Search results for: Jelle Laverge

Authors: Chenxi Liao, Mizuho Akimoto, Mariya Bivolarova, Sekhar Chandra, Xiaojun Fan, Li Lan, Jelle Laverge, Pawel Wargocki

Abstract:

The bedroom environment plays an important role in maintaining good sleep quality, which is vital for humans health and next-day performance. A survey of the sleep-disturbed bedroom environmental factors and the occupants’ bedroom windows (BW) or bedroom door (BD) opening behaviors was launched in the capital region of Denmark in 2020 by an online questionnaire. People were asked if they were disturbed by too warm temperature, too cool temperature, noise, or stuffy air during sleep. Also, they reported their BW or the BD opening behaviors in the morning, afternoon, evening, and during sleep. A total of 512 responses were received. Too warm temperature was reported the most among the four sleep-disturbed factors, following too cool temperature, noise, and stuffy air. Whether or not opening BW or the BD was commonly used to improve or change the bedroom environment. The respondents who were disturbed by too warm temperature during sleep opened BW for a longer time in the morning compared to those who were never disturbed by it (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.01-1.62). Those who were disturbed by too cool temperatures tended to open BW less frequently in the morning (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 0.97-1.57). They preferred keeping BW open in the whole day if they realized stuffy air disturbing their sleep, although only a few of them still opened BW during sleep. Those who were disturbed by too cool temperature (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63-0.92) and noise (OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66-0.96) were more likely to sleep with the BD open in a lesser frequency. Opening BW, increasing ventilation rates, could relieve disturbing by stuffy air during sleep, but induced other sleep-disturbed factors such as too cool in winter and noise. Also, opening BW only when people were not sleep was not sufficient to exempt disturbing by stuffy air during sleep. Using mechanical ventilation in bedrooms is necessary to ensure good air quality and meanwhile to avoid thermal discomfort and noise during sleep. Future studies are required to figure out the required flow rate of fresh air of mechanical ventilation during sleep.

Keywords: bedroom environmental, survey, occupants behaviors, windows, door

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Melina Kopke, Jelle Van Dijk

Abstract:

Persons with cognitive disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are often dependent on some form of professional support. Recent transformations in Dutch healthcare have spurred institutions to apply new, empowering methods and tools to enable their clients to cope (more) independently in daily life. Assistive Technologies (ATs) seem promising as empowering tools. While ATs can, functionally speaking, help people to perform certain activities without human assistance, we hold that, from a design-theoretical perspective, such technologies often fail to empower in a deeper sense. Most technologies serve either to prescribe or to monitor users’ actions, which in some sense objectifies them, rather than strengthening their agency. This paper proposes that theories of embodied interaction could help formulating a design vision in which interactive assistive devices augment, rather than replace, human agency and thereby add to a persons’ empowerment in daily life settings. It aims to close the gap between empowerment theory and the opportunities provided by assistive technologies, by showing how embodiment and empowerment theory can be applied in practice in the design of new, interactive assistive devices. Taking a Research-through-Design approach, we conducted a case study of designing to support independently living people with ASD with structuring daily activities. In three iterations we interlaced design action, active involvement and prototype evaluations with future end-users and healthcare professionals, and theoretical reflection. Our co-design sessions revealed the issue of handling daily activities being multidimensional. Not having the ability to self-manage one’s daily life has immense consequences on one’s self-image, and also has major effects on the relationship with professional caregivers. Over the course of the project relevant theoretical principles of both embodiment and empowerment theory together with user-insights, informed our design decisions. This resulted in a system of wireless light units that users can program as a reminder for tasks, but also to record and reflect on their actions. The iterative process helped to gradually refine and reframe our growing understanding of what it concretely means for a technology to empower a person in daily life. Drawing on the case study insights we propose a set of concrete design principles that together form what we call the embodied empowerment design framework. The framework includes four main principles: Enabling ‘reflection-in-action’; making information ‘publicly available’ in order to enable co-reflection and social coupling; enabling the implementation of shared reflections into an ‘endurable-external feedback loop’ embedded in the persons familiar ’lifeworld’; and nudging situated actions with self-created action-affordances. In essence, the framework aims for the self-development of a suitable routine, or ‘situated practice’, by building on a growing shared insight of what works for the person. The framework, we propose, may serve as a starting point for AT designers to create truly empowering interactive products. In a set of follow-up projects involving the participation of persons with ASD, Intellectual Disabilities, Dementia and Acquired Brain Injury, the framework will be applied, evaluated and further refined.

Keywords: assistive technology, design, embodiment, empowerment

Procedia PDF Downloads 249