Empowering Games. Meaning Making by Designing and Playing Location Based Mobile Games.

The article analyses and discusses the use of Location Based Mobile Games to raise awareness on sensitive issues connected to illness and disability. We report on a study grounded on higher education didactic experiences. By means of a multi-methodological approach we analysed the experience of designing and playing games and their fallouts in terms of learning and awareness about the topics addressed. The study is conducted from a design perspective and aims to understand whether designing and playing LBMGs can sensitise designers and players on sensitive topic

Seniors Living with Alzheimer\u27s Disease and Dementia: The Promise of App Technology

The purpose of this paper considers the potential of seniors with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia using “apps” on Mobile Application Technology that may assist their daily issues. Based on the Ontario 2017 budget, the government’s plan to improve health care services by providing additional funding will significantly impact citizens who use these services on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the number of Canadian citizens that will develop Alzheimer’s and dementia are projected to double in the next decade. Because of this projection, the Dementia Strategy is meant to assist those affected by the illness as well as ensuring their quality of life is maintained. The research problem looks into alleviating the high demand for health care services through apps, and hopefully, with scientific research, apps can also convey independence and their dignity as seniors going through Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. The design of the study looks into four types of areas: cognitive training, physical training, companionship and daily task reminds. Each area reviews one app that corresponds to each category and the significance it has for seniors with Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia. The future of app technology is determined by the ability of the government to conduct scientific research and experts can test app technology on seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

The VESPA Project: Virtual Reality Interventions for Neurocognitive and Developmental Disorders

VESPA is a financed project supported by the Sicilian Regional Research and Development funds, and it is structured by the development, research and validation of Virtual Reality (VR) based application for the diagnosis and treatment of neurocognitive conditions. In particular, this article presents its characteristics, referred to as the first (2013-2015) and second (2021-ongoing) generations of VESPA, with particular reference to literature regarding the VR technology application and development, the VR treatment of neurocognitive conditions and prior versions of this intervention. Through a comprehensive review of the research conducted over the last 5 years, evidence has emerged supporting VESPA’s aim and scopes, highlighting how the application of VR can be considered to add value to typical rehabilitation/therapeutic paths. VESPA project generations are then presented in detail, including specific session/task battery characteristics, 2.5D, 3D and 5D typologies, system usability and architecture and pathological domain-based dynamics and features. The discussion about VESPA will highlight the current advantages along with limitations and future directions

Active brain 4 all : a social brain gym online platform

Ageing has been increasing. Not only in Portugal but also across Europe, demographic involution has been the trend. Imagina® is involved in a project to design and build a social online platform with cognitive games for brain gym, promoting active ageing and rehabilitation. In this paper we will present how we came to a first design solution using two complementary techniques: a benchmarking study, trying to identify what is relevant and how we can propose a better and smarter solution, and a survey by questionnaire to refine our assumptions taking into account the opinion of specialists in the field. Another challenge is how to design and develop a solution that is easily accessible anytime, everywhere, consistent and transparent to the user from any operating system and any device, with particular awareness to tablets and smart phones

Assistive technologies to address capabilities of people with dementia: from research to practice

Assistive technologies (AT) became pervasive and virtually present in all our life domains. They can be either an enabler or an obstacle leading to social exclusion. The Fondation Médéric Alzheimer gathered international experts of dementia care, with backgrounds in biomedical, human and social sciences, to analyse how AT can address the capabilities of people with dementia, on the basis of their needs. Discussion covered the unmet needs of people with dementia, the domains of daily life activities where AT can provide help to people with dementia, the enabling and empowering impact of technology to improve their safety and wellbeing, barriers and limits of use, technology assessment, ethical and legal issues. The capability approach (possible freedom) appears particularly relevant in person-centered dementia care and technology development. The focus is not on the solution, rather on what the person can do with it: seeing dementia as disability, with technology as an enabler to promote capabilities of the person, provides a useful framework for both research and practice. This article summarizes how these concepts took momentum in professional practice and public policies in the past fifteen years (2000-2015), discusses current issues in the design, development and economic model of AT for people with dementia, and covers how these technologies are being used and assessed

