A Preliminary Analysis of Android Educational Game Accessibility

Poor families are often seen as socially, environmentally and culturally neglected, thus forming the areas of social risk, frequently characterized by different serious symptoms of dysfunction and failure in education. Children from such families generally are culturally and intellectually deprived; they also face many barriers in access to education and are subjected to various aspects of the subculture of poverty. There is therefore an urgent need for action to support those children who are evidently marginalized because of family poverty. The school environment plays an enormous role in such initiatives as a basic educational link for young people. The school is responsible for animating the activities of the poor, developing their social entrepreneurship and motivating them to create their own, valuable lifestyles which provide opportunities for social promotion. These difficult and complicated educational challenges generate a particular need to form creative attitudes amongst people dealing with the processes of upbringing and education, as they are only able to develop the same attitudes in their pupils and equip them in developing the potential for independently building their own life and rejecting the subculture of material poverty.

Access to and accessibility of care for rural Veterans with disabilities: A qualitative evaluation of VA healthcare experiences

Chapter 8 - Access and Equity in Higher Education in Indonesia: A Review from the Periphery

This chapter seeks to draw attention to the longer-term educational consequences of poor inclusion and access in primary and secondary schooling for Gypsy and Traveller pupils. In this chapter the authors’ evidence the way in which barriers in primary and secondary school affect access and inclusion in Higher Education as these issues are not often explored within the literature. Indeed this area is to date under researched as a result of the assumption that Travellers do not access post-compulsory education, or do not admit to their ethnicity if they do. This chapter has been informed by the empirical research of the authors who have studied and worked in Higher Education and explores the perceptions, perceived barriers and opportunities for Gypsy and Traveller students. Findings suggest that access and inclusion in Higher Education is desired but complex, and there is limited information reaching Traveller students about the processes to access and enrol. In addition, there is an urgent need to explain these complexities to teaching staff and policy makers to make amendments and ensure that widening participation agenda’s include those from all marginalised communities.

The concepts of some of the most popular games can be extended to become suitable as a presentation shell that can accommodate a wide variety of educational contents. As an example the popular Concentration board game was implemented as a Java applet that permits the teacher to define the underlying tasks independently in XML form based on an expressive grammar. The tasks can be accumulated within a database and lessons can be defined through filtering the database based on keywords, difficulty levels and other task attributes. Preliminary experience indicates that such a game can not only replace regular exams, but also be employed as a learning tool without sacrificing its appeal as a game. To help clarify the students' user models the game will be augmented by an observer module that records all the student interactions and an analyzer module that displays graphs summarizing the interactions.

There is a “deep-rooted inequality situation in the Thai economy and society” (Krongkaewa & Kakwanib, 2003). This inequality permeates all aspects of Thai society, highlighting Thailand’s current economic vulnerability as they try to address policies that will support sustainable growth while reducing these inequalities. With growing concern about the digital divide, Thailand is an important and interesting region to study. These concerns have highlighted a widening technology gap causing a “new type of poverty called information poverty” (Marshall, Taylor, & Yu, 2003; UNDP, 1998). There has been very little prior research that has examined the take-up of information technology in this region. Although the digital divide has been the concern of all countries, there are now additional concerns about the information divide, which could increase further the gap between developed and developing countries. Education has been highlighted as an important area of policy focus. However, should developing countries such as Thailand be targeting their education resources towards specific fields that will support research and development into new technologies aimed at reducing the digital and information divide? “Women produce more than half the world’s food and spend most of their income on family welfare and food, but a lack of access to services, education and technologies keeps them uninvolved in the decision-making processes” (Sarker, 2003). Due to this lack of skills or literacy, women are unlikely to be able to directly use or even to understand the importance on information technology (Sarker, 2003). Thailand’s policy commitment to advancing science and technology should be in juxtaposition with higher “educational expenditures, technical training, and building institutions necessary to create a knowledge society” (Wilson III, 2000). This would support the notion that “pro-poor public access policies” would help overcome some of the educational and access barriers, as long as they were developed with “effective regulatory mechanisms” (Sarker, 2003). This research incorporates an analysis of educational trends within 31 non-agricultural Thai businesses in Chiang Mai, with a collective total number of employees of over 3,000, that were subjects of a pilot study conducted in the north of Thailand. This article considers the educational trends of employees in these businesses, which may support electronic enablement and digital divide reduction.

