Using Wireless Personal Digital Assistants in a Restaurant: Impact and Perceived Benefits

The hospitality industry, more specifically restaurants, has recently started to exploit the benefits of mobile technologies. This research explores the perceived benefits of using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) in a restaurant in a B2E context. The findings indicated that the most common perceptions are increased efficiency, speedier service, better usability and ease of use, enhanced reputation/image and increased accuracy. Most of the negative perceptions were related to the technical shortcomings of the technology such as unreliable transmission of data, system crashes, short battery life, and limited durability of the devices. The paper concludes with recommendations for future practice and research.

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Assistive Technology for Cognition: Perspectives on Funding

Perspectives on Neurophysiology and Neurogenic Speech and Language Disorders ◽

10.1044/nnsld23.2.84 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 84-89

Author(s):

Kathy de Domingo

Keyword(s):

Assistive Technology ◽

Daily Living ◽

Occupational Therapists ◽

Personal Digital Assistants ◽

Speech Language Pathology ◽

Prosthetic Devices ◽

Funding Sources ◽

Ankle Foot Orthoses ◽

Language Pathology ◽

Communication Challenges

Physical and occupational therapists commonly provide services that incorporate prosthetic and orthotic devices such as crutches, canes, reachers, and ankle–foot orthoses to support mobility and activities of daily living (ADLs). Likewise, speech-language pathologists provide services incorporating prosthetic devices to support communication such as an electrolarynx, microcomputers, and mobile devices and apps with voice output capability. Assistive technology for cognition (ATC) includes the use of personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, and smart phones — cognitive prostheses — to compensate for cognitive challenges following acquired brain injury (ABI). Whereas funding sources for devices and services that support/compensate for mobility, ADLs, and communication challenges are generally well established, funding for ATC devices and services is relatively new to the field of speech-language pathology. This article explores the funding aspect of ATC devices and services.

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Using Personal Cell Phones for Ecological Momentary Assessment

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040/a000127 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 3-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Emmanuel Kuntsche ◽

Florian Labhart

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽

Communication Systems ◽

Cell Phones ◽

Personal Digital Assistants ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Mobility Patterns ◽

Standard Data ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Momentary Assessment

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a way of collecting data in people’s natural environments in real time and has become very popular in social and health sciences. The emergence of personal digital assistants has led to more complex and sophisticated EMA protocols but has also highlighted some important drawbacks. Modern cell phones combine the functionalities of advanced communication systems with those of a handheld computer and offer various additional features to capture and record sound, pictures, locations, and movements. Moreover, most people own a cell phone, are familiar with the different functions, and always carry it with them. This paper describes ways in which cell phones have been used for data collection purposes in the field of social sciences. This includes automated data capture techniques, for example, geolocation for the study of mobility patterns and the use of external sensors for remote health-monitoring research. The paper also describes cell phones as efficient and user-friendly tools for prompt manual data collection, that is, by asking participants to produce or to provide data. This can either be done by means of dedicated applications or by simply using the web browser. We conclude that cell phones offer a variety of advantages and have a great deal of potential for innovative research designs, suggesting they will be among the standard data collection devices for EMA in the coming years.

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