Test-retest reliability of the Profile of Mood States using visually impaired athletes

The test-retest reliabilities of the Profile of Mood States when items were read aloud on consecutive days to 15 nationally ranked visually impaired athletes ranged from .78 to .95, so the scale can be used with visually impaired athletes who cannot complete the profile in the traditional written manner.     

A multiple-attribute decision-making approach to assess the disability of visually impaired workers

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has redefined employability and disability. The measurement and evaluation of the disabled worker's residual capabilities, in terms of worker strengths and weaknesses, job requirements and work environment, is the first step to comply with the ADA. This study presents an application of multiple-attribute decision-making procedures. The task is to develop a single index for use in assessing the disability of visually impaired workers through a consideration of factors defined by the U.S. Employment Service for successful job performance. The index can also be used to identify and prioritize the need for reasonable accommodation and to match visually impaired workers to appropriate employment.     

Smell and taste function in the visually impaired

Surprisingly few quantitative studies have addressed the question of whether visually impaired individuals evidence, perhaps in compensation for their loss of vision, increased acuteness in their other senses. In this experiment we sought to determine whether blind subjects outperform sighted subjects on a number of basic tests of chemosensory function. Over 50 blind and 75 sighted subjects were administered the following olfactory and gustatory tests: the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT); a 16-item odor discrimination test; and a suprathreshold taste test in which measures of taste-quality identification and ratings of the perceived intensity and pleasantness of sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, and caffeine were obtained. In addition, 39 blind subjects and 77 sighted subjects were administered a single staircase phenyl ethyl alcohol (PEA) odor detection threshold test. Twenty-three of the sighted subjects were employed by the Philadelphia Water Department and trained to serve on its water quality evaluation panel. The primary findings of the study were that (a) the blind subjects did not outperform sighted subjects on any test of chemosensory function and (b) the trained subjects significantly outperformed the other two groups on the odor detection, odor discrimination, and taste identification tests, and nearly outperformed the blind subjects on the UPSIT. The citric acid concentrations received larger pleasantness ratings from the trained panel members than from the blind subjects, whose ratings did not differ significantly from those of the untrained sighted subjects. Overall, the data imply that blindness, per se, has little influence on chemosensory function and add further support to the notion that specialized training enhances performance on a number of chemosensory tasks.     

Factors of Problem Behavior in visually impaired children

The Behavior Problem Checklist was completed by teachers of 104 students in a residential school for the visually impaired. Four separate factor analyses were performed. Additional analyses were conducted to determine the effect on the factor structure of sex, race, and age. Three factors that correspond to dimensions found in earlier research and previously labeled conduct disorder, personality problem, and inadequacy-immaturity were found. Overall, the visually impaired children tended to have problem behavior patterns similar to other populations, and these patterns were largely independent of the visual handicap.This paper is an expanded version of a paper presented at the Third International Conference for Special Education (European Association for Special Education), Helsinki, Finland, August 1980. The authors shared equally in the production of this paper. First-author listing was decided by a chance procedure. We wish to thank Drs. Richard Hyer and Robert Fore and the staff of the Georgia Academy for the Blind for their cooperation.     

Compensatory behaviour of visually impaired cyclists in everyday settings

This study investigated whether visually impaired cyclists, compared to cyclists without visual limitations, take other, potentially safer routes to destinations in their own living environment and whether they ride at a lower speed. In total, 19 matched pairs of a visually impaired cyclist and a normally sighted peer from the same neighbourhood recorded their everyday bicycle rides, using GPS action cameras. In addition, they completed an ‘assigned ride’, a ride for which only a starting and an ending point were provided by the researcher. A risk-assessment procedure showed that the route taken by visually impaired cyclists during this assigned ride was not less risky than the route taken by the normally sighted cyclists. Analysis of the everyday rides showed that, on average, cyclists with a visual impairment more frequently (i.e. for longer periods) cycled at a speed below 10 km/h compared to cyclists without visual impairment. Also, the visually impaired participants’ cruising speed was 1.4 km/h lower than that of their normally sighted counterparts. In conclusion, no evidence was found that visually impaired cyclists compensate strategically by taking different, potentially safer routes than normally sighted cyclists when riding in their own environment. They may (unconsciously) compensate tactically for their visual function limitations by riding at a lower speed when necessary. Mobility trainers in vision rehabilitation as well as road designers could apply these findings to optimise the cycling mobility of visually impaired people.     

