scholarly journals A Mobile App to Optimize Social Participation for Individuals with Physical Disabilities: Content Validation and Usability Testing

Author(s):  
Dahlia Kairy ◽  
Mir Abolfazl Mostafavi ◽  
Catherine Blanchette-Dallaire ◽  
Eva Belanger ◽  
Andrea Corbeil ◽  
...  

Background: Social participation is beneficial for individuals’ health. However, people with disabilities that may lead to mobility limitations tend to experience lower levels of social participation. Information and communication technologies such as the OnRoule mobile application (app) can help promote social participation. Objectives: To obtain potential users’ perceptions on the usability and content of the OnRoule app for providing information on accessibility, as well as its potential to optimize social participation. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional user-centered design study. Individuals with physical disabilities (n = 18) were recruited through community organizations and interviewed using a semi-structured guide. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes were identified: (1) “user-friendliness”; (2) “balance between the amount and relevance of information”; and (3) “potential use of the app”. Discussion and Conclusion: Findings from this study indicated that the app was easy to use, had pertinent information, and enabled a positive experience of finding information. However, several areas of improvement were identified, such as the clarity of specific elements, organization and amount of information, optimization of features, and inclusiveness. Apps such as OnRoule could optimize social participation by facilitating the process of finding resources in the community and building a sense of connectedness between users.

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (01) ◽  
pp. 88-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taghreed M. Farahat ◽  
Nagwa N. Hegazy ◽  
Maha Mowafy

BackgroundThe health sector has always relied on technologies. According to World Health Organization, they form the backbone of the services to prevent, diagnose, and treat illness and disease. It is increasingly viewed as the most promising tool for improving the overall quality, safety and efficiency of the health delivery system.Aim of the studyThis was to assess the current situation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in primary healthcare in the terms of describing and classifying the existing work, identify gaps and exploring the personal experiences and the challenges of ICTs application in the primary healthcare.Subjects and methodsA mixed research method in the form of sequential explanatory design was applied. In the quantitative phase a cross-sectional study was conducted among 172 family physicians using a predesigned questionnaire. Followed by qualitative data collection among 35 participants through focused group discussions.ResultsNearly half of the physicians have ICTs in their work and they were trained on it. None of them developed a community-based research using ICTs technology. Training on ICTs showed a statistically significant difference regarding the availability and the type of ICTs present in the workplace (P<0.05). Focused group discussion revealed that the majority of the participants believe that there is poor commitment of policymaker toward ICTs utilization in the primary care. Nearly 97% thinks that there is insufficient budget allocated for ICTs utilization in the workplace. Almost 88% of the participants demanded more incentives for ICTs users than non-user at the workplace.ConclusionsICTs resources are underutilized by health information professionals. Lack of funds, risk of instability of the electric supply and lack of incentives for ICTs users were the most common barriers to ICTs implementation thus a steady steps toward budget allocation and continuous training is needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 249
Author(s):  
Rosana Souza de Vargas ◽  
Fabiana Diniz Kurtz

O objetivo do presente trabalho é investigar e analisar os discursos estabelecidos de futuros professores de um curso de licenciatura em Letras - Português e Inglês, de uma universidade comunitária, componente do COMUNG-RS, localizada no Rio Grande do Sul, buscando entender como ocorre a formação dos futuros docentes em língua inglesa e os processos de ensino-aprendizagem que a envolvem, com ênfase para a articulação pedagógica com as tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC) de modo integrado. É um estudo de caso, enquanto método de cunho qualitativo, empregando a análise textual discursiva como método de análise de dados. Dessa forma, como resultado, os discursos revelam que a formação dos futuros professores envolvidos engloba a discussão acerca das TIC, mas não de forma satisfatória, revelando em suas práticas, que os futuros profissionais tendem a uma perspectiva técnica de ensino sobre as TIC. O meio pelo qual tal viés possa ser abandonado, é que a formação de professores considere um ensino transversal a partir das TIC, não apenas em disciplinas isoladas e ainda que seja realizado por meio de todos os profissionais envolvidos.Palavras-chave: Formação de professores. Ensino de língua inglesa como língua estrangeira. Tecnologias de informação e comunicação (TIC). Análise textual discursiva (ATD).INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES: case study with future language teachers Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate and analyze the established discourses of future teachers of a degree course in Letters - Portuguese and English, from a community university, component of COMUNG-RS, located in Rio Grande do Sul, seeking to understand how occours the formation of future teachers in English language and the teaching-learning processes that involve it, with emphasis on the pedagogical articulation with information and communication technologies (ICT) in an integrated way. It is a case study, as a qualitative method, using discursive textual analysis as a data analysis method. Thus, as a result, the speeches reveal that the formation of the future teachers involved encompasses the discussion about ICT, but not satisfactorily, revealing in their practices that future professionals tend to a technical perspective of teaching about ICT. The means by which such bias can be abandoned is for teacher education to consider cross-sectional education based on ICT, not only in isolated subjects and even though it is carried out by all the professionals involved.Keywords: Teacher training. Teaching English as a foreign language. Information and communication technologies (ICT). Discursive textual analysis (DTA). TECNOLOGÍAS DE LA INFORMACIÓN Y LA COMUNICACIÓN: un estudio de caso con futuros profesores de idiomasResumenEl objetivo de este trabajo es investigar y analizar los discursos de futuros profesores de un curso de grado en Letras - Portugués e Inglés, de una universidad comunitaria, componente de COMUNG-RS, ubicado en Rio Grande do Sul, buscando entender cómo formación de futuros docentes en lengua inglesa y los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje que lo involucran, con énfasis en la articulación pedagógica con las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) de manera integrada. Es un estudio de caso, como método cualitativo, que utiliza el análisis textual discursivo como método de análisis de datos. Por lo tanto, como resultado, los discursos revelan que la formación de los futuros maestros involucrados abarca la discusión sobre las TIC, pero no de manera satisfactoria, revelando en sus prácticas que los futuros profesionales tienden a una perspectiva técnica de la enseñanza sobre las TIC. El medio por el cual se puede abandonar este sesgo es que la formación del profesorado considere la educación transversal basada en las TIC, no solo en asignaturas aisladas y aunque sea realizada por todos los profesionales involucrados.Palabras clave: Formación de profesores. Enseñanza de inglés como lengua extranjera. Tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC). Análisis textual discursivo (ATD). 


