{"71995":{"#nid":"71995","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech\u0027s CATEA Improving Access","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) is giving the disability community and aging population a new tool that helps identify new products, research and services available to them.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECATEA\u0027s Consumer Network (CCN) is an on-line community that shares information about new developments in disability and aging related-products and services.  By joining CCN, members are among the first to preview new advances in disability and aging-related products and provide input to make them more usable and accessible.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022CNN is unique because it is the only consumer network of its kind to include all facets of disability and aging issues,\u0022 said CATEA researcher Robert Todd.  \u0022No one will be left out because they don\u0027t fit a \u0027profile.\u0027\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECATEA researchers also benefit greatly from the network since they are able to identify CCN members willing to test new prototypes, products and services in order to improve them through focus groups, field-testing, and surveys.  \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0027CCN is a young initiative as it was launched in October of 2006,\u0022 said Todd.  \u0022The network has already been responsible for the successful completion of numerous research projects, private and federally funded.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECollege of Architecture Ph. D student Young Mi Choi used CCN to find subjects for her research on portable wheelchair ramps.  The network helped identify potential users from a pool of members and also allowed Choi to be more precise in sending out invitations targeting only those who would qualify to participate in the study.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022CCN allows users to learn more about research that would be helpful to their lives,\u0022 said Choi.  \u0022Most importantly though, by showing interest in becoming a CCN member, it allows them an opportunity to actually take part in developing innovations that may be able to impact them directly.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EParticipation in CCN is growing rapidly among consumers, nearly doubling between March and June of 2007.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Although CCN was developed at Georgia Tech\u0027s CATEA, the network is intended for use by all researchers who will abide by its rules and regulations,\u0022 said Todd.   \u0022It is thus a more universal source for disability and aging research than any other in the nation.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Todd, CCN accomplishes this broad mission while still maintaining 100% privacy and anonymity for its members.  Additionally, membership is free of charge, and members are often compensated for their participation in studies.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECATEA plans to open the network to researchers across the nation during the second half of 2007.\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"CATEA\u0027s new online network helps inform the disability community and aging population of the latest research, products and services available to them."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\u0027s Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) is giving the disability community and aging population a new tool that helps identify new products, research and services available to them.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"CATEA Consumer Network assisting online communities"}],"uid":"27304","created_gmt":"2007-08-07 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:01:05","author":"Matthew Nagel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2007-08-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2007-08-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"71996":{"id":"71996","type":"image","title":"CATEA Consumer Network","body":null,"created":"1449177425","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:17:05","changed":"1475894649","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:09"}},"media_ids":["71996"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.coa.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech College of Architecture"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.catea.org\/","title":"CATEA"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.catea.org\/ccn\/ccn.php","title":"CATEA Consumer Network"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"137","name":"Architecture"},{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2321","name":"Assitive Technology"},{"id":"358","name":"CATEA"},{"id":"2322","name":"Consumer Network"},{"id":"242","name":"disabilities"},{"id":"398","name":"health"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["matthew.nagel@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}