[nagdu] Research Project

[Dudley Hanks]

Hi All - 

A grad from GDB is spreading the word about a research project he is
conducting.

Here are the details:


My name is Sean Mealin.  I am a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State
University in the Department of Computer Science, as well as a guide dog
user.  I am working on a research project focusing on using technology to
give guide dog users more information about their guide dogs in real-time.
This information may one day help you tell things about your guide dog such
as if they are getting dangerously hot or cold, if they are abnormally
stressed, or even give you hints to their emotional state.  

In order to do this as unobtrusively as possible, I am designing a new
handle that will give you updates while you and your dog are working.

To design the most effective handle I can, I am collecting information about
how guide dog users hold their handles. What I am asking is that you get a
friend to take close-up pictures of your hand on the handle while you go
about your daily activity.  Once you have the pictures, you or your friend
can send them to me using a survey which is linked below, which will ask you
simple questions like which school you received your guide dog from; this is
to insure that we get as wide a sample as possible.  No information that
identifies you or your dog will be kept, and this information will only be
used in a summarized form.

If you would like to participate, you can read more about what information
is being collected, why it is being collected, and how your privacy will be
protected at the link below.  After you read that, and if you choose to
participate, collect at most three pictures of your hand on your guide dog's
handle, and submit them by using the same survey link below.  

You must be at least 18 years-old to participate.  Please note that users of
Jaws and the Fire Fox web browser have reported some accessibility problems
with uploading the pictures.  If you encounter any difficulty, please try
using another browser, or contact me for assistance.

<http://ncsu.qualtrics.com//SE/?SID=SV_02hblylMkwQ6Q1D>

If you have any questions or concerns about the data, how it will be used,
or your privacy, please feel free to contact me, Sean Mealin, at
spmealin at ncsu.edu, or by phone, (336) 365-8301.  

Thank you for your help with this exciting research.