Engaging older adults with age-related macular degeneration in the design and evaluation of mobile assistive technologies

Ongoing advances in technology are undoubtedly increasing the scope for enhancing and supporting older adults’ daily living. The digital divide between older and younger adults, however, raises concerns about the suitability of technological solutions for older adults, especially for those with impairments. Taking older adults with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) – a progressive and degenerative disease of the eye – as a case study, the research reported in this dissertation considers how best to engage older adults in the design and evaluation of mobile assistive technologies to achieve sympathetic design of such technologies. Recognising the importance of good nutrition and the challenges involved in designing for people with AMD, this research followed a participatory and user-centred design (UCD) approach to develop a proof–of–concept diet diary application for people with AMD. Findings from initial knowledge elicitation activities contribute to the growing debate surrounding the issues on how older adults’ participation is initiated, planned and managed. Reflections on the application of the participatory design method highlighted a number of key strategies that can be applied to maintain empathic participatory design rapport with older adults and, subsequently, lead to the formulation of participatory design guidelines for effectively engaging older adults in design activities. Taking a novel approach, the final evaluation study contributed to the gap in the knowledge on how to bring closure to the participatory process in as positive a way as possible, cognisant of the potential negative effect that withdrawal of the participatory process may have on individuals. Based on the results of this study, we ascertain that (a) sympathetic design of technology with older adults will maximise technology acceptance and shows strong indicators for affecting behaviour change; and (b) being involved in the design and development of such technologies has the capacity to significantly improve the quality of life of older adults (with AMD)

Proceedings of the 7th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies, with ArtAbilitation (ICDVRAT 2008)

The proceedings of the conferenc

La città, il viaggio, il turismo: Percezione, produzione e trasformazione

[English]:The city as a destination of the journey in his long evolution throughout history: a basic human need, an event aimed at knowledge, to education, to business and trade, military and religious conquests, but also related to redundancies for the achievement of mere physical or spiritual salvation. In the frame of one of the world's most celebrated historical city, the cradle of Greek antiquity, myth and beauty, travel timeless destination for culture and leisure, and today, more than ever, strongly tending to the conservation and development of their own identity, this collection of essays aims to provide, in the tradition of AISU studies, a further opportunity for reflection and exchange between the various disciplines related to urban history./ [Italiano]:La città come meta del viaggio nella sua lunga evoluzione nel corso della storia: un bisogno primario dell'uomo, un evento finalizzato alla conoscenza, all'istruzione, agli affari e agli scambi commerciali, alle conquiste militari o religiose, ma anche legato agli esodi per il conseguimento della mera salvezza fisica o spirituale. Nella cornice di una delle città storiche più celebrate al mondo, culla dell'antichità greca, del mito e della bellezza, meta intramontabile di viaggi di cultura e di piacere, e oggi, più che mai, fortemente protesa alla conservazione e alla valorizzazione della propria identità, questa raccolta di saggi intende offrire, nel solco della tradizione di studi dell'AISU, un'ulteriore occasione di riflessione e di confronto tra i più svariati ambiti disciplinari attinenti alla storia urbana