What are we without memory? It is possible to face daily challenges by forgetting who we are or the name of the objects that surround us.

Memory is a territory still to be explored for science, but research is well underway. 

The term memory indicates cognitive capacity thanks to which we are able to store data and carry out actions. 

The valuable activity carried out by the faculty of remembering and is divided into

• long-term memory (indefinite duration)
• short-term memory (small amount of information for 20/30 seconds)

Daily activities are characterized by recurring gestures. If we wanted to present an example, we could resort to the procedural memory that we activate when we are driving: we learn a series of actions that, repeated frequently, do not come to consciousness and are performed automatically. It emerges by itself that memory is the control center of our activities, and must be preserved. However, with advancing age it is possible to encounter some problems with the ability to remember, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. 

These disorders are characterized by the inability to perform simple functions, also compromising the autobiographical memory and the relationship with loved ones.

The difficulties do not only involve the person affected by the disorder, but also extend to the family, which will have to constantly monitor the elderly. 

Memory-related functions don’t just affect the older.

Implementing tools to support “weak” people pursues a double objective: to protect the health of those affected by these diseases and to alleviate the concerns of families.

ESticky acts as a technological link between individuals and families, ensuring the transmission of information on the activities undertaken during the day.

Now that our ELSE project is approaching completion, we would like to disseminate our results and present our Intellectual Outputs to Universities and Schools! Due to the COVID19 pandemic, the ELSE Multiplier Event must necessarily be organized as an online event (on ZOOM). Yet, we will show how one can exploit the technologies we have developed in the past two years and we will present our method. We will also offer a hands on experience regarding our tools!

More information and the agenda can be found here.

Our paper “GUIDed: Assisted – Living Smart Platform and Social Communication for Older Adults”, that was accepted for publication at the 15th International Conference on International Conference on Innovations for Community Services (I4CS 2021) and was presented by Dr. Christos Mettouris on May 27, 2021 has received the Best Paper Award (link). The conference was organised online due to COVID-19.

Full Citation: Mettouris, Christos, Alexandros Yeratziotis, Charalampos Theodorou, Evangelia Vanezi, Achilleas Achilleos, George A. Papadopoulos, Sotiria Moza et al. “GUIDed: Assisted-Living Smart Platform and Social Communication for Older Adults.”
In International Conference on Innovations for Community Services, pp. 135-151. Springer, Cham, 2021.

Our paper CompLicy: Evaluating the GDPR Alignment of Privacy Policies – A Study on Web Platforms, was accepted for publication at the 15th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS 2021) and was presented by Evangelia Vanezi on May 11–14, 2021. The conference was, initially to be held in Limassol (Cyprus) was organised online due to COVID-19.

Full Citation: Vanezi, Evangelia, Zampa, George, Mettouris, Christos, Yeratziotis, Alexandros, and Papadopoulos, George A. “CompLicy: Evaluating the GDPR Alignment of Privacy Policies-A Study on Web Platforms.” Research Challenges in Information Science: 15th International Conference, RCIS 2021, Limassol, Cyprus, May 11–14, 2021, Proceedings. Springer Nature.

Our paper DIG-IT: Digital Education Initiatives and Timely Solutions, was accepted for publication at the 15th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS 2021) and was presented by Evangelia Vanezi on May 11–14, 2021. The conference, initially to be held in Limassol (Cyprus), was organised online due to COVID-19.

Full Citation: Vanezi, Evangelia, Yeratziotis, Alexandros, Mettouris, Christos, Papadopoulos, George A., and Colla J. MacDonald, “DIG-IT: Digital Education Initiatives and Timely Solutions.” Research Challenges in Information Science: 15th International Conference, RCIS 2021, Limassol, Cyprus, May 11–14, 2021, Proceedings. Springer Nature.

Our paper CHATBOT Technologies for Digital Entrepreneurship Education of Adult Learners-CHAT2LEARN, was accepted for publication at the 15th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS 2021) and was presented by Dr. Thomas Fotiades on May 11–14, 2021. The conference, initially to be held in Limassol (Cyprus) was organised online due to COVID-19.

Full Citation: Fotiades, Thomas, Vanezi, Evangelia, Petrova, Mariana, Vasileva, Vitlena, Papadopoulos, George A., “Technologies for Digital Entrepreneurship Education of Adult Learners–CHAT2LEARN.” Research Challenges in Information Science: 15th International Conference, RCIS 2021, Limassol, Cyprus, May 11–14, 2021, Proceedings. Springer Nature.

