process, critique your own learning and identify
possible future work
My original objective was to see if dyslexia students would adjust screen of the
application to help them read. We believe we established that features we included
did assistive reading from a computer screen. However due to the small sample, it
was impossible to conduct statistical analysis verifying this notion.
7.5 Personal evaluation:
I learnt a lot through this process and have gained a wide variety of skills ranging
from skim reading vast amount of papers to learning how to write CSS. I feel my
55
ability to convey my thoughts into a written form has improved somewhat. And
that I have gained some skills in academic writing. My knowledge of Microsoft
Word version 07 has improved considerably, having had to overcome a number of
problems whilst writing and formatting. Learning how to use Latex was interesting
and enhanced the skills I have, unfortunately I was not confident enough to use it
to produce this document. My understanding of how to search for documentation
via databases has improved much more then previously. However, regretfully
through out this whole process I was not able to manage my time effectively
enough to benefit from producing this document in a subject area very close to me.
56
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59
APPENDICES
60
Appendix A:
Code-CSS
File: css/uob.css
body {
margin-left: 0px;
margin-top: 0px;
margin-right: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0px;
}
BODY {
FONT-SIZE: 95%;
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
margin-left: 0px;
margin-top: 0px;
margin-right: 0px;
margin-bottom: 0px;
}
.accessboxyellow {
background-image: url(../Pictures/yellowbackground.jpg);
background-repeat: no-repeat;
height: 109px;
width: 220px;
background-position: center center;
}
P {
FONT-SIZE: 95%;
}
UL {
FONT-SIZE: 95%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sansserif
}
OL {
FONT-SIZE: 95%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sansserif
}
LI {
FONT-SIZE: 95%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sansserif
}
TD {
FONT-SIZE: 95%; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sansserif
}
H1 {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial; FONT-WEIGHT: 700; FONT-SIZE:
2.5aem; FONT-STYLE: normal;
}
H2 {
FONT-WEIGHT: 700; FONT-SIZE: 1.3em
61
}
H3 {
FONT-WEIGHT: 700; FONT-SIZE: 1.2em
}
H4 {
FONT-WEIGHT: 700; FONT-SIZE: 1.1em
}
H5 {
FONT-WEIGHT: 600; FONT-SIZE: 1em
}
H6 {
FONT-WEIGHT: 600
}
CODE {
FONT-FAMILY: Courier, monospace
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Code-JavaScript
File: Js/changeview.js
function changeFontsize(fSize) {
var getElement = document.getElementsByTagName("td");
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document.getElementById('content').style.letterSpacing='';
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document.getElementById('Spacing').checked = false;
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changeFontsize('small');
HTML and PHP code
File: content/history.php
<h1>Post-War</h1>
<p align="left">
The M&auml;ori protest movement was just one of several
movements which emerged at this time to challenge the
conservatism of mainstream New Zealand culture. This culture,
and the country's economy, was based on being an offshoot of
Britain. From the 1890s, the economy had been based almost
entirely on the export of frozen meat and dairy products to
Britain, and in 1961, the share of New Zealand exports going to
the United Kingdom was still at slightly over 51%, with
approximately 15% more going to other European countries.[14]
This system was irreparably damaged by Britain joining the
European Economic Community in 1973. Britain's accession to the
European Community forced New Zealand to not only find new
markets, but also re-examine its national identity and place in
the world.
</p>
<p align="left">
Robert Muldoon, Prime Minister from 1975 to 1984, and his Third
National government responded to the crises of the 1970s by
attempting to preserve the New Zealand of the 1950s. His
72
conservatism and antagonistic style helped create an atmosphere
of conflict in New Zealand, most violently expressed during the
1981 Springbok Tour. Some innovations did take place, for
example the Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia,
and in 1983 the term "dominion" was replaced with "realm" by
letters patent.
