MJ Ellis Distinguished Lecture Series, 1999
"Universal Design in the Information Society: A Utopia or a Challenge?"
April 23rd, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Levis Faculty Center
Dr. Constantine Stephanidis
Institute of Computer Science of the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (ICS - FORTH), Heraklion, Grece.
Abstract
The incremental and continuous fusion of the computer, telecommunications, consumer electronics and media industries, progressively leads to radical changes in the type, nature and organization of our society. The far-reaching effects of these changes will have catalytic impact on the way humans interact with information and with each other. In this context, the principles around which the emerging Information Society is to be built will determine, to a large extent, our commitments and priorities in the formulation of research policy, the direction of technological developments and ultimately the acceptability of the envisioned society by its citizens.
This lecture will focus on the 'accessibility' of the Information Society by the broadest possible end-user population, in particular people with disabilities. It will also review and assess recent efforts in the direction of attaining accessibility through universal design (or design for all). The lecture will address three main themes.
Firstly, the complexity underpinning generic solutions to accessibility will be unfolded and traditional (i.e., 'reactive') versus more recent (i.e., 'proactive') perspectives will be contrasted. To this end, the reactive paradigm (post-development adaptations and specialized design) which characterizes the Assistive Technology field today is reviewed, and the requirements for a proactive approach that, from the early stages of design, accounts for the widely ranging end-user abilities, requirements, skills and preferences will be elaborated.
Secondly, an overview of technological efforts will be presented highlighting the concept of user interfaces for all. This concept constitutes a multidisciplinary research theme aiming to advance a proposal for interaction design that builds upon, and substantiates, the principles of universal design in the context of Human Computer Interaction (HCI).
Finally, some of the economic and policy issues that come into play when envisioning an Information Society for all citizens will be addressed. To this effect, the lecture will discuss the critical impact of support measures (e.g., standardization, legislation, industrial policy) on the establishment of an environment favorable to universal design, as well as the role of non-market institutions in facilitating socially-desirable innovations.
Extensive reference will be made to several research projects and their respective results in order to highlight the state of the art in universal design in HCI, as well as current research challenges and the way in which they are being addressed in the context of international collaboration.
Biography
Constantine Stephanidis is Director of the Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, Head of the Human - Computer Interaction Laboratory, and Head of the Centre for Universal Access and Assistive Technologies. He is also member of the Faculty at the Department of Computer Science of the University of Crete. At present, he serves as President of the Board of Directors of the Science and Technology Park of Crete.
Since the late 80s, Prof. Stephanidis has been actively involved in activities contributing to the European Commission R&D Policy on Information Society, and in particular on issues related to Universal Access and e-Inclusion. Currently, he is a member of the Management Committee of the Information Society Technologies Programme of the 6th Framework Programme of the European Commission and member of the EC eAccessibility Expert Group.
He is also Coordinator of the Task Force on Universal Access and Usability in the Information Society (Secretariat for the Information Society, Hellenic Ministry of Economy and Finance) and Coordinator of the GR-DeAN National Network, the Greek node of the European Design for All e-Accessibility Network (EDeAN).
For many years, Prof. Stephanidis has been engaged as Prime Investigator in pioneering research work in the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Universal Access, partly funded by the European Commission. In the beginning of the '90s he introduced the concept of "User Interfaces for All" as a socio-technical goal in the Information Society. He has published more than 300 technical papers in scientific archival journals, proceedings of international conferences and workshops related to his fields of expertise. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Springer international journal "Universal Access in the Information Society", and the Editor of the book "User Interfaces for All - concepts, methods and tools" published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. He is the Founding Chair of the ERCIM Working Group "User Interfaces for All" and General Chair of its Workshop series. During the period 1997 - 2000 he was the Founding Chair of the International Scientific Forum "Towards an Information Society for All", in the context of which he edited White Papers concerning the roadmap and R&D agenda towards an Information Society for All. Since 2001 he is the Founding Chair of the International Conference "Universal Access in Human - Computer Interaction".
