A methodology of personalized recommendation system on mobile device for digital television viewers

With the increasing of the number of digital television (TV) channels in Thailand, this becomes a problem of information overload for TV viewers. There are mass numbers of TV programs to watch but the information about these programs is poor. Therefore, this work presents a personalized recommendation system on mobile device to recommend a TV program that matches viewer’s interests and/or needs.The main mechanism of the system is content-based similarity analysis (CBSA).Initially, the viewer defines favorite programs, and then the system utilize this list as query to find their annotations on the WWW.These annotations will be used to find other programs that are similar by using CBSA.Finally, all similar programs are grouped to the same class and stored as a dataset in a personal mobile device. For the usage, if a TV program matches the interest and specified time of viewer, the system on mobile device will notify the viewer individually

Computational Design of Functional Clothing for Disabled People

The purpose of clothing is to express an individual’s style, and to meet the wearer’s protection, functionality and comfort needs. Each of these requirements must be met in order to satisfy human needs and achieve a garment’s functionality. Another function of clothing is to hide physical disabilities, if possible. The sitting position is very common in daily life. All clothing should therefore be comfortable in this position, as well. This is particularly important for disabled people who are restricted to the sitting position for their entire life due to their disabilities. These are people who suffer from paraplegia, multiple sclerosis or some injuries, and who have limited mobility using wheelchairs. This paper presents research on improving clothing design, adjusted to the special needs and demands of an individual, through the application of new technologies. In that respect, taking measurements is very important, as is the virtual simulation of garment fitting as the result of cuts adapted to the sitting position

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

Leveling the Playing Field: Attracting, Engaging, and Advancing People with Disabilities

People with disabilities experience significant challenges in finding employment. The participation of people with disabilities in the workforce and their median income are both less than half that of the civilian workforce. They work part time 68 percent more frequently than people without disabilities. These disheartening results persist despite the enactment of significant federal legislation aimed at making the workplace more supportive and accessible to people with disabilities. The Conference Board Research Working Group (RWG) on Improving Employment Outcomes for People with Disabilities was convened to address how to overcome these disparities. It was sponsored by the Employment and Disability Institute at Cornell University, under a grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education. The RWG members focused on four questions: 1) The business case: Is it advantageous for organizations to employ people with disabilities? 2) Organizational readiness: What should organizations do to create a workplace that enables people with disabilities to thrive and advance? 3) Measurement: How can success for both people with disabilities and the organization itself be determined? 4) Self-disclosure: How can people with disabilities, especially those whose disabilities are not obvious, be encouraged to identify themselves so that resources can be directed toward them and outcomes can be measured

Kansei for the Digital Era

For over 40 years, Kansei-based research and development have been conducted in Japan and other East Asian countries and these decades of research have influenced Kansei interpretation. New methods and applications, including virtual reality and artificial intelligence, have emerged since the millennium, as the Kansei concept has spread throughout Europe and the rest of the world. This paper reviews past literature and industrial experience, offering a comprehensive understanding of Kansei, the underlying philosophy, and the methodology of Kansei Engineering from the approach of psychology and physiology, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The breadth of Kansei is described by examples, emerging from both industry and academia. Additionally, thematic mapping of the state-of-the-art as well as an outlook are derived from feedback obtained from structured interview of thirty-five of the most distinguished researchers in Kansei. The mapping provides insights into current trends and future directions. Kansei is unique because it includes the consideration of emotion in the design of products and services. The paper aims at becoming a reference for researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders across borders and cultures, looking for holistic perspectives on Kansei, Kansei Engineering, and implementation methods. The novelty of the paper resides in the unification of authors amongst pioneers from different parts of the world, spanning across diversified academic backgrounds, knowledge areas and industries