</p>
<p align="left">
<a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_new_zealand#Postwar">Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_new_zealand#Postwar</a>
</p>
File: content/science.php
<h1>Radio interferometry</h1>
<p align="left">
The difficulty in achieving high resolutions with single radio
telescopes led to radio interferometry, developed by British
radio astronomer Martin Ryle and Australian-born engineer,
radiophysicist, and radio astronomer Joseph Lade Pawsey in
1946. Radio interferometers consist of widely separated radio
telescopes observing the same object that are connected
together using coaxial cable, waveguide, optical fiber, or
other type of transmission line. This not only increases the
total signal collected, it can also be used in a process called
Aperture synthesis to vastly increase resolution. This
technique works by superposing (interfering) the signal waves
from the different telescopes on the principle that waves that
coincide with the same phase will add to each other while two
waves that have opposite phases will cancel each other out.
This creates a combined telescope that is the size of the
antennas furthest apart in the array. In order to produce a
high quality image, a large number of different separations
between different telescopes are required (the projected
separation between any two telescopes as seen from the radio
source is called a baseline) - as many different baselines as
possible are required in order to get a good quality image. For
example the Very Large Array has 27 telescopes giving 351
independent baselines at once.
</p>
<p align="left">
73
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_astronomy">Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_astronomy</a>
</p>
File: content/welcome.php
<h1>Informed Constent to Participate in Research</h1>
<p align="left">
Information to Consider Before Taking Part in this Research
Study
</p>
<p align="left">
<i>Consent Script to be read to all participants prior to any
research:</i>
</p>
<p align="left">
You are being asked to take part in a research study as part of
a final year dissertation, which is entitled:
</p>
<p align="left">
<b><i>“Examining How Assistive Technologies Can Aid Reading
Amongst Dyslexics”</i></b>
</p>
<p align="left">
The person conducting the research will be a final year BSc
Hons Computer Information Systems student from the University
Of Bath.
</p>
<p align="left">
<b>Purpose of the study</b>
<br/>
74
The purpose is to establish whether or not these two
technologies provide sufficient support when reading is
required and how beneficial they are.
</p>
<p align="left">
<b>Participation / Withdrawal</b>
<br/>
You can choose not to participate in this research study at any
time without hesitation, there will be no consequence should
you decide to stop.
</p>
<p align="left">
<b>Benefits</b>
<br/>
We don’t know if you will get any benefits by taking part in
this study.
But it is possible that by having this
information, designers will take the specific needs of
Dyslexics into considerations where designing, not only
specialist software, but making all applications accessible.
</p>
<p align="left">
<b>Risks or Discomfort</b>
<br/>
There are no known risks to those who take part in this study,
however should you feel any discomfort, please say and we will
stop the study.
</p>
<p align="left">
<b>Incentive</b>
<br/>
You will be given a £5 incentive for participating in this
study.
</p>
<p align="left">
<b>Confidentiality</b>
75
<br/>
All the data collected during this study will be kept strictly
confidential and used for research purposes only. Your identity
will remain anonymous, however, the screen will be filmed to
gather additional data for research purposes. Everything we
talk about in the interview will remain confidential. If you
wish, you may receive copies of any data used during the study.
</p>
<p align="left">
<b>Questions, concerns, or complaints</b>
<br/>
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this
study, please contact Sabirah Islam via email: [email protected]
.
If you have any further questions about the research, now or
during the course of the project, you can ask me at any time.
</p>
File: index.php
<?php
$content_file = 'welcome';
include 'template.php';
?>
File: text1.php
<?php
$content_file = 'history';
include 'template.php';
?>
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File: text2.php
<?php
$content_file = 'science';
include 'template.php';
?>
File: template.php
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224/loose.dtd">
<html lang="en">
<head>
<title>University of Bath - Learning
Information for Current Students</title>
Support
<meta
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content="text/html;
<link
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href="css/uob.css" title="Default">
<script
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src="js/changeview.js">
Service
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</script>
</head>
<body bgcolor="Change background colour">
<table summary="Table for layout purposes - containing page
title"
align="center"
border="0"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tbody>
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cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tbody><tr>
<td
width="77%">
class="nowrap"
align="center"
<font size="300%" >Reading Task </font>
</td>
77
valign="top"
<td
align="right"
valign="top"
width="23%"><a
href="http://www.bath.ac.uk/"><img
src="images/BarUni.gif"
alt="University Logo - Links to University main page"
border="0" height="90" width="173"></a></td>
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<tr>
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<table
width="100%">
border="0"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="3"
<tbody>
<tr class="veneer">
<td bgcolor="#0066ff">
align="center"><font
class="topnav">
<div
color="#cccccc"><strong><a
href="."
