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Title:
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THE ROLE OF MATERIALS IN DESIGN OF FAMILIAR AND CONTEXTUAL ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES |
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Author(s):
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Suhas Govind Joshi, Heidi Bråthen |
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ISBN:
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978-989-8533-52-4 |
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Editors:
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Katherine Blashki and Yingcai Xiao |
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Year:
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2016 |
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Edition:
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Single |
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Keywords:
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Assistive technology, material, elderly people, tangible interaction |
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Type:
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Full Paper |
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First Page:
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101 |
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Last Page:
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109 |
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Language:
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English |
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Cover:
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Full Contents:
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click to dowload 
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Paper Abstract:
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This paper reports on an exploration of the role of materials in the design of assistive technologies for elderly people. The research aim was to investigate whether expectations and choices of materials could help raise the perceived familiarity and context-suitability of assistive technologies. Data was gathered through five different methods involving 42 participants residing or working in two local care homes in Oslo, and later thematically analyzed. The results provided several important examples of how material plays an important role in how the elderly participants experienced the design. Our findings suggest that material properties such as aesthetics qualities and texture strongly influence the perceived familiarity of the design and the technology's ability to properly blend into the home environment and not disrupt the home context. |
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