AAC Evaluations and New Mobile Technologies: Asking and Answering the Right Questions

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debby McBride
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Feature Matching ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Matching Process ◽  
Ease Of Access ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right

Abstract The latest mobile technology options have heightened the interest in AAC today. Due to the ease of access and the availability of this technology, there are considerably more device choices available for persons with complex communication needs (CCN). There is an opportunity to build upon the enthusiasm surrounding these new mobile technologies by including all stakeholders in the AAC evaluation process. The clinician needs to ensure the use of sound AAC evaluation principles and procedures and prioritize the individual needs of the communicator. Recommendations about the use of an AAC high-tech device should flow from the evaluation and feature-matching process. The purpose of this paper is to suggest new ways to revisit the basics of a comprehensive AAC evaluation in order to better ensure that individuals who use AAC are being provided with the tools and features they need.

Guidelines for Teaching Speech-Language Pathologists About the AAC Assessment Process

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-86
Author(s):  
Iris Fishman
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Feature Matching ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Team Process ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
The Individual

Abstract Although students may not become augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) clinical specialists, they often will work with individuals demonstrating complex communication needs who benefit from AAC. This necessitates knowledge of some basic principles of assessment including AAC assessment as a team process involving planning and implementing interventions for current and future communication needs; the inclusion of no-tech, low-tech, and high-tech communication systems; and assessing communication needs with partners in the individual's social network. The assessment also must include a capability profile and feature matching to select the appropriate components of the AAC system. Because the system we provide for today will become the system we use tomorrow, assessment must be considered an ongoing process throughout the lifespan of the individual.

Using Mobile Technology for Communication in the Educational Setting

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan O'Brien
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Feature Matching ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Matching Process ◽  
Communication Needs ◽  
Technology Systems

This article is intended to emphasize the importance of using a feature-matching process when identifying mobile technology systems for students with complex communication needs. The reader will be able to apply features of the needs and abilities of the student to the features of a mobile tech system (commercially available system with application) to determine if it is a match for the student. Case studies are used to illustrate the feature matching process in the school setting.

Word-Finding Support From Mobile Technology Benefits a Woman With Aphasia

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Gillette
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Clinical Education ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Feature Matching ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Alternative Intervention ◽  
Communication Assessment ◽  
Word Finding ◽  
Intervention Costs

Mobile technology provides a solution for individuals who require augmentative and alternative intervention. Principles of augmentative and alternative communication assessment and intervention, such as feature matching and the participation model, developed with dedicated speech-generating devices can be applied to these generic mobile technologies with success. This article presents a clinical review of an adult with aphasia who reached her goals for greater communicative participation through mobile technology. Details presented include device selection, sequence of intervention, and funding issues related to device purchase and intervention costs. Issues related to graduate student clinical education are addressed. The purpose of the article is to encourage clinicians to consider mobile technology when intervening with an individual diagnosed with mild receptive and moderate expressive aphasia featuring word-finding difficulties.

Design and Evaluation for the Future of m-Interaction

2009 ◽  
pp. 332-340
Author(s):  
Joanna Lumsden
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Interaction Design ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Visual Display ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Future Evolution ◽  
Evaluation Strategies ◽  
Design Paradigm ◽  
The Right

