Studies in health technology and informatics最新文献

Urban street environments have been designed for ages by the sighted, for the sighted. This presents various challenges for persons with visual impairment while navigating the streets, as the physical elements can act as barriers to them. The intensity of this problem is manifold in the case of Indian streets, which are multifunctional, vibrant public places where all aspects of human life can co-exist with its primary function of mobility. To truly address this issue, the complex process of PVI pedestrian navigation needs to be understood and mapped contextually, through a user-perspective study method. This paper presents the results of a contextual study conducted with 5 participants who are visually impaired from birth, in Thiruvananthapuram, a Tier 2 southern city of India in the state of Kerala.

Universal Design aims to ensure that as many people as possible can participate equally in society, with equal access to housing, education, workplaces, institutions, and public spaces. In the construction field, many of our existing guidelines still need to catch up regarding the diversity of user needs and preferences. Recent developments in low vision rehabilitation have underscored the pivotal role of domestic lighting in fostering independent living and enhancing the quality of life for people with visual impairments. Moreover, several stakeholder organizations and associations in the field of low-vision rehabilitation have published lighting guidelines for this target group. A direct comparison of the different guidelines is difficult, as their focus, vocabulary, and level of abstraction differ: the rehabilitation process focuses on optimizing lighting to support and aid the individual's abilities in the existing environment. It is not directly related to the design- or construction process. Yet, how do the guidelines for lighting fit the actual settings and conditions in Danish homes of people with incipient vision loss or visual impairment today? In this paper, a selection of these guidelines is assessed and analyzed in relation to three lighting categories: illuminance, luminance, and the visual system. The guidelines are also compared to the initial findings of an ongoing field study. This field study, a crucial component of the research, investigates the role of lighting for individuals experiencing incipient vision loss. This comprehensive approach, which includes both theoretical guidelines and real-world observations, ensures the reliability and relevance of the research, providing a solid foundation for the findings. The practical implications of this research are significant, as it provides valuable insights for architects, researchers, and individuals with visual impairment. Through observations and walk-along interviews in their home environment, we get their personal narratives and observe their lived everyday environments. 37 walk-along interviews were conducted from October 2023 - March 2024 during dark hours. The preliminary findings of the field observations, including observations and measurements, are compared to the guidelines of both the context of building design and -construction and the context of low-vision rehabilitation and stakeholder organizations.

This paper explores the potential of a Virtual Reality (VR) intervention to facilitate communication about sensitive topics between adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their special education teachers. The VR intervention was developed in collaboration with Special education teachers, incorporating feedback from a design workshop to create a VR application featuring activities like basketball, air hockey, drawing, and avatar customization. The VR application was evaluated through two sessions between one autistic adolescent and a special education teacher at a residential home for autistic adolescents. The results indicate that VR has the potential to be used as a space for sensitive conversation between autistic individuals and their special education teachers.

The paper illustrates the definition of a home adaptation design support tool for selecting interior finishes and partition systems based on multicriteria evaluations. In line with Universal Design principles, the selection criteria promote the creation of homes that respond to the changing needs of people over their life course, allowing for aging in place. Based on a literature review on the design of age-friendly living spaces, optimal requirements for safety, comfort, usability, management, environmental protection and integrability related to partitioning elements and interior finishes were identified. Then, through the multicriteria analysis technique of the Analytic Hierarchy Process, selection criteria were established, and weights were assigned to classify market-available products according to performance, thereby informing the choices of designers and end users.

The built environment is still, to a large extent, not accessible and usable for all. The awareness of people's different conditions and abilities sometimes seems to be far from the agenda for planning and architecture. Universal Desing (UD) is pointed out as a strategy to achieve a built environment for all people regardless of age and abilities. UD has a radical potential to bring about change and raise attention to spatial practises that produce or reproduce exclusion and inequalities. But it is also challenging the contemporary planning discourse and several of the actual strong planning trends. Densification, mixed-use and mobility management are some of these trends that needs to be met by an elaborated practice with human diversity as a starting point. Curiosity about what universal design can mean in practice is growing among many professionals. Lack of accessibility is easy to trace, while the good examples blend naturally into the environment and are often taken for granted. It is the good examples that are decisive to achieve social goals such as equality, participation and a sustainable society. There is a need to highlight and discuss the driving forces and enablers for a UD-approach, in the different stages of processes, in the design of buildings and places and applied to different spatial scales. This paper will highlight some of these driving forces and enablers related to UD, for an in-depth discussion on the conditions to realise urban development characterised by human diversity.

This paper draws on a series of transdisciplinary research projects examining the role of the built environment in supporting quality of life in long-term residential care settings (LTRC) in Ireland. Acknowledging the impact of COVID-19, these projects include airborne infection control as a key theme. Moreover, considering the wide spectrum of needs, impairment, and health conditions experienced by people living in these settings, along with the diversity of residents, staff, and visitors who occupy LTRC buildings, the research is underpinned by a Universal Design (UD) approach. Finally, climate change is examined as emerging challenge, particularly for older people living in LTRC. Starting with these major concerns, this exploratory paper examines how UD can act as a bridging concept to bring together inclusion, quality of life, health and wellbeing, and climate resilience in the context of long-term residential care in Ireland and beyond.

Gesture-based screen readers like VoiceOver or TalkBack provide visually impaired users with a means to interact with digital content. However, there is a significant lack of both strategies and resources for teaching the use of these screen readers, and standardized teaching guidelines are notably absent. Furthermore, there is no free, universally designed, and accessible app for practicing gestures in mobile screen readers. This study aims to identify best practice strategies for teaching and practicing the use of gesture-based screen readers among visually impaired users, based on observations from an IT course directed at visually impaired individuals. Moreover, we present common challenges related to usability, attitudes, emotions, technical aspects, and user guidance and education, as well as key traits and facilitators for learning gesture-based screen readers. Lastly, we assess the feasibility of an app to practice gestures and propose a framework for a gesture practice app to enhance user accuracy and patience.

This paper examines the social value and economic benefits of Universal Design (UD) Homes, with a focus on assessing the potential financial savings arising in various areas of expenditure due to investment in UD Homes. Investment in the provision of UD Homes can result in a win-win outcome, leading to improved quality of life and more cost-effective forms of investment. UD Homes are found to be particularly cost-effective in the context of age friendly housing due to the potential to reduce the need for costlier forms of long-term residential care and the avoidance of injurious falls.

This paper presents a conceptual prototype that integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) with the principles of Universal Design (UD) to enhance decision-making in everyday scenarios for a diverse user base, eliminating the need for conventional text or voice AI interfaces. The study employed a mixed-method approach, including surveys, user testing, and interviews with eight participants from various age groups. The focus was on user interaction styles (head-mounted, handheld) within three everyday scenarios: 1) medication assistance, 2) food and beverage assistance, and 3) sustainability advocacy. Findings revealed that AR as an interface for AI was well-received for its intuitiveness and practical utility. However, users expressed concerns about privacy, the discomfort of wearable technology, and potential over-reliance on AI. This study demonstrates the potential of integrating AR as an interface for AI, combined with UD principles, to create inclusive, context-aware solutions, adaptable to users with diverse skills and abilities.