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A survey of technology accessibility problems faced by older users in China

Published: 20 April 2009 Publication History

Abstract

Internet accessibility for older users has become an important issue to promote inclusion and participation in the Information Society. In this paper, we propose an investigation into the technology accessibility problems faced by the elderly in China. We have conducted the research by means of an exploratory survey with a Web-based questionnaire and held discussions with older users at meetings. The study had 180 valid answers and involved representatives from each of the 25 provinces of China. The results show that 39% of the participants cannot or can only partially access information because of all kinds of accessibility problems in China. Many participants indicated that the main problems in the getting on the Internet were the health barrier, the circumstance barrier, and the Internet design barrier. The possible reason for these difficulties could be that the government doesn't foster a social environment conducive to helping the elderly get online, and that it does not provide services for the elderly designed to help them access information electronically. The poor rate of industry accessibility for the elderly, as well as the lack of the Chinese accessibility laws, is an important issue that must be dealt with to promote greater Internet accessibility for the elderly.

References

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CINIC, Statistical Reports on the Internet Development in China, Available online at http://www.cnnic.cn/en/index/00/02/index.htm
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Lijuan Du, Zi Lu, Yanli Li, Shifeng Wu, Lijie Qiao. Research on Aged People's Attitude and Strategies on Applying Internet in China: A Case Study of Information Search and Email Reception - Dispatch(in Chinese), Geography and Geo-Information Science, Vol. 23 No. 4, July 2007
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Cited By

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  • (2024)Gaining Technological Autonomy and Soci-emotional Support: A Case Study of How and Why Chinese Older Adults Engage with a Semi-acquaintance Online CommunityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36869808:CSCW2(1-35)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
  • (2021)On the way to autonomous driving: How age influences the acceptance of driver assistance systemsTransportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour10.1016/j.trf.2021.07.00681(586-607)Online publication date: Aug-2021
  • (2015)Introducing Ambient Assisted Living Technology at the Home of the ElderlyProceedings of the 7th International Work-Conference on Ambient Assisted Living. ICT-based Solutions in Real Life Situations - Volume 945510.1007/978-3-319-26410-3_12(125-136)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2015
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cover image ACM Other conferences
W4A '09: Proceedings of the 2009 International Cross-Disciplinary Conference on Web Accessibililty (W4A)
April 2009
189 pages
ISBN:9781605585611
DOI:10.1145/1535654
Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Published: 20 April 2009

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Author Tags

  1. accessibility
  2. internet
  3. older users
  4. survey

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W4A '09
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  • Microsoft

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Overall Acceptance Rate 171 of 371 submissions, 46%

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Cited By

View all
  • (2024)Gaining Technological Autonomy and Soci-emotional Support: A Case Study of How and Why Chinese Older Adults Engage with a Semi-acquaintance Online CommunityProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36869808:CSCW2(1-35)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
  • (2021)On the way to autonomous driving: How age influences the acceptance of driver assistance systemsTransportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour10.1016/j.trf.2021.07.00681(586-607)Online publication date: Aug-2021
  • (2015)Introducing Ambient Assisted Living Technology at the Home of the ElderlyProceedings of the 7th International Work-Conference on Ambient Assisted Living. ICT-based Solutions in Real Life Situations - Volume 945510.1007/978-3-319-26410-3_12(125-136)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2015
  • (2012)Revisiting personasCHI '12 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/2212776.2212822(453-468)Online publication date: 5-May-2012
  • (2010)Redefining assumptionsProceedings of the 12th international conference on Computers helping people with special needs: Part I10.5555/1886667.1886771(561-568)Online publication date: 14-Jul-2010
  • (2010)Redefining Assumptions: Accessibility and Its StakeholdersComputers Helping People with Special Needs10.1007/978-3-642-14097-6_90(561-568)Online publication date: 2010

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