This paper is a continuation of research on strengthening the load-carrying capacity of existing noncomposite bridge girders by postinstalling shear connectors. In this study, finite element models were developed to evaluate the behavior of composite beams retrofitted with postinstalled shear connectors over a wide range of variables with an objective of providing preliminary design recommendations. Variables considered in the parametric studies included beam depth, span length, and shear-connection ratio. The parametric studies showed that current simplified design approaches commonly used for partially composite beams in buildings provide good predictions of the strength and stiffness of partially composite bridge girders strengthened using postinstalled shear connectors. Use of a shear-connection ratio of less than 30% is not recommended to avoid nonductile behavior of the strengthened girder.

Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a major public health concern in India, especially in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, as outbreaks of this neurological disorder have brought on significant morbidity and mortality. It is usually characterized by sudden fever, seizures, confusion, and altered mental status in children along with infectious agents, environmental factors, and malnutrition. It is evident during litchi harvest (April-June), affecting malnourished children from poor families. Among 622 AES cases from May till July 2019; a significant majority were found to have higher mortality and morbidity indices among female Scheduled Caste children. Access barriers in the social and cultural context delayed health care in the event of morbidity. Earlier speculation about associating litchi intake was set aside as most of affected children stayed far from orchards. Clinically, it manifests with fever starting suddenly associated with seizures, altered sensorium, hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, and elevated biomarkers CPK, LDH, and ammonia. High humidity and inadequate mosquito net use are linked. However, these observational studies could not show laboratory evidence of vectors of Japanese encephalitis. Priorities in action include strengthening surveillance, nutrition, education, and better health care access.

This study used a phenomenological qualitative approach to explore the intricate landscape of early childhood education in Bangladesh, focusing on the perspective of parents. The study involves 47 people from three different cities, using in-depth interviews to discover a diverse range of experiences. The application of thematic analysis uncovers six fundamental themes that encompass the various aspects of parental perspectives. The themes encompassed in this study consist of prioritizing holistic development, cultural values and educational aspirations, socio-economic challenges and access barriers, positive perception of early intervention, desire for communication and collaboration with educators, and the need to balance tradition and innovation in education. Through an examination of these issues, the study not only sheds light on the complex nature of parental attitudes but also offers crucial insights for the development of policies and the creation of early childhood education Programs in Bangladesh. The results emphasize the significance of considering cultural, economic, and educational subtleties to develop comprehensive and efficient solutions that align with the varied parental perspectives throughout various regions of Bangladesh.

Pedestrian fatalities on Interstate highways account for more than 10 percent of all pedestrian fatalities in the United States. This study identifies crash types and factors contributing to fatal pedestrian crashes on Interstate highways and surveys countermeasures that address the problem. A 3-year sample of 394 police accident reports detailing fatal Interstate pedestrian crashes in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina was collected. Data from the reports, including light conditions, pedestrian and driver characteristics, and pedestrian activity at the time of the crash were compiled for analysis. Factors contributing to the crashes included pedestrian and driver alcohol use and poor light conditions. Eighty percent of the crashes occurred after dark. Forty percent of the crashes involved pedestrians entering or crossing the highway. Thirty-two percent involved an unintended pedestrian—someone who had a broken-down vehicle, had been involved in a previous crash, or was walking or standing on the shoulder, but who did not set out to enter the Interstate on foot. Twenty percent of the crashes involved a hit-and-run driver. Common counter-measures currently in place include emergency call stations, roving roadside assistance vehicles, and emergency cellular telephone numbers to report disabled vehicles. About half of the respondents to a national survey of state highway representatives cited the need for additional countermeasures, such as educational programs and access barriers. Further research is necessary to find out which countermeasures are most effective. State rankings based on the number of Interstate pedestrian fatalities per Interstate vehicle kilometer traveled reveal Texas, New Mexico, Delaware, Nevada, and Missouri as the states with the worst relative rates. Motorists should avoid stopping on Interstate highways if at all possible, take measures to make themselves visible, and shield themselves from traffic when stopping is unavoidable.

