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This study assessed two technology systems aimed at enabling a man with intellectual disability, blindness, deafness and motor and tactile discrimination problems to make verbal requests through simple one-hand signs.

The study was conducted according to an ABAB design. During the B (intervention) phases, the man used the two systems, which included (1) nine mini recording devices fixed on the man’s clothes or wheelchair (i.e. in positions the man touched with his sign movements) and (2) nine tags with radio frequency identification codes (fixed at approximately the same positions as the mini recording devices) and a dedicated tag reader, respectively. Making a sign (i.e. touching a recording device or reaching a tag) led to the verbalization of the request related to that sign.

During baseline, the mean frequency of signs/requests made was below 2 per session, and only some of those requests were identified/satisfied. During the intervention, the mean frequency of requests made and satisfied was about 10 per session with each of the systems.

The results, which are to be taken with caution given the preliminary nature of the study, seem to suggest that the systems can help translate simple signs into verbal requests.

Higher education institutions are the citadel of knowledge and are heavily involved in formulating building regulations and building infrastructure designs that must conform to the building regulations. The study aims to identify university infrastructures compliant with disabled access from the perspective of the built environment students in Ghanaian universities.

Questionnaire surveys were administered to 500 built environment students across ten technical universities in Ghana with a total population of 3066; 341 were expected based on the formula used. However, upon several reminders, 176 responded. Data collected were analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences.

The findings show that all university facilities are not fully compliant with disabled access. Structures found to be least compliant are the laboratories, canteens, hall of residence, toilet facilities, football fields, places of worship and transport stations. The facilities with high compliance are the administration block, library, hospital building, lecture halls, department offices and ATM areas. The leading causes for this non-compliant are lack of enforcement of the building regulations, low level of disabled students’ enrolment, age of the building, lack of knowledge and poor building designs.

Compliance with disabled access makes universities world class and creates safe learning spaces for individuals with disabilities, enforcing the right to education for all individuals, particularly those with disabilities. Lack of compliance with disabled access will hamper the full utilisation of these facilities, thereby affecting quality education delivery to people with disabilities.

The findings are essential to the Ghanaian built environment, the lives of disabled individuals and universities. The results provide knowledge on areas of improvement for complete access to structures and facilities by disabled individuals.

Over 8 per cent of the Dutch nursing home population is bedfast, and this number is slowly increasing. The quality of life (QoL) of this population is lower than that of residents who are still mobile. Little research has been conducted on how to improve the QoL of this bedfast population, particularly through making technological adjustments to the bed and the direct surroundings. The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the QoL of bedfast residents and how to improve this through technology.

A mixed-method multi-case study with thematic analysis was conducted in two nursing homes with seven participants based on semi-structured interviews and Short Form-12 questionnaire.

The major causes of the experienced low QoL were the limited opportunities for engaging in social contacts with others, and coping with the dependency on other people and having limited control. Participants suggested improvements of QoL through the application of modern communication technologies to engage in social contacts and to control the bed itself and environment around the bed.

The results may help improve the design of the bed and the direct environment in order to improve the QoL of bedfast nursing home residents.

The QoL of bedfast nursing home residents has not been studied before in relation to the bed itself and technological solutions that may help improve the QoL and level of control.

Most support surfaces in comfort applications and sporting equipment are made from pressure-relieving foam such as viscoelastic polyurethane. However, for some users, foam is not the best material as it acts as a thermal insulator and it may not offer adequate postural support. The additive manufacturing of such surfaces and equipment may alleviate these issues, but material and design investigation is needed to optimize the printing parameters for use in pressure relief applications. This study aims to assess the ability of an additive manufactured flexible polymer to perform similarly to a viscoelastic foam for use in comfort applications.

Three-dimensional (3D) printed samples of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) are tested in uniaxial compression with four different infill patterns and varying infill percentage. The behaviours of the samples are compared to a viscoelastic polyurethane foam used in various comfort applications.

Results indicate that TPU experiences an increase in strength with an increasing infill percentage. Findings from the study suggest that infill pattern impacts the compressive response of 3D printed material, with two-dimensional patterns inducing an elasto-plastic buckling of the cell walls in TPU depending on infill percentage. Such buckling may not be a beneficial property for comfort applications. Based on the results, the authors suggest printing from TPU with a low-density 3D infill, such as 5% gyroid.

Several common infill patterns are characterised in compression in this work, suggesting the importance of infill choices when 3D printing end-use products and design for manufacturing.

Access to culture is a fundamental right of people with disabilities and a significant aspect in the development of accessible tourism. A visit to a monument provides an authentic experience which cannot be substituted by any representation. However, any interventions to improve accessibility should be made carefully, so as not to alter the monument’s character, or damage it visually or structurally. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A theoretical approach model was defined in the PROSPELASIS project for the improvement of accessibility in monuments which was applied in Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki. This approach contains the following steps: evaluation of existing accessibility level; definition of alternative solutions; creation of final studies, approval by archaeological authorities and implementation of interventions.

In six major Byzantine monuments significant improvements were realized which include: installation of two lifts and creation of a new staircase at Acheiropoietos; creation of a metal bridge, a new staircase and installation of a lift at Rotunda; opening of the secondary gate and creation of a ramp at the Heptapyrgion fortress; creation of an accessible toilet at the Saint Demetrios church; installation in the six monuments of a WiFi system providing text and audible information as well as information in Greek and International Sign Language; creation of two tactile models; creation of a “cultural route” connecting three major Byzantine monuments.

For the first time, to the knowledge, a set of interventions has been realized in Byzantine monuments focusing on various categories of people with disabilities, i.e. motor, visual, hearing and cognitive.