Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
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PAPERS: Studying Older People - Theories and Methods Location: 50 George Square, G.04 Zoom Link Accessibility: https://www.accessable.co.uk/the-university-of-edinburgh/central-area/access-guides/george-square-50 Session Chair: Stella Boess, Delft University of Technology Session Chair: Abdusselam Cifter, Brunel University of London | |
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Designing Inclusive Virtual Reality Experiences for Older Adults: Enhancing Digital Engagement and Challenging Digital Ageism 1: University of Southampton, United Kingdom; 2: Guangxi Normal University, China As global population ageing accelerates, virtual reality (VR) offers new opportunities to enhance older adults’ wellbeing, cultural participation, and social connection. Existing VR research concerning older adults has predominantly concentrated on medical or clinical applications. In contrast, this study investigates the potential affordances of VR for this population within cultural and entertainment domains. Through Participatory Design workshops with ten adults aged 60+ in UK, this study explores older adults’ user experience with VR and proposes recommendations for age-inclusive VR design. Results show that complex multi-step operations, dual-hand coordination, and complex menu structures create high cognitive load and reduce user confidence. Participants also faced sensory–perceptual challenges and reported limited access to VR in daily life, though they expressed strong interest in using VR for cultural and social engagement. The study also reflects on methodological challenges such as sampling bias and the early developmental stage of age-inclusive VR research. View Paper: https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.2327
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