Between Dec 19, 2024 and Jan 2, 2025, datasets can be submitted to DRUM but will not be processed until after the break. Staff will not be available to answer email during this period, and will not be able to provide DOIs until after Jan 2. If you are in need of a DOI during this period, consider Dryad or OpenICPSR. Submission responses to the UDC may also be delayed during this time.

Browsing by Author "Legge, Gordon"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Evaluating the Visual Accessibility of Stairs in Public Spaces
    (2018-04) Zambre, Mrunal; Lei, Quan; Legge, Gordon
    Approximately 14 million Americans aged 12 years or older have self-reported visual impairment, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Visual impairment has a high prevalence in old age, hence, mobility hazards, such as stairs, pose a major challenge to this group. This challenge is not well recognized by architects while designing indoor steps. In this project, I proposed that there are certain factors, such as low contrast, and poor contrast, in the design of steps and their interactions that make their visibility difficult. HDR images of stairs in university buildings, which aim to capture the contrast sensitivity of the human eye, are processed using a pre-programmed MATLAB code. The stimuli factors included in the images are distance from the stairs, natural/artificial lighting in the space, and viewpoint (from top/bottom). Images are filtered to four levels of reduced visual acuity, simulating the corresponding levels of visual impairment. Human subjects were asked to analyze the visibility of the filtered images using a rating test. Their judgments were then analyzed to determine which photographs were rated most visible. This would help decide factors in the design of the stairs that were most helpful in improving the detectability of the steps. Through this analysis, one of the main factors that affect subject-rating was the distinction between individual steps through the contrast between the rise of each step and the surface. Higher the contrast, higher was the subject-rating. Another observation was that, at reduced acuity levels, as the distance from the stairs decreased, visibility increased. This proposes ideas for improving the design of stairs.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Letter to the University President from University Professors endorsing Strategic Positioning
    (2005-04-08) Andow, David; Barany, George; Bates, Frank; Bernlohr, David; Candler, Graham; Clayton, Tom; Crick, Nicki; Edwards, R. Lawrence; Foufoula-Georgiou, Efi; Freeman, John; Gunnar, Megan; Hu, Wei-Shou; Iacono, William; James, Richard; Jenkins, Marc; Legge, Gordon; Lodge, Tim; Masten, Ann; Olive, Keith; Phillips, Ronald; Pui, David; Pusey, Ann; Reich, Peter; Sadowsky, Michael; Schmidt, Lanny; Shekhar, Shashi; Sullivan, John; Tolman, William; Tranquillo, Robert T; Young, Nevin