WELCOME</a></strong></font></div>
</td>
<td
bgcolor="#669933"><div
align="center"><font
color="#cccccc"><strong><a href="text1.php" class="topnav">
HISTORY
</a></strong></font></div></td>
<td
bgcolor="#ff9900">
<div
align="center"><strong><font
color="#cccccc"><a
href="text2.php" class="topnav">
SCIENCE</a></font></strong></div></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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</tbody>
</table>
78
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%">
<tbody><tr>
<td class="veneer" align="left" valign="top" width="220">
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<table
border="0"
cellpadding="0"
width="220" style="margin-top:30px">
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<a
href="#"
onclick="javascript:changeFontsize('small');"><img
src="images/redsizeone.gif" alt="Set font size to small"
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height="50"
width="32"></a><a
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src="images/redsizefour.gif" alt="Set font size to extra large"
border="0" height="50" width="39"></a></div>
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<p>Change background colour:</p>
<select
name="Background_colour"
id="Background_colour"
onchange="document.bgColor=this.options[this.selectedIndex].val
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<option
selected="selected">White </option>
value="#FFFFFF"
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value="verdana"
<option value="arial">Arial </option>
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Roman',times,serif">Times </option>
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Sans
MS'">Comic
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<input type="checkbox"
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onchange="
</p>
<p>Change font colour:</p>
<select
name="Font_colour"
id="Font_colour"
onchange="document.getElementById('content').style.color=this.o
ptions[this.selectedIndex].value">
<option selected="selected">Black </option>
<option value="red">Red </option>
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<option value="green">Green </option>
<option value="blue">Blue </option>
<option value="violet">Violet </option>
</select>
<p><input
type="button"
onclick="doReset();"/></p>
value="Reset
"
</div>
<img
height="15" width="8">
src="images/skip.gif"
alt="-"
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<!-- Left Menu table ends -->
</td>
<td align="left" valign="top" width="90%">
<table
width="100%">
border="0"
cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"
<tbody><tr>
<td
class="veneer"
width="1%"><img
src="images/skip.gif" height="1" width="1"></td>
80
alt="spacer"
<td id="content" align="left" width="98%" ><br>
<?php include 'content/'.$content_file.'.php' ?>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</body>
</html>
81
Appendix B: Articles
Science-Radio Interferometry
The difficulty in achieving high resolutions with single radio telescopes led to radio
interferometry, developed by British radio astronomer Martin Ryle and Australianborn engineer, radiophysicist, and radio astronomer Joseph Lade Pawsey in 1946.
Radio interferometers consist of widely separated radio telescopes observing the
same object that are connected together using coaxial cable, waveguide, optical fibre,
or other type of transmission line. This not only increases the total signal collected,
it can also be used in a process called Aperture synthesis to vastly increase
resolution. This technique works by superposing (interfering) the signal waves from
the different telescopes on the principle that waves that coincide with the same
phase will add to each other while two waves that have opposite phases will cancel
each other out. This creates a combined telescope that is the size of the antennas
furthest apart in the array. In order to produce a high quality image, a large
number of different separations between different telescopes are required (the
projected separation between any two telescopes as seen from the radio source is
called a baseline) - as many different baselines as possible are required in order to
get a good quality image. For example the Very Large Array has 27 telescopes
giving 351 independent baselines at once.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_astronomy
History-Post-War
The Māori protest movement was just one of several movements which emerged at
this time to challenge the conservatism of mainstream New Zealand culture. This
culture, and the country's economy, was based on being an offshoot of Britain.
