NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in Japan

Adams Dustin W, Santa Cruz CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Dustin Wayne Adams of University of California, Santa Cruz to conduct a research project, entitled "Blind Friendly Word Processors for Japanese Authors" during the summer of 2012 at IBM Research - Tokyo in Tokyo, Japan. The host scientist is Dr. Chieko Asakawa. The Intellectual Merit of the research project is an investigation into the problems that Japanese authors experience and the successful strategies for layout and formatting work by Japanese sighted authors, the development of an add-on for the Japanese version of Microsoft Word, and the development of an accessible and blind-friendly interface to the Japanese version of Amazon's Mechanical Turk. The Broader Impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. The add-on to the Japanese version of Microsoft Word and the blind-friendly interface to the Japanese version of Amazon's Mechanical Turk that will allow Japanese blind authors to check and correct their documents without relying on a small circle of friends and peers can have tremendous impact on their ability to compete in various areas. The understanding of the problems they face can benefit a variety of stakeholders, including developers of assistive technology, the schools that teach blind students about good writing, and scientific communities that try to understand blind persons' mental models, to name a few.