Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
physically, by making it easier for elderly people to get on buses;
•
practically, by providing the right information for moving around a city by
public transport, by presenting this information reflecting the special
requirements of the elderly on hearing, vision and speech, and by providing
the means of finding the way through a city using for example a GPS-based
system.
•
3.1. Social inclusion
Social interaction is one of the most important characteristics and needs of human
beings. Social interaction is a natural event that happens between people in everyday
activities, e.g. during shopping, at work or in spare time, and allows individuals to
express their personality and their ideas and also to become fuller more rounded in
character and experience. Human social interaction is the basis of all communities:
both on a personal level and also on the level of a community or society good social
interaction helps to increase the general welfare and quality of life of all members of
the community.
Unfortunately, motor, cognitive and health deficiencies are often barriers to social
interaction and communities face up to and deal with these difficulties inadequately
without giving an effective support to those who are older, disabled or sick. The result
is that most people with deficiencies are excluded from society and often feel
marginalized. This causes damage not only to the life of the individual but also the
whole community is weaker, because it has missed the opportunity of becoming
enriched with many people's experiences, ideas and skills. Most countries have
understood the importance of overcoming barriers to social interaction experienced by
elderly, disabled or sick people and are sponsoring the study and the development of
new strategies, services and means to support social interaction and work towards
greater inclusion of these individuals in community activities.
Research that considers social inclusion in communities of elderly and not self-
sufficient people should deal with various aspects of social interaction, including the
expression of creativity, experience exchange, and participation in community
activities.
3.1.1.
Participation in community activities
In most cases, elderly and disabled persons do not participate actively in activities in
their community because society does not put them in the position of being able to take
part in such activities.
Elderly and disabled people are individuals in their own right in a community and,
for this reason, supporting them fully to enable them to participate in social and
community events is important.
This aim concerns the information, the participation, and also the physical access
to public services and buildings. European communities are already working on these
aspects but more need to be done, including the wider use of technological applications.
In many cities, local newspapers are the means of informing citizens about local
news, events and political decisions. New technologies can provide fresh solutions to
facilitate access to news and to allow active interaction in a community's events and
decisions. Scenario 5 describes a possible example of systems to inform elderly about
news and social events.