Communications and technology influence each other. When health problems arise, devices equipped with artificial intelligence can help the psychophysical improvement of subjects.

Many studies are oriented towards the development of user friendly devices that can safeguard human autonomy and well-being.

A word that cannot be missing in the vocabulary of a good device – particularly if it has to support people suffering from complex diseases – is accessibility.

The eSticky project takes shape from the encounter between care and technological development

participates in the Suitceyes symposium, thanks to the contribution of @Harpo Sp. z o.o, with a speech aimed at emphasizing the importance of the display, as the main support tool for the elderly.

The Symposium promoted by SUITCEYES promotes discussion on life through the event – Living Through Touch – Smart, Haptic Communication for Inclusion, Accessibility, and Participation.

The event page is available at the following link https://suitceyes.eu/program/

One step closer towards inclusive education and employment for disabled and disadvantaged people in martial arts!

(PRIMAE) Participation and Recreation through Inclusive Martial Arts Education and E-learning seeks to revolutionise the martial arts sector. The project, funded by Erasmus+ and awarded by the British Council and Ecorys, will create the first-ever accessible and inclusive E-learning platform with courses and qualifications that embed inclusion into the coaching of people through martial arts.

Inclusive pedagogy, flipped learning and blended learning support an innovative spiral curriculum that develop cross-cutting skills and employment opportunities for disabled and disadvantaged people in martial arts.

The €330,000 project (n.2019-1-UK01-KA204-061975) is a direct response to the European Commission’s call to increase the employment of those aged 20-64 to 75% and the education and employment of people with disabilities.

The team comprises a diverse range of partners with unique skills and experience. These include Ikkaido (UK), Ikkaido IMA (Ireland), Aux Couleurs Du Deba (France), Areadne (Greece), University of Cyprus, SVIF (Sweden) and EURO-NET and Futuro Digitale (Italy). The project is halfway complete, and we would love to share the progress we have made.

The organisations collaborated extremely well during the first year of the project, with each playing to their strengths and providing useful knowledge and insight in their respective fields. The partners researched good practices in E-learning that would lay the foundations for the development of the inclusive Intellectual Outputs.

Raymond Sweeney, Ikkaido CEO and Project Coordinator said “The objectives of the project are very ambitious and so we have been working extremely hard, despite all the challenges that COVID-19 has created in partner countries. We all aspire to develop a project that we are proud of – one that will create genuine and lasting improvements to the quality of life of disabled and disadvantaged people through accessible and inclusive health-enhancing physical activity, education and employment.

Our ultimate goal is for the project to be officially recognised by the CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) as a good practice case study for inclusion and accessibility in sport and E-learning. All of our partners are passionate about this, and with their help we are on track to achieve it.”

This Europe-wide initiative can be viewed at www.primae.eu and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/IkkaidoPrimae.

For more information, please contact christian@ikkaido.eu

For the validation (pilot trials) of the final release of the EASIER project, a trial with external end users has been carried out. An online webinar was organized on December 17th, 2020 to recruit online participants even beyond the direct contact of clinical partners. Each participant has taken part in the validation of one or more case studies, depending on their particular profile. Users have tested the EASIER platform and have been requested to complete a questionnaire that comprises sets of questions to address:
1. Usability validation
2. Functionality validation
3. User’s perception and satisfaction
4. Pedagogical model validation

The results were overall positive! In terms of the Assessment Module of the EASIER LMS that the SEIT lab has developed, most participants (53%) have stated that its functionalities provide feedback in a meaningful manner, facilitating its comprehension in relation to the acquisition of surgical skills.

The chromatic agreement or disagreement helps to define the device in terms of usability.

Furthermore, the choice of colors predominantly affects the emotions and predisposition of the subjects. The display is the interface with which we interact most and enhancing its appearance facilitates its usability.

People with senile dementia or Alzheimer’s cannot deal with complex or confusingly colored devices. Another aspect on which eSticky has focused with particular attention is the font of the texts, which participate in the effectiveness of the device.

Colors are an expression of our state of mind and what we want to convey: psychology is influenced by colors, and this internal dynamic is widely demonstrated by numerous scientific researches. In this context, the need emerges to develop a system aimed at enhancing the user through the digital experiential dimension, building a responsive display with a simplified interface. This is one of the topics covered in the eSticky meeting held in February and April.