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Assistive Technology: Essential Human Factors

The Information Age has transformed the way in which humans communicate and interact with each other in almost every aspect. This new relationship between humans and technology has been an added convenience for some, and a sheer blessing for others; for those with physical and communication impairments, modern-day technology has transformed daily living into a journey toward capability instead of disability. In its examination of assistive technology, this book serves as an essential resource for clinicians, product developers, families and individuals as they recommend, select, purchase, design, and use assistive technology. Combining real experience and academic research, King examines how humans can adapt to machinery and increase the acceptance, effectiveness, and efficiency of technology. This book investigates how psychological factors (such as fear, stress, rejection, etc.) can affect the efficiency of assistive technology. Product developers, speech pathologists, audiologists, occupational therapists, rehabilitation counselors, special educators, nurses, and businesses. A Longwood Professional Book

Paperback: 305 pages

Publisher: Pearson; 1 edition (September 24, 1998)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0205273262

ISBN-13: 978-0205273263

Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 8.9 inches

Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,159,902 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #126 in Books > Law > Specialties > Disability #126 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems > Ergonomics #484 in Books > Textbooks > Medicine & Health Sciences > Medicine > Clinical > Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

I made some use of this book for my doctoral research on errors in the design process for assistive technology (AT - by which I mean here the modifications to the built environment made to accommodate the needs of disabled people). For a short book (269 pages including glossary, excluding references), King crams a lot of useful guidance between the covers. I liked the fact that he discusses AT from an ergonomics perspective, which is my own specialty, and there was much here with which I was familiar. At the same time, King avoided writing a dull book by providing enough fresh perspective and personal opinion to make it an interesting read.Each of the nine chapters includes study questions, and there are plenty of useful photographs and drawings used to illustrate and clarify the text. King wrote this with "senior-level undergraduate students and beginning-level graduate students in a variety of rehabilitation, education, and medical fields" in mind, as well as "working professionals, AT users, and their families" (page xi). The work is written and organized in a way that reflects these aims, and it does so very well. King writes plainly and avoids unnecessary jargon, while managing to convey complex notions in a highly readable style.I am pleased that, unlike so many in this AT field, King does not over-emphasize the use of electronics. He avoids equating "AT" with "Computers," and differentiates between "No-Tech," "Low-Tech," and "High-Tech" solutions. This is as it should be; I have worked as a rehabilitation ergonomist for almost twenty years, and I can attest that most enablement is achieved by non-electronic AT.

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