Braille Research
I. Research Related to the Unified English Braille (UEB)
A. US and International Research
- BANA's Ad Hoc Committee on UEB Research, 2001-2004
This link describes four studies that were conducted.
http://www.brailleauthority.org/research-ueb/research-ueb.html
- Unified English Braille (UEB) Implementation: State of the Nations
http://www.rnib.org.uk/aboutus/research/reports/reading/pages/unified_braille.aspx - UEB in New Zealand 2008-2012
http://iceb2012.net/docs/iceb%20papers/UEB%20in%20New%20Zealand.brf
http://iceb2012.net/docs/iceb%20papers/UEB%20in%20New%20Zealand.docx - User Research into UEB in the United Kingdom http://www.rnib.org.uk/aboutus/research/reports/reading/pages/ueb_uk.aspx
- Implementation of UEB in Australia and New Zealand
http://www.rnib.org.uk/aboutus/Research/reports/reading/Pages/australia_newzealand.aspx - Braille User Views of UEB in the United Kingdom
http://www.rnib.org.uk/aboutus/research/reports/reading/pages/ueb_evaluation.aspx - 2010 Conference: Transition to UEB in the ICEVI Pacific Region
http://printdisability.wordpress.com/conference/2010-conference/7b-transition-to-unified-english-braille-ueb-in-the-icevi-pacific-region-by-josie-howse-frances-gentle-karen-stobbs-janet-reynolds/ - Impressions of the UEB Code: Focus group research in Canada; Final report presented at International Council on English Braille (ICEB) General Assembly, 2004, from the web site of the Canadian Braille Authority
http://www.canadianbrailleauthority.ca/en/publications.php
B. Article Citations From Peer-reviewed Journals
- Bogart, D. & Koenig, A. J. (2005). Selected findings from the first international evaluation of the proposed Unified English Braille code. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 99, 233-238.
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D'Andrea, F. M., Wormsley, D. P., & Savaiano, M. S. (2014). Unified English Braille in the United States: A research agenda for transition and instruction. In D. Hatton (Ed.) International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 46: Current Issues in the Education of Students with Visual Impairments (pp. 145-176). Waltham, MA: Academic Press, Elsevier
- Gentle, F., Steer, M., & Howse, J. (2012). New dots Downunder: The implementation of Unified English Braille in Australian schools. British Journal of Visual Impairment, 30, 197-200.
- Gerber, E. & Smith, B. C. (2006). Literacy and controversy: Focus-group data from Canada on proposed changes to the braille code. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 100, 459-470.
- Holbrook, M. C. & MacCuspie, P. A. (2010). The Unified English Braille Code: Examination by science, mathematics, and computer science technical expert braille readers. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 104, 533-541.
- Knowlton, M. & Wetzel, R. (2006). Analysis of the length of braille texts in English Braille American Edition, the Nemeth Code, and Computer Braille Code versus the Unified English Braille Code. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 100, 267-274.
- Steinman, B. A., Kimbrough, B. T., Johnson, F., & LeJeune, B. J. (2004). Transferring standard English braille skills to the Unified English Braille Code: A pilot study. RE:view, 36, 103-111.
- Wetzel, R. & Knowlton, M. (2006). Studies of braille reading rates and implications for the Unified English Braille Code. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 100, 275-284.
- Wetzel, R. & Knowlton, M. (2006). Focus group research on the implications of adopting the Unified English Braille Code. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 100, 203-211
C. Historical Background Regarding UEB
- The original memo from 1991 that proposed that BANA consider working on a unified code:
http://www.iceb.org/cranem.html - History of the UEB project can be found on the web site of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB)
http://www.iceb.org/ubc.html - Why does UEB use upper numbers? The international committee discussed this question at length in 1992-1993. The following link goes to an archived threaded discussion:
http://www.iceb.org/ueb_num_debate2.html
D. Published Commentary and Perspective Articles Regarding UEB
- Bogart, D. (2009). Louis Braille celebration: Unifying the English braille codes. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 103, 581-583.
- Jolley, W. (2005). Unified English Braille: Australians blazing the trail. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 99, 517-519.
- Spungin, S. J. (2003). Speaker's corner: Cannibalism is alive and well in the blindness field. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 97, 69-71.
- Perspectives, published in the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, February 2004
This link leads to six short articles by different authors, offering their perspectives on the question: "Should a unified braille code be adopted for use across English-speaking countries?"
http://www.afb.org/section.aspx?FolderID=4&SectionID=54&DocumentID=2211