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Elements of Play for Cognitive, Physical and Social Health in Older Adults

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Human Factors in Computing and Informatics (SouthCHI 2013)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 7946))

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Abstract

An increasingly older demographic emphasizes the need to deal with a likewise increasing number of people with cognitive disabilities like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. While no cure exists the preventive potential of activities in the areas of reminiscence, cognitive, social and physical activity has been recognized. This paper looks at the possibilities of technological interventions in this field from a game design perspective. The paper follows the core research question “Which elements of play can be used in a playful holistic application combining reminiscence, cognitive, social and physical activities to prevent or postpone the development of cognitive disabilities such as dementia for older adults?” Examples are qualitatively analysed and lead to the identification of the elements auto-biographical play, musical play, kinaesthetic play, object-based play, adaptive play, collaborative play and role playing. The list of these elements is expendable and lays the foundation for a holistic design space.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Design and Assessment of Technology, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

    Fares Kayali, Naemi Luckner, Oliver Hödl, Geraldine Fitzpatrick & Peter Purgathofer

  2. Department of Health, FH Campus Wien, Vienna, Austria

    Tanja Stamm, Daniela Schlager-Jaschky & Erika Mosor

  3. Department of Rheumatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Tanja Stamm

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  1. Fares Kayali
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  2. Naemi Luckner
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  3. Oliver Hödl
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  4. Geraldine Fitzpatrick
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  5. Peter Purgathofer
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  6. Tanja Stamm
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  7. Daniela Schlager-Jaschky
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation (IMI), Medical University Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 2/V, 8036, Graz, Austria

    Andreas Holzinger

  2. Human-Computer Interaction Center, RWTH Aachen University, Theaterplatz 14, 52056, Aachen, Germany

    Martina Ziefle

  3. Institute of Informatics Systems, Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt, Universitätsstrasse 65-67, 9020, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Martin Hitz

  4. Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maribor, Smetanova 17, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia

    Matjaž Debevc

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Kayali, F. et al. (2013). Elements of Play for Cognitive, Physical and Social Health in Older Adults. In: Holzinger, A., Ziefle, M., Hitz, M., Debevc, M. (eds) Human Factors in Computing and Informatics. SouthCHI 2013. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7946. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39062-3_19

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