[Nfbc-info] Survey for O&M research

Sat Apr 24 04:15:04 UTC 2010

Out of curiosity, who are these folks? 

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Lisamaria Martinez, NOMC
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 8:40 PM
To: NFB of California List
Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Survey for O&M research

Way Finder isn't sponsoring this survey. The title of the survey is a bit of
a misnomer. The survey has nothing to do with GPS technology at all. Smith
Kettlewell are the folks behind the survey.

LM

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Miller" <brian-r-miller at uiowa.edu>
To: "'NFB of California List'" <nfbc-info at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 2:32 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Survey for O&M research

> Hi LM,
>
> Thanks, I appreciate the perspective, both from you, and from the Way 
> Finder
> folks.
>
> You're absolutely right, of course, that there are many blind people who 
> do
> experience significant challenges in getting around -- I dare say, in 
> fact,
> a majority, no doubt a result of the state of the field of O&M training
> these days... Sadly there aren't enough teachers out there like you!
>
> Doesn't Way Finder produce software for GPSs?  I really don't think they 
> are
> just doing a blue skies inquiry here.  This feels more like market 
> research
> than academic research... And that's totally cool, by the way, since I 
> would
> hope that market research would reflect the input of folks like those on 
> the
> list here, I just feel that it's always an interesting question to ask 
> about
> the intentions of any survey, including this one.
>
> I would also encourage folks to take the survey if they have time.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Brian M
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On
> Behalf Of Lisamaria Martinez
> Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 5:06 PM
> To: NFB of California List
> Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Survey for O&M research
>
> Well ... actually ...
>
> I believe the term way finding in this case simply refers to different
> methods of traveling and things an individual might use to travel.
>
> The survey is simply to gather data on how real blind people travel and 
> what
> they use to travel and gather information. There is no hypothesis out 
> there
> yet.
>
> I, too, noted that most of the questions were phrased with the assumption
> that I would have difficulties doing this or that. The truth is you and I
> can travel with minimal difficulty, but there is a fair amount of people 
> who
> do have difficulties. So, how do they travel? How can they improve their
> travel? What methods seem to work best by those who don't have 
> difficulties
> traveling? Are those who are experiencing difficulties employing the same
> techniques those without difficulties are using?
>
>
> at least, this is the info I got from the folks sponsoring the survey.
>
> On 4/23/10, Brian Miller <brian-r-miller at uiowa.edu> wrote:
>> Thanks Serena.
>>
>> I took the survey and found it rather interesting that most of the
>> questions seemed to be framed in such a way as to assume that I
>> experience significant difficulties in traveling outside the home.  My
>> impression from this survey is that the company is looking to validate
>> the need for blind people to use GPS technology to navigate safely, an
>> assumption with which I strongly disagree.
>>
>> This is just my impression, so I will be curious to hear what others
>> think after they take the survey.
>>
>> Brian Miller
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org
>> [mailto:nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Serena Olsen
>> Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 12:50 PM
>> To: nfbc-info; cabs-talk
>> Subject: [Nfbc-info] Survey for O&M research
>>
>> This survey is totally worth 20-30 minutes of our time to help people
>> understand how we get around...please make the time to do it if you can.
>> You can do it online or via telephone.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> --
>> Serena Olsen, MAIPS
>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/serenaolsen
>>
>> Request for Participation -- Smith-Kettlewell WayfindingSurvey
>>
>> Greetings!
>>
>> The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute (S-K), in collaboration
>> with researchers at Accessible Design for the Blind and U.C. Santa
>> Barbara, is conducting a survey of tools and techniques used by blind
>> and visually-impaired people in their every-day lives. We want to know
>> how you get around, how comfortable you feel in various situations,
>> what other disabilities you have, and what tools and techniques you
>> use in your daily travels. By participating in the S-K Wayfinding
>> Survey, you will extend our knowledge of how real blind and
>> visually-impaired people travel independently. You will also help to
>> improve the independence of future travelers with visual disabilities by
> sharing your experience.
>>
>> You can participate in the S-K Wayfinding survey on the web, by phone,
>> or by TTY. The survey should take no more than 20 minutes to complete,
>> and your responses will be completely confidential. We eagerly look
>> forward to your participation and thank you in advance for your help.
>>
>> To take the survey on the web or ask questions about it:
>> http://holman.ski.org/wayfindingsurvey
>>
>> Take the survey by phone:
>> (415) 345-2013 -- We will call you back.
>>
>> Take the survey by TTY:
>> (415) 345-2290 -- We will call you back.
>>
>> Please share this announcement with any individuals or lists you think
>> might be interested. If you do forward it, please take the time to
>> remove any extra e-mail headers to improve readability.
>>
>> Again, we thank you for your valuable assistance with this important
>> research project.
>>
>> ----------------------------------------
>> Joshua A. Miele, Ph.D.
>> The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute
>> 2318 Fillmore St
>> San Francisco, CA 94115
>>
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