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At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Unstable Morse code recognition with adaptive variable-ratio threshold prediction for physically disabled persons.

With one or two switches, Morse code could provide an effective alternative communication channel for individuals with physical limitations. However, most of the physically disabled persons have difficulties in maintaining a stable typing of Morse code, and hence the automated recognition of unstable Morse code is becoming more on demand. In this study, an adaptive variable-ratio threshold prediction (AVRTP) algorithm is proposed to analyze the Morse code time series with variable unit time period and ratio. Two least-mean-square (LMS) predictors are applied to track the dot interval and the dot-dash difference concurrently, and then a predicted threshold based on a variable-ratio decision rule is used to distinguish between dots and dashes. The same method is also applied to identify character-spaces. By the adaptive prediction of variable-ratio threshold, AVRTP has successfully overcome the difficulty of analyzing severely unstable Morse code time series and outperformed the previously proposed adaptive unstable-speed prediction (AUSP) algorithm and LMS and matching (I,MS&M) algorithm. This study concludes with a computer simulation and a preliminary clinical evaluation that demonstrate AVRTP as an efficient and reliable method for unstable Morse code recognition.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Evaluation of the driving ability in disabled persons: a practitioners' view.

PURPOSE AND METHODS: The purpose of this paper is to present, on the basis of four genuine cases from the Rehabilitation Research Unit of Oulu University, the theoretical frame in which evaluations of driving ability of disabled persons can be made. RESULTS: First, it is not the operations with the control devices but the correct mental actions which the driver carries out with the help of the control devices which are crucial for safe driving. Second, driving ability is only partly a biomedical object of research and one ought to avoid an excessive medicalisation of an evaluation of driving ability. Third, the driver meets traffic situations not by his or her separate biological or psychological functions, such as vision, attention, memory, thinking, motives, but as an integrated whole, as a personality. CONCLUSIONS: By its complexity an evaluation of driving ability can be compared to an evaluation of working capacity where often a multidisciplinary team is needed. When evaluating driving ability we have to take a step from low-level motor operations towards high-level mental actions, from the measurement of acuity of eyesight towards the testing of the flexibility of perception, from the diagnosis-based evaluation to the patient-based evaluation, from using the common pencil-paper tests towards the traffic-related task-specific tests and from the testing of separate single general non-driving-related factors towards an evaluation of the theoretically based driving performance as whole.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Measuring attitudes toward the physically disabled: testing the 'Attitude Towards Disabled Persons' scale (A.T.D.P. Form O) on social work and non-social work students.

The aim of the study was to test the U.S.A. Validated 'Attitude Towards Disabled Persons' Inventory (A.T.D.P. Form O) on a British student population to establish norms. The objectives were to test specific hypotheses related to the sex of the respondent, contact with physically disabled people and whether social work students had different attitude scores than non social work students. In addition, a comparison was made between the British and U.S.A. 'norms'. The student population of four specific British Universities comprised the sampling frame. The sample was a non probability accidental sample of social work and non social work students. Standardised A.T.D.P. Form Os were administered in group situations. Each form was accompanied by a letter explaining the study, together with a short questionnaire eliciting the sex of respondent and type and extent of any contact with disabled people. The findings demonstrated that there are probably differences between U.S.A. and British norms but that there are general similarities between the two countries. In both countries females, scored higher than males, which by interpretation indicates possibly a more favourable attitude. Contact with the disabled is also a contributing factor in higher scores. Social work students also tended to score more highly than non social work students. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to the possible development of professional attitudes for those who work with the disabled. It is postulated that 'idealisation' may be reflected in attitudes of students who intend to work with the disabled which, after general and professional life experience gives way to less favourable attitudes. Closeness of contact of respondents to disabled people is a factor which needs further exploration in connection with changing attitude scores.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Teaching developmentally disabled persons how to react to fires.

Four elements of fire reaction are delineated: investigating, reporting, suppressing, and evacuating areas in which fires are present. Important issues in the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of fire reaction skills for developmentally disabled persons are identified and reviewed. Learning-based treatment strategies and fire safety literature relevant to the authors' concerns are reviewed. The authors suggest that behavioral research on training should be congruent with fire safety experts' recommendations on fire reaction skills.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1995

Preserving self: from victim, to patient, to disabled person.

