bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contraction as a Response to Group Threat: Demographic Decline and Whites’ Classification of People Who Are Ambiguously White
Authors: Abascal Maria
Published: March 2020

How do members of dominant groups, like White people in the United States, react when their privileged social status is threatened, for example, by the prospect of numeric decline? Prior studies identify two sets of reactions: (1) White people identify more strongly with ingroup members, and (2) they withhold material and symbolic resources from outgroup members. This study explores another possibility: White people may alter the boundary around Whiteness by redefining the criteria for membership. I use an original survey experiment to examine how demographic threat affects how White people in the United States classify people who are ambiguously White, and specifically people who are ambiguously White or Latino. The results reveal that White people are less—not more—likely to classify people who are ambiguously White or Latino as “White” under threat. The results contribute to a growing literature on the racial classification of multiracial and racially ambiguous people that has previously ignored ambiguity around the Latino category. They also speak to an active debate about demographic projections and the classification decisions on which they rest.
Designing the Future: Strategy, Design, and the 4th Industrial Revolution—An Introduction to the Special Issue
Authors: Pitsis Tyrone S. , Beckman Sara L. , Steinert Martin , Oviedo Luciano , Maisch Bettina
Published: March 2020

This is an introduction to the special issue of California Management Review on Design Thinking (DT). This special issue joins the growing body of work exploring the idea of DT and whether DT makes a difference in terms enhancing or augmenting the impact of technology—and, as a result, innovation—in a positive way. We have chosen an interesting, relevant, and useful array of papers that provide different approaches, views, and interpretations of applied design thinking. These articles provide both management and scholarly readers with insights in how DT is used, as well as its impact and usefulness in a variety of contexts.
Situating Digital India Mission in Pursuit of Good Governance: A Study of Electronic Governance Initiatives in the Indian Province of Odisha
Authors: Dhal Sangita
Published: March 2020

Contemporary states act as facilitators and this facilitation can be result oriented and successful only when effective governance is ensured. In the era of globalisation, greater emphasis is being laid today on good governance because of the critical link between the state and the global community. The nation states need to reinvent themselves and reframe their development strategy, which requires a thorough revision of their existing approach to international relations and internal governance. As a part of the ongoing administrative reform process, e-governance envisages a structural change in the bureaucracy and is perceived as a key to a more flexible and proactive governance in tune with the concerns of citizen-friendly administration.

The present article explores the challenges and prospects of e-governance and tries to delve into the complex socio-cultural dynamics alongside political-bureaucratic initiatives that are crucial factors for the successful transition from traditional governance to the electronic governance. It attempts to situate the ongoing Digital India Mission in the larger context of good governance by examining the case study of the Indian Province of Odisha, where a silent but stunning revolution is taking shape.
Complex Systems Model of Dynamic Mechanisms of Early Childhood Caries Development
Authors: Heaton B. , Cherng S.T. , Sohn W. , Garcia R.I. , Galea S.
Published: March 2020

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a largely preventable condition that occurs when children develop caries in their primary teeth before the age of six. National trends of ECC indicate that prevalence is decreasing, but disparities between various sociodemographic groups may be increasing, despite intervention efforts. Dynamic mechanisms in caries development are hypothesized to be responsible for the observed population distributions of disease. Agent-based models (ABMs) have been utilized to explore similar hypotheses in many areas of health research. Therefore, we developed an ABM of ECC development mechanisms and examined population outcomes of hypothetical preventive intervention scenarios. We found that risk-based targeting had minimal impact on population averages or disparities and was largely due to the strength of the dynamic mechanisms among those considered to be at high caries risk. Universally increasing intervention access reduced population caries prevalence, but increased disparities between different groups of caries risk profiles. We show that population distributions of ECC can emerge as a result of dynamic mechanisms that have been shown to drive disease development. Understanding the effectiveness of a proposed intervention in relation to the hypothesized mechanism(s) that contributes to the outcome of interest is critical to future efforts to address population disparities in ECC.
The effect of hydrochloric acid (HCl) on permanent molars: A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) study
Authors: Jones Christine , Bracewell Tammy , Torabi Aida , Beck Claudia C , Harvey Taylor B
Published: March 2020

