Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

Include 2011 : The role of inclusive design in making social innovation happen.

Include is the biennial conference held at the RCA and hosted by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. The event is directed by Jo-Anne Bichard and attracts an international delegation

Monitoring public perception of health risks in brazil and italy: Cross-cultural research on the risk perception of choking in children

One of the most relevant public health issues among pediatric injuries concerns foreign body (FB) aspiration. The risk perception of choking hazards (CH) and risk perception, in general, are complex multifactorial problems that play a significant role in defining protective behavior. Risk prevention policies should take this aspect into account. A lack of scientific knowledge of FB injury risk perception may be evidenced in Brazil and other newly developed countries. This study aims to characterize the differences and peculiarities in risk perception of CH between Italian and Brazilian populations. The risk perception among adults in Italy and Brazil between September and October 2017 was investigated in a survey. A Multiple Correspondence Analysis was carried out to identify the latent components characterizing the risk perception in Italian and Brazilian population samples. The most relevant dimension characterizing risk perception is the “Professional–educational status and the related perception of Risk” (13% of factorial inertia). The Italians identify batteries and magnets as the most dangerous choking risks (20% of responses). On the other hand, Brazilian people, mainly manual laborers (22%) with secondary or primary education (94%), perceive coins as the most dangerous items (30% of responses, p < 0.001). Socio-economic issues characterize the subjective risk perception of Italian and Brazilian survey respondents. In this framework, data-driven prevention strategies could be helpful to tailor intervention strategies to the cultural context to which they are addressed

Seeing household chemicals through the eyes of children—Investigating influential factors of preschoolers’ perception and behavior

Introduction: Children who encounter household chemicals run the risk of unintentional injury. The aim of this study was to understand which factors heighten children’s attention or misguide their decision-making concerning household chemicals. We hypothesized that certain product attributes (i.e., label, packaging, closure types), storage context, and parental beliefs play a role in this setting. Method: We conducted a laboratory study with N = 114 children (M = 45 months, SD = 6.5) and their parents (M = 38 years, SD = 4.92). Children completed a series of behavioral tasks in which they had to choose between products with different attributes, identify products in different storage contexts, and sort household chemicals. Results: The results confirmed that the children preferred products with cartoon-style labels compared to products without such labels. However, children’s decision-making did not differ for products with different closure types (child-resistant vs sprayer-type closures). Regarding the storage context, our results showed that the children particularly struggled to identify dishwashing tabs when they were stored with other food items rather than household chemicals. In terms of parental beliefs, our study found that parents rated more household chemicals as child-safe than their children did. Practical Application: Parents should buy household chemicals with neutral labels and pay attention to how their household chemicals are stored. Manufacturers should consider potential adverse effects when developing new product designs

SPARC 2019 Fake news & home truths : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2019 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also our first ever Doctoral School Best Supervisor awards, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 90 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant, innovative and collaborative PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the inspiring, relevant and impactful research in progress, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. Find an abstract that interests you, and say “Hello” to the author. Who knows what might result from your conversation? With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research needs interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised and rewarded by all major research funders. Engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers. Even better, our free ice cream van means that you can have those conversations while enjoying a refreshing ice lolly

Hacer frente a los desafíos de una fuerza laboral que envejece con el uso de tecnologías usables y la auto-cuantificación

