TACCESS Special Issue on Aging and Information Technologies

Call for Papers:
Special Issue of ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing (TACCESS)
On
Aging and Information Technologies

Guest Editors: Sara J. Czaja, Peter Gregor, Vicki L. Hanson

It is well known that older adults will comprise an increasing proportion of
the population of the US, Europe, and other post-industrial areas in the
coming decades. At the same time, information technologies are increasingly
being used in most societal contexts and for a broad array of tasks at work,
social communication, health care and consumer services. Problems of older
users when dealing with new technologies are quite widely reported. This
Special Issue will explore specific opportunities and challenges and
solutions for older adults and the increasing deployment of complex IT
systems.  

The aim of this Special Issue is to present high quality and original
manuscripts related to the topic of aging and information systems that will
contribute to the design of systems that support the needs and preferences of
older users. Manuscripts must be original, but significant expansions and
revisions of papers recently presented at conferences are specifically
permitted. Possible topics include: 

  Empirical studies of issues related to the usability of systems by older
  people (e.g., design of input devices, software design, hardware design,
  training, help systems).  

  Empirical studies related to the use of technology in specific
  contexts/tasks by older people (e.g., the workplace, home environments,
  service settings).  

  Empirical studies related to the impact of IT on outcomes such as task
  performance, health/stress, communication, social support and quality of
  life. 

  Empirical studies related to systems to support care and care-giving for
  older adults 

  Empirical studies related to barriers to success, strategies to improve
  technology adoption. 


Submission process

Submissions should follow the journal's suggested writing format
(http://www.is.umbc.edu/taccess/authors.html) and should be submitted through
Manuscript Central http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/taccess , indicating that
the paper is intended for the Special Issue. All papers will be subject to
the peer review process and final decisions regarding publication will be
based on this review. 


Important dates:

Letter or paragraph of intent sent to Sara Czaja (sczaja@med.miami.edu):
                         22nd October  2008
Full paper submission:   15th November 2008 
Response to authors:     15th January  2009
Final version of papers: 20th February 2009