It is well established that acid disposal is a potentially effective method used by criminal syndicates to hinder the identification of victims. This study documents the effects of continuous immersion in hydrochloric acid (HCl, 37%) on molars using macroscopic analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The goal of this study is to aid in distinguishing visually unrecognizable fragments of dental remains when drastic changes in morphology have occurred as a result of acid exposure. Macroscopic, SEM, and EDS analysis were conducted on seven maxillary molars before and after HCl treatment. Molars reduced in weight relative to the length of time immersed in HCl and the dissolution time was over 40 hours longer than reported in previous studies, at just over 66 hours. SEM and EDS analysis showed acid-treated teeth exhibited morphological patterns such as cracking and layering visible at high magnification. Calcium/phosphorous ratios fell within the expected range of 1.6–2.5, indicating that HCl-treated teeth are still identifiable as osseous or dental tissue even when not visually identifiable as teeth. This is the first study to present SEM images of molar cementum before and after immersion in HCl and to present EDS results. This information can assist researchers and investigators in determining the presence of dental tissue in a forensic context associated with acid disposal.
Effects of Mindfulness Training on School Teachers’ Self-Reported Personality Traits As Well As Stress and Burnout Levels
Authors: Fabbro Anastasia , Fabbro Franco , Capurso Viviana , D’Antoni Fabio , Crescentini Cristiano
Published: March 2020

Among a sample of only female school teachers, we compared a mindfulness meditation (MM) training group ( n = 19) with a waiting-list control group ( n = 20) on several participant-completed questionnaires: the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Big Five Personality Inventory, the Teacher Stress Inventory, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. With these measures, we assessed the participants’ dispositional mindfulness, personality styles, and their stress and burnout. Following mindfulness training, teachers in the MM group showed higher trait mindfulness and conscientiousness and lower neuroticism and stress and burnout levels than teachers in the waiting-list control group. These results support the beneficial role of MM in individuals’ effective management of stressful conditions in the workplace.
Play, protest and pride: Un/happy queers of Proud to Play in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Johnston Lynda , Waitt Gordon
Published: March 2020

This article extends discussion of urban activism through paying attention to the emotional and embodied politics of a sports event. We draw on research of the ‘Proud to Play Games’, an inaugural regional multi-sports event held during the Auckland Pride Festival in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2016. Feminist and queer theories of emotion and affect – particularly the promise of happiness – produce nuanced understandings of urban gay pride events. We focus on the experiences of three Proud to Play participants as they illustrate the tensions of play/protest, happy/sad and pride/shame in Auckland. The portraits highlight: a homonormativity pursuit of happiness and youthful masculine athleticism; precarious happiness and oppositional lesbian desire; and, the pursuit of indigenous happiness. Through attention to affective and emotional politics, we demonstrate that Proud to Play can challenge heteronormative urban space by simultaneously fighting for a better future and making a claim for the right to be unhappy.
Open Justice, Efficient Justice and the Rule of Law: The Increasing Invisibility of Special Leave to Appeal Applications in the High Court of Australia
Authors: Stewart Pamela , Stuhmcke Anita
Published: March 2020

This article examines the application of the rule of law to special leave to appeal applications (‘SLAs’) in the High Court of Australia. SLAs are a fusion of administrative and judicial power. As an administrative tool, determinations of SLAs are a workload filter, limiting the appeals heard by the Court. As an exercise of judicial power, SLA determinations have significant impact upon the parties to litigation and the development of substantive law. Presenting the findings of data analysis of the determination of SLAs in the High Court of Australia from 2013 to 2015, we identify the loss of publicly available information brought about by changes to the High Court Rules in 2016. Using this evidence, we argue that the current administration of SLAs preferences efficiency to the detriment of public confidence in the administration of justice. We suggest facilitating the rule of law through publication of the written submissions for SLAs.
The Road Back to Serfdom: Solidarity Economies on the Periphery of Fortaleza, Brazil, 1970–2016
Authors: Mandache Luminiţa-Anda
Published: March 2020

A case study of the Palmas Bank project, on the periphery of Fortaleza, Brazil, explores the contradictions inherent in the country’s solidarity economy project. The solidarity economy, rooted in the local practices of the liberation theology movement, can hardly be seen as a human or alternative economy because its proximity to party politics through funding and the institutionalization of the movement has affected not only its long-term social sustainability but also its capacity for a political voice. The study sheds light on the challenges of grassroots organizing under progressive regimes at a moment when the end of the Pink Tide in Latin America has obliged activists seeking more sustainable forms of community organization to learn from the past.

Un estudio de caso del proyecto del Banco Palmas, en la periferia de Fortaleza, Brasil, explora las contradicciones inherentes al proyecto de economía solidaria del país. La economía solidaria, arraigada en las prácticas locales del movimiento de la teología de la liberación, difícilmente puede verse como una economía humana o alternativa porque su proximidad a la política de partidos a través del financiamiento y la institucionalización del movimiento ha afectado no solo su sostenibilidad social a largo plazo sino también su capacidad para una voz política. El estudio arroja luz sobre los desafíos de la organización de base bajo regímenes progresistas en un momento en que el final de la Marea Rosa en América Latina ha obligado a los activistas que buscan formas más sostenibles de organización comunitaria a aprender del pasado.
Reframing Identities in Argentine Documentary Cinema: The Emergence of LGBT People as Political Subjects in Rosa Patria (Loza, 2008–2009) and Putos peronistas (Cesatti, 2011)
Authors: Olivera Guillermo
Published: March 2020

