1,721,648 research outputs found
Wang Shan landslide , China, 13/9/2012 (video)
No full textTwo members of the British Geological Survey landslide response team observed a landslide event at Wang Shan, China, on 13 September 2012.During a conference field trip around Gansu Province, the team captured a video of the landslide in progress; including the downslope movement of rock debris and a tree fall. The video was published on the BGS YouTube channel
Investigation of people aged 65+'s home living room experience for improving living room design in the UK
No full textAs the world population is ageing, many researchers have explored and contributed to improving older people’s quality of life from diverse perspectives, such as social care, healthcare, homes, transportation, and pension systems (ONS, 2018; Wittenberg and Hu, 2015; NICE, 2013; Kim et al, 2011; Martín, 2010). Although home related risks such as falls, collisions, fires and security have been well documented in the context of stairs, bathrooms and kitchens, older people’s experience in the living room has been neglected in the UK. The living room has been identified as one of the most frequently used spaces at home. It is multi-functional: used for reading, tea/coffee, TV and entertainment, meeting with friends, meals, and even sleeping. Due to the frequent use and multi-functionality of the living room, older people’s interaction with their living room is far more complex compared to other functional rooms (bathroom and bedroom). Thus, it is worth exploring potential risks (such as collisions and falls) and challenges older people face with different daily activities in the living room. This project aims to investigate the experiences of older people with their living room at home so as to identify risks and challenges they face in their day-to-day life and indicate the reasons behind it, then develop design insights for improving living room space design, furniture and furniture arrangement, and atmospheres design so as to improve older people’s living room experience in the UK. There are three key research questions:1. How do older people currently use their living rooms for different activities and purposes?2. To what extent do older people experience challenges and hazards in their living rooms?3. How can we improve the living room environment for older people in the UK through better inclusive design?In this study, the English Housing Survey (EHS) was utilised to design a sampling strategy to identify participants who represent older people’s living situation in the UK representing different characteristics. An ethnographic user study approach was employed to explore older people’s natural behaviour with multiple activities in their living room through video-based observation, in-depth interview and cultural probes. Qualitative content analysis was applied to analyse the collected data in order to identify key factors that have an impact on older people’s living experience in their living room. Finally, all findings from this project help the author to develop design insights for improving living room space design, furniture and furniture arrangement, and atmospheres design so as to improve older people’s standard of living in the UK
Software user experience enhancement through user-centred design and co-design approach
No full textUser-centred design skills play an important role in crafting a positive and intuitive user experience for software applications. Embracing a user-centric design approach involves understanding the needs, preferences, and behaviours of the end-users throughout the design process. This mindset not only enhances the usability of the software but also fosters a deeper connection between the digital product and its users. This paper encompasses a 6-month knowledge exchange collaboration project between an academic institution and an external industry in 2023 in the UK; it aims to improve the user experience of a digital platform utilized for a knowledge management tool, to understand users' preferences for features, identify sources of frustration, and pinpoint areas for enhancement. This research conducted one of the most effective methods to implement user-centred design through co-design workshops for testing user onboarding experiences that involve the active participation of users in the design process. More specifically, in January 2023, we organized eight co-design workshops with a diverse group of 11 individuals. Throughout these co-design workshops, we accumulated a total of 11 hours of qualitative data in both video and audio formats. Subsequently, we conducted an analysis of user journeys, identifying common issues and potential areas for improvement within three insights. This analysis was pivotal in guiding the knowledge management software in prioritizing feature enhancements and design improvements. Employing a user-centred design thinking process, we developed a series of graphic design solutions in collaboration with the software management tool company. These solutions were targeted at refining onboarding user experiences, workplace interfaces, and interactive design. Some of these design solutions were translated into tangible interfaces for the knowledge management tool. By actively involving users in the design process and valuing their input, developers can create products that are not only functional but also resonate with the end-users, ultimately leading to greater success in the competitive software landscape. In conclusion, this paper not only contributes insights into designing onboarding user experiences for software within a co-design approach but also presents key theories on leveraging the user-centred design process in software design to enhance overall user experiences
Investigation of older people's needs at home to inspire inclusive home design with smart products and services
No full textAs the world population is ageing, many researchers have explored and contributed to improving older people's quality of life from diverse perspectives. The living room has been identified as one of the most frequently used spaces at home. It is multi-functional: used for reading, tea/coffee, TV and entertainment, meeting with friends, meals, and even sleeping. This project aims to investigate the experiences of older people with their living room at home to identify risks and challenges they face in their day-to-day life and indicate the reasons behind it. An 9-week ethnographic user study approach was employed to explore older people's natural behavior with multiple activities in their living room through video-based observation, in-depth interview, and cultural probes with 11 households. Qualitative content analysis was applied to analyze the collected data to identify key factors that have an impact on older people's living experience in their living room. Finally, all findings from this project help the author to develop design insights for improving living room space design, furniture and furniture arrangement, and atmospheres design to improve older people's standard of living in the UK
How inclusive are housing designs in ageing England?
