Assisted e-commerce as a tool to gap digital divides : possibilities of adapting the Indian model to Finnish environment

Digitalization of services is a current trend and services and products are being increasingly digitalized. Still, there are large amounts of people with either no means, skills or will to use information systems. Such digital divide between digital “haves” and have-nots” is a global problem and is causing inequalities. Although Finland is one of the most digitally connected countries in the world, the problem of digital divide is present here as well. Especially it is the problem for elderly population in sparsely inhabited areas, as the services are being digitalized and physical outlets are centralized to larger centres. In India the digital gap is vast and number of people with insufficient skills, hardware or infrastructure is large. To bridge this gap, a business model of assisted e-commerce has emerged. It combines virtual services with assistant and works on the side of a physical business, providing the skills, hardware and trust for its user. This research aims to clarify the concept of assisted e-commerce for transferability to another environment and researches the attitudes of elderly population in Finland for such a business model to gap the digital divide for them. The empirical part of this research is based on thematical interviews in India and Finland. As the concept of assisted e-commerce is relatively new, two interviews have been conducted with Indian developers of assisted e-commerce concept to clarify the model and get an understanding, how the model can be modified for transferability to another environment, for example, Finnish. The core finding was, that the assisted e-commerce is a light service which can be integrated on the side of another physical store without excessive inputs required from the agent. In Finland goal of the inter-views was to find out the attitudes and current use of digital services among people of age 65+ years. The interview topic was considered very uncomfortable and the people were either reluctant to talk about digital related topics or had very strong negative opinions towards them. The assisted e-commerce model is very versatile and can contain almost any services that can be digitalized. The assistant can be either physical person, or virtual with video or chat support. The largest hindrance for adapting the service model in Finland is the attitudes of potential user group, who often select in their day to day lives a more expensive, time-consuming and ineffective method of dealing when there is a digital option provided. The elderly tend to be reluctant to use the digital devices, have little or none interest for learning to use new digital services or have no courage for operating with online services. Family and other close social networks influence is important in encouraging for digital service use, but the priority still seems to be operating with a “real” person

Assistive Technology and Biomechatronics Engineering

This Special Issue will focus on assistive technology (AT) to address biomechanical and control of movement issues in individuals with impaired health, whether as a result of disability, disease, or injury. All over the world, technologies are developed that make human life richer and more comfortable. However, there are people who are not able to benefit from these technologies. Research can include development of new assistive technology to promote more effective movement, the use of existing technology to assess and treat movement disorders, the use and effectiveness of virtual rehabilitation, or theoretical issues, such as modeling, which underlie the biomechanics or motor control of movement disorders. This Special Issue will also cover Internet of Things (IoT) sensing technology and nursing care robot applications that can be applied to new assistive technologies. IoT includes data, more specifically gathering them efficiently and using them to enable intelligence, control, and new applications

Interacting "Through the Display"