Using film semiotics, queer studies, and discourse theory as developed by Laclau, Mouffe, and Žižek, an enunciative and rhetorical analysis of Rosa Patria (Pink Motherland) (Santiago Loza, 2008–2009) and Putos peronistas, cumbia del sentimiento (Peronist Faggots, Cumbia Feeling) (Rodolfo Cesatti, 2011) points to the changes in the political and cinematic frames that have enabled the transformation of LGBT people into political subjects in the context of the Argentine documentary of the twenty-first century. The metaenunciative and metadiegetic marks made evident by reframing processes in audiovisual texts can be read as a discursive transition from “element” to “moment” and as cinematic-reflexive symbolization of the traumatic event posed by the dislocation or antagonism that institutes these identities in situated local contexts, contexts contemporary with the struggles for diverse sexual citizenship that led to the promulgation of Argentina’s Equal Marriage (2010) and Gender Identity (2012) Laws.

Utilizando herramientas de la semiótica del cine, la teoría queer y la teoría del discurso de Laclau, Mouffe y Žižek, un análisis enunciativo y retórico de Rosa Patria (Santiago Loza, 2008 -2009) y Putos peronistas, cumbia del sentimiento (Rodolfo Cesatti, 2011) se concentra en cambios de marcos políticos y cinematográficos que hacen posible la transformación de las personas LGBT en sujetos políticos en el documental argentino del siglo XXI. Esas marcas metaenunciativas y metadiegéticas que los procesos de re-enmarque dejan en los textos audiovisuales pueden leerse como pasaje discursivo de “elemento” a “momento” y como simbolización cinematográfico-reflexiva del acontecimiento traumático de la dislocación o antagonismo que instituye a dichas identidades en contextos locales situados, contextos contemporáneos a las luchas por una ciudadanía sexual diversa conducentes a la promulgación de la Ley de Matrimonio Igualitario (2010) y la Ley de Identidad de Género (2012).
“Who’s Been Fooling Who?” Reflections on Truth and Deception in Politics and Their Implications for Public Administration
Authors: Spicer Michael W.
Published: March 2020

This article examines the role of truth and deception in social and political life and its implications for public administration. Because deception is a necessary part of social and political life, the pursuit of absolute truths poses significant dangers to political practices. However, without some commitment to truth in social and political life, the resulting nihilism also endangers political practices. Public administrators, in seeking truth, therefore, should pursue a middle path between moral virtue and moral realism that preserves the practice of politics, a middle path such as is offered in the writings of the Founders of the Constitution.
Development of emotion classifier based on absolute and differential attributes of averaged signals of visually stimulated event related potentials
Authors: Singh Moon Inder , Singh Mandeep
Published: March 2020

Analysis and study of abstract human relations have always posed a daunting challenge for technocrats engaged in the field of psychometric analysis. The study on emotion recognition is all the more demanding as it involves integration of abstract phenomenon of emotion causation and emotion appraisal through physiological and brain signals. This paper describes the classification of human emotions into four classes, namely: low valence high arousal (LVHA), high valence high arousal (HVHA), high valence low arousal (HVLA) and low valence low arousal (LVLA) using Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The EEG signals have been collected on three EEG electrodes along the central line viz: Fz, Cz and Pz. The analysis has been done on average event related potentials (ERPs) and difference of average ERPs using Support Vector Machine (SVM) polynomial classifier. The four-class classification accuracy of 75% using average ERP attributes and an accuracy of 76.8% using difference of ERPs as attributes has been obtained. The accuracy obtained using differential average ERP attributes is better as compared with the already existing studies.
Finite-time H∞ control for a class of singular Markovian jump systems subject to actuator saturation
Authors: Zhao Junjie , Li Bo , Wo Songlin , Zhu Erlin , Han Xiaoxin
Published: March 2020

This work considers the finite-time control problem for a class singular Markovian jump delayed systems subject to saturating actuators. By employing local sector conditions and an appropriate Lyapunov function, a observer-based state feedback controller is designed to guarantee that the resulted closed-loop constrained system is mean-square locally finite-time stabilizable. Some sufficient conditions for the solution to this problem are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Finally, two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed method.
A pruned support vector data description-based outlier detection method: Applied to robust process monitoring
Authors: Yuan Ping , Mao Zhizhong , Wang Biao
Published: March 2020