The world's population is aging at an unprecedented rate, this demographic shift will change all aspects of life, including work. The aging of the worforce and a higher percentage of workers who will work past traditional retirement years presents significant challenges and opportunities for employers. Older workers are a valuable resource, but in order to ensure they stay in good health, prevention will be key. Wearable technologies are quickly becoming ubiquitous, individuals are turning to them to monitor health, activities and hundreds of other quantifiable occurences. Wearable technologies could provide a new means for employers to tackle the challenges associated with an aging workforce by creating a wide spectrum of opportunities to intervene in terms of aging employees and extend their working lives by keeping them safe and healthy through prevention. Employers are already making standing desks available, and encouraging lunch time exercise, is it feasible for Wearables to make the jump from a tool for individuals to a method for employers to ensure better health, well-being and safety for their employees? The aim of this work is to lay out the implications for such interventions with Wearable technologies (monitoring health and well-being, oversight and safety, and mentoring and training) and challenges (privacy, acceptability, and scalability). While an ageing population presents significant challenges, including an aging work force, this demographic change should be seen, instead, as an opportunity rethink and innovate workplace health and take advantage of the experience of older workers. The Quantified-Self and Wearables can leverage interventions to improve employees’ health, safety and well-being.La población mundial está envejeciendo a un ritmo sin precedentes. El envejecimiento y un mayor porcentaje de trabajadores que trabajan más allá de los años de jubilación presentan importantes desafíos y oportunidades. Los trabajadores mayores son un recurso valioso, pero a fin de garantizar que permanezcan en buen estado de salud, la prevención será la clave. Tecnologías portátiles, ó wearables, están proporcionando un medio para hacer frente a el envejecimiento mediante la creación de un amplio espectro de oportunidades para intervenir y para prolongar la vida laboral de los colaboradores, mantenendoles seguros y saludables. El objetivo de este trabajo es exponer las implicaciones de este tipo de intervenciones con wearables (Control de salud, vigilancia, seguridad, y formación) y los desafíos (privacidad, aceptabilidad y escalabilidad). Los wearables pueden aprovechar y fortalecer las intervenciones para mejorar la salud, seguridad y el bienestar de los empleados.Martin Lavallière was supported by a postdoctoral research grant - Recherche en sécurité routière : Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture (FRQSC), Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS). This work was partially developed with the financial support of the Luso-American Development Foundation - FLAD, through the research grant ref. rv14022, and of the MIT Portugal Program

Development of an evidence-based toolkit to support safe design for children

This thesis contributes to developing an evidence-based toolkit for designers when designing products based on theoretical inputs from human-factors study. Theoretical and developmental knowledge, relevant to the design of warning and risk communications and the area of design for child safety, is translated into support for reflections to practitioners. The risk management framework derived from this study aims to increase awareness of the implications of the aspects involved and as a reference point for groups involved in design for child safety. The thesis covers a shift from risk communications with children to information about children (including physical dimensions etc.) for designers. The final output is a collation of this knowledge base and some conceptual tools that can be applied to a specific design context whether that context be in risk communications or the area of general safety design considerations. Designers with little experience in managing design for children can benefit from this study when deciding on their design strategies. This reflective support is the result of a study of risk communication as a complex and unique activity in which various groups and domains are involved. The process of building an understanding started with an analysis of the literature in the field and with the direct experience of the researcher, who worked directly within ergonomics as part of a design-innovation team. The framework presented in this thesis follows a more structured approach to risk communications. It is conceived as an aid to help practitioners reflect on the implications each stage of the development process has on the experience of developing appropriate risk communications and appropriate products. In this way, it is thought of as a dynamic and flexible reference that can be adapted by design researchers when planning and coordinating design to suit different design situations. The use of this tool in the childsafety, design, and study communities would provide validation of the effectiveness of the framework and its continuous improvement. The purpose of this study is twofold: to contribute to study and practice with the aim of providing fundamental guidance to designers. The research detailed in this thesis brings readers up-to-date with the current literature on theories of risk communications. It then highlights methodologies, tools, guidelines and requirements for risk communication advances in study and practice. A framework for risk communication for young children has been developed out of a resource review based on previous work in the area by McLaughlin and Mayhorn, (2014). The information accumulated in this study has been used to develop initial prototype tools for designers who are considering young children. The developed platform supports practitioners from two different angles: theoretical and practical. Designers engaged in the core activity of design for child safety need methods that support the consideration of ergonomics and other product requirements, such as risk communications. This study contributes to developing methods and tools that can be used by designers and other relevant groups when designing risk communications for young children. Available knowledge is collated and integrated into the framework with the intention that it will be developed further throughout the thesis to consider effective use within the design cycle. This study aims to contribute to child safety by providing the first development of tools/decision supports aimed at designers who are designing for young children and are accordingly evaluating human-factors methods in design for child safety. The aim of this study is to gather the requirements of a collaborative design tool for use by industrial designers, engineers and other groups involved in design for child safety. This thesis aims to address these needs. When considering the needs, limitations and capabilities, ( mental model ) of the intended users (i.e., children), important aspects such as safety have been considered. The general need for support methods are addressed through a review of the safety, design and ergonomics literature. After this, empirical study through interviews and observations is used to outline some problem areas: the development and implementation of human-factors methods in design, lack of available resources and inaccessibility of data. Three empirical studies were conducted to meet the requirements of this study: Study 1 in Chapter 4 involves documentary analysis of existing models and methods, Study 2 in Chapter 5 involves formal interviews with designers (N = 30), and Study 3 in Chapter 7 involves an online survey for initial feedback about the prototype-persona (N = 50) respondents. The first section outlines the study questions. It discusses the outputs of the three main studies contained within this thesis