Concept and Pictogram-Based User-Interface Design of a Helper Tool for People with Aphasia.

Background: Aphasia describes the lack of the already gained ability to use language in a common way. "Language" here covers all variations of forming or understanding messages.

Objectives: The APH-Alarm project aims to develop a service concept that provides alternative communication options for people with Aphasia to trigger timely help when needed.

Design Considerations for Novel Self-Adapting Toilets for Semi-Public Spaces.

People with physical limitations face significant challenges when using existing toilets. User requirements work shows the wide range of user needs and confirms the high demand for innovative toilets, enabling people to leave home more often and participate more in societal life. The Toilet For Me too (T4ME2) project aims to implement and test a new ICT-based toilet system capable of physically supporting users, allowing autonomous and safe use outside the home.

Towards Smart Adaptive Care Toilets.

Standard toilets in Western countries often do not meet the needs of elderly and disabled people with physical limitations. While the existing concept of barrier-free toilets and the emerging "changing places" concept offer more space and support, the fixed height of the toilet seat still imposes a major problem during all phases of toilet use and can limit the users' autonomy by requiring personal assistance. Thus, in the EU project iToilet an innovative ICT-based modular height adjustable toilet system was designed to support the autonomy, dignity and safety of older people living at home by digital technology enhancements adapting the toilet to their needs and preferences.

On the Prototyping of an ICT-Enhanced Toilet System for Assisting Older Persons Living Independently and Safely at Home.

Standard toilets often do not meet the needs of a significant number of older persons and persons with disabilities. The EU funded iToilet project aims at design and development of a new type of ICT enhanced modular toilet system which shall be able to support autonomy, dignity and safety of older persons living at home. Methodologically the project started with gathering user requirements by means of questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussion involving a total of 74 persons, thereof 41 subjects with movement disorders (primary users), 21 caregivers (secondary users) and 12 healthcare managers (tertiary users).

[Should assistive robots have a "personality"? : Potential of simplified robot personalities].

Background: In the European Union (EU) research project "HOBBIT" prototypes of assistive robots were developed in order to support a more secure and independent life style and trials were run at the homes of elderly users.

Objective: The project "personAAL" aimed at investigating whether distinct behavioral forms of a robot ("personality"), despite an identical basic function (e.g.

Verbal expressive personality testing with older adults: 25+ years later.

This review builds on those conducted over 25 years ago by Panek and Hayslip in examining the literature dealing with the use of verbal expressive techniques with older adults. Such findings based on the Rorschach Ink Blot Test, Holtzman Inkblot Technique, Hand Test, Sentence Completion methods, and the Thematic Apperception Test and kindred thematic apperceptive techniques are presented and evaluated regarding the evidence for age differences, differential diagnosis, extraneous individual differences in performance, and adequacy of normative data. Although available evidence appears to warrant the continued use of verbal expressive techniques with older adults, more adequately designed studies are necessary to fully support the potential of these assessment tools for decision making with this population: assisting in diagnosis, recommending the appropriateness of various living arrangements, facilitating supportive care choices, and aiding in treatment planning.

Integration of cognitive and physical training in a smart home environment for the elderly people.

Our research work is towards a service that can support senior citizens towards their independent living and active ageing. As it is suggested, physical and cognitive exercise training can contribute to a significant prolongation of personal autonomy and participation in society across prevailing age-related impairments such as cognitive decline. In the current paper, the approach of combination of both physical and cognitive training--adopted by LLM project--is discussed related to other similar projects that have taken place in the area of elderly home care and training.

Effects of age, gender, and causality on perceptions of persons with mental retardation.

The present study examined the effects of age, gender, and causality on the perceptions of persons with mental retardation. Participants rated individuals with mental retardation using a semantic differential scale with three factors: activity, evaluation, and potency. Target individuals in each scenario varied on the variables of age (8, 20, 45), gender (male, female), and causality of mental retardation (genetic, self-inflicted, inflicted by others).

College students' perceptions of persons with intellectual disability at three different ages.

Studies of the perception of persons with intellectual disabilities have primarily focused on the evaluator's peers without specific reference to age or gender of the target person with intellectual disability. Using the semantic differential technique (assessments based on three independent factors: evaluation, activity and potency), 320 college students evaluated 1 person with intellectual disability, where gender (male, female) and age (3, 12, 20 years) were specified. Results indicated statistically different perceptions in the activity factor by age.

Predicting travel attitudes among university faculty after 9/11.

The authors interviewed a random sample of 306 university faculty as part of an annual university poll. Items focused on air travel concerns following 9/11, positive aspects of travel, and future travel intentions. Demographic factors were not significant predictors for men or women faculty.

College students' perceptions of job demands, recommended retirement ages, and age of optimal performance in selected occupations.

Two studies were conducted. In study one 100 participants rated 60 occupations on the amount of cognitive/intellectual, physical, sensory-perceptual, and perceptual-motor demands they perceived as required for successful performance in that particular occupation. Results of a cluster analysis determined four clusters of occupations on the basis of the four demands.

Assessment of terms to describe mental retardation.

There is currently debate among professionals in the area of mental retardation/developmental disabilities regarding the use of, and a possible replacement for, the term mental retardation. Using the semantic differential technique, 284 participants drawn from various Midwestern populations completed assessments of several terms used to describe the condition known as mental retardation (e.g.

Differences on the projective hand test among chronic pain patients reporting three different pain experiences.

This study examined personality differences among individuals experiencing 3 different types of pain. The projective Hand Test was administered to 90 individuals who were seeking treatment at a pain clinic in an urban area of the southeast United States. These people were seeking treatment for either arthritis (n = 31), fibromyalgia (n = 29), or migraine headaches (n = 30).

The development of a scoring system for the Gerontological Apperception Test.

To explore the viability of a revised and more differentiated scoring system for use with the Gerontological Apperception Test (GAT; Wolk & Wolk, 1971), 102 older adults (mean age = 68.3 years) were administered the GAT. Scoring criteria were developed to reflect a variety of constructs speaking to the interpersonal, health-related, and intrapsychic dimensions of the experience of later life.