Support vector data description (SVDD) is a boundary-based one-class classifier that has been widely used for process monitoring during recent years. However, in some applications where databases are often contaminated by outliers, the performance of SVDD would become deteriorated, leading to low detection rate. To this end, this paper proposes a pruned SVDD model in order to improve its robustness. In contrast to other robust SVDD models that are developed from the algorithmic level, we prune the basic SVDD from a data level. The rationale is to exclude outlier examples from the final training set as many as possible. Specifically, three different SVDD models are constructed successively with different training sets. The first model is used to extract target points by means of rejecting more suspect outlier examples. The second model is constructed using those extracted target points, and is used to recover some false outlier examples labeled by the first model. We build the third (final) model with the final training set consisting of target examples by the first model and false outlier examples by the second model. We validate our proposed method on 20 benchmark data sets and TE data set. Comparative results show that our pruned model could improve the robustness of SVDD more efficiently.
Energy and exergy analysis and optimum working conditions of a renewable energy system using a transient systems simulation program
Authors: Abu-Hamdeh Nidal H , Alnefaie Khalid A
Published: March 2020

A solar tri-generation system comprises of photovoltaic thermal collectors that are used for the production of electrical power and domestic hot water simultaneously. This study presents the performance analysis of a micro-solar tri-generation system that fulfills the requirements of an off-grid single-family lodging. The main functions of this system include domestic hot water, electrical power, and cooling power production. A set of five photovoltaic thermal panels were modeled together. The electrical power generated was stored in a battery, while the hot water generated was passed through a flow diverting valve. This valve directed some of the hot water to an absorption chiller, while the remaining portion was sent to an insulated thermal storage tank for later use. Energy and exergy analyses were performed to evaluate the extracted energy’s quality and efficiency. The overall thermal energy efficiency achieved was 50.53%. The extracted energy in the form of hot water was 3777.5 W. The electrical power generated was 2984.6 W, which was sufficient for the small single-family lodging. The coefficient of performance of the absorption chiller was found to be 0.6152. The exergy efficiency achieved was 36.88%. The exergy extracted by hot water was 234.3 W, while the electrical exergy generated was 2984.6 W. The exergy extracted during refrigeration was found to be 91.22 W. Furthermore, varying wind speeds and tilt angles affected both the energy and exergy efficiencies. The tilt angle must be kept at less than 45°, and the optimum wind speed was determined to be 35 km/h.
Estimated Prevalence of Blindness in the United States
Authors: Hurlin Ralph G.
Published: March 2020

The actual number of blind persons in the United States is the subject of perennial question, since there is no detailed census which provides that information. Nothing short of enumeration, if that were practicable, could provide results positively known to be accurate. Programs of services to the blind and in prevention of blindness require for their basis as accurate an estimate of the prevalence of blindness as can be obtained. In these pages are the most recent reliable estimates of the prevalence of blindness in the respective states as of July 1952.
Blind Professional Personnel on Agency Staffs
Authors: Cummings Francis J.
Published: March 2020

[While this article is recorded in the Proceedings of the 1955 AAWB convention, it has been recommended for reprinting in the New Outlook so that its coverage may be extended to those who cannot or otherwise do not read it in the Proceedings, including readers of our braille edition. It was originally a paper read at the meeting of Group B during the convention referred to.—Editor.]
Something New for a PTA Meeting
Authors: Andrews Francis M.
Published: March 2020

[It is in accord with New Outlook purposes that we receive and publish reports, views and plans of the several specialized sections of the major national organizations in work for the blind. A tangible liaison has been established with the American Association of Workers for the Blind which is intended to facilitate the channeling of such material to the New Outlook through members of its editorial board. The present report originated in Group G of the Association, composed of educators in schools and classes for the blind.–Ed.]
Friendly Visiting and Social Casework— A Comparison
Authors: Siegel Sheldon
Published: March 2020

In comparing the methods and techniques of the present-day caseworker with those of the friendly visitor, it can be seen that, with the exception of the use of transference interpretations for the development of insight, the differences are primarily a matter of degree. The basic objectives and goals of social casework have remained those of improving the individual's and family's ability to live more comfortably within society and to improve those conditions of society which create maladjustments and problems in living. As the caseworker's knowledge of human behavior and society has increased, he has a greater awareness of the limitations as well as the differing ways of carrying out these aims. To the extent that his practice has kept pace with his knowledge, he has developed a greater sophistication in the use of his techniques.
Not Pensions—but a chance to work
Authors: Viscardi Henry
Published: March 2020

[This is a statement by Henry Viscardi, President of Abilities, Incorporated, of West Hempstead, New York, to the Senate Committee on Finance, on March 1, 1956. Mr. Viscardi here gives the reasons for his apprehension at the proposal to lower the age limit for eligibility for social security benefits for disabled persons. He supports his reasons with his experience at demonstrating the achievements attendant upon providing genuine employment opportunities in competitive industry for disabled people. His account of philosophy and method in rehabilitation and adjustment is of vital interest to all those concerned with problems of blindness.

