Assistive aids are an essential part of life for many people, who have been injured or who suffer from a chronic illness or physical handicap, which is particularly problematic in the context of older society and which many people have been experiencing for decades. There is a wide a range of them and they provide various levels of support - from simple mechanical tools (such as a white cane used by the blind), to sophisticated instruments replacing the functionality of part of the body (such as a bionic limb). Assistive aids generate new ways of interaction between the user and his or her body, as well as users and the surroundings. People making use of assistive aids often view their use in a much more comprehensive fashion than as mere expansion of the functional capacity of their own body and attribute to them a specific importance and value. As part of this multi-disciplinary subject, students will learn about the development of assistive technologies and develop an understanding of psychological and social aspects of their use. The subject will focus on current themes connected with assistive aids, such as (in)equality in access to them, the processes of leading to identification of the need for their use, their employment with an aging population as well as the issue of their lack of use. Outline: Assistive aids in a global context, the interactive relationship between the users, the environment and assistive technologies. Assistive aids in everyday life, the theme of non-use of assistive aids, assistive aids and aging, factors conditioning the contribution of the use of assistive aids.
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