The underrepresentation of people of color in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) has become an increasing concern nationwide, with efforts focused on understanding mechanisms causing underrepresentation and implementing policies and interventions to increase diversity within STEM fields. Given the structural barriers in educational access and opportunity and the social/psychological barriers facing underrepresented students of color, this study utilizes frameworks of stress, coping, and stigmatization within a sample of 152 high-performing high school students of color to: (a) Examine students' perceptions of internal and external barriers to STEM higher education, (b) Address the intersectionality of race and gender by assessing whether perceptions of barriers vary by race and gender, (c) Explore relationships between perceived barriers and STEM aspirations, and (d) Examine coping mechanisms to overcome perceived barriers to STEM degrees. Survey and focus group results revealed that despite academic ability, students perceived high levels of internal and external barriers to pursuing STEM studies in higher education. While these perceptions did not impact attitudes toward math and science, they were significantly related to a decrease in STEM career aspirations. Male students perceived significantly fewer internal and external barriers than female students, indicating unique challenges faced by female students of color. Despite perceiving internal and external barriers, students demonstrated confidence in overcoming barriers and discussed positive and adaptive coping strategies. This study concludes with implications for improving opportunities for students of color to enter and persist in STEM fields through K-12, higher education, and out-of-school programming, research, and policy.

Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is the most effective treatment for selected patients with an acute ischemic stroke due to emergent large vessel occlusions (LVOs). There is an urgent need to identify and address challenges in access to MT to maximize the numbers of patients who can benefit from this treatment. Barriers in access to MT include delays in evaluation and accurate diagnosis of LVO leading to inappropriate triage, logistical delays related to availability of facilities and trained interventionalists, and financial hurdles that affect treatment reimbursement. Collection of regional data related to these barriers is critical to better understand current access gaps and a measurable access score to thrombectomy could be useful to plan local public health intervention.

A preliminary formalization of the process that flight crews use to initiate, monitor, prioritize, execute, and terminate multiple, concurrent tasks is presented. I define key terminology and present a preliminary, normative theory of cockpit task management (CTM). An error taxonomy that is applied to three National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) aircraft accident reports is introduced. Recommendations for pilot vehicle interfaces (PVIs) intended to facilitate CTM and an example, prototype PVI that was effective in improving CTM performance are provided. In conclusion, I describe the complementary relationship between CTM and cockpit resource management (CRM).

Nowadays, one of the learning resources in the educational area are serious games, also called training games; they are games designed with a different purpose than fun, whose main objective is to reinforce the new concepts more creatively. However, not all existing serious games are accessible in a way that allows access to a more significant number of users. Therefore, this research proposes to apply a combined method to evaluate accessibility in serious games, considering the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. As a case study, we evaluated the accessibility of 82 serious games developed by Physical Education Technology Interactive Simulations at the University of Colorado. We propose to replicate this combined method for users with various types of disabilities, considering the various accessibility barriers. As future work, we suggest generating an accessibility heuristic evaluation focused on serious games, based on the accessibility issues identified. Finally, we believe it is essential to strengthen accessibility policies in each country, as well as implement best practices that generate innovation by incorporating diversity in building and designing more inclusive serious games.

Today, there are many e-commerce websites, but not all of them are accessible. Accessibility is a crucial element that can make a difference and determine the success or failure of a digital business. The study was applied to 50 e-commerce sites in the top rankings according to the classification proposed by ecommerceDB. In evaluating the web accessibility of e-commerce sites, we applied an automatic review method based on a modification of Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM) 1.0. To evaluate accessibility, we used Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE) with the extension for Google Chrome, which helps verify password-protected, locally stored, or highly dynamic pages. The study found that the correlation between the ranking of e-commerce websites and accessibility barriers is 0.329, indicating that the correlation is low positive according to Spearman’s Rho. According to the WAVE analysis, the research results reveal that the top 10 most accessible websites are Sainsbury’s Supermarkets, Walmart, Target Corporation, Macy’s, IKEA, H&M Hennes, Chewy, Kroger, QVC, and Nike. The most significant number of accessibility barriers relate to contrast errors that must be corrected for e-commerce websites to reach an acceptable level of accessibility. The most neglected accessibility principle is perceivable, representing 83.1%, followed by operable with 13.7%, in third place is robust with 1.7% and finally understandable with 1.5%. Future work suggests constructing a software tool that includes artificial intelligence algorithms that help the software identify accessibility barriers.