The statement, particularly the last portion consisting of dialogue at the hearing session, is only slightly revised and edited to lend itself more nearly to the usual style of publication in this journal. No part of the essential statement has been deleted.— Editor.]
Research in Review
Authors: Rusalem Herbert
Published: March 2020

Editor's Note: This department, which has appeared on an experimental basis for several months, has now become a regular feature of the New Outlook for the Blind. Dr. Rusalem, who will continue to conduct the column, is director of professional training at the Industrial Home for the Blind, Brooklyn, New York; and associate professor of education at Long Island University, also in Brooklyn. His most recently completed research, to be published in the near future, is The Vocational Adjustment of the Deaf-Blind Adult, one aspect of a multi-disciplinary study of the deaf-blind individual sponsored by the Industrial Home for the Blind in cooperation with the U. S. Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, and directed by George E. Keane, assistant executive director at IHB.
AFB Director Reports to AAWB
Authors: Barnett M. Robert
Published: March 2020

This report by the executive director of the American Foundation for the Blind was addressed to the American Association of Workers for the Blind at its convention in Detroit last July. In general, it serves to bring into focus the rapid progress of work for the blind in this country; and it provides an expert bird's-eye view of the Foundation's performance during the past year, of its plans for the future, and of the magnitude of its function.
Social Change and Its Impact on the Services We Render
Authors: Zelditch Morris
Published: March 2020

In summary then, the changes which are taking place in our society today have an effect upon our services. This is not true of all change; for instance, the successful trips of the astronauts are hardly likely to affect our services. But those considered in this paper: technological changes, especially those resulting from the biological sciences; sociological changes, especially as pinpointed in population shifts and growth, urban renewal and housing, family organizational modification, inter-group relationships; and changes in the practice of social work itself do have a direct relevance to the character, distribution, and support of our services.
An Investigation of Attitudes toward Work Adjustment of the Blind
Authors: Dent Oran Bailey
Published: March 2020

A scale to measure attitudes toward work adjustment of the blind was developed and administered to 400 subjects. Blindness of the case presented, the relative social status of the occupation held, and the amount of public contact required in the course of the occupation were manipulated in case studies rated by the subjects. Half the subjects were requested to give their own opinions in the ratings; the others were asked to give their best guess of the opinions of most other people. Differences between the ratings of male and female subjects were also investigated. Non-blind cases were rated more favorably in terms of work adjustment than were blind cases, at the .05 level of significance. The relative social status of the occupation held proved significant at the .001 level—the higher the level of the occupation, the more favorably was the work adjustment considered. There is reason to speculate that differences due to some of the other variables manipulated may have been masked by a generally favorable view of the raters toward all the cases.
Employment and Vocational Training of the Blind in the USSR
Authors: Zimin Boris
Published: March 2020

On May 24, 1962, in Moscow I had the pleasure of calling on Mr. Boris Zimin, Chairman of the Central Ruling Board of the All-Russia Society of the Blind, to extend to him an invitation to our International Congress on Technology and Blindness the following month in New York. During the course of our conversation, we exchanged a good deal of information about our respective organizations’ interests and programs. I was particularly pleased to have from Mr. Zimin a first-hand account of the extensive vocational programs for blind people in the USSR, and mentioned to him that we needed such first-hand information for general dissemination since their vocational program seemed to be particularly comprehensive and might offer us some useful ideas. Mr. Zimin was unable to attend our Congress but in the spirit of our information exchange volunteered a paper on the highlights of the vocational program in Russia. Several of us at AFB felt that the paper deserved wider circulation than the proceedings of the Congress and suggested that the audience of the New Outlook might be interested. We recommend it to readers as an expression of a sincere desire to exchange basic information among the Russians and ourselves in the interests of better serving blind and visually impaired people in our respective countries.

—Milton D. Graham, Ph.D.

Director, Division of Research and Statistics American Foundation for the Blind
Adapting School Psychological Evaluation to the Blind Child
Authors: Parker James
Published: March 2020

□ In summary, it is important for the school to have knowledge of individual traits and needs in youngsters if the best educational opportunity is to be offered to all. It is easier to measure the psychological components of the normal child than to measure them in the blind child.

From one point of view, the schools are essentially verbal in nature and the verbal areas of intelligence are, therefore, of primary importance in school success. While it is possible to do a wider appraisal of the characteristics of normal children, the difficulties in gaining good insight into the verbal abilities of blind children are not insurmountable.

It seems reasonable to accept the idea that it is what the blind child possesses that is important and that certain capacities available to normal children are simply not open to aid blind children in learning in school. We will do better, then, to work with those abilities we can discover than to lament those the organism will never have in normal amount.

The Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children are so organized that they will yield useful information about the verbal areas of intelligence in the blind. These instruments, properly analyzed, can tell us much about the assets of blind youngsters for learning.

There is relatively little that we presently know that can help us measure the neuro-motor component of the blind child.

Personality appraisal in the blind child is not greatly different from measuring personality in the sighted child. Paper and pencil tests can be administered with only a little inconvenience. Observation of behavior is, in any case, a more reliable way of understanding the personality of all children, sighted or blind.
Report on Progress in the Development of Visual Prostheses
Authors: Sterling Theodor D.
Published: March 2020

□ In summary, we can say that as a result of recent work in implanting visual prostheses in correlated work in visual physiology, data processing, and materials technology and in the development of sophisticated simulation techniques, we have approached several steps closer to a vantage point from which we can state the conditions under which a reliable visual prosthesis in the armamentarium of sensory aids has been clarified as a result of the conference and the interest of the scientific community in the development of such a system has been stimulated. It is significant that Dr. MacNichol (the new director of NINDS) has made our computer program for simulating the output of a prosthesis available to scientists at the National Institutes of Health as well as members of the newly-formed National Eye Institute. It is also obvious that we can sustain scientific interest in the problems involved in the development of experiments toward a visual prosthesis, because of the simultaneously human and personal involvement of researchers in alleviating the problems of blindness.
A Tactile-Developmental Technique for Abacus Instruction and Operation
Authors: Neumann Frederic T.
Published: March 2020

□ Both the traditional Japanese-visual techniques and the tactile-developmental technique for abacus instruction and operation emphasize the same goal—efficiency of computation with economy of movement. At each step in the operation of the abacus the operator is involved in two functions, observation (perceiving bead location) and operation (performing bead manipulation). Because observation and operation in the visual technique take place on the two different sensory levels of vision and touch, economy of movement is of concern only in bead manipulation. In the tactile-developmental technique, however, both observation and operation occur on the same sensory level, touch. Economy of movement, therefore, is involved in both these functions. As noted in the discussion above, such economy can be achieved by slightly modifying two of the six basic traditional procedures of bead movement to preclude the duplication of finger movements that would result if the visual technique were applied tactually.
Blind Persons in Data Processing: The Attitude of Industry
Authors: Nichols W. H.
Published: March 2020

□ In summary, the introduction of blind persons into the field of data processing gives us much to take satisfaction in and much to be proud of. We must, however, work toward the day when the present attitudes and concerns of all levels of management are no longer a problem. From there we must move on to be sure that blind programmers have the same opportunities in supervision and management as others. The success we've had is proof that employment of the blind in data processing is a good, sound business proposition.

From a selfish point of view, there is tremendous public relations value to the company that employs blind persons in data processing. The story of our success has spread far and wide. We have probably received as much favorable publicity on this as any other thing we have done. We regularly get calls from all over the country where others are considering the employment of a blind person. There has also been a positive effect on our own employees. It is one more thing that has given them pride in their company.
The Recruitment, Selection, and Training of Blind Vending Stand Operators
Authors: Rice Ronald G. , Muthard John E. , Dumas Neil S.
Published: March 2020

□ At the present time, there does not seem to be sufficient need to justify the expense of validating a selection battery on a national scale. The results of the questionnaire indicated a current rate of success in rehabilitating VSO's which could not be improved appreciably by a selection battery. The present report provides a current look at the evaluation, selection, training, and follow-up success experienced by state agencies. The feasibility of continuing study of the VSO and the review of possible selection procedures have also been reviewed.
Junior High Readiness and the Blind Child
Authors: Kapela Edith Largy
Published: March 2020

In summary

Readiness, we find, stems from a complex network of contributing factors.

This paper has endeavored to demonstrate that there are realistic standards which can be used for judging when a child is ready for junior high school. Further, I hope, it is clear that because a child is blind he need not be left behind, but, instead, that he can compete and achieve in a seeing world and be expected to meet very definite standards of behavior and achievement.
Optical Aids: An Interdisciplinary Prescription
Authors: Jose Randall Thomas , Springer Donald
Published: March 2020

The roles of the optometrist who prescribes low vision aids to partially sighted persons and the other professionals who provide training and follow-up services are related to the successful use of such aids. The necessity of acquiring general, non-optometric information concerning the prescription and the uses to which it will be put by the patient is emphasized. In an informal study involving 25 patients, it was found that eight had stopped using the prescribed aid because of changes in vision and/or changes in their visual tasks. Continued use was found to be affected by the type of lens prescribed and whether appropriate training and follow-up were provided.
Confidentiality and the School
Authors: Mulholland Mary Ellen
Published: March 2020

