This article introduces this special issue of "Frontline Learning Research." The first paper offers a methodological guide using Ericsson & Smith's (1991) "expert performance approach." This is followed by three papers that analyze the use of eye tracking in visual expertise models, and a paper reviewing the use of methods…

Turner and Sheckles (2015) explain that communication centers are centered on campus and impact students' relationships with career and community opportunities (p. xii). This point is apparent in the centers' relationships with departments in addition to the career-development of student communicators. This article situates the communication…

It is often assumed that persons who develop ocular disease have some form of visual experience that makes them aware of their deficits. However, in the case of peripheral field loss or decreasing vision in dim lighting, as in retinitis pigmentosa, for example, symptoms are more obscure and may not be as easily identified by the persons who have…

Visual attention has temporal limitations. In the attentional blink (AB) a stream of stimuli such as letters or digits are presented to a participant on a computer monitor at a rapid rate. Embedded in the stream are two targets that the participant must try to identify. Identification of the second target is severely impaired if it is presented…

Damage to the areas of the brain that are responsible for higher visual processing can lead to severe cerebral visual impairment (CVI). The prognosis for higher cognitive visual functions in children with CVI is not well described. We therefore present our six-year follow-up of a boy with CVI and highlight intervention approaches that have proved…

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans aged 60 and older. The loss of central vision from AMD can decrease visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, glare sensitivity, color discrimination, and the ability to adapt to changes in lighting conditions. Older adults with vision loss often have other chronic,…

Vision is the dominant sense, and the eyes are connected with almost every other part of the brain. If the vision system is poorly developed, children trying to learn suffer. Without good up close vision, students are handicapped even if no one knows or suspects it--they may not even know it themselves. Students do not know that the way they see…

It is generally appreciated that patients with macular disease frequently experience reduced visual acuity. It is not as widely appreciated that they often have significant central visual field disruption, which, by itself, can cause significant problems with activities of daily living, such as reading and driving, even when they maintain good…

Imaging of artwork is an important aspect of art conservation, technical art history, and art authentication. Many forms of near-infrared (NIR) imaging are used by conservators, archaeologists, forensic scientists, and technical art historians to examine the underdrawings of paintings, to detect damages and restorations, to enhance faded or…

Shows that visual acuity is a function of the structure of the eye and that its limit is set by the structure of the retina, emphasizing the role of lens aberrations and difraction on image quality. Also compares human vision with that of other vertebrates and insects. (JN)

Retinitis pigmentosa is a rod-cone dystrophy, commonly genetic in nature. Approximately 60-80% of those with retinitis pigmentosa inherit it by an autosomal recessive transmission (Brilliant, 1999). There have been some reported cases with no known family history. The symptoms of retinitis pigmentosa are decreased acuity, photophobia, night…

The Parsons Visual Acuity Test (PVAT) described in the article has been developed for use with difficult-to-test individuals previously labeled untestable. The studies reported support use of the PVAT as an alternative screening procedure for identifying difficult-to-test persons who are in need of a professional eye examination. (Author/CL)

Understanding vision is not a simple task. Nevertheless, a great deal is known about vision, more than about any of our other senses. The articles collected in this volume were chosen and organized with the intention of providing a survey of a number of different areas of vision research. Three major sections focus on the general categories of…

Techniques used by the Special Visual Assessment Clinic for the Handicapped at the University of California-Berkeley School of Optometry are designed to serve handicapped children and adults generally considered "difficult to assess." This article describes the clinic's assessment goals, clientele, and methods for assessing visual ability and…

The Dutch painter Rembrandt (1606-1669) left behind the largest series of self-portraits in the history of art. These paintings were produced over a period of time from age 22 years until just a few months before Rembrandt's death at age 63. This series gives us a unique opportunity to explore the development, maturity, and aging of the artist.…