The increasing availability of displays at lower costs has led to a proliferation of such in our everyday lives. Additionally, mobile devices are ready to hand and have been proposed as interaction devices for external screens. However, only their input mechanism was taken into account without considering three additional factors in environments hosting several displays: first, a connection needs to be established to the desired target display (modality). Second, screens in the environment may be re-arranged (flexibility). And third, displays may be out of the user’s reach (distance). In our research we aim to overcome the problems resulting from these characteristics. The overall goal is a new interaction model that allows for (1) a non-modal connection mechanism for impromptu use on various displays in the environment, (2) interaction on and across displays in highly flexible environments, and (3) interacting at variable distances. In this work we propose a new interaction model called through the display interaction which enables users to interact with remote content on their personal device in an absolute and direct fashion. To gain a better understanding of the effects of the additional characteristics, we implemented two prototypes each of which investigates a different distance to the target display: LucidDisplay allows users to place their mobile device directly on top of a larger external screen. MobileVue on the other hand enables users to interact with an external screen at a distance. In each of these prototypes we analyzed their effects on the remaining two criteria – namely the modality of the connection mechanism as well as the flexibility of the environment. With the findings gained in this initial phase we designed Shoot & Copy, a system that allows the detection of screens purely based on their visual content. Users aim their personal device’s camera at the target display which then appears in live video shown in the viewfinder. To select an item, users take a picture which is analyzed to determine the targeted region. We further extended this approach to multiple displays by using a centralized component serving as gateway to the display environment. In Tap & Drop we refined this prototype to support real-time feedback. Instead of taking pictures, users can now aim their mobile device at the display resulting and start interacting immediately. In doing so, we broke the rigid sequential interaction of content selection and content manipulation. Both prototypes allow for (1) connections in a non-modal way (i.e., aim at the display and start interacting with it) from the user’s point of view and (2) fully flexible environments (i.e., the mobile device tracks itself with respect to displays in the environment). However, the wide-angle lenses and thus greater field of views of current mobile devices still do not allow for variable distances. In Touch Projector, we overcome this limitation by introducing zooming in combination with temporarily freezing the video image. Based on our extensions to taxonomy of mobile device interaction on external displays, we created a refined model of interacting through the display for mobile use. It enables users to interact impromptu without explicitly establishing a connection to the target display (non-modal). As the mobile device tracks itself with respect to displays in the environment, the model further allows for full flexibility of the environment (i.e., displays can be re-arranged without affecting on the interaction). And above all, users can interact with external displays regardless of their actual size at variable distances without any loss of accuracy.Die steigende Verfügbarkeit von Bildschirmen hat zu deren Verbreitung in unserem Alltag geführt. Ferner sind mobile Geräte immer griffbereit und wurden bereits als Interaktionsgeräte für zusätzliche Bildschirme vorgeschlagen. Es wurden jedoch nur Eingabemechanismen berücksichtigt ohne näher auf drei weitere Faktoren in Umgebungen mit mehreren Bildschirmen einzugehen: (1) Beide Geräte müssen verbunden werden (Modalität). (2) Bildschirme können in solchen Umgebungen umgeordnet werden (Flexibilität). (3) Monitore können außer Reichweite sein (Distanz). Wir streben an, die Probleme, die durch diese Eigenschaften auftreten, zu lösen. Das übergeordnete Ziel ist ein Interaktionsmodell, das einen nicht-modalen Verbindungsaufbau für spontane Verwendung von Bildschirmen in solchen Umgebungen, (2) Interaktion auf und zwischen Bildschirmen in flexiblen Umgebungen, und (3) Interaktionen in variablen Distanzen erlaubt. Wir stellen ein Modell (Interaktion durch den Bildschirm) vor, mit dem Benutzer mit entfernten Inhalten in direkter und absoluter Weise auf ihrem Mobilgerät interagieren können. Um die Effekte der hinzugefügten Charakteristiken besser zu verstehen, haben wir zwei Prototypen für unterschiedliche Distanzen implementiert: LucidDisplay erlaubt Benutzern ihr mobiles Gerät auf einen größeren, sekundären Bildschirm zu legen. Gegensätzlich dazu ermöglicht MobileVue die Interaktion mit einem zusätzlichen Monitor in einer gewissen Entfernung. In beiden Prototypen haben wir dann die Effekte der verbleibenden zwei Kriterien (d.h. Modalität des Verbindungsaufbaus und Flexibilität der Umgebung) analysiert. Mit den in dieser ersten Phase erhaltenen Ergebnissen haben wir Shoot & Copy entworfen. Dieser Prototyp erlaubt die Erkennung von Bildschirmen einzig über deren visuellen Inhalt. Benutzer zeigen mit der Kamera ihres Mobilgeräts auf einen Bildschirm dessen Inhalt dann in Form von Video im Sucher dargestellt wird. Durch die Aufnahme eines Bildes (und der darauf folgenden Analyse) wird Inhalt ausgewählt. Wir haben dieses Konzept zudem auf mehrere Bildschirme erweitert, indem wir eine zentrale Instanz verwendet haben, die als Schnittstelle zur Umgebung agiert. Mit Tap & Drop haben wir den Prototyp verfeinert, um Echtzeit-Feedback zu ermöglichen. Anstelle der Bildaufnahme können Benutzer nun ihr mobiles Gerät auf den Bildschirm richten und sofort interagieren. Dadurch haben wir die strikt sequentielle Interaktion (Inhalt auswählen und Inhalt manipulieren) aufgebrochen. Beide Prototypen erlauben bereits nicht-modale Verbindungsmechanismen in flexiblen Umgebungen. Die in heutigen Mobilgeräten verwendeten Weitwinkel-Objektive erlauben jedoch nach wie vor keine variablen Distanzen. Mit Touch Projector beseitigen wir diese Einschränkung, indem wir Zoomen in Kombination mit einer vorübergehenden Pausierung des Videos im Sucher einfügen. Basierend auf den Erweiterungen der Klassifizierung von Interaktionen mit zusätzlichen Bildschirmen durch mobile Geräte haben wir ein verbessertes Modell (Interaktion durch den Bildschirm) erstellt. Es erlaubt Benutzern spontan zu interagieren, ohne explizit eine Verbindung zum zweiten Bildschirm herstellen zu müssen (nicht-modal). Da das mobile Gerät seinen räumlichen Bezug zu allen Bildschirmen selbst bestimmt, erlaubt unser Modell zusätzlich volle Flexibilität in solchen Umgebungen. Darüber hinaus können Benutzer mit zusätzlichen Bildschirmen (unabhängig von deren Größe) in variablen Entfernungen interagieren