A symposium based on a Workshop on Confidentiality sponsored in June 1972 by the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped (NAC). Contributions include an introduction explaining the background of the Workshop; a paper entitled “Confidentiality Policies and Practices in Residential Schools for the Blind,” by Samuel J. Cole, reviewing the findings of a NAC study of the current situation; “Confidentiality and the Law,” excerpts from a study of legal issues and precedents regarding the confidentiality of students’ records by Charles Lister; “Confidentiality and the School Counselor,” a paper by Carl J. Davis discussing the responsibilities of school personnel in protecting confidentiality; a short report on the discussion of four small workshops, including excerpts from a Russell Sage Foundation publication of guidelines on pupil records; and a summary of the issues raised during the Workshop by Geraldine T. Scholl, Ph.D.
Alternatives to the Blindness System in Australia
Authors: Westaway D. L.
Published: March 2020

Alternatives to the present complex of service agencies for blind persons will help to change stereotypes about blind persons and provide better services. The main kind of alternative is the integration of blind persons into the community and the services provided there by schools, hospitals, churches, counseling, treatment, and rehabilitation centers, etc. The role of specialists would then be supplementary to other professionals. Since there has been little progress in this area in Australia, its workers for the blind have an opportunity to assume a leadership role in finding the most suitable and effective alternatives.
Curriculum Standards in the United States for Training Blind Persons in Computer Occupations
Authors: Hallenbeck Charles E.
Published: March 2020

This paper summarizes more than a decade of experience in the United States in the area of training and employing blind persons in computer occupations. The curricula of specialized training facilities are reviewed. Training in specialized facilities is compared with similar training in integrated educational institutions. Advantages and disadvantages of each plan are outlined, and recommendations are made for continued progress in this area of rehabilitation for blind persons.
Blind Testers in the Food and Fragrance Industry
Authors: Freund Elisabeth D.
Published: March 2020

A special forum for individuals to respond in detail to material published in the New Outlook for the Blind or elsewhere, to present new ideas, or to raise issues which relate to the specialized field of work with blind and visually handicapped persons. Contributions should be 350-1,000 words in length.
Shoals and Storms Ahead? Funding Trends
Authors: Urrows H. H.
Published: March 2020

This analysis of trends in fund-raising includes the following topics: the general economy, the patterns of federal funding and private philanthropy in recent years, the recipients of contributions, financial reporting, state laws, the role of lay volunteers and professional fund-raisers, the costs, the training of fund-raisers, tax exemptions for gifts, and the current picture in work for the blind. The author concludes that fund-raising must be revolutionized if the money needed for the important work still left undone is to be forthcoming.
Sensory Aids for Blind Persons
Authors: Mims Forrest M.
Published: March 2020

This state-of-the-art report includes descriptions of travel aids (Russell's Pathsounder, Kay's ultrasonic spectacles, Benjamin's Laser Cane, and Mims’ Seeing Aid), electronic reading machines (the Optacon and the Cognodictor), and vision substitution systems (the research of Collins and of Brindley). The future prospects for sensory aids are discussed in the light of marketing problems, the interest (and disinterest) of large companies in such research, and present levels of funding.
The Optacon: A Valuable Device for Blind Persons
Authors: Goldish Louis H. , Taylor Harry E.
Published: March 2020

Based on an independent survey of more than 100 blind users of the Telesensory Systems’ Optacon—a reading device utilizing print-to-tactual-image conversion—which included questions about the characteristics of the user, the uses to which the device is put, advantages and disadvantages, reliability, training, the manufacturer, and costs, the Sensory Aids Development Program of the American Foundation for the Blind concludes that the Optacon is a useful device and a sound investment for many types of uses by many different kinds of blind persons.
Prognostic Factors in the Visual Rehabilitation of Aging Patients
Authors: Rosenbloom Alfred A.
Published: March 2020

Of a group of 150 patients, 60 to 89 years of age, 84 percent were successfully using prescribed low vision aids; 16 percent had discontinued their use. The factors influencing success or failure that were investigated include ocular pathology, degree of residual vision, types of prescribed low vision aids, and psychological-emotional adjustment to life and to visual impairment. The study revealed the importance of residual vision, the patient's life situation, and the extent of the training in the use of the low vision aid, to the success of the prescription.
A Cooperative Vocational Guidance Course for Visually Impaired Students-Clients
Authors: Carroll Lillian R. , La Barre Alfred H.
Published: March 2020

The vocational guidance course of a Florida school for the blind includes instructional and practicum units on grooming, hygiene, clothing, etiquette, eating skills, job applications, job interviews, and exploration of the literature on vocations. A wide variety of speakers are invited to appear and a number of vocationally-oriented field trips are taken. The Life Career Game is used to improve the decision-making skills of the students.
Teaching the Continental Method of Eating to Blind Persons
Authors: Roberts Edna S.
Published: March 2020

