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Ergonomic Design of Human–Computer Interfaces for Aging Users

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Age-Differentiated Work Systems

Abstract

The demographic changes taking place in many industrialized countries and the increased use of information technology in the workplace are creating an urgent need to carefully consider how older users work with computing systems. The changes in perceptual, cognitive and motor skills that often accompany the aging process can have important implications for the design of the human–computer interface. We investigated human–computer interaction exemplarily on the basis of self-developed project management application software for two reasons. First, computer aided project management (CAPM) is important in many manufacturing and service industries; and second, older workers are often responsible for the coordination and controlling of complex projects due to their extensive experience and excellent communication skills.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the German Research Foundation (DFG) for its kind support of research into age-differentiated design for the human–computer interface under Priority Program No. 1184, Age-Differentiated Work Systems (project funding reference number SCHL 1,805/1−3). We would also like to thank all the study participants for their contributions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics, RWTH Aachen University, Bergdriesch 27, Aachen, 52062, Germany

    Christopher M. Schlick, Sebastian Vetter, Jennifer Bützler, Nicole Jochems & Susanne Mütze-Niewöhner

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  1. Christopher M. Schlick
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  2. Sebastian Vetter
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Correspondence to Christopher M. Schlick .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Inst. of Industrial Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Bergdriesch 27, Aachen, 52062, Germany

    Christopher Marc Schlick

  2. , Institute of Industrial Science, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Straße 40, Kassel, 34132, Germany

    Ekkehart Frieling

  3. , Inst. of Work-, Organisational- and, TU Dresden, Zellescher Weg 17, Dresden, 01062, Germany

    Jürgen Wegge

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Schlick, C.M., Vetter, S., Bützler, J., Jochems, N., Mütze-Niewöhner, S. (2013). Ergonomic Design of Human–Computer Interfaces for Aging Users. In: Schlick, C., Frieling, E., Wegge, J. (eds) Age-Differentiated Work Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35057-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35057-3_15

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