No full textAs the majority of health and safety risks occur at home, this paper focuses on inclusive home environment design for older people in ageing England. The 2012 English Housing survey has been used to answer the key research questions: What is the impact of the ageing demographic transition on housing characteristics? Do older people live in homes that pose a risk to their health and safety? To what extent does household adaptation depend on the age of the household members? The final analysis is based on household dataset to take into consideration household attributes and home environment with a sample size of 14,386 households. The key findings show that the majority of older people live in houses that have two levels with substantial risks. Only a small section of households have addressed the risks and made adaptations. Moreover, it is likely that some older people change their dwelling type from a two level household to a bungalow or flat in later life to address the risks associated with falls. 45% to 54% of older people aged 70-79 and 80 and above compared to only 34% of older people aged 60-69 live in flats and bungalows. Approximately 40% to 47% of older people aged 70 and above have moved during the last ten years to live in bungalows and flats. Hence, designers need to take into consideration the health and well-being of older people when designing homes in England to enable people to reside in the home they desire rather than moving to a new household type. Moreover, designers should consider risks of older people that continue dwelling in high risk households
Conceptual framework of inclusive living room design
No full textThe world population is ageing. Many researchers have explored and contributed to improving older people's quality of life from diverse perspectives, such as social care, healthcare, homes, transportation, and pension systems. Although home related risks such as falls, collisions, fires and security have been well discussed in the context of stairs, bathroom and kitchen, older peoples' experience in the living room has been neglected in the UK. This project aims to investigate key factors of living room design and impact of these key factors on their living experience at home. A conceptual framework of inclusive living room design has been developed. The framework highlights four key categories of living room that include housing condition, space design, movable objects and atmosphere design. Moreover, we also focus on the interactions between older residents and living space. The framework provides inspirations for researchers and designers to improve living room design for older people. The future research direction will focus on verifying the conceptual framework through primary researc
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Inclusive smart textile design for healthy ageing: discovering the health and well-being needs of people aged 60+ in the UK
No full textPopulation ageing is a global phenomenon. This trend poses healthcare services, social care, and political challenges, yet implies a growing demand for ageing-related products and services. Smart textile technology has been increasingly applied in healthcare applications to support healthy ageing from many aspects. This research indicated the challenges for older people to stay in their own house in later life from the previous literature and reviewed smart home healthcare products and smart textiles for healthy ageing. We found that the current development of elderly textile products neglects the real needs of older people in healthcare products in the home environment from their perspectives. Thus, this research aims to discover the health and well-being needs of people aged 60+ living independently at home in the UK, especially during COVID-19. This research conducted interviews with 12 individuals and questionnaires with 43 individuals for questionnaires. Results highlighted the current unmet healthcare-related needs at home and participants' experiences and attitudes toward healthcare products. Finally, indicated the potential opportunity for inclusive smart textile design for healthy ageing in the future
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