Discomforting Power: Bodies in Public

In this work, I draw from oral history interviews with queer and trans disability justice activists in Seattle, WA. I posit a theory of comfort that interrogates how “being comfortable” in certain spaces gets allocated on the basis of social privilege. I argue that comfort is only bestowed on and felt by some bodies, often at the expense of others. Who gets to be comfortable? And how is the feeling of comfort or the feeling of discomfort differently experienced based upon one’s social status and embodied identity? When does comfort get noticed and when does it go unnoticed? When does comfort become coded? I posit that terms like “safety,” “privacy,” and “cleanliness” become code words for comfort in some contexts, especially concerning public bathrooms. I move from broad accounts of discourses around public bathrooms to particular fears, events, and lenses. My interlocutors discuss their experiences of avoiding drinking water, facing possible violence, peeing on themselves and taking extra clothes everywhere as a result of lack of accessible bathrooms, facing illness from chemicals in the bathrooms, and staying out of public because of the problems with public bathrooms. I interrogate the implications of the construction of comfort for activism, organizing, and identity, arguing that comfort becomes an oppressive and defining force that is used as a weapon against marginalized people

Architectural reflections on housing older people : nine stories of retirement-living

PhD ThesisThis thesis presents and interprets the stories of nine actors involved in the design, construction, management and inhabitation of third-age housing in the UK. It comprises a PhD by Creative Practice, integrating original storytelling with architectural survey, analysis and design techniques; bringing together the social science practice of participant observation with architectural post-occupancy evaluation. The research foregrounds ‘designerly’ modes of inquiry, resulting in design-relevant feedback for those involved in the production of retirement-living environments. Specifically, the study benefits from the researcher’s unique position in and in-between architectural sectors – design, research and teaching – enabling an expanded field of practice and reflection. This dynamic researcher positionality, involving multiple personas, has resulted in unexpected interactions between sectors, making connections between unrelated actors. Aspects of this research were commissioned by a UK property developer, providing ‘independent’ retirement-living apartments, and are necessarily applied in scope and approach. The underlying research context is the major societal challenge of housing a ‘super-aged’ UK population, and the particular needs and aspirations of active thirdagers. The research contributes to the field through (i) a synthesis of design research and social science research methodologies, with examples of techniques applied in new contexts; (ii) an original study resulting from a unique situation and shifting research positionality; and (iii) new knowledge on a little-studied building typology. A diverse range of tactics were used, including short residencies at retirement developments; staying overnight and engaging in the social life of the shared lounge, as well as recording show-and-tell home visits, contingent on the hospitality of informants. Furthermore, the researcher made creative use of a befriending programme, leading to rich observations of an older person at home. Altogether the research stories make up a multi-sited ethnographic study; each story presents the position of an actor (or actors) encountered within the field. The Baby Boomers story indicates a resistance to developer housing products, partly based on misconceptions of retirement housing and inappropriate associations with residential Architectural Reflections on Housing Older People: Nine Stories of Retirement-Living ii institutions. The Befriended gives insight to the benefits of ageing in place and longterm relational meanings of home. Developer Director questions the popular stereotype of developer as ‘villain’, revealing work undertaken at risk and uncertain challenges within the planning system. Resident Owner shows how older UK consumers lack exposure to high quality housing and are committed to making their purchases work; reporting an enthusiasm for the social architecture, over-and-above the physical environment. Chalet Manager portrays the central role staff play in the promotion and maintenance of this social architecture; ‘untapped’ experts in the lived-experiences of the products they share with customers. Architecture Student shows how undergraduates had a role within a situated research practice, involving dialogic work with emerging products of architecture shared with professionals. Company Architect found the developer’s staff to be shaped by a strong business context, with multi-layered management and production-oriented processes designed to maximise profit. Similarly, Town Planner considered a disempowered actor, lacking ‘voice’ and the necessary resources to play a more central role in the delivery of housing choices for older people. Lastly, the Creative Practitioner story highlights how an interdisciplinary position can contribute to the advancement of research-informed design propositions, helping to evolve housing for older peopl