Parental Autonomy Support in the Context of Parent–Child Negotiation for Children’s Independent Mobility: ‘I Always Feel Safer With My Parents’ to ‘Boom! Bust Down Those Walls!’

Autonomy – acting volitionally with a sense of choice – is a crucial right for children. Given parents’ pivotal position in their child’s autonomy development, we examined how parental autonomy support and children’s need for autonomy were negotiated and manifested in the context of children’s independent mobility – children’s ability to play, walk or cycle unsupervised. We interviewed 105 Canadian children between 10 and 13-years-old and their parents ( n = 135) to examine child-parents’ negotiation patterns as to children’s independent mobility. Four patterns emerged, varying on parental autonomy support and children’s need/motivation for independent mobility: (1) child/parent dyad wants to increase independent mobility; (2) child only wants to increase independent mobility while parents do not; (3) child does not want to increase independent mobility while parents do; and (4) child/parent dyad does not want to increase independent mobility. Findings illuminate the importance of recognizing children as active and capable agents of change.

Iterative Design of Sonification Techniques to Support People with Visual Impairments in Obstacle Avoidance

Obstacle avoidance is a major challenge during independent mobility for blind or visually impaired (BVI) people. Typically, BVI people can only perceive obstacles at a short distance (about 1 m, in case they are using the white cane), and some obstacles are hard to detect (e.g . , those elevated from the ground), or should not be hit by the white cane (e.g . , a standing person). A solution to these problems can be found in recent computer-vision techniques that can run on mobile and wearable devices to detect obstacles at a distance. However, in addition to detecting obstacles, it is also necessary to convey information about them in real time. This contribution presents WatchOut , a sonification technique for conveying real-time information about the main properties of an obstacle to a BVI person, who can then use this additional feedback to safely navigate in the environment. WatchOut was designed with a user-centered approach, involving four iterations of online listening tests with BVI participants in order to define, improve and evaluate the sonification technique, eventually obtaining an almost perfect recognition accuracy. WatchOut was also implemented and tested as a module of a mobile app that detects obstacles using state-of-the-art computer vision technology. Results show that the system is considered usable and can guide the users to avoid more than 85% of the obstacles.

Accessibility Retrofit of a Shared Automated Vehicle: Challenges and Lessons Learned

Driverless shared automated vehicles (SAVs) have the potential to substantially improve independent mobility for the growing number of older adults and people with disabilities who are unable or ineligible to drive. However, early designs and deployments of SAVs have lacked accommodations for people with disabilities. This article describes a case study where post-production modifications were performed on a commercial electric SAV in an attempt to comply with US accessibility guidelines for conventional vehicles. Findings emphasize the key human factors considerations for physical accessibility and some lessons learned in order to inform the broader conversation about the accessible design of emerging SAVs. The case study highlights the need for considering accessibility and usability early in the design of complex technological systems such as automated vehicles.

Evaluating a Therapeutic Powered Mobility Camp for Children with Severe Cerebral Palsy

Background. Children and youth with severe cerebral palsy (CP) have limited independent mobility, which affects opportunities for overall development. Purpose. To examine the effectiveness of Power Fun, a therapeutic powered mobility summer camp. Methods. A quasi-experimental, repeated-measure design was used, with participants acting as their own control. Twenty-four participants with severe CP (aged 7–20 years) attended Power Fun for three weeks, five days/week. Assessments of powered mobility skills and functional mobility goals were conducted three weeks before the camp (T1), at baseline (T2), postintervention (T3), and at three-week follow-up (T4). Findings. An analysis of variance results indicated significant improvements in powered mobility skills ( F(1,22) = 56.61, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.74) and functional mobility goals ( F(1,58) = 80.17, p < 0.001, η2p = 0.74), with 70% of goals achieved postintervention. A descriptive analysis revealed three learning profiles. Implications. This study provides initial evidence supporting the effectiveness of Power Fun as an intervention promoting powered mobility for children with severe CP, across a range of abilities.

Development of an Inexpensive Harnessing System Allowing Independent Gardening for Balance Training for Mobility Impaired Individuals

Balance is key to independent mobility, and poor balance leads to a risk of falling and subsequent injury that can cause self-restriction of activity for older adults. Balance and mobility can be improved through training programs, but many programs are not intensive or engaging enough to sufficiently improve balance while maintaining adherence. As an alternative to traditional balance training, harnessed gardening sessions were conducted in an urban greenhouse as an example of a community activity through which balance and mobility can be trained and/or maintained. An inexpensive multidirectional harness system was developed that can be used as an assistive or rehabilitative device in community, private, and senior center gardens to allow balance or mobility-impaired adults to participate in programming. Two wearable sensor systems were used to measure responses to the system: the Polhemus G4 system measured gardeners’ positions and center of mass relative to the base of support, and ActiGraph activity monitors measured the frequency and intensity of arm movements in garden as compared to home environments. The harnessed gardening system provides a safe environment for intense movement activity and can be used as a rehabilitation device along with wearable sensor systems to monitor ongoing changes.

Child Freedom in Mobility to School: Measuring the Strong Factors of Choice of Mode among Parents

The research aims to examine how school children's characteristics may contribute to the choice of mode to school while testing how different neighbourhood density and design may influence the freedom to mobility. Findings indicate that children living in the denser neighbourhood are significantly associated with independent mobility to school compare to children live in a low-density neighbourhood that reported the independent mobility has considerably decreased. Children's preferences for being driven coincide with parents' fears for children safety and concern their children's ability to travel independently in an unsafe neighbourhood environment besides the school profile. Keywords: School Children, Independent Mobility, Density eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI4.2895

The Impact of the Cairo Streets Development Project on the Independent Mobility of Children: A Field Study on the Streets of Heliopolis, Egypt

Due to significant changes in Cairo’s streets today, young children may face difficulties finding opportunities to be safe and active. They can encounter low independent mobility, limiting their access to places in their neighborhoods, and can have poor access to their schools. This study aims to examine governmental primary school children’s access to schools in their neighborhoods after street modifications in Heliopolis, Cairo, seeking to evaluate the potential risks to child pedestrians. This will subsequently aid in developing a methodology for consistently and fairly evaluating hazards along the route to schools. A survey of six governmental primary schools in Heliopolis, Cairo, was conducted through interviews with children and their parents. Furthermore, a behavioral map of the local neighborhood was completed by children (7–12 years old) of six primary schools from the areas surrounding their schools in which the modifications took place. The results indicate that the most common ways of travelling to school, according to the questionnaire, are either by public transportation (30%) or by a small van/private bus (42%). More than half of the children expressed their wish to walk or cycle to school. The result also found that 69% of the children expressed anxiety about crossing streets. In conclusion, for some children, opportunities to be active in the local neighborhood may be limited due to the new modifications to the streets, resulting in limited independent mobility. To promote a sense of neighborhood safety and increase access to neighborhood public spaces, it is important to work with urban planners and local governments.