ACT II STUDIO - Special Matinee

HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHER
by NORA BRETT

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009
POD 250, Jorgenson Hall, Ryerson
Time 2:00 pm: Price $5

It’s time to get back into the performance mode, chat with friends, see a very special dramatic event AND participate in a major research program which we are conducting with the Ryerson Centre for Media Learning.

With this exciting pilot project, ACT II STUDIO begins its new academic year with a presentation of a one act play by Nora Brett, an ACT II STUDIO student of several years. For the first time, but not the last we hope, the play will be accompanied by a complete audio description for the benefit of the visually impaired with equipment provided by The Centre for Medial Learning at Ryerson. Nora, along with faculty member Bill Ballantyne, will describe the play as it is performed.

However, it is not a prerequisite that you be visually impaired! Let’s face it, we can all use a little information about what’s happening on stage (especially if you’re seated behind a very tall person!)

At the end of the performance, you will be asked to complete a response form and thus become part of an important 5 year project to improve and enhance Audio Description.

It is the intention of ACT II STUDIO to develop courses for writers, directors and actors in Audio Description in order to provide the theatre community at large with personnel trained to present these enhanced performances.

Please join us for this exciting event – bring friends, neighbours, acquaintances – everyone is welcome. Let’s get the new academic year off to a fabulous start.

Paid Research Participation - Psychology Dpt, Ryerson University

Programs for 50+ in The Chang School offers older adults various opportunities to participate in research studies in the various schools and departments in Ryerson University. The following is an offering from the School of Psychology to be listed in their data bank of seniors willing to participate in any of their research studies open to you. Please feel free to contact them directly as noted if you wish to be on their lists.


Older Adults are Invited for Paid Research Participation
Department of Psychology, Ryerson University

If you are aged 60 or above and healthy, you are invited to participate in psychology studies directed by Dr. Lixia Yang and her colleagues in the Department of Psychology at Ryerson University. These studies examine perception, cognition and thinking in people of different ages.

They involve some computerized tasks and/or paper-and-pencil questionnaires.

Participation is CONFIDENTIAL.
Participants will receive compensation ($10/hr) for their time and effort.

For details or registration, please contact the Cognitive Aging Laboratory (directed by Dr. Lixia Yang) at 416-979-5000 X 4987.

E-mails should be sent to cal@psych.ryerson.ca.

CanDrive - Research Study for drivers 70+

Programs for 50+ in The Chang School offers older adults opportunities to participate in research studies in various schools and departments in Ryerson University including Institutions and Centres across the city. The following is an offering from the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute to be listed in their data bank of seniors willing to participate in the following research study. Please feel free to contact them directly.

Research Title:
CanDrive

Principal Investigators:
Dr. Gary Naglie – Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
Dr. Mark Rapoport – Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Novlette Fraser, Research Coordinator – Toronto Rehabilitation Institute

Participants Wanted
Call Novelette Fraser
Toll Free 1 (866) 233-1133
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
11027 – 550 University Avenue
Toronto ON M5G 2A2
Email: fraser.novlette@torontorehab.on.ca

We are working on a research study (Candrive) looking at older drivers, 70 years of age and older, and thought you membership might be interested in participating. Our study has obtained the support of the Ministry of Transportation, the Canadian Medical Association, and CAA among others.

Purpose of Study:
Candrive is a 5 year study taking place in 7 sites across Canada, including Toronto. The primary research goal of this study is to determine the key factors that impact older driver’s safety. The results of this study will assist Candrive researchers in achieving their primary objective of determining the risk factors that are associated with older driver involvement in motor vehicle crashes. Results from this study will help with the development of an in-office decision tool to help physicians identify older drivers who may need further assessment of their driving ability. The decision tool, by identifying high risk drivers, will allow physicians to confirm the safety of the majority of older drivers.

More information about this study can be found on our website www.candrive.ca

Participants Wanted - Research Study - Ted Rogers School of Information

Programs for 50+ in The Chang School offers older adults various opportunities to participate in research studies in the various schools and departments in Ryerson University. The following is an offering from Ted Rogers School of Information to be listed in their data bank of seniors willing to participate in the following research study. Please feel free to contact them directly.

Research Title:
Enhanced Captioning - Speaker Identification

Principal Investigators:
Deborah Fels, Ph.D, P.Eng. Ted Rogers School of Information Technology Management, Ryerson University
Quoc Vy, BSc. Department of Computer Science, Ryerson University

Deaf / Hard-of-Hearing
Participants Wanted
$30 honourarium upon completion

Purpose of Study.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate a prototype of a captioning system which uses graphics (e.g. images and colour) along with text descriptions. This graphical captioning system will be compared with the conventional style of closed captioning which only uses text descriptions.

Description of Study.
You will be asked to watch several video clips from a movie (rated PG-13) with various styles of captioning from these two captioning systems. An eye-tracking device which is non-intrusive (e.g. infrared light) will be used to observe the viewer’s eye patterns and behaviours.

Duration of Study.
The expected duration of the study is about 50 - 60 minutes. You will be allowed to take breaks throughout the study and light refreshments will be provided. You may also withdraw from the study at any time.

List of Tasks for Study Estimated Time
● Complete pre-study questionnaire ~7 minutes
- to obtain demographic information and experience with closed captioning
● Conduct study with eye-tracking device ~40 minutes
- view 4 video clips with 4 different captioning styles and configurations
- complete questionnaire for each trial (to obtain feedback and comments)
● Complete post-study questionnaire/interview ~3 minutes
- to obtain final comments and opinions of graphical captioning system

Location of Study.
The study will be conducted in a room with a computer screen and eye-tracking device. The room is located in the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University.

Incentives to Participate.
You will be offered $30 honourarium to cover the cost of time and travel for participating in this study. This payment will be given to you upon completion of the study.

Contact Information
If you are interested or for more information, please visit:
www.imdc.ca/~quoc/study/