Model of guidance for visually impaired persons in the traffic network

The movement of the blind and visually impaired persons in the traffic network is today based exclusively on the application of aids (white cane) and methods that the users learn during the training of orientation and movement. In present paper authors investigate accessibility of information and communication technologies and services with the purpose of increasing the mobility level of the blind and visually impaired persons when moving in the traffic network of the City of Zagreb. The traffic intersections were analysed from the viewpoint of difficult-to-master for independent movement by using the basic methods of crossing a traffic intersection which the users acquire at the training of orientation and movement. The method of survey and interviews with a target group of users was used to evaluate all the relevant parameters of guidance and navigation resulting from the mentioned analyses and by performing training of orientation and movement in the duration of six months. Based on the carried out research and the used scientific methods the dynamic model has been defined and it is based on relevant parameters of guidance and navigation, and on the application of the information and communication technologies and services. The information provided to the user, by the system, is defined according to the currently available technologies. The model was efficiency tested on a real system of the traffic network of the City of Zagreb.     

The challenge of rationality in computer access for the visually impaired

Problems encountered by the visually impaired in accessing computers are discussed from a blind Apple user’s point of view. Difficulties arising from hardware, software, and inadequacies of documentation are considered. Particular attention is paid to access limitations involving paperless Braille and synthetic speech output. Avenues of solution for the problems are suggested. The main remedies proposed are increasing standardization of software design and interfacing requirements, along with greater producer-consumer consultation.     

Comparison of balance and gait in visually or hearing impaired children

The study was planned to evaluate the effect of loss of hearing and vision on balance and gait in 60 children, 20 of whom had hearing loss (M age = 9.3 yr., SD = 0.9), 20 who were visually impaired (M age = 12.2 yr., SD = 2.5), and 20 controls with no disability (M age = 9.4 yr., SD = 0.6). Standing Balance subtests of the Southern California Sensory Integration Tests were used. Gait analysis was conducted on a powdered surface. When the gait analysis results of the three groups of children were compared, statistically significant differences were noted. Scores for the hearing impaired group were more like those of the control group than those of the visually impaired group. Results show that children with visual impairment had more problems with balance and gait than controls.     

The self-concepts of visually impaired and normally sighted middle school children

The self-concepts of visually impaired (n = 61) and normally sighted (n = 229) American school children in Grades 6, 7, and 8 were compared. Self-concept was measured with the Student Self-Assessment Inventory (SSAI; Muller, Larned, Leonetti, & Muller, 1984, 1986), which assesses children's self-knowledge, self-ideal, and self-esteem as related to physical maturity, peer relations, academic success, and school adaptiveness. Visually impaired students scored higher than normally sighted children on 5 of the 12 SSAI subscales, refuting the notion that visually impaired children have poorer self-concepts than normally sighted children.     

Tangible pictures: viewpoint effects and linear perspective in visually impaired people

Perception of raised-line pictures in blindfolded-sighted, congenitally blind, late-blind, and low-vision subjects was studied in a series of experiments. The major aim of the study was to examine the value of perspective drawings for haptic pictures and visually impaired individuals. In experiment 1, subjects felt two wooden boards joined at 45 degrees, 90 degrees, or 135 degrees, and were instructed to pick the correct perspective drawing from among four choices. The first experiment on perspective found a significant effect of visual status, with much higher performance by the low-vision subjects. Mean performance for the congenitally blind subjects was not significantly different from that of the late-blind and blindfolded-sighted subjects. In a further experiment, blindfolded subjects drew tangible pictures of three-dimensional (3-D) geometric solids, and then engaged in a matching task. Counter to expectations, performance was not impaired for the 3-D drawings as compared with the frontal viewpoints. Subjects were also especially fast and more accurate when matching top views. Experiment 5 showed that top views were easiest for all of the visually impaired subjects, including those who were congenitally blind. Experiment 5 yielded higher performance for 3-D than frontal viewpoints. The results of all of the experiments were consistent with the idea that visual experience is not necessary for understanding perspective drawings of geometrical objects.     

Decision making in the short and long run: Repeated gambles and rationality

Experimental evidence indicates that decision makers who reject a single play of a gamble may accept repeated plays of that gamble. The rationality of this pattern of preference has been investigated beginning with Samuelson's colleague (SC) who gained notoriety in a well‐known paper. SC's pattern of preference is commonly viewed as a behavioural anomaly. Researchers from branches of psychology and economics have analysed the choice and, despite much debate, there remains considerable confusion. An axiomatic analysis of SC's choice has been used to motivate experimental studies in several disciplines. This paper identifies the axiomatic violation as that of an assumed rather than a normative condition. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, SC's choice is consistent with expected utility theory.     

