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Purpose: This paper presents qualitative research findings from the evaluation of a Parkinson's Dance well-being venture in the UK. Methods: Qualitative data was gathered to see how bespoke dancing sessions helped people with Parkinson's (PwP) to manage their conditions and improve their lives and prospects. Principles of a participatory approach were incorporated and methods included semi-structured interviewing, researchers participant observation and an elicitation-based activity. Nineteen PwP, six carers, four dance artists and seven helpers participated in the study. Results: Participating in Parkinson's Dance sessions meant that PwP could experience the possibilities to dance, develop a "can do" attitude, experience fun, enjoyment, social connection, exercise, movement to music, improvement and/or maintenance of their balance, suppleness, coordination and confidence with movement, symptoms being pushed back and ability to learn new things. Conclusions: Our findings add to the evidence-base about the benefits of dance for people experiencing Parkinson's and through novel application of the Life-world based well-being framework of K. T. Galvin and Todres (2011) we propose a theoretical basis for Parkinson's Dance as a resource for well-being. There is scope to consider application of the well-being framework to other arts activities and as the basis of an arts and well-being evaluation tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assistive technologies have allowed people with disabilities to perform daily tasks with greater independence and autonomy, especially for visually impaired people. Using smart home solutions allows these users to control their homes with less cognitive and physical demand. However, making such applications accessible to meet the needs of visually impaired users, especially in developing countries, remains a challenge. This paper investigates the perceptions of these users about home automation technologies through semi-structured interviews. A total of 20 visually impaired people participated in the interviews. A thematic analysis revealed results concerning the following themes: (1) how people go about their lives at home and around, how people interact with current appliances, objects and environments, (3) how people perceive their attitude to technologies, (4) the Brazilian context of smart homes, (5) what people think smart homes should do and (6) envisaging ways of interacting with smart home systems. The results obtained provide significant insight into the needs of visually-impaired people in Brazil, with analysis of issues that are common with previous studies in more developed countries and specific issues that have important particularities and implications in Brazil and other developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]