Mobile technology has been one of the major growth areas in computing over recent years (Urbaczewski, Valacich, & Jessup, 2003). Mobile devices are becoming increasingly diverse and are continuing to shrink in size and weight. Although this increases the portability of such devices, their usability tends to suffer. Fuelled almost entirely by lack of usability, users report high levels of frustration regarding interaction with mobile technologies (Venkatesh, Ramesh, & Massey, 2003). This will only worsen if interaction design for mobile technologies does not continue to receive increasing research attention. For the commercial benefit of mobility and mobile commerce (m-commerce) to be fully realized, users’ interaction experiences with mobile technology cannot be negative. To ensure this, it is imperative that we design the right types of mobile interaction (m-interaction); an important prerequisite for this is ensuring that users’ experience meets both their sensory and functional needs (Venkatesh, Ramesh, & Massey, 2003). Given the resource disparity between mobile and desktop technologies, successful electronic commerce (e-commerce) interface design and evaluation does not necessarily equate to successful m-commerce design and evaluation. It is, therefore, imperative that the specific needs of m-commerce are addressed–both in terms of design and evaluation. This chapter begins by exploring the complexities of designing interaction for mobile technology, highlighting the effect of context on the use of such technology. It then goes on to discuss how interaction design for mobile devices might evolve, introducing alternative interaction modalities that are likely to affect that future evolution. It is impossible, within a single chapter, to consider each and every potential mechanism for interacting with mobile technologies; to provide a forward-looking flavor of what might be possible, this chapter focuses on some more novel methods of interaction and does not, therefore, look at the typical keyboard and visual display-based interaction which, in essence, stem from the desktop interaction design paradigm. Finally, this chapter touches on issues associated with effective evaluation of m-interaction and mobile application designs. By highlighting some of the issues and possibilities for novel m-interaction design and evaluation, we hope that future designers will be encouraged to “think out of the box” in terms of their designs and evaluation strategies.

scholarly journals A Grading System-based Model for Detecting Unbalanced Bids during the Tendering Process

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gul Polat ◽  
Harun Turkoglu ◽  
Atilla Damci
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Unit Price ◽  
Fair Competition ◽  
Lump Sum ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Grading Systems ◽  
Evaluation Stage ◽  
Bid Evaluation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right

Unbalanced bidding is a common practice used in both unit price and lump sum contracts. Contractors may unbalance their bids in different forms for various reasons. The studies in the literature either focus on developing optimization models that assist contractors in winning contracts and maximizing profits of their bids through unbalancing or developing models that assist owners in detecting and/or preventing unbalanced bids during the bid evaluation stage. Unbalanced bidding is one of the most controversial subjects in the construction management literature and practice. Although there is no consensus on whether it is unethical or not, this practice is not usually for the benefit of owners. Therefore, owners have the right to reject the unbalanced bids and create a fair competition environment if they have a mechanism to detect it during the bid evaluation process. The main objective of this study is to propose a model, which consists of five different grading systems and helps owners in detecting unbalanced bids during the tendering process. In the proposed model, owners may either calculate the individual grades of each bidder or calculate the final score of each bidder by assigning different weights to these grading systems according to the project characteristics or their own needs. The final scores and bid prices of the contractors can be simultaneously evaluated. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model, an illustrative example is presented. It can be concluded that the proposed model can be effectively and easily used by owners for detecting unbalanced bids. This paper is the revised version of the paper that has been published in the proceedings of the Creative Construction Conference 2018 (Polat et al., 2018).

scholarly journals Mobile Learning in Malaysian Universities: Are Students Ready?

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Issham Ismail ◽  
Siti Norbaya Azizan ◽  
Thenmolli Gunasegaran
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Mobile Learning ◽  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Anchor Points ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cost Issue ◽  
Learning Institutions

Prior to embarking on mobile learning, it is critical for learning institutions to research the area of finding the right ingredient for the right learners by firstly seeking whether they are ready to adapt to the mobility of learning. Adding a Malaysian perspective, the purpose of this paper was to present a quantitative study on university students’ readiness for the integration of mobile technologies in education system within their learning institutions. The study was carried out in 11 public universities in Malaysia, whereby 55 questionnaires were randomly distributed to students in each campus. Out of a total of 605 questionnaires distributed, 551 were returned. Overall, the descriptive results were relatively neutral and thus, indicating that they were moderately ready for the educational use of mobile technology. Furthermore, some were quite concerned on cost issue. Despite this, respondents were somewhat agree that they are interested to know more about mobile learning. As a result of the data analysis, some important issues emerged which give rise to the importance of assessing students’ readiness for a successful implementation of mobile learning. These findings may function as anchor-points for further research should mobile learning is to be employed widely in Malaysian higher education setting.