Open-ended, unstructured interviews were conducted with patients who had survived serious traumatic injury, and their experiences from impact to recovery analysed using grounded theory. A four-stage process of 'vigilance', 'disruption', 'enduring the self', and 'striving to regain the self' was delineated. The basic social psychological process of 'preserving self' explained the strategies used in each stage, and required deliberate action, focused energy and tremendous effort and will. The strategies used to preserve self changed in each stage of the model. At the beginning, when physical survival was in jeopardy, the strategies were primarily physical. Protecting self was a process of 'taking time out' and of shutting down, in the stage of disruption. In the stage of enduring the self, it was passively learning to 'take it' and to bear the treatments. Finally, in the stage of striving to regain the self, preserving the self was the work of regaining and redefining the self as a disabled person.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1993

Survey of community adjustment of previously institutionalized developmentally disabled persons.

A survey was conducted of the community adjustment of 108 developmentally disabled (mentally retarded) persons who had spent at least three years in an institution in southeastern Ontario. On average, they had resided 3.5 years in the community, were 40 years of age, with a mental age of five years and a median IQ of 41, and most had one or more moderate to severe physical disabilities. During their most recent year living in the community it was found that their daily living skills remained unchanged compared with their skill level in the year prior to community placement. As well, the community staff rated them as average in level of performance and amount of supervision required compared with others of similar ability. About one third were found to have a moderate to severe behavioural/psychiatric problem with aggressive disruptive behaviour being most frequent. Of the two-thirds capable of being interviewed, over three-quarters expressed satisfaction with their present living, work, education and recreation environment and had no desire to return to the institution. Most had few if any meaningful relationships with non developmentally disabled persons other than caregivers. Support agency staff and psychiatric consultants identified additional service needs for those with behavioural/psychiatric problems who may be placed in the community.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1985

[The right work for every disabled person: the ERTOMIS ability and requirement profiles for the appropriate determination of a workplace].

In close accordance with the "International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps" issued by the World Health Organisation in 1980, and in cooperation with medical doctors, psychologists, and vocational teachers a reintegration of disabled adults. Instead of only attesting to the rehabilitated person his disabilities this system allows qualified persons to assess by means of a set of 64 evaluation criteria in an "Ability Profile" the abilities available to the disabled after rehabilitation; likewise, using the same 64 criteria it allows one to determine in a "Requirement Profile" those requirements a particular job poses to the corresponding person. The two profiles can be compared, thus providing an easy match between the person's abilities and the abilities necessary to perform the job. The various criteria reflect "elementary abilities" or correspondingly "elementary requirements". By comparison of the two profiles it is possible--in a first rough approach based on correspondingly developed judging abilities of the evaluator--to determine rather accurately whether a certain kind of work, to which a "Requirement Profile" is available, is adequate for a certain disabled person--for whom an "Ability Profile" has also been developed. The question whether the chosen work is fully adequate can thereby be answered with maximum accuracy only at the corresponding workplace by an occupational physician and the other professionals responsible for the employment of the disabled. The ERTOMIS system thus facilitates the job placement of disabled people; it can also help decide on eventual complementary rehabilitation measures directed towards the better adjustment of the disabled to a certain work, or the improved adjustment of that work to the abilities of the disabled. Each disability is unique to each individual; by means of this system system--completed with the personal dossier from which data on the vocational training and experience of the disabled can be taken--it can also be assessed in a way that reflects this important individuality. The criteria describe only abilities and requirements relevant to work performance. If one so chooses, for data protection reasons the "Ability Profile" can be handed out to the disabled person only. No copies of documents may be kept except for the purpose of medical records.

Aptitude↗
PubMed1991

Personality, disability and acne in college students.

The relationship between acne, personality and disability was examined in a sample of 101 junior college students in Singapore. The clinical severity of their acne was assessed using a Acne Severity Grading Scale. The disability as perceived by the individual, was evaluated using the Acne Disability Index. Our data showed that there was no difference in personality, assessed by Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, between students with mild acne (Grades 0 and 2) and those with severe acne (Grades 4, 6 and 8). Personality influences the individual's perception of disability. Students with acne who were concerned about their facial appearance were more emotional and less tough-minded than those who were not. Otherwise, there was little disability resulting from the disease.

Acne Vulgaris↗
PubMed1989

A comparative study of vocational development of able bodied and disabled persons.

The vocational development of 547 disabled students in the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany was compared with a group of able bodied students in the U.S. on the Goldberg Scale of Vocational Development (GSVD), measuring plans, realism, initiative, work values, commitment, and occupational awareness. The students were classified into 8 groups, and covaried by age. The average scores from high to low on vocational development were: able bodied, cystic fibrosis, congenital heart, orthopedic, facial burns, delinquent, developmental disability, learning or mental retardation. The German students made plans specifically tailored to training courses whereas the American students made more varied and open ended plans with higher aspirations for the future. All 7 disabled groups scored lower than the able bodied group, with only the cystic fibrosis group approaching normality.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Disabled Persons and their Right to Equal Treatment: Allowing Differentiation While Ending Discrimination.

