"Dreaming in colour’: disabled higher education students’ perspectives on improving design practices that would enable them to benefit from their use of technologies"

The focus of this paper is the design of technology products and services for disabled students in higher education. It analyses the perspectives of disabled students studying in the US, the UK, Germany, Israel and Canada, regarding their experiences of using technologies to support their learning. The students shared how the functionality of the technologies supported them to study and enabled them to achieve their academic potential. Despite these positive outcomes, the students also reported difficulties associated with: i) the design of the technologies, ii) a lack of technology know-how and iii) a lack of social capital. When identifying potential solutions to these difficulties the disabled students imagined both preferable and possible futures where faculty, higher education institutions, researchers and technology companies are challenged to push the boundaries of their current design practices

Competencies for educators in delivering digital accessibility in higher education

The aim of this paper is to critically review the capabilities of the European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) and the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for in delivering greater accessibility for students with disabilities in a Higher Education landscape undergoing Digital Transformation. These frameworks describe what it means for educators to be digitally competent. However are there other competencies required to deliver Digital Accessibility in education. The particular focus of this paper is the role of the teachers in delivering Digital Accessibility in higher education. What should be expected of them and what are the required competencies to meet these expectations? Is it fair for example to expect teachers to cross boundaries where the effectiveness of general accessibility strategies such as UDL end for particular groups of students for example blind students in STEM subjects and where there is a need for individualised accommodations

Sustainable technologies for older adults

: The exponential evolution of technology and the growth of the elderly population are two phenomena that will inevitably interact with increasing frequency in the future. This paper analyses scientific literature as a means of furthering progress in sustainable technology for senior living. We carried out a bibliometric analysis of papers published in this area and compiled by the Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus, examining the main participants and advances in the field from 2000 to the first quarter of 2021. The study describes some interesting research projects addressing three different aspects of older adults’ daily lives—health, daily activities and wellbeing—and policies to promote healthy aging and improve the sustainability of the healthcare system. It also looks at lines of research into transversal characteristics of technology. Our analysis showed that publications mentioning sustainability technologies for older adults have been growing progressively since the 2000s, but that the big increase in the number of research works in this area took place during the period 2016–2021. These more recent works show a tendency to study those factors that improve healthy aging, ensure the social inclusion of the elderly through technology and prolong the time in which they can live independent lives thanks to smart environments. Current research gaps in the literature are also discussed.: This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, (CSO2017-86747-R) and supported in part by the FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de Investigación, through the Smartlet and H2O Learn Projects under Grants TIN2017-85179-C3-1-R and PID2020-112584RB-C31, and in part by the Madrid Regional Government through the e-Madrid-CM Project under Grant S2018/TCS-4307

What difference does tech make? Conceptualizations of Disability and Assistive Technology among Kenyan Youth: Conceptualizations of Disability and AT

Most research which investigates stigma towards with people with disabilities and the use of Assistive Technology (AT) are based in the Global North and focus on the experiences of people with disabilities and the consequences that stigma has on choices surrounding AT. However, stigma is a societal construct rooted in the attitude and beliefs that people without disabilities hold on disability and AT. Furthermore, the portrayal of people with disabilities and AT is dependent on the social context. In this paper, we examine how young Kenyans without disabilities view people with disabilities and AT users. Findings show that while the portrayal of disability is often shaped by negative emotion, participants felt that many of the barriers affecting people with disabilities were created by society. Perceptions of AT differed-devices were not only seen as a mark of disability but also as a sign of access to resources. Therefore, what we see is an emergent picture where social barriers can be reinforced by poverty, and where poverty reinforces social barriers faced by people with disabilities. We conclude that access to appropriate technology alongside societal interventions tackling incorrect beliefs about disability can help to overcome the stigma faced by people with disabilities

Accessibility of Health Data Representations for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Design

Health data of consumer off-the-shelf wearable devices is often conveyed to users through visual data representations and analyses. However, this is not always accessible to people with disabilities or older people due to low vision, cognitive impairments or literacy issues. Due to trade-offs between aesthetics predominance or information overload, real-time user feedback may not be conveyed easily from sensor devices through visual cues like graphs and texts. These difficulties may hinder critical data understanding. Additional auditory and tactile feedback can also provide immediate and accessible cues from these wearable devices, but it is necessary to understand existing data representation limitations initially. To avoid higher cognitive and visual overload, auditory and haptic cues can be designed to complement, replace or reinforce visual cues. In this paper, we outline the challenges in existing data representation and the necessary evidence to enhance the accessibility of health information from personal sensing devices used to monitor health parameters such as blood pressure, sleep, activity, heart rate and more. By creating innovative and inclusive user feedback, users will likely want to engage and interact with new devices and their own data

Analytical Framework for a Comparative Analysis of Accessible Technology Law and Policy

Deliverable 7.1 poses the basis of the comparative analysis to be conducted throughout the whole WP 7 and reviews existing studies on accessible technology and accessibility law and policy in Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Serbia, Sweden and the UK. Deliverable 7.1 is divided into two main sections: an Analytical Framework and an Annotated Bibliography. The Analytical Framework discusses the interrelation between accessible technology and ‘active citizenship’, and defines the scope, the main concepts and the methodology of the research conducted under WP 7. It also positions WP7 within current legal scholarship, highlighting its innovative contribution. The Annotated Bibliography, annexed to the Analytical Framework is composed of two main complementary parts (i.e. parts A and B), each one preceded by a roadmap. Part A reviews selected sources on accessibility law and policy in Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Serbia, Sweden and the UK. Even though it cannot be regard as exhaustive, it aims to give a ‘big picture’ of current official legislation and policy on accessibility, and scholarship on accessibility. It is intended to be an immediate and easy to read bibliographic tool for scholars approaching accessibility law and policy in Europe. Part B has complements Part A: it does not list legislation or policy programmes on accessible technology, but focusses on the most recent literature on accessible technology

SHELDON Smart habitat for the elderly.

An insightful document concerning active and assisted living under different perspectives: Furniture and habitat, ICT solutions and Healthcare

Feature Papers "Age-Friendly Cities & Communities: State of the Art and Future Perspectives"

The "Age-Friendly Cities & Communities: States of the Art and Future Perspectives" publication presents contemporary, innovative, and insightful narratives, debates, and frameworks based on an international collection of papers from scholars spanning the fields of gerontology, social sciences, architecture, computer science, and gerontechnology. This extensive collection of papers aims to move the narrative and debates forward in this interdisciplinary field of age-friendly cities and communities