From the 1890s, the economy had been based almost entirely on the export of
frozen meat and dairy products to Britain, and in 1961, the share of New Zealand
exports going to the United Kingdom was still at slightly over 51%, with
approximately 15% more going to other European countries.[14] This system was
irreparably damaged by Britain joining the European Economic Community in
1973. Britain's accession to the European Community forced New Zealand to not
only find new markets, but also re-examine its national identity and place in the
world.
Robert Muldoon, Prime Minister from 1975 to 1984, and his Third National
government responded to the crises of the 1970s by attempting to preserve the
New Zealand of the 1950s. His conservatism and antagonistic style helped create
an atmosphere of conflict in New Zealand, most violently expressed during the
1981 Springbok Tour. Some innovations did take place, for example the Closer
Economic Relations agreement with Australia, and in 1983 the term "dominion"
was replaced with "realm" by letters patent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_new_zealand#Post-war
82
83
Appendix C: Consent form
Verbal Informed Consent to Participate in Research
Information to Consider Before Taking Part in this Research Study
Consent Script to be read to all participants prior to any research:
You are being asked to take part in a research study as part of a final year
dissertation, which is entitled:
“Examining How Dyslexics Adjust Their Visual Environments to
Aid Reading”
The person conducting the research will be a final year BSc Hons Computer
Information Systems student from the University Of Bath.
Purpose of the study
The purpose is to establish whether or not these two technologies provide
sufficient support when reading is required and how beneficial they are.
Participation / Withdrawal
You can choose not to participate in this research study at any time without
hesitation, there will be no consequence should you decide to stop.
Benefits
We don’t know if you will get any benefits by taking part in this study. But it is
possible that by having this information, designers will take the specific needs of
Dyslexics into considerations where designing, not only specialist software, but
making all applications accessible.
Risks or Discomfort
There are no known risks to those who take part in this study, however should you
feel any discomfort, please say and we will stop the study.
Incentive
You will be given a £5 incentive for participating in this study.
Confidentiality
All the data collected during this study will be kept strictly confidential and used
for research purposes only. Your identity will remain anonymous; however, the
screen will be filmed to gather additional data for research purposes. Everything
we talk about in the interview will remain confidential. If you wish, you may
receive copies of any data used during the study.
84
Questions, concerns, or complaints
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this study, please contact
Sabirah Islam via email: [email protected]
If you have any further questions about the research, now or during the course of
the project, you can ask me at any time
Do you agree to be in the study, as described?
Name:
Signature:
Department:
Date:
85
Appendix D: Study Procedures
•
You will be asked to read the text marked ‘History’ (consisting of no more
than 210 words) using the ‘Web Browser’ application.
•
The application allows you to manipulate the text until you are happy to
read.
•
Straight after you will be given 3 questions to answer on the content.
•
There is no set time limit for completion; you may take breaks in-between
reading.
•
It would be beneficial if you could also speak aloud your thoughts as you
are conducting the tasks.
•
Once both reading tasks have been successfully completed, you will be
informally interviewed to gather your views.
If you have any questions during the study please ask.
Please note: the application alternated, these were all the combinations:
•
History and Web Browser
•
Science and Web Browser
•
History and SeeWord
•
Science and SeeWord
86
Appendix E: Articles Questions
Questions on Science (Interferometry)
1
What are the transmission lines which make up Aperture Synthesis?
2
What has to happen for a baseline to occur?
3
What two disciplines lead to interferometry?
Questions on History (New Zealand)
1
What was the consequence of Britain joining the European Community?
2
When was violence most prominent in New Zealand?
3
What did New Zealand economy rely on?
87
Appendix F: Interview Questions
10mins:
1
Do you have an interest in Astronomy or World History?
2
What was your comfort level during this task? Scale 10 GREAT and 1
WORSE (In SeeWord, in web application and overall comfort)
3
Which application did you prefer and why?