Using Augmented Reality and Internet of Things to improve accessibility of people with motor disabilities in the context of Smart Cities

Smart Cities need to be designed to allow the inclusion of all kinds of citizens. For instance, motor disabled people like wheelchair users may have problems to interact with the city. Internet of Things (IoT) technologies provide the tools to include all citizens in the Smart City context. For example, wheelchair users may not be able to reach items placed beyond their arm’s length, limiting their independence in everyday activities like shopping, or visiting libraries. We have developed a system that enables wheelchair users to interact with items placed beyond their arm’s length, with the help of Augmented Reality (AR) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies. Our proposed system is an interactive AR application that runs on different interfaces, allowing the user to digitally interact with the physical items on the shelf, thanks to an updated inventory provided by an RFID system. The resulting experience is close to being able to browse a shelf, clicking on it and obtaining information about the items it contains, allowing wheelchair users to shop independently, and providing autonomy in their everyday activities. Fourteen wheelchair users with different degrees of impairment have participated in the study and development of the system. The evaluation results show promising results towards more independence of wheelchair users, providing an opportunity for equality improvement.This work was partly funded by the Spanish Government through projects TIN2012-34965 PIGALL, TIN2011-27076-C03-02 CO-PRIVACY, TIN2014-57364-C2-2-R SMARTGLACIS, TEC2015-71303-R SINERGIA, and TSI-020602-2012-147 IRIS. The authors also acknowledge support from Obra Social “la Caixa” -ACUP through project 2011ACUP00261

Formulation and Evaluation of Amoxicillin and Potassium Clavulanate Dispersible Tablet

This research work is to formulate and evaluate of Amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate dispersible tablet. The oral route is the most frequently used route for drug administration. Oral dosage forms are usually for systemic effects resulting from drug absorption through the various mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract. The parenteral route of administration is an important in mandatory condition; otherwise it is probable that at least 90% of all drugs used to produce systemic effects are administered by the oral route. The amoxicillin and potassium clavulanate dispersible tablets have been developed with direct compression method. The sixteen various compositions of formulations were prepared using Maize Starch, Sodium Starch Glycolate, Crospovidone, Croscarmellose sodium as a disintegrants. The powder blend were subject to various physical characteristics tests such as bulk density, tapped density, Hausner’s ratio, compressibility index and core tablets were evaluated for weight variation, hardness, thickness, disintegration time and the results were found within specification. In-vitro dissolution profile of sixteen formulations was carried out by using four disintegrants like Maize Starch, Sodium starch Glycolate, Crospovidone and Croscarmellose sodium. The In-vitro dissolution profile of F8 using croscarmellose sodium (15%) was found maximum release when compared to other formulations. The optimized batch tablets were packed in ALU-ALU pack and performed stability studies at 40°C/75% RH. All the results were found to be satisfactory. Sweetening agent i.e Aspartame and flavouring agent i.e strawberry flavour were used to increase palatability of the dispersible tablet. Hence the designed and developed formula of combination of Amoxicillin and Potassium Clavulanate dispersible tablets could be used as alternate dosage form

Inertial Sensor Based Fall Risk Assessment andSystem Development for the Community-dwelling Older People

