DIADEM project

Solution for everybody!!

Older adults are now spending more time online. However they use web services less often and have less experience with them than younger adults, due to their age related declines in abilities. Lack of web service use puts older adults at a disadvantage in terms of their abilities to live and function independently. This research project Delivering Inclusive Access to Disabled and Elderly Members (DIADEM) is developing an innovative assistive technology which will ensure that the many services available over the Internet are open and accessible to as many older adults as possible.

View Screen demo

Why Diadem?

People in developed world are living longer and longer. However, many of the older adults feel excluded. To overcome their isolation and generally improve their quality of life, older adults are now spending more time online. But older adults are often ill at ease when face with online activities due to many reasons. One major reason is a declining in cognitive abilities due to aging. Many experts consider that healthy older adults experience mild decline in some areas of cognition - age related cognitive decline (ARCD). People who suffer from ARCD can experience a weakening of attention, memory, and other cognitive abilities as well. The evidence shows that the ARCD have detrimental affect on use of online services by older adults. To address this problem, the project Delivering Inclusive Access to Disabled and Elderly Members of the community (DIADEM) is taking leading role to use latest assistive web technology to help older adults to overcome their difficulties when using online services and discover eminence life.

Partners

The DIADEM project has brought together a strong consortium of partners with complementary interests, skills, knowledge and capabilities.

DIADEM project

The DIADEM project brings together seven research teams from three EU countries (the UK, Norway and Italy). It mainly focuses online forms and develops an assistive web base technology. This technology employs Expert System techniques to analyse older adult users’ behaviour when they interact with online forms. Using this analysis the DIADEM technology adapts and personalises computer interface so that they can interact with online forms with fewer difficulties.

Resources

The DIADEM is a collaborative research project. At the heart of this collaborative research is pooling of diverse skills, experiences and knowledge scattered in three countries. The collaboration also creates a partnership between the university and the private and public organisations. As a result the project produced valuable resources for the academic, practitioner and older adult user community.