Experiences of in-home evaluation of independent living technologies for older adults

Evaluating home-based independent living technologies for older adults is essential. Whilst older adults are a diverse group with a range of computing experiences, it is likely that many of this user group may have little experience with technology and may be challenged with age-related impairments that can further impact upon their interaction with technology. However, the evaluation life cycle of independent living technologies does not only involve usability testing of such technologies in the home. It must also consider the evaluation of the older adult’s living space to ensure technologies can be easily integrated into their homes and daily routines. Assessing the impact of these technologies on older adults is equally critical as they can only be successful if older adults are willing to accept and adopt them. In this paper we present three case studies that illustrate the evaluation life cycle of independent living technologies within TRIL, which include ethnographic assessment of participant attitudes and expectations, evaluation of the living space prior to the deployment of any technology, to the final evaluation of usability and participant perspectives

Development of a Cooking Website

Existing cooking websites are too simple and do not provide the ability for flexibility, advance planning, and tracking. The few cooking websites that do allow for creating new recipes are not user friendly, require users to subscribe to a paid version in order to be more creative with their recipes or do not allow users to make comments on other user’s recipe changes. ThatCookingSite will develop a website to include recipe creation, the date the recipe was created, tracking of alterations to recipes, uploading images of cooking process and completed dish, tagging recipes with searchable terms, and sharing recipes with other users. There will a section of the website that will allow users to post “bloopers,” recipes that did not turn out correctly, in order for them to get suggestions from other users. This project is being done pro bono by a team of family and friends in their off-hours

Afterword: Reflections on Humanities Engagements with the Cultural Politics of Climate Change:Histories, Representations, Practices

Understandings of, and responses to, climate change are culturally and historically specific, informed and shaped by a complex set of intersecting social, historical, economic and political systems and representational practices [...

Word Adjacency Graph Modeling: Separating Signal From Noise in Big Data

There is a need to develop methods to analyze Big Data to inform patient-centered interventions for better health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a method to explore Big Data to describe salient health concerns of people with epilepsy. Specifically, we used Word Adjacency Graph modeling to explore a data set containing 1.9 billion anonymous text queries submitted to the ChaCha question and answer service to (a) detect clusters of epilepsy-related topics, and (b) visualize the range of epilepsy-related topics and their mutual proximity to uncover the breadth and depth of particular topics and groups of users. Applied to a large, complex data set, this method successfully identified clusters of epilepsy-related topics while allowing for separation of potentially non-relevant topics. The method can be used to identify patient-driven research questions from large social media data sets and results can inform the development of patient-centered interventions

Creature Contraband

For some college students, one of the hardest parts of being away from home is being separated from their pets. Coming home after a long day of classes just isn’t the same without your best furry, scaly or feathered friend there to greet you at the door. According to the Department of Residence’s policies, the only pets that students living in on-campus housing are allowed to have are fish—limited to one aquarium per student

Who Do You Think You Are? Vonnie

The beginning of then six-year-old Ja’Von “Vonnie” Latimore\u27s immense fascination with the insect world all started with the accidental squashing of her sister’s ladybug. She couldn’t resist the temptation to take a stick from the yard, poke the bug apart and examine its part

Influential Article Review - Encouraging the Use of Practical Wisdom Sourced From Religious Traditions

This paper examines spirituality. We present insights from a highly influential paper. Here are the highlights from this paper: Multiple strains of research are currently claiming to bring back normative perspectives into business analysis. In line with a series of publications from different disciplines we refer to the traditional concept of Practical Wisdom for that purpose but link it substantially with narrations from religious and spiritual traditions. Aware of potential resistance against such a project we discuss some basic objections, which might be provoked inside of the business education community. Critics question religious and spiritual traditions as such but also their relevance for modern business practice. Referring to Paul Ricoeur’s concept of metaphorical language we critically sketch a practical wisdom-based approach that employs religious and spiritual traditions as point of reference for responsible management practices but avoids the trap of fundamentalism or normative reductionism. Finally, we will conclude by suggesting the scope of possible applications and the direction of further research. For our overseas readers, we then present the insights from this paper in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German