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.