Speakers and Topics:
The Joy of Cheques: Banking without the Banks: In this presentation John Vines (Northumbria Design/Culture Lab) will talk about our recent work that has explored the banking experiences of people over eighty years old, an age group whom are typically ignored by the banking industry. In the talk John will focus on one particularly pertinent ‘technology’ to this group: the cheque. A cheque is a paper document that orders the transfer of money between bank accounts. Whilst an eighty-year-old in the UK is predicted on average to live at least another ten years, cheques may not. Despite many older peoples extensive use of cheques, UK banks are eager to abolish them and design electronic alternatives that are less costly to process and less vulnerable to fraud. As will be explained, cheques support financial collaboration with others in ways that digital payment systems do not. From the collaborative qualities of cheques emerges an intimate network of trust between the known and unknown – and whilst it might be possible to improve the design of digital payment systems to better support financial collaboration, the case for retaining and enhancing cheques is stronger. The implication here, therefore, is rather than design a new cheque we should design for its survival without the banks. Find more about John and his work here: http://www.johnvines.eu/
Dali: Designing Assisted Locomotion Innovations by Lynne Coventry (PaCT Lab). Ageing is generally associated with a decrease in mobility and social interaction. A growing body of research suggests that reduced levels of out-of-home mobility can have widespread, detrimental effects for older adults. Adults for whom mobility is a problem suffer in a variety of ways. Not only are their social lives restricted but they are also more limited in terms of their access to good nutrition, leisure and other activities. Shopping has been found to be a useful way of maintaining physical exercise as well as providing the opportunity for social interaction. However, older adults can lose confidence in their ability to go out independently, particularly in unfamiliar and crowded spaces and may start to withdraw into their homes. This talk will introduce you to our FP7 funded project (Dali) which is looking to develop an intelligent walker. This mobility aid supports navigation in crowded and unstructured spaces by acquiring sensory information, by anticipating the intent of human agents and by deciding the path that minimises the risk of collisions with people or obstacles. The walker is aimed at providing physical, cognitive and emotional support to older adults in public environments such as shopping centres and airports. Find more about Lynne and her work here.
Location and Time:
Wednesday, 25th of January 2012, 16:00 – 17:30; at Culture Lab Newcastle University.
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