Department of Human and Systems EngineeringAlong with the global trend of population ageing, falls present a substantial public health problem among elderly people over the age of 65. The objective of this research was to develop a low-cost, portable and inertial sensors based tool for assessing falls risk in the older people. To achieve this goal, three stages of studies have were conducted. The first stage aimed to design a test protocol based on the human balance system for assessing the risk of falling. The test protocol consisted of seven main tests, i.e., sensory integration test, limits of stability test, sit-to-stand five times test, timed up and go test, motor function test, reaction test, and short falls efficacy scale international. Another study was also conducted to examine the effectiveness of developed reaction test APP (application) on assessing cognitive function and fall risk in elderly people. The second stage aimed to conduct large-scale experimental studies to examine the effectiveness of the test protocols on classifying fallers and non-fallers and identifying the underlying causes of high risk of falling. The final stage aimed to develop an inertial sensor-based fall-risk assessment prototype system to assess fall risk for future use with elderly people. In terms of classifying fallers and non-fallers, we found that the fallers had worse performances than non-fallers on physiological, psychological and integrated functions of the human balance system. Among all fall-risk measures, ten most important measures were the information processing speed in the reaction test, short falls efficacy scale international score in fear of falling test, power density spectral (PSD) of acceleration medio-lateral (ML) for the vision system, angular velocity anterior-posterior (AP) for the vision system, PSD of angular velocity AP for postural stability, sit-stand jerk in the sit-to-stand five times test, PSD of angular velocity AP for the vision system, sit-stand duration in sit-to-stand five times test, angular velocity AP in timed up and go test, and maximal turning angular velocity in timed up and go test. Furthermore, six typical models were developed to classify fallers and non-fallers based on significant measures, including logistic regression (LR), linear discriminant analysis (LDA), classification and regression tree (CART), boosted tree (BT), random forest (RF), and support vector machine radial basic function (SVMRBF) models. The results indicated that the BT, RF, and SVMRBF models had excellent accuracy (>85%). The CART model had good accuracy (>75%), but the LDA and LR models had relatively low accuracies of about 70%. In order to identify the underlying causes of high fall risks, the CART-PA method, which integrated the CART model and profile assessment method, was proposed to identify the factors of high risks of falling. The CART-PA method could generate reinforced results from these two methods, which not only identifies the main factors but also possible factors of high fall risks. Therefore, the CART-PA method could be a useful complementary tool for identifying underlying causes of high fall risks. Fall assessment prototype system included two parts, i.e., hardware and software. The hardware contained five wireless inertial sensors and one wireless data transmission device. The software was developed to filter and process the data, derive the measures, and assess the risk of falling. Compared with available systems in the market, our inertial sensor based prototype system was very promising in terms of powerful functions, portability and low-cost on assessing fall risk of the older people. The findings from this study and the developed prototype system could be incorporated into clinical practice to reliably identify ???at-risk??? individuals and to diagnose the underlying risk factors of falls in advance so that appropriate interventions can be implemented to reduce elderly people???s risk of falling. Such a system could improve their quality of life and reduce costs in the healthcare system.ope

Parkinson's Disease Management through ICT

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that manifests with motor and non-motor symptoms. PD treatment is symptomatic and tries to alleviate the associated symptoms through an adjustment of the medication. As the disease is evolving and this evolution is patient specific, it could be very difficult to properly manage the disease.The current available technology (electronics, communication, computing, etc.), correctly combined with wearables, can be of great use for obtaining and processing useful information for both clinicians and patients allowing them to become actively involved in their condition.Parkinson's Disease Management through ICT: The REMPARK Approach presents the work done, main results and conclusions of the REMPARK project (2011 – 2015) funded by the European Union under contract FP7-ICT-2011-7-287677. REMPARK system was proposed and developed as a real Personal Health Device for the Remote and Autonomous Management of Parkinson’s Disease, composed of different levels of interaction with the patient, clinician and carers, and integrating a set of interconnected sub-systems: sensor, auditory cueing, Smartphone and server. The sensor subsystem, using embedded algorithmics, is able to detect the motor symptoms associated with PD in real time. This information, sent through the Smartphone to the REMPARK server, is used for an efficient management of the disease

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) : interviewers procedures manual

2017_Interviewer_Procedures_Manual.pdf201