From the category archives:

aging

Careers in Human Factors & Aging

by Richard Pak

A graduate student contacted me with questions about career paths for those of us in HF with an aging background.  This sounded like a great opportunity for discussion so I’m posting it here.  If you can contribute responses to any or all of these questions, please leave a comment!
I am giving a presentation on the Aging Technical Group [of the [...]

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HF Graduate Programs: North Carolina State University

by Anne McLaughlin
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This is the second post in our 2-part look at some HF programs.  Rich’s post about Clemson’s program can be found here.

The psychology graduate program at NCSU in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A, boasts eight faculty in the Human Factors and Ergonomics specialization. This is in addition to the faculty in our sister program in Industrial Engineering and related faculty in [...]

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HF Graduate Programs: Clemson University

by Richard Pak
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This is the first post in our 2-part look at some HF programs. Anne’s post about North Carolina State University’s program can be found here.
Did you know that Human Factors is not only a fun blog, but something you could get a graduate degree in?  The field is known by many names but they are the same, more or [...]

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HF Potpourri

by Richard Pak
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James Rubinstein sends along a this post about a 32 inch LCD TV presumably designed for older users.  It has features such as a dramatically simplified remote control, fewer wires, and a shut-off timer.  [Engadget]
Designing Devices is a relatively new blog devoted to “how and why to create devices” from Dan Saffer (author of Designing for Interaction).  I’m loving the [...]

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Vision-themed Potpourri

by Richard Pak
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Today’s potpourri happens to be related to understanding or enhancing what your users see (or don’t see):

Google Browser Size let’s you see how much of your web content is visible by users.
Rocker Lou Reed (of the Velvet Underground) designs an iPhone app for near-sighted users.  It basically increases the font size in the contacts application.  It appears that Mr. [...]

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HF Potpourri

by Richard Pak
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More potpourri from the web:

Jakob Nielsen has a new book on using eye-tracking in web usability. View a 32 page chapter PDF (26 mb) for free (via PhotoshopSupport).
Using autistics for software quality-control work. Would this work for usability? An obsessive attention to detail is good for design/usability (via Slashdot)
The HF/usability company HumanCentric held an internal competition to [...]

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Human Factors and Healthcare: The older patient & nurse

by Richard Pak
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I‘ve recently published two papers on the topic of human factors and healthcare. Each paper covers a different “stakeholder”: the older patient and the nurse.  The first paper is available for free but the second paper (a collaboration with my architect colleague Dina Battisto) is available at your local library (or you can request a PDF reprint from me).
Pak, R., [...]

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Medication Adherence Case Study

by Anne McLaughlin
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I talked with an 80 year old man last weekend about how he remembers to take his medication. His solution?
Put all the pills in one bottle and take out what he needs each day. It appears to be an anti-organizer.
If you or your loved ones are more interested in environmental support, a new free application created by Consumer Reports [...]

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HFES Conference in San Antonio, Part 4 – Hearing and Understanding

by Anne McLaughlin

The paper described in this post was part of the Aging Technical Group sessions at HFES.
Hearing Levels Affect Higher-Order Cognitive Performance – Carryl L. Baldwin, George Mason University
Perhaps I was excited by this talk because I could see how the information could be used in the book Rich and I are working on. This presentation was a fascinating exploration of [...]

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HFES Conference in San Antonio, Part 3 – Health/Internet…and ROBOTS!

by Richard Pak
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One of my major interests at the moment is in the use of technological tools (primarily the Web) in the management of health.  So it was with great pleasure that there was so much research on this topic (I will mention more in future posts).
The first was presented in the Aging session (where Anne was program chair).  Jessie [...]

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Consequences of Mobile Phone Usability…big consequences

by Richard Pak
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Time.com is reporting that part of the economic recession may have been caused by Warren Buffet not being able to check his voice mail:
as Buffett was rushing out to a social engagement in Edmonton, Alberta, he got a call from Bob Diamond, the head of Barclays Capital…[ed. Diamond was creating a plan to save an investment bank and needed money [...]

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HF/Usability Hodgepodge

by Richard Pak

Things too small for their own post but interesting nonetheless…it’s a hodgepodge, a mélange, a potpourri!

Stay in touch with those who don’t have or want a computer (via Gadgeteer)
“upgrading customer usability without breaking the bank” (via UXforward)
If Craigslist got a makeover, what might it look like? (Wired)
Men and women use car navigation systems differently (GPSworld)

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Two HF Driving News Articles

by Anne McLaughlin

1. Although I had trouble finding corroborating sources, it looks as though the government of Samoa is going to switch what side of the road people drive on in a few weeks. You don’t have to be a human factors expert to guess at the trouble this will cause.
2. New study says older drivers are not “such a hazard.”
What I [...]

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Population Trends: Age

by Anne McLaughlin

Perhaps you are like me, and always looking for great images to put in your presentations about why it’s important to consider aging in human factors work. Or perhaps you just like a good, creative visualization. Well, here you go on both counts.
This comes courtesy of Mark Thoma of the Economist’s View blog, created from census data. It shows the [...]

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Time.com article on Anne’s research with Games & Aging

by Richard Pak
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Our own Anne McLaughlin was featured in a recent article in Time.com.  Anne and her colleagues Jason Allaire (NCSU) and Maribeth Gandy (Georgia Tech) were recently awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study using games to moderate cognitive decline in older adults.
Their plan is to study what parts of games might help cognitive performance and [...]

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Is Older Adult Interest in the Wii Interface Just Hype?: or “I want to try bowling”

by Anne McLaughlin

I’d like to share a conversation with my mother that occurred today. She is in her 60s, and although she uses a computer for communication, has never even played solitaire or shown any interest in a video game.
Nikki says:
The wee? Is a game that lets you think you are doing a sport?
Anne says:
Yes, you use the controller, that looks like [...]

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