4
Which application was easier to navigate through?
5
What features were most beneficial to you?
6
Which feature change was easier on your eyes?
7
Which colour combination worked best for you?
8
Do you use or have used any assistive technology to help you read?
9
Are there any features that you would like to see incorporated in a system
in the future?
10
Did you experience fatigue during the task? If yes, in which application?
Scale 10 BAD and 1 GOOD.
88
Appendix G: Key for the raw data tables below:
Short hand in the table
Explanation
Pts
Participants
Gen
Gender
RT(mins)
Reading time in minutes
QT(mins)
Question time in minutes
Steps
Web
Number of adjustments they made to their
viewer
This referred to the web application.
SeeWord
Is the SeeWord application
Overall
The overall fatigue/comfort levels across the
whole task
There were the all the interview questions
Q1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10
NOTE: The original RAW TABLE taken at the time of the study in softcopy,
contained many spelling and grammatical mistake. This was due to the fact the
evaluator copied exactly what was written by the participants in there QUESTION
sheets. However, these mistakes have been rectified in this hardcopy to avoid any
confusion.
89
Appendix H: Raw data table
Pts
Gen
Depts
Applications
RT(mins)
QT(mins)
Steps
Font
Colour
Font
Style
Font
Type
Background
Colour
Spacing
1
M
Sports
Science
Web &
History
12.00
4.75
26
Blue
L
Times
Green
Yes
SeeWord &
Science
12.05
10.38
20
Blue
22
Times
Yellow
No
Web &
Science
5.40
17.00
11
Black
M
Verdana
Yellow
No
SeeWord &
History
3.25
4.00
13
Blue
14
Times
Yellow
No
SeeWord &
History
4.31
2.41
5
Black
16
Comic
White
No
Web &
Science
1.02
6.48
11
Black
M
Comic
White
2
3
4
5
6
F
M
F
F
M
Math
Biology
Biology
SeeWord &
History
Web &
Science
SeeWord &
Science
Web &
History
Mech
Eng
SeeWord &
Science
Math
Biology
4.41
7.24
11
Black
14
Arial
White
Inserted
manually spacing
of (x2) between
every line/every
single word.
3.00
8.40
17
Black
XL
Arial
White
Yes
3.48
4.47
23
Purple
16
Times
White
No
2.28
4.05
13
Black
XL
Verdana
Blue
No
3.42
6.49
25
Black
14
Falia
White
No
90
Web &
History
3.12
4.26
27
Black
M
Verdana
White
No
Pts
Interfometry Q1
Interfometry Q2
Interfometry Q3
1
Coaxial cable, waveguide, optical fibre
Arrange number of different separations.
Not non
2
Transmission lines e.g. coaxial cables,
waveguide & optical fibre connect
together radio telescope. Transmission
lines are signal waves.
There has to be separations between
different telescopes.
Radio Astronomy.
3
Radio Interferometry consisting of
widely separated radio telescopes
observing the same object, connected
together using coaxial cable,
waveguide, optical fibre.
Need a large number of different separations
between different telescope.
Radiophysicist and radio astronomer
The transmission lines which make up
Aperture synthesis are waveguide.
For a baseline to occur a radio source has to
record a projected separation between and
two telescopes.
The two disciplines which lead to interferometry
are achieving high resolutions for the image and
using single radio telescopes to get the data for
the image.
Did not answer
Different separations between different
telescopes are used and the projected
separation between them is the baseline
Widely separated radio telescope connected
together observing the same object.
4
5
91
6
Coaxial cable, waveguide, optical fibre
& other types.
Gathering more than one image from
different places, the projected separation
between any two telescopes as seen from the
radio source is called a baseline.
92
Radiophysicist, radio astronomer
Pts
History Q1
History Q2
History Q3
1
There was a decline in exports to the UK
1981
Meat and Dairy
2
New Zealand had to find a new market
for their meat & dairy products.
