The potential of new technologies which emulate or exploit the unique properties of living systems is widely lauded. Such technologies however, create new engineering challenges which must be addressed before they can become broadly utilised (see for example, Braha et al. (2006); Bedau et al. (2010); Penn (2008)). Additionally, many pressing challenges for society today are inherently concerned...

The use of digital maps capitalizes on the long tradition of using paper maps as mean of communication and learning among people. More than ever, maps are becoming one of the most used metaphors to present concepts and knowledge. This paper presents a wiki infrastructure for map-based information systems’ design that, through an ontology, defines a semantic model able to minimize the problems i...

The CLASS Act (Community Living Assistance Senrvices and Support Act) represented a vision --a vision of a system of services that was owned and invested in by the citizens of the United States. CLASS is intended to be an infrastructure under which the government would design a voluntary, federally administered, consumer-financed insurance plan. It became law when President Barack Obama signed ...

OBJECTIVES To identify characteristics of residential care facilities (RCFs) associated with having a pandemic influenza plan. DESIGN Nationally representative, cross-sectional survey. SETTING RCFs in the United States. PARTICIPANTS Participating facilities in the 2010 National Survey of RCFs (N = 2,294), representing 31,030 assisted living facilities and personal care homes. MEASUREMEN...

The rising older people population has increased the interest in ambient assisted living systems. This article presents a system for monitoring the disabled or older persons developed from an existing surveillance system. The modularity and adaptability characteristics of the system allow an easy adaptation for a different purpose. The proposed system uses a network of sensors capable of motion...

Assisted living facilities (ALFs) have grown over the past few decades. If they attract residents with lower care needs away from nursing homes (NHs), NHs may be left with higher case mix residents. We study the relationship between ALF bed market capacity and NH case mix in a state (Virginia) where ALF bed capacity stabilized after a period of growth. Similarly, NH capacity and use had been st...

OBJECTIVES Evaluating functional level of persons with diagnosed or suspected dementia is an important part of occupational therapy. The importance of the environment is often highlighted. We investigated the ability of clients with suspected dementia to perform instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) in the clinic versus in their homes. METHOD We used the Assessment of Motor and Proc...

The bulk of public interest in advance directives for health care has focused to date upon the living will. This approach is hampered by a narrow focus and a lack of applicability to many of the situations in which guidance is needed. The major value of the living will may prove to be its role in raising the level of public consciousness. The durable power of attorney concept, though not free o...

Many individuals living in residential care use a wheelchair as their primary means of mobility. Although studies have documented challenges encountered by residents in these facilities, few have addressed the role that wheelchairs, as potential enablers and barriers to mobility and participation, play in their lives. To better understand residents' experiences, an ethnographic study was conduc...