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Muñoz-Miralles ◽  
Raquel Ortega-González ◽  
M. Rosa López-Morón ◽  
Carme Batalla-Martínez ◽  
Josep María Manresa ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 2136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrycja Szarek-Iwaniuk ◽  
Adam Senetra

A smart city is one of the latest concepts in the development of modern cities. It has evolved from the foregoing smart cities 1.0 and 2.0 to the smart city 3.0, where members of the local community play the main role as not only the recipients of the introduced changes and modern technology, but also as the creators of urban space. One of the goals of a smart city 3.0 is to promote sustainable urban development by improving the quality of life, enhancing social participation, and involving local community members in planning and decision-making processes. This study set out to determine the role and significance of e-participation methods in the smart city concept. The results of questionnaires exploring the importance of e-participation in urban development are presented. The paper also discusses changes in the availability of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Poland. The secondary goal was to present the geo-questionnaire and Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) as modern research tools. Internet tools based on geoinformation systems have considerable potential for mobilizing social participation in spatial planning (Public Participation GIS). The present study postulates the need for modern social participation methods in shaping urban space and promoting the sustainable development of cities. The study highlights the main challenges in the research process. The cooperation between the authorities and the citizens contributes to the development of a civil society, informed decision-making, social involvement in public life, and more effective governance at the local, regional, and national level. Measures that foster cooperation between the authorities and local communities, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), and growing social awareness and social participation in managing development are the components of a modern smart city and the building blocks of an e-society. The study also revealed positive changes in access to ICT and their contribution to bridging the digital divide in Poland. Higher levels of social awareness regarding participation and e-participation promote the growth of smart cities.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5932
Author(s):  
Sobah Abbas Petersen ◽  
Idar Petersen ◽  
Peter Ahcin

This paper describes Smiling Earth, a mobile app to increase citizens’ awareness about their own carbon footprint, by integrating energy and transport-related data. The main aim of our work is to explore the ways in which Information and Communication Technologies could help raise awareness and educate and motivate citizens about their actions and their consequences on the environment. Smiling Earth provides feedback to users by visualising data about their daily activities with the aim to motivate citizens to change their behaviour to reduce their CO2 emissions by adopting a healthier lifestyle. The value of the Smiling Earth for individuals, cities and communities is discussed. The feedback from an expert evaluation and how Smiling Earth could contribute to Positive Energy Districts are also discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42
Author(s):  
İsmail Yüksel ◽  
Melek Alemdar

Integration of Information and Communication Technologies into education has recently been one of the most challenging issues in educational improvement and recovery plan of Turkish government. Immediately before the implementation of Fatih Project (Action for Increasing Opportunities and Improving Technology), it is important to have a look at the insights of teachers. In this study, it was aimed to find out the level of background knowledge about the usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the integration of ICT in education process by today’s teachers. So as to find the answers to this question, the study was designed in quantitative research model as a survey research in cross-sectional survey design. The work group included 172 teachers who works in MNE schools. The data were collected through ‘ICT Integration in Education’ questionnaire. In the analysis of data; descriptive statistics, t-tests and Anova tests were used. And as a result, the study showed that current initiatives with ICT need further investigation for a successful implementation of ICT usage. Keywords: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), technology integration, Fatih Project.