The principle of equality encompasses the right not to be discriminated against. It is important to distinguish between discrimination and differentiation when seeking to promote and protect the right to equal treatment of disadvantaged or otherwise vulnerable groups. The achievement of equality not only prohibits abstaining from discrimination, but also entails a positive obligation to rectify inequalities. Differentiation may be an adequate means to remedy disadvantages and to enhance the equal rights of vulnerable groups. Discrimination against disabled people may occur as a result of both differentiation and a lack thereof. The admissibility of differentiating between able-bodied and disabled persons ultimately depends on the relevance of using disability as a criterion to distinguish between individuals or groups. Differentiating is acceptable if the absence or presence of an individual quality or group attribute is of paramount importance, or when an effort is made to rectify inequalities. Differentiation, however, becomes discriminatory when distinctions are made arbitrarily, or when they have the purpose or effect of denying or restricting the equal enjoyment and exercise of human rights.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

A staff manual to help developmentally disabled persons improve their work habits and productivity.

In keeping with new directions for Behavior Modification, this article presents a treatment manual that has evolved over the past dozen or so years from our research program on vocational habilitation with developmentally disabled persons. The manual presents staff-managed and self-management strategies for helping these people improve work habits and productivity in various settings. The manual was written for front-line staff working with developmentally disabled clients. Strategies are presented as a checklist, making it easy to select the most appropriate components for each client and work setting. The guidelines are supported by research. The manual has been used in numerous training seminars, and feedback has been positive. In a workshop at the 1990 Conference of the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis, for example, mean rating of the manual by participants was 4.5 on a 5-point scale.

Humans↗
PubMed1981

[Concerning the motivation of working in disabled persons (author's transl)].

The content of this study is concerned with the motivating of the sense of working in disabled workers. Research results are reported. The relevance of this problem becomes evident, if it is noticed, that the part of severely disabled and walking disabled in the German Democratic Republic (research outcomes are reported for this country) is stated to be 5 - 8% of the total population. As other research findings show and as is confirmed here, especially persons who lack work and demand need recreation. Work is healthy and a personality forming factor, which therefore can not be reduced to the mere economic aspects of securing livelihood. For disabled persons the appropriate possibilities of activity in order to reach the intended aim, that is the fulfillment of needs in working, are available in an only limited range, compared to healthy people. In the special living situation of a disabled person, which is a situation of shortage regarding work, the loss of vocational activity and with it the need for working is felt deeply.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Morse code recognition system with fuzzy algorithm for disabled persons.

It is generally known that Morse code is an efficient input method for one or two switches and it is made from long and short sounds separated by silence between the sounds. The long-to-short ratio in the definition is always 3 to 1, but the long-to-short ratio variation for a disabled person is so large that it is difficult to recognize. In the last few years, several Morse code recognition methods have been successfully built on the LMS adaptive algorithms and neural network algorithm. But LMS-related adaptive algorithms need mass computation to infer the characteristic of the controller; also the neural network must learn first, by inputting some data before it is used to recognize the Morse code sequence. In this study, two fuzzy algorithms are used to recognize the unstable Morse code sequences and the result demonstrates a significant improvement of recognition for real time signal processing in a single-chip microprocessor.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Clinical need variations of disabled persons residing in group homes.

Group home research has generally entailed comparison of these settings and their residents to institutions and their residents. Group home residents have frequently been treated as a homogeneous cohort of individuals. When group home development began, initial residents--usually individuals recently deinstitutionalized--were probably relatively homogeneous in regard to functional abilities and service needs, and generally similar to other disabled persons living in the community. Today, the residents of one group home may bear little resemblance to those of another. This report presents information about the types of group homes within a state system based upon the characteristics and service needs of 1,050 persons in 118 group homes and questions the role of community mental health centers in addressing certain service needs of group home residents.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2001

["Target groups 1-3" must be granted priority access to health care services. Health care needs of somatically and mentally disabled persons in Robetsfors].

People with serious functional disabilities do not always call attention to their needs for care, and are therefore a vulnerable group in our society. In Sweden, The Act Concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS) is intended to provide for them. Our research found that people with serious physical or psychiatric disability suffer more often from intercurrent disease and have more problems with their eyesight, hearing and dental health than do other individuals. The responsibility for their respective health care needs must be clarified, so that the group is given priority access to the health care system and services for rehabilitation.

Community Health Services↗