During Robert Muldoon's reign as PM specifically
1981
Before 1975 New Zealand relied on Britain
importing Its frozen meat & dairy
products.
3
Forced New Zealand to find new markets
as well as re-examine its natural identity
and place in the world
1970's
Export of frozen meat and dairy products
to the uk
4
The system was irreparably damaged.
Lead New Zealand to have to find new
markets and also assess itself as a
country.
The violence was most prominent in the 1981
Springbok Tour
New Zealand's economy relied on being on
offshoot of Britain. Since the 1980's the
economy has relied nearly all on the export
of frozen meat and dairy products to
Britain. So New Zealand's economy relied
on selling goods to the uk.
5
The expert of frozen meat & dairy
products to Britain from New Zealand
decreased. New Zealand had to find new
markets & re-examine national identity.
During the 1981 Springbok Tour
It was an offshoot of Britain
6
Irreparably damaging to New Zealand's
economic as Britain would have to buy
more from Europe.
Spring 1981
Exports of frozen meat *dairy product to
Britain and other countries.
93
94
Pts
Additional information
1
Used the mouse pad and the arrows keys. If they had to read for their course then it would be
more comfortable, because the text was boring, they did not feel comfortable, thus more
willing to miss out words when reading.
2
Found the questions difficult, but chose not to manipulate the text much (maybe shy). Wrote
additional information on the answer sheet to be able to answer the questions.
3
No comments
4
Created spacing throughout both of the texts before reading.
5
No comments
6
Brought the laptop much close, left the setting on the screen in SeeWord, investigated the
sites a lot. Many attempts at answering the questions,
95
Pts
Q1
Q2 Web
Q2 SeeWord
Q2 Overall
Q3
Q4
1
NO
3
2
6
SeeWord-more features to play
with but more difficult.
The Web application
2
NO
5 was unpleasant
because of the content
(science) but the
features were good!
7
6
WEB-layout was better.
Web-because of the layout.
3
NO
6
8
7
WEB-layout was better.
WEB
4
NO
7
5
6
WEB-easy to change text and
because the spacing was easier.
Web-easier to select the features
and to change.
Web-layout and the titles of the
features.
WEB
5
NO
9
7
9
WEB-change background
colour, nice fonts were available
an text was wrapped.
6
NO
6
5
6
WEB Layout/colour helped a lot
and that the text was wrapped.
96
Pts
Q5
Q6
Q7
Q8
1
The Font Size. Need text big enough
to identify each letter in a word, this
stop words from jumping around,
Black and White insanely difficult to
read, thus changing colours helped.
Both colours combinations
(Blue & Green) & (Blue &
Yellow) were beneficial,
however It is more about the
contrast then the colour.
Both sets.
TextHelp-Found very
beneficial
2
Being able to change the size of the
text and the line spacing rather then
the word spacing.
Font size
Blue & Yellow and White &
Black.
No
3
Font size and being able to highlight.
Font size
Black and White
ReadWrite to help check
work
4
WEB-the spacing it binded there
text together.
WEB-spacing and the font.
Black and White
No
5
Enlarging the text and changing the
background colour.
Background colour
CSS-Blue and Black and in
SeeWord Purple and White.
Coloured Glasses
6
Font size and type, colour did not
aid me.
Font size14 and type verdana.
Black and White
Dragon speech
97
Pts
Q9
Q10 Web
Q10 SeeWord
Q10 Overall
1
textHelp-to improve the length of time it takes to read a
passage of text and to redesign to the pause button.
5
4
6
2
Ability to breakdown articles, enable word wrap, highlight
and change as on paper, but now on screen.
3
7
5
3
More user friendly interfaces and being able to change
webpage’s to assist reading.
7
3
6
4
Reading-highlight specific words / areas instead of the whole
text
2
3
7
5
Line spacing, and not word spacing, Also to have text
wrapping.
5
8
7
6
Better designed websites, text wrapped on sites. Aids are
more hassle then helpful.
7
3
5
98
99