problems related to hearing, tactile perception, and the ability to recognize movement, notes Takashi Saito, manager of the accessibility center for IBM’s Tokyo Research Lab. In fact, many of these older individuals have “multiple slight disabilities” that create a unique set of challenges. As a result, it’s not simple to engineer a straightforward solution for a single problem.

For example, a person with failing eyesight might benefit from a “blind touch” keyboard, but deteriorating motor skills might make it a challenge to use any keyboard. Another older person might find it easier to use a specialized Web browser—or an alternative Web site—that simplifies layout and design elements, but she may still have problems figuring out what to put in the search box of a Web search engine. Further complicating matters, aging— and age-related problems—don’t occur in any predictable or uniform way. Oftentimes, it is difficult to ascertain who needs assistance and when they need it.

“The major problem arising from the aging process is that most sensory, motor, and cognitive abilities decline gradually with age, and at different relative rates for different individuals,” observes Peter Gregor, professor of interactive systems design and dean of the school of computing at the University of Dundee in Scotland. What’s more, “compared with younger adults, there is a wider diversity of characteristics among older people,” says Gregor. This makes it more difficult to design a system to address specific issues. Factor in that older people didn’t grow up with computers, smartphones, and other devices, and “the odds are stacked against them,” Gregor concludes.

 

Designs on usability Addressing the computing challenges of older individuals requires ongoing analysis and creativity. Researchers know they must find ways to lighten the load on sensory and motor capabilities. Says Gregor, “We should be asking whether systems do all that is possible to minimize the cognitive load required to carry out tasks? Is support available if it is apparent a user doesn’t know what to do next? Does the system support error-free learning? Do people feel that they, not the machine, are in

“ultimately,” says
Peter Gregor,
“operating a Web
browser should be
as straightforward
as turning up the
volume on a radio.”

control of the interaction at all times?”

No less important, Gregor says, is to understand that older individuals are less enamored with the coolness of technology than they are about getting a specific task done. They also tend to treat machines with respect and are thus less likely to try things out—for fear of damaging or breaking something. “They are more prone to blame themselves when things inevitably go wrong.” As a result, part of the focus for designers, engineers, and others is to educate and train older individuals to use systems effectively.

Wading through the tangle of issues is daunting, to be sure. A tool or feature that simplifies computing for one person may wreak havoc for another. For instance, using a larger font may create a longer page that involves more scrolling. A text-to-speech feature may eliminate the need to actually read the page but also test an older person’s cognitive ability to comprehend everything he’s hearing. What’s more, if the system reads too fast or a person needs to replay a portion of the text and finds that he has to listen to the entire screen again (rather than being able to restart at a given point), he may give up.

However, some designers are beginning to take notice and develop viable solutions. For instance, IBM has introduced Easy Web Browsing (EWB), a set of features that make it simpler for older individuals to traverse the Internet in a user-friendly way. The browsing tool—used by more than 140 Web sites—serves as a bridge between standard Web site design and a format that takes into account factors such as vision loss and lack of experi-

Survey
Scientists
and the
Public

a survey of american scientists and the general public, conducted by the pew research Center for the people & the press, has turned up some surprising results. the public rates scientists very highly, with 70% saying they contribute a lot to society’s well being; only members of the military (84%) and teachers (77%) received a higher rating. However, scientists do not have such a high view of the public’s scientific knowledge and expectations, with 85% of scientists viewing the public’s lack of scientific knowledge as a major problem for science and nearly half of scientists blaming the public for unrealistic expectations about the speed of scientific achievements.

Many scientists fault the
media for its science reporting,
with 76% of scientists saying that
a major problem for science is
the media’s failure to distinguish
between results that are well
founded and those that are not.
in terms of obstacles to
high-quality research, 87% of
scientists rate a lack of funding
as an impediment to research.
Moreover, 56% of scientists
say that visa and immigration
problems for foreign scientists
and students hinder high-quality
research. Both scientists and
the public are in agreement on
the importance of government
funding of research, with 84% of
scientists citing a government
entity as an important source of
funding for their research (49%
cited the national institutes of
Health and 47% cited the national
science Foundation), while 60%
of the public says government
investment in research is
essential for scientific progress.
a majority of the general public
believe that government funding
of basic research (73%) and
engineering and technology (74%)
pay off in the long run.
the pew research survey
was conducted via phone
interviews with 3,006 members
of the public and via an online
survey of a random sample of
2,533 members of the american
association for the advancement
of science, the nation’s largest
general scientific society.