Technology for Adaptive Aging (2004) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Part III: Domain-Specific Papers -- 5 Addressing the Communication Needs of an Aging Society
Part III: Domain-Specific Papers -- 5 Addressing the Communication Needs of an Aging Society
Pages 129-149
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 129... ...
Part III Domain-Specific Papers
|
From page 131... ...
Common barriers to communication include the declining sensory, cognitive, and physical abilities of older adults. Recent technological advances have led to the development of a dazzling variety of new technologies for assistive and augmentative communication for individuals with severe disabilities: Communication systems that recognize speech and translate it into American Sign Language displays in real time; "directselect" speech synthesis systems with built-in 100,000 word vocabularies and concept- and grammar-based word prediction to speed message construction; communication systems that respond to a variety of inputs including "eye typing;" low-vision magnifiers with electronic page turners; portable optical character recognition programs that translate scanned or electronic text into speech or into Braille; talking picture books; telephones based on bone conduction; and laryngectomy speech amplifiers.
|
From page 132... ...
The report included a set of general design principles to overcome barriers to the use of telecommunication devices. Four "universal design" strategies were espoused: 1.
|
From page 133... ...
What is surprising is that these guidelines focus primarily on design features, whether of web sites, voice mail systems, or cellular phones. All of these communication devices would indeed benefit from better design to enhance usability, and implementation of these design guidelines would undoubtedly benefit older users; however, they are insufficient.
|
From page 134... ...
134 TECHNOLOGY FOR ADAPTIVE AGING TABLE 5-1 Processes Involved in Communication Requiring Message Modification for Optimal Communication with Demented Patients Problem Recommended Solution Sensory loss Amplify: to increase the strength of the stimuli by making louder, isolating, marking Augment: to add to by sending input through additional channels such as using spoken and printed words, gesture(s) , and spoken words, touch and spoken word(s)
|
From page 135... ...
Thus, even in the case of hearing loss, the technological remedy offered by hearing aids must be supplemented by recommendations to speak clearly. Age-related hearing loss involves more than just presbycusis.
|
From page 136... ...
Using high pitch, a slow rate of speaking, and stressing important words may actually impair communication with older adults because this exaggerated prosody distorts vowels and other speech elements. Chopping up ideas into short phrases and simple ideas may eliminate causal and temporal connections essential for coherence and continuity.
|
From page 137... ...
On-demand buffering of speech segments coupled with rate-adjustable playback might enable older adults to compensate for the slow rate of elderspeak (or too-fast rates of time-compressed speech typical of voice response systems and news broadcasts) so that an individual can adjust the rate of information transmission to their own processing rate.
|
From page 138... ...
The transmission deficit hypothesis model pinpoints the locus of the broken connection as between idea and word pronunciation, because speakers will often have partial phonological information about the target word as well as detailed information about the target idea. Older adults are more vulnerable to word retrieval failures because all network connections weaken with age; words are more vulnerable than ideas because words must be precisely articulated from a unique sequence of phonological features (pronouncing "cat" partially correctly might get you a "hat" instead)
|
From page 139... ...
Or "talking" name tags, perhaps linked to small optical scanners and miniaturized speakers embedded in eyeglasses. By activating phonological features, especially those used infrequently, such devices could spare older adults the communication disruptions triggered by word retrieval failures.
|
From page 140... ...
Analyses of young adults' language samples revealed reduced sentence length, grammatical complexity, and propositional content when talking while performing the motor tasks. In contrast, the older adults spoke more slowly during the dual-task conditions but their grammatical complexity and propositional content did not vary with dual-task demands.
|
From page 141... ...
FM broadcast systems, induction loops, and infrared systems, sometimes provided in public places such as concert halls, theaters, churches, and conference centers, may aid individuals who are hard of hearing by reducing or eliminating dual-task demands arising from poor acoustics, background noise, and competing voices and sounds. These systems typically require the listener to use a special receiver (some hearing aids can be tuned to pick up the signal generated by induction loops)
|
From page 142... ...
Our thesis is that there is a significant opportunity to use these inexpensive, mass-produced, and very powerful devices to better serve the communication needs of an aging society by tailoring the devices' increasing processing capabilities to the specific strengths, needs, and capabilities of older users. The growing power and sophistication of both cellular phones and PDAs present a unique opportunity to look at them as mobile communication and computing devices (MCCDs)
|
From page 143... ...
MCCDs can be designed to increase their "assistance level" as the individual's abilities change due to health conditions or situational factors, for example, by adjusting amplitude as well as pitch to the individual's hearing loss as well as the specific room acoustics. · Emulate lost capabilities, such as a sense of direction.
|
From page 144... ...
From this perspective, older adults will be able to acquire, at commodity prices, MCCDs that can · convert text to speech and speech to text in real time; · utilize nonvisual interfaces such as touch screens and speech rec ognition software; · integrate on-board cameras with easy-to-use software and audiocapture to replace note taking; · exploit GPS technology not only to inform people where they are but to remind them where they are going; and · render visual information in increasing detail with built-in "zoom" and navigation capabilities. One of the most exciting potentials of MCCDs is their ability to utilize alternative user interfaces.
|
From page 145... ...
MCCDs offer a third possibility: MCCDs could be envisioned as "personalized portable user interfaces" where the user controls target devices via the MCCD's interface, customized to fit the user's specific communication needs. Emerging research in nonvisual interfaces points toward a future in which older adults can interact with their MCCDs via different modes, depending on the user's choice: touch, enhanced voice commands (currently available in most new cell phones)
|
From page 146... ...
From a research perspective, there is a need for integrating life-span research on cognitive abilities and the design of adaptive technology so that the technology fits changing cognitive skills. Academics are advised to engage with electronic device manufacturers to build "cognitive flexibility" to ensure that devices will have several built-in operating modes, each of which places a different cognitive load on the user.
|
From page 147... ...
. Reserve capacity of the elderly in aging sensitive tests of fluid intelligence: Replication and extension.
|
From page 148... ...
. Brain reserve capacity on symptom onset after brain injury: A formulation and review of evidence for threshold theory.
|
From page 149... ...
. Does priming specific syllables during tip-of-the-tongue states facilitate word retrieval in older adults?
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.