Off-Route Strategies in Non-Visual Navigation

该项目探讨了学习方法对视障人士路线理解的影响，并将确定地理尺度的变化是否会改变所选学习媒体的有效性。了解不同的学习方法如何影响路线理解将使目前的空间知识获取理论以及定向和机动性训练得到评估，并在必要时加以改进。穿越空间是视障人士面临的对认知要求最高的任务之一，经常会引发对迷失或迷失方向的恐惧。由于这些原因，有必要确定有效的空间学习策略，以帮助视障人士提高机动性和生活质量。在第一个实验中，24名视障人士将学习三条穿越大学校园的短路线(按平衡顺序)。每条路线都将使用不同的学习方法进行学习。这24名受试者将被分成4组，他们将按照不同的顺序学习路线。这3个条件是(1)指向路线沿线的地方，(2)制作路线地图，以及(3)口头描述路线。另一组由10名视障受试者组成的(对照)小组将在没有任何给定策略的情况下学习路线。每一次审判都将被录像。所选的三种策略均为“越轨”策略。参与者的路线学习表现将通过几种方式进行衡量：成功学习路线所需的试验次数；犯错误的次数；错误的类型；自我报告的信心测量；以及独立评委对表现、犹豫和自信的评估。在第二个实验中，16名参与者将在复杂的城市环境中学习1.4英里长的路线。参赛者将分为两种情况。在第一种情况下，他们将使用实验1中最成功的策略来学习路线。在第二种情况下，他们将使用不给定的策略来学习路线。由于招募视障参与者的困难，这两个实验的样本量都相对较小，但参与者人数和试验次数将比以前的寻路实验更多，因此应该会提供明确的结果。通过收集小尺度(大学校园)和大尺度环境(郊区)的数据，我们可以发现空间知识的获取集中在不同尺度上的不同认知任务上。为了开发有效的定向和行动训练计划，这些任务可以通过一个或多个简单的基于地理的环境学习程序来操作。研究解决了与空间学习和认知相关的重要理论问题，为视障人士如何构建、存储和利用空间知识提供了进一步的见解。在这样做的过程中，它将解决与改进目前的定向和行动训练有关的实际问题。

The project addresses the effects of learning method on route comprehension of visually impaired people, and it will determine if changes in geographic scale alter the effectiveness of selected learning media. An understanding of how different methods of learning affect route comprehension will allow current spatial knowledge acquisition theory and orientation and mobility training to be assessed and, if necessary, improved. Traversing space is one of the most cognitively demanding tasks faced by visually impaired people, and often invokes fear of being lost or disorientated. For these reasons there is a need to identify effective strategies of spatial learning that can contribute to the mobility and quality of life of visually impaired people.In the first experiment 24 visually impaired people will learn three short routes across a University campus (in counterbalanced order). Each route will be learnt using a different learning method. The 24 subjects will be divided into 4 groups who will learn the route in a different order. The 3 conditions will be (1) pointing to places along the route, (2) making a map of the route, and (3) verbally describing the route. A further (control) group of ten visually impaired subjects will learn the route without any given strategy. Each trial will be video recorded. The three strategies selected are "off-route" strategies. Participants' route learning performance will be measured in several ways: the number of trials required to achieve successful route learning; number of errors made; types of errors; self-reported confidence measures; and assessment by independent judges of performance, hesitancy, and confidence.In the second experiment, 16 participants will learn a route 1.4 miles long through a complex urban environment. Participants will be divided into two conditions. In the first condition, they will learn the route using the most successful strategy from Experiment 1. In the second condition, they will learn the route using no given strategy. Sample sizes in both experiments are relatively small due to the difficulty of recruiting visually impaired participants, but the number of participants and number of trials will be greater than in previous experiments of way-finding and therefore should provide definitive results. By collecting data in a small-scale (university campus) and a large-scale environment (suburban neighborhood) we may find that spatial knowledge acquisition focuses on different cognition tasks at different scales. For the development of an effective orientation and mobility training program, these tasks may be operationalized via one or more simple geographic-based environmental learning procedures.The research addresses important theoretical questions relating to spatial learning and cognition, providing further insights into how visually impaired people construct, store, and utilize spatial knowledge. In so doing, it will address practical issues relating to the improvement of current orientation and mobility training.