Recent Advances in Augmentative and Alternative Communication

2015 ◽  
pp. 128-140
Author(s):  
Toby B. Mehl-Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Communication Needs

With the increased development of mobile technologies, such as smartphones and tablets (i.e. iPhone, iPad), the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has changed rapidly over the last few years. Recent advances in technology have introduced applications (apps) for AAC purposes. These novel technologies could provide numerous benefits to individuals with complex communication needs. Nevertheless, introducing mobile technology apps is not without risk. Since these apps can be purchased and retrieved with relative ease, AAC assessments and collaborative evaluations have been circumvented in favor of the “quick fix”-simply ordering a random app for a potential user, without fully assessing the individual's needs and abilities. There is a paucity of research pertaining to mobile technology use in AAC. Therapists, parents and developers of AAC applications must work collaboratively to expand the research pertaining to the assessment and treatment of children who utilize AAC mobile technologies for communication purposes.

Recent Advances in Augmentative and Alternative Communication

2016 ◽  
pp. 2236-2248
Author(s):  
Toby B. Mehl-Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Novel Technologies ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Communication Needs

With the increased development of mobile technologies, such as smartphones and tablets (i.e. iPhone, iPad), the field of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has changed rapidly over the last few years. Recent advances in technology have introduced applications (apps) for AAC purposes. These novel technologies could provide numerous benefits to individuals with complex communication needs. Nevertheless, introducing mobile technology apps is not without risk. Since these apps can be purchased and retrieved with relative ease, AAC assessments and collaborative evaluations have been circumvented in favor of the “quick fix”-simply ordering a random app for a potential user, without fully assessing the individual's needs and abilities. There is a paucity of research pertaining to mobile technology use in AAC. Therapists, parents and developers of AAC applications must work collaboratively to expand the research pertaining to the assessment and treatment of children who utilize AAC mobile technologies for communication purposes.

MANAGING COMPANY INNOVATION IN THE CONTEXT OF GENERATING NEW IDEAS

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1539-1544
Author(s):  
Iva Bichurova ◽  
Petia Yordanova-Dinova
Keyword(s):  
Innovation Activity ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Technological Basis ◽  
Organization And Management ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Market Relations ◽  
Intellectual Potential

The paper discusses the main sources of ideas in the company, as well as the process of generating new ideas. It is important to note that the units and departments related to the innovation activity of the company are to capture, create and offer a large number of acceptable new ideas that will later develop, implement and successfully become commercialized. The generation of ideas is a creative process for developing novelties and transforming researches into practical solutions. The aggregate qualities of innovation awaken the interest of both parties in market relations - entrepreneurs and consumers. For business, its economic potential, providing renewal, high-tech level, competitiveness, efficiency and profit, is important. Searching for an opportunity to satisfying existing needs in better ways to create new ones is an incentive for buyers.From its external environment, the company receives information and signals of problems, possible ways to solve and ways to improve the technical and technological basis of production, assortment structure, organization and management, market niche, etc. As a result of these phenomena, the main sources of information can be divided into internal, external and mixed. The paper discusses in detail the efficiency of heuristic methods and their variation on the path of generating new ideas. In this respect, the individual methods represent a way to disclosure and use the intellectual potential of the cadres in finding new ways to reach the right solution for innovation.

Developing an Effective Framework for the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Evaluation Process

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celeste R. Helling ◽  
Jamila Minga
Keyword(s):  
Augmentative And Alternative Communication ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Alternative Communication ◽  
Complex Communication Needs ◽  
Expressive Communication ◽  
Communication Evaluation ◽  
Communication Needs

A comprehensive augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) evaluation is critical to providing a viable means of expressive communication for nonverbal people with complex communication needs. Although a number of diagnostic tools are available to assist AAC practitioners with the assessment process, there is a need to tailor the evaluation process to the specific communication needs of the AAC user. The purpose of this paper is to provide a basis for developing an effective and clinically driven framework for approaching a user-tailored AAC evaluation process.

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