Author(s):  
Paula Rosalinda Antonio Vidaña ◽  
Daniel Martínez Navarrete ◽  
Luz del Carmen Muñoz Palacios ◽  
Carlos Alberto Ruiz López

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo identificar el nivel de adopción de las TIC´s en los procesos de distribución de las Micro, Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas (MIPyMES). El estudio fue concluyente de tipo descriptivo, que por tomar la muestra en un momento específico es transversal simple, aplicando una muestra de 483 encuestas en un periodo de febrero y mayo 2020, en los municipios de Orizaba e Ixtaczoquitlán.  Se obtuvieron resultados, que en un 23.1% consideran que no necesitan medios como redes sociales, el 34.1% consideran no necesario el usar el servicio de paquetería, lo cual fue un punto discursivo como parte del análisis, entre otros resultados mostrados. Abstract The objective of this research consisted of identifying the level of impact Information and Communication Technologies (Ict) had in distribution processes in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The study consisted of a conclusive descriptive type: which, due to the application of a survey during a specific period, it is a simple cross-sectional study applying a sample of 483 surveys between the months of February and May 2020, in the municipalities of Orizaba and Ixtaczoquitlan, in the State of Veracruz. Results showed that 23.1% considered that they had no need for media such as social networks, 34.1% considered the use of postal or parcel services unnecessary, which was a discursive standpoint as part of the analysis among other given results.


Author(s):  
Mayanglambam Victoria Devi ◽  
Loukham Devarani ◽  
R. J. Singh ◽  
L. Hemochandra

The present study aimed at analysing the usage of ICTs by the agrarian youths of state Manipur, India. The locale of study was Imphal-West district of Manipur, from where 120 respondents have been randomly selected from six villages of the two sub-divisions viz., Patsoi and Wangoi. The study delved into examining whether the socio-economic profiles of youths have any significant dependence with the utilization of different ICT tools viz., Radio, T.V., Mobile Phone, PC/Laptop, Internet and Information Kiosk. The major findings of the analysis reveal that ‘Attitude towards ICTs’ has significant dependence at 5% level of significance with the utilization of Radio. The variable ‘Education’ has significant dependence with the utilization of television at 10% level of significance. The utilization of PC/laptop by respondents had significant dependence with ‘Education’, ‘Attitude towards ICTs’, ‘Cosmopoliteness’ and ‘Social participation’ at 1% level of significance. With respect to utilization of Internet by agrarian youths, the variables, namely ‘Education’, ‘Attitude towards ICTs’, ‘Cosmopoliteness’ and ‘Social Participation’ have significant dependence at 1% level of significance. Pertaining the utilization of information kiosks by respondents, the variable ‘Age’ has significant dependence at 1% level of significance. Lack of infrastructural facilities to access ICTs was the most profound constraints faced by agrarian youths of Manipur.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Cherrez-Ojeda ◽  
Carlos A. Vera-Paz ◽  
Emanuel Vanegas ◽  
Juan Carlos Gallardo ◽  
Miguel Felix ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives: The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) allows people to communicate in "real-time". The popularity of these tools has created a need for healthcare providers to have an online presence and interact with their patients via an increasing number of channels. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of use, perceptions, and barriers of ICTs among Ecuadorian dentists. Methods: An anonymous, cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted among 342 Ecuadorian dentists. The questionnaire included 13 items related to the frequency of use, perceptions and barriers of ICTs among dentists.Results: Almost all participants reported communicating with colleagues (99.7%) and with patients (96.2%) using ICTs. In contrast, academic information searching was the least used application, with 36.5% (n = 125) of respondents indicating no ICT use for this purpose. WhatsApp was overall the most used ICT with 97.4% of participants using it to contact colleagues and 93.6% to contact patients. Similarly, Facebook was used by 88.0% (n = 301) of dentists to interact with colleagues while 67.8% did so with patients. More than 90% (n = 308) of dentists perceived that ICTs are useful for health and service promotion, getting involved in research projects, solving daily clinical cases, working in groups and finding new job opportunities. Regarding barriers, privacy was the biggest concern among dentists, with 65.2% (n = 223) agreeing that it is an issue concerning ICT use. The second most frequent barrier was time, with 48% (n = 164) of respondents considering not having enough time to use ICTs.Conclusions: We found that Ecuadorian dentists had high usage of ICTs, mainly for communication among professionals and communication with their patients. Academic information searching remains a comparatively underused application of these tools. Most participants had a positive perception of ICTs in the dentistry practice, particularly younger dentists. Furthermore, dentists had a positive perception of ICTs. Finally, privacy remains the main barrier for ICT adoption according to our survey.


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