Spatial asymmetries in tactile discrimination of line orientation: a comparison of the sighted, visually impaired, and blind

Thresholds for tactile discrimination of stimulus orientation discrepancy from standard or referent vertical, horizontal, and diagonal orientations were determined for sighted, visually impaired, and blind subject groups. The stimuli were presented to the ventral distal portion of the tip of the subject's left index finger via an Optacon. Although the subject groups did not differ in overall discrimination accuracy, for each group the deviations from vertical and horizontal standard orientations were discriminated reliably more accurately than the deviations from standard diagonals, ie the oblique effect was obtained. The bases for this tactual spatial anisotrophic effect appear to reflect both sensory--neurological and experiential factors.     

Mechanical output about the ankle in countermovement jumps and jumps with extended knee

In this study the mechanical output (e.g., force, contraction velocity, instantaneous power) about the ankle was measured during a jump with and without occurrence of transportation of power and pre-stretch potentiation. To examine this, a model of the m. triceps surae was used. Eleven subjects performed a maximal one-legged countermovement jump (CMJ) and a maximal one-legged jump with extended knee (EKJ). Ground reaction forces, cinematographic data and electromyograms of m. triceps surae were recorded. The power output, defined as the product of moment and angular velocity, and work done about the ankle were higher during CMJ (1404 W, 130 J) than during EKJ (852 W, 76 J). The peak moments were the same during both jumps. The model of the m. triceps surae showed that the power delivered by m. triceps surae was higher during CMJ than during EKJ, as a result of catapult-action of m. gastrocnemius tendon. The difference in work done is explained, in addition to transportation of energy, by a greater contraction range of m. soleus during CMJ. There is no reason to assume that pre-stretch potentiation plays a role in the difference in mechanical output. The results show that the mechanical output of muscles in complex movements is strongly dependent on the dynamics of the movement, and not only on its contractile capacity.     

Interpreting the WPPSI subtests scores of language impaired children--a structural approach

The problem of characterising more specifically the cognitive requirements involved in subtests from standardised measures of intelligence represents a main problem in the research on exceptional populations. Seventy-five specifically language impaired (SLI) preschool children and 49 normally developing children were administered the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI). The scaled scores on the WPPSI were categorised according to Bannatyne's suggested regrouping to determine whether the pattern Spatial > Conceptual > Sequential could be observed in the data. The predicted pattern was only partially confirmed for language impaired children. The scaled scores on the WPPSI were then recategorized according to their structural complexity. Since structurally complex tasks contain more categories than the structurally simpler tasks, the pattern structurally Simple > Moderate > Complex was predicted and confirmed for language impaired children. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that the structurally Complex categories would discriminate better between language-impaired children and normally developing children than any other recoded categories. This hypothesis was confirmed. The low scores obtained by language impaired children on structurally Complex categories were interpreted as the result of capacity limitations in information processing rather than a deficit of any particular mental ability.     

Anxiety and adjustment levels among the visually and hearing impaired and their relationship to locus of control, cognitive, social, and biographical variables

Forty-five hearing-impaired and 40 visually impaired male residential school children aged 6 to 16 years were administered measures of adjustment, anxiety, and locus of control (LOC). Scores related to intelligence and academic level, teacher and peer acceptance, and biographical variables were also obtained. The findings show that the correlates of anxiety and adjustment differed qualitatively as well as quantitatively between the groups.     

Temporal pattern of pre-shooting psycho-physiological states in elite athletes: A probabilistic approach

Objective

The IZOF-based probabilistic approach provides a methodology to study within-individual patterns of a performer's states. So far, the time course of physiological data before performance have not been investigated within the probabilistic methodology framework. The purpose of this study was to examine the value of the probabilistic approach in the assessment of the time course of physiological indicators of arousal/activation and vigilance during the period preceding the shot, in comparison with the performance-based method.

Design

Longitudinal assessment of psycho-physiological data and performance outcomes was conducted on eight elite pistol shooters in a controlled setting.

Methods

Each participant performed 60 air-pistol shots in 2 sessions. Skin conductance level and cardiac activity were recorded. Affective states intensity was evaluated on a modified 11-point Borg scale. Affect, HR and SC level were evaluated with a Performance-based approach and a Probabilistic method, and results compared at an individual level.

Results

Findings showed the higher effectiveness of the probabilistic method to analyse physiological parameters (skin conductance and heart rate) and to describe the physiological mechanisms associated with shooters’ performance.

Conclusions

The probabilistic method better discerned the contribution of arousal/activation and vigilance to optimal and non-optimal performance in elite shooters, thereby providing a sharper representation of the temporal pattern of performers' states before shooting. From an applied perspective, we believe that the probabilistic approach can help athletes become aware of the subtle variations occurring in their psychophysical states during the preparatory period preceding the shot and not only at the moment of shot release.