Browsing by Subject "People with disabilities."

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Implementing linguistic text anticipation in a writing device for the disabled
    (1989) Waller, Annalu; Boonzaier, David
    The advent of the microcomputer has provided the severely handicapped with the means to create text. Instead of using a keyboard, the disabled typist is able to scan and select linguistic items with an appropriate input switch. The resulting communication rate is, however, prohibitively slow for writing and impractical for conversation. A variety of techniques is used to improve this rate and range from static letter matrices to more sophisticated methods in which words and phrases are anticipated. Although many anticipatory methods claim to be linguistically based, most, if not all, depend solely on letter and word frequency statistics. A series of phonological rules can be used to anticipate the letter structure of most English words. This linguistically based system reflects a degree of "intelligence" not present in other anticipatory writing systems. To evaluate and compare the new system with several existing techniques in practice, a programmable evaluation system has been developed on an IBM-compatible personal computer using the Artificial Intelligence language, LISP. Different communication strategies are transcribed into rulebases which serve as input to the software. The core program then executes the particular system under consideration. Input text can be processed in either manual or simulation mode and an evaluation report is generated when the session ends. The characteristics of efficient communication systems are introduced as a basis for this dissertation, after which the development and application of a linguistic anticipatory writing system is described. The design of the evaluation software is documented and the successful implementation of the various communication systems is discussed.
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    Open Access
    A microcomputer-based synthesis of Blissymbols from key components to facilitate language acquisition in severely disabled people
    (1991) Shalit, Ami; Boonzaier, David
    Blissymbolics is a semantically-based graphic language which was originally developed as universal channel of communication to promote world peace. Instead, this logical and unambiguous symbol system has been adopted as a communication-enhancement system for pre-reading non-speaking children, and it is now ranked as the most comprehensive and effective graphic system used within augmentative communication. Over the years, a number of multi-functional programmes designed to manipulate microcomputer- based assembly of Blissymbols have been developed. Although some of these applications have become rather popular, none of them is based on a mechanism which provides their users with a cognitive access to the stored symbol vocabulary. The present research was initiated and devised with an underlying goal to gain an insight into some of the most potent characteristics of Blissymbolics, and then, with the backing of the findings, offer a microcomputer-based interface featuring a cognitive technique designed to facilitate retrieval, manipulation, teaching and learning of Blissymbols.
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    Text entry, analysis and correction help : assisting the disabled computer user with data entry
    (1990) Hirson, Guy; Hanmer, Lyn Avril; Boonzaier, David
    It was suggested several decades ago that computers would be the single biggest step forward in integrating people with physical disabilities into "normal" society. At that stage, much work was done in writing software and designing hardware that allowed computer operators with disabilities to use packages effectively, in certain cases as efficiently as people without disabilities. Since those days, judging by the lack of references on this subject the interest in dealing with disabled people has waned. It is only very recently that the spotlight has been focused on these potentially very productive persons. Unfortunately, the backlog is large and most existing applications software offers little or no support for users with disabilities. In this thesis, I have examined some of the hardware and software limitations of current desktop computer technology, focusing on the IBM PC and compatibles. I have also written a computer program that attempts to relieve some of the difficulties faced by a limited number of disabled users. In evaluating the results, I considered it important to relate the ensuing data with the real problems faced by a far wider spectrum of users than I attempted to cater for with the program and to suggest ways in which software products could be made to have wider applicability in the future.