Government Transparency: Six Strategies for More Open and Participatory Government

Offers strategies for realizing Knight's 2009 call for e-government and openness using Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies, including public-private partnerships to develop applications, flexible procurement procedures, and better community broadband access

Adaptive and Assistive Technology for Libraries

The concept of adaptive and assistive technology is not a new one. Historically, print-enlarging devices like eyeglasses were probably a first step in the direction of assistive technology in connection with books and libraries. It is not a coincidence that eyeglasses remained extremely rare from their invention around the year 1000 as privileges of the wealthy until the invention of the printing press when they filtered down to a larger number of people. Fast-forward 1000 years from the first eyeglasses to contact lenses, a fraction of the size, a fraction of the weight. Still, they had only one use: to assist vision. Many of the new assistive and adaptive technologies are combinations of technologies addressing not only one disability like vision or hearing, but several. Instead of mechanical aids, they are now combinations of mechanical and electronic aids. One single machine like a computer running Windows XP can aid the vision impaired by magnification or Braille, the hearing impaired by amplified headsets and visual cues instead of aural cues, the mobility impaired by alternative input devices like trackballs or joysticks, and the learning disabled by having text read aloud through Optical Character Recognition. One of the best, simplest and cheapest pieces of assistive and adaptive equipment in libraries today is the screen-enlarging software. ZoomText is one of these, but there are many different companies that make similar products. They are all easy to use, have good tech support, and are upgraded regularly (Mates 2004). Text may be magnified up to 32x, colors can be adapted, font size can be adjusted, and a different cursor may be chosen. Price range for this technology is $500 to$700

Design an engaging interactive experience for people with dementia

The population of the world is increasing resulting in a higher number of people dealing with dementia–whether being diagnosed with it or taking care of someone that is diagnosed with it. This master thesis aims to investigate which types of multi-media technology-based experiences can improve the quality of life for people with dementia. To reach the goal of the thesis–investigation will be done through different iterations of a design method; divergence, transformation and convergence. These iterations will include observations, interviews and using personas as a tool to design. The results from the methods were used to create a high fidelity prototype which was evaluated by an expert in the field of dementia