99 research outputs found
Cognitive Assessment of Japanese Older Adults with Text Data Augmentation
No full textCurrent medical science has not yet found a cure for dementia. The most important measures to combat dementia are to detect the tendency toward cognitive decline as early as possible and to intervene at an early stage. For this reason, screening for dementia based on language ability has attracted much attention in recent years. However, in most of the previous studies, the cohort of people with dementia has been smaller than the control cohort. In this paper, we use a pre-trained Japanese language model for text analysis and evaluate the effectiveness of text augmentation on a dataset consisting of Japanese-speaking healthy older adults and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We also examined what tasks contributed to the results. This experimental setting can also be used to detect other diseases that may affect the language areas of the brain outside of the hospital
Survey on the Acceptance of Ambient Sensors in Solo and Older Couple-Only Households in Japan
No full textFor this study, an online survey was conducted to discover the preferences of older adults when they used sensors in their households, rather than the preferences of the researchers who developed them. The sample size was 400 Japanese community-dwelling people aged 65 years and older. The numbers of samples for men and women, household composition (single-person/couple-only household), and younger senior (younger than 74 years old) and older senior (older than 75 years old) were equally assigned. The survey results showed that “informational security” and “constancy of life” were considered more important than other factors when installing sensors. Furthermore, looking at the results regarding the type of sensors that face resistance, we found that both cameras and microphones were evaluated as facing slightly strong resistance, while doors/windows, temperature/humidity, CO2/gas/smoke, and water flow were evaluated as not facing such strong resistance. The elderly who are likely to need sensors in the future also have various attributes, and the introduction of ambient sensors in elderly households may be further advanced by recommending applications that are easy to introduce based on the attributes of the target population, rather than discussing all of them in general
Caring without Tolerance: Care Literacy as an Enabler of an Inclusive Society
Get PDFJapanese society has been undergoing significant social changes in recent years, which has led to a greater variety of lived experiences in juxtaposition with pressures to conform from its group-oriented cultural context. Achieving inclusion in an increasingly heterogeneous society depends on how relatedness connects people, for example, in caring for others. The purpose of this study is to examine aspects of caring for others in Japanese society based on in-depth narrative interviews conducted in 2022 involving 18 informants. The fieldwork findings point to constraints on individual autonomy from relations stemming from care being intertwined with a broader relational context. Additionally, cultural conformity pressures lead to a propensity to assess social practices and, in turn, provide “excessive care”. Yet, such “excessive care”, as premised on cultural conformity, is at odds with increasingly heterogeneous choices. This leads to the emergence of intolerance, which supresses individuals’ autonomy and agency. Instead, to achieve an inclusive society, these findings point to the need for appropriate relations of understanding, tolerance and caring. This would be enabled by fostering “care literacy” across communities and stakeholders, thus supporting the transition towards a more inclusive society
Field-based AT Innovation Methodology and Development of an Information Assistance Robot System for Older People with Cognitive Decline
Get PDFThis chapter describes the methodology for the development of assistive technologies with the user and the use fields at its core, which is called Field-based Assistive Technology Innovation (FATI). Furthermore, as a case study, the development of a communication robot that provides important information in the daily lives of older adults, such as dates and schedules, is presented. In devising the FATI methodology, a comprehensive framework for promoting AT innovation was developed. Then, based on existing user-centred design methods, etc., a methodology focusing on AT concept planning was developed. As a result, a concept planning guideline consisting of seven items was developed, and a concept planning sheet was created to visualise the process.
In the case study of the development of an information assistance robot for older adults with memory loss, in which FATI was applied, the needs of older persons with cognitive decline were accurately identified, many stakeholders in the robot's use were identified, and a concept was compiled for the intended use scenario.
This methodology may also hold promise for the appropriate integration of rapidly advancing recent technology into the AT space.In diesem Kapitel wird die Methodik für die Entwicklung von Assistiven Technologien (AT), mit Nutzer*innen und den Anwendungsfeldern im Mittelpunkt, beschrieben, die auch als Feldbasierte Assistive Technologie-Innovation (FATI) bezeichnet wird. Als Fallbeispiel wird die Entwicklung eines Kommunikationsroboters, der wichtige Informationen im täglichen Leben älterer Menschen, wie z.B. Termine und Zeitpläne bereitstellt, vorgestellt.
Mit der FATI-Methodik wurde ein umfassender Rahmen zur Förderung von AT-Innovationen entwickelt. Anschließend wurde auf der Grundlage bestehender nutzungszentrierter Designmethoden etc. eine Methodik entwickelt, die sich auf die Planung von AT-Konzepten konzentriert. Das Ergebnis ist ein Leitfaden für die Konzeptplanung, bestehend aus sieben Elementen, sowie ein Konzeptplanungsblatt zur Visualisierung des Prozesses.
In der Fallstudie zur Entwicklung eines Informationsunterstützungsroboters für ältere Erwachsene mit Gedächtnisverlust, bei der FATI angewandt wurde, wurden die Bedürfnisse älterer Menschen mit kognitiven Einschränkungen genau ermittelt, verschiedene potentielle Nutzer*innengruppen für den Einsatz des Roboters identifiziert und ein Konzept für das geplante Einsatzszenario erstellt.
Diese Methodik erscheint vielversprechend für die angemessene Integration von schnell fortschreitender neuer Technologie in den AT-Bereich
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