M-health review: joining up healthcare in a wireless world

In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver health and social care. This trend is bound to continue as providers (whether public or private) strive to deliver better care to more people under conditions of severe budgetary constraint

Awareness Campaign Against Cell Phone Radiation Hazard: Case Study Oman

AbstractThe fast spread of mobile phone usage is a subject of several polemics in terms of adverse health effect such as cancers, headaches and memory loss as shown by recent research. Cell phone's radiation became one of the most pervasive problems worldwide. With the aim of attracting public attention to this issue and increasing awareness in health's dangers and risks of cell phone radiation a campaign incorporating educational strategies and including a logo and poster design by a student of Dhofar University in Sultanate of Oman was initiated. At the completion of this campaign, a mobile phone's radiation influence on peoples’ health awareness program was developed and implemented through gearing it to the clinics, hospitals, doctor offices, supermarkets and schools

Technological solutions for older people with Alzheimer’s disease : Review

Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge networking support from COST Action CA16226: Indoor living space improvement: Smart Habitat for the Elderly. COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technol-ogy) is a funding agency for research and innovation networks. Our Actions help connect research initiatives across Europe and enable scientists to grow their ideas by sharing them with their peers. This boosts their research, career and innovation. www.cost.eu. Furthermore, authors acknowledge the internal research project Excellence 2018, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. Authors acknowledge the funding provided by FCT through the scholarship SFRH/BPD/115112/2016 (Joana Madureira) as well as to Solange Costa and João Paulo Teixeira, both from EPIUnit – Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto and National Institute of Heath, Environmental Health Department. Authors also acknowledge the funding from the University of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 Bentham Science Publishers.In the nineties, numerous studies began to highlight the problem of the increasing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease in developed countries, especially in the context of demographic progress. At the same time, the 21st century is typical of the development of advanced technologies that penetrate all areas of human life. Digital devices, sensors, and intelligent applications are tools that can help seniors and allow better communication and control of their caregivers. The aim of the paper is to provide an up-to-date summary of the use of technological solutions for improving health and safety for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Firstly, the problems and needs of senior citizens with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and their caregivers are specified. Secondly, a scoping review is performed regarding the technological solutions suggested to assist this specific group of patients. Works obtained from the following libraries are used in this scoping review: Web of Science, PubMed, Springer, ACM and IEEE Xplore. Four independent reviewers screened the identified records and selected relevant articles which were published in the period from 2007 to 2018. A total of 6,705 publications were selected. In all, 128 full papers were screened. Results obtained from the relevant studies were furthermore divided into the following categories according to the type and use of technologies: devices, processing, and activity recognition. The leading technological solution in the category of devices are wearables and ambient non-invasive sensors. The introduction and utilization of these technologies, however, bring about challenges in acceptability, durability, ease of use, communication, and power requirements. Furthermore, it needs to be pointed out that these technological solutions should be based on open standards.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Space Retrieval Training for Memory Enhancement in Adults with Dementia

The final portfolio contains 8 research articles from national and international journals. Study designs include one systematic review, one randomized control trial with pretest-posttest design, three small-scale randomized control trials, one quasi-experimental study with no control, one time-series study, and one case study. All studies relate directly to components of the evidence-based practice question and will be used to draft new recommendations for implementation regarding spaced retrieval training for memory enhancement in adults with dementia. Seven out of the eight articles looked at the effects of SR techniques on functional tasks. Articles looked at eating difficulty (1), independent use of walkers (1), iADL function (3), use of technology (1), and ADL function (1). One out of eight articles looked at benefits of spaced retrieval techniques on episodic memory, which is not necessarily a functional task, but is needed to perform functional tasks

2002 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Report to the Community and Blue Foundation Annual Report

Annual company report to the community for 2002 detailing Blue Cross of Florida\u27s The Blue Foundation for a Healthy Florida\u27s charitable initiatives, community involvement, business operations, financial assets and expenditures, and executive leadership