Inclusive Social Computing

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This research will design, build, and evaluate novel collaborative technologies to improve accessibility to social environments in later life. The project will focus on three principal objectives spanning different populations and contexts that together cover a diversity of needs. The first objective will address the intimate communication needs of individuals with aphasia, an acquired language impairment that often arises late in life as the result of a stroke. Support for close familial relationships has been overlooked by research to date even though many individuals struggle to maintain close social relationships after acquiring aphasia. The Chair will work with people with aphasia and their partners to design and evaluate novel technologies to address their unique communication needs. The second objective will increase opportunities for individuals with mild to moderate stage dementia to engage in group interaction online. The Chair's recent research on community based social sharing has detailed the ways in-person group settings can leverage props, other people, and the environment to enable active participation in group activities. Effective remote support would provide additional opportunities that can be especially valuable when in-person interaction is either not available or accessible, but new designs are needed to inclusively support people with dementia in these environments. The third objective will develop collaborative tools to enable older adults to access remote support from family and friends to aid in the learning of new technologies. Older adults have become increasingly comfortable and experienced with technologies like mobile phones and tablets, but some have difficulty accessing learning support when acquiring new tools. Though personal support from family and friends is highly valued, it is not always easily available. The tools developed by the Chair's research will facilitate access to these preferred resources. Across all three objectives is a focus on accessibility needs related to aging. The program of research is unique in its focus on sharing accessibility work more equitably across people, enabling older adults to leverage support from their network.