Eighteen blind and visually handicapped persons participated in this study to determine how well they could learn the Continental method of eating, one thought to be more easily mastered and used than the American technique. After a two-week course, in which every detail of the technique was carefully described, demonstrated, and then practiced by the subjects, it was found that 13 of the 18 persons had mastered the method extremely well.
A Design for a Mobile, Audio-Tactile Exhibition for Blind and Sighted School-Age Children
Authors: Byrne Susan
Published: March 2020

The exhibition consists of four modules, each of the first three devoted to a simple geometrical shape (square, circle, triangle); the fourth illustrates the combination of these forms in everyday objects. The design includes the use of color, size texture, and various spatial concepts. In each room, a progression from two-dimensional to three-dimensional forms and from small to large is followed, with a railing with braille and print instructions to guide the children. The exhibit is to be used as a playing-learning environment for children six to 11 years of age in which they are encouraged to explore independently and to communicate their feelings and impressions to their fellow students.
Orientation for Blind Persons: Clear Path Indicator or Environmental Sensor
Authors: Kay Leslie
Published: March 2020

The skills required to walk with ease and confidence in a variety of environments are quite complex and involve detailed sensory information. The aim of sensory aids for blind persons that indicate the presence or absence of obstructions in the travel path is compared with the aim of possible devices that would provide more detailed information about various aspects of the environment. The “reading” of the environment to provide cues for orientation is compared, by way of analogy, with the formation of sentences from words through the use of the rules of syntax and grammar.
Authoritarianism, Attitudes toward Blindness, and Managers: Implications for the Employment of Blind Persons
Authors: Baker Larry D.
Published: March 2020

Some employers express positive attitudes toward the capabilities of blind persons, yet are unwilling to hire them. One factor which may help to explain this reluctance is the authoritarian personality characteristics of employers. High authoritarians tend to hold more negative attitudes toward the blind and they also hold or aspire to important decision- and policy-making positions in organizations. Thus, organizations in our economic system may foster the development or promotion of persons who are most likely to hold negative attitudes toward blind persons to positions where decisions and policies on hiring the blind are made. The empirical literature exploring the relationships among these variables is reviewed and areas of needed research are suggested.
Deaf-Blind Children in Canada
Authors: Csapo Marg , Clarke Bryan R.
Published: March 2020

Although it is suspected that there are approximately 530 deaf-blind children in Canada, a questionnaire survey revealed that only 66 such children have been identified. Of these, 44 have received full diagnostic assessments. It is suspected that a large number of deaf-blind children have been placed in institutions for the mentally retarded. There are only two schools in Canada offering services for these children. There is no program for training teachers of the deaf-blind. A number of recommendations for improving services for deaf-blind children in Canada are made.
A Special Short-Term Evaluation/Training Program for Deaf-Blind Adults
Authors: Search David L.
Published: March 2020

The three-week summer program for deaf-blind adults had these objectives: to evaluate training potential as well as daily living and mobility skills of the client, to provide instruction in daily living and mobility skills, and to teach staff members to set up training programs for the deaf-blind. Staff and consultants felt that the program succeeded. In addition, recommendations for further education and/or training or vocational placement for individual clients were made and, in most cases, implemented to some degree. As a result of staff training, there is now a sizable number of personnel to provide services to the deaf-blind.
Apartment Living for Rehabilitation Clients during Training
Authors: Yoder Norman M.
Published: March 2020

Housing for the rehabilitation clients of the Cleveland Society for the Blind is provided in an adjacent apartment building. The trainees are expected to apply the skills they learn at the agency to the problems of daily life encountered in maintaining their own apartment, interacting with sighted neighbors, and functioning in a typical neighborhood and community. A resident counselor is present to provide guidance and aid when necessary.
The Papy-Lamon Minicomputer for Blind Children: An Aid in Learning Mathematics
Authors: Lamon William E. , Threadgill Judy
Published: March 2020

The principle of learning mathematical concepts through the manipulation of concrete aids is utilized in this adaptation of the Papy Minicomputer for the use of blind and visually handicapped children. The device consists of three boards with cut-out shapes for the number values of one, two, four, and eight and multiples of ten and a hundred. Numbers are generated on the boards by placing pawns in the variously shaped regions; arithmetical operations are carried out by moving the pawns from region to region according to four simple rules.
Visual Substitution Systems: Control and Information Processing Considerations
Authors: Fish Raymond M.
Published: March 2020

A detailed discussion of the visual mechanisms found in the higher vertebrates is used as the basis for exploring the problems found in creating visual substitution systems. Specific attention is given to the control mechanisms used in the visual system and to the processing of visual information in the retina and brain. The three types of substitution systems discussed are tactual display systems, audio display systems, and those involving direct stimulation of the brain using electrodes.