Universal Design is the term used to describe the design of products and environments which can be used by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. It is not a euphemism for ‘designs for people with a disability’, but really is about designing to include all people, regardless of their age, ability, cultural background or status in life. However it remains the case that many designers and developers fail to understand the need for universal design and lack the skills needed to implement it. This book presents papers from the 3rd International Conference on Universal Design (UD 2016), held in York, UK, in August 2016. The theme of the conference was: learning from the past, designing for the future, and it aimed to bring together policymakers, practitioners and researchers interested in the different strands of universal design to exchange ideas and best practice, review some of the developments in universal design from the last 20 years, and formulate strategies for taking the concept of universal design forward into the future. The book is divided into two sections. Section 1: About Universal Design, and Section 2: Universal Design In Practice. The book will be of interest to all those whose work involves design, from the built environment and tangible products to communication, services and systems.

This book addresses a range of topics in design, such as universal design, design for all, digital inclusion, universal usability, and accessibility of technologies for people regardless of their age, financial situation, education, geographic location, culture and language. It especially focuses on accessibility for people with auditory, cognitive, neurological, and visual impairments, ageing populations, and mobility for those with special physical needs. The book explores some of the overlaps between inclusive design and web accessibility to help managers, designers, developers, policy makers, and researchers optimize their efforts in these areas. Based on the AHFE 2018 International Conference on Design for Inclusion, held on July 21–25, 2018, in Orlando, Florida, USA, it discusses new design technologies and highlights the disparate needs of the individuals within a community. Thanks to its multidisciplinary approach, it is a valuable resource for readers from various backgrounds, providing them a timely, practice-oriented guide to design for inclusion.

Universal Design is a process for creating an equitable and sustainable society. It is a concept committed to recognizing and accepting each individual’s potential and characteristics, and promoting the realization of a built environment that does not stigmatize users, but enables everyone to participate fully in their community. This book presents 32 articles from the 5th International Conference on Universal Design (UD2021). Previous Universal Design conferences have been organized biennially, but the 2020 conference was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions, and eventually held online from 9 - 11 June 2021. UD2021 brings together a multidisciplinary group of experts from around the world to share knowledge and best practice with the common goal of shaping the way we design; avoiding stereotyped or discriminatory views and solutions that could stigmatize particular groups of people. The articles are organized into chapters under seven broad themes: universal design and inclusive design; user experience and co-design; access to education and learning environment; web accessibility and usability of technology; architecture and the built environment; mobility and transport; and designing for older people. The current situation has highlighted not only the importance of web accessibility, the user-friendliness of interfaces and remote connections; during the last year, the importance and quality of our daily living environment, access to services and green space has also become ever more obvious. This book will be of particular interest to those working to enable all those with disabilities or impairments to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life.

An environment, or any building product or service in it, should ideally be designed to meet the needs of all those who wish to use it. Universal Design is the design and composition of environments, products, and services so that they can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size, ability or disability. It creates products, services and environments that meet people’s needs. In short, Universal Design is good design. This book presents the proceedings of UD2022, the 6th International Conference on Universal Design, held from 7 - 9 September 2022 in Brescia, Italy. The conference is targeted at professionals and academics interested in the theme of universal design as related to the built environment and the wellbeing of users, but also covers mobility and urban environments, knowledge, and information transfer, bringing together research knowledge and best practice from all over the world. The book contains 72 papers from 13 countries, grouped into 8 sections and covering topics including the design of inclusive natural environments and urban spaces, communities, neighborhoods and cities; housing; healthcare; mobility and transport systems; and universally-designed learning environments, work places, cultural and recreational spaces. One section is devoted to universal design and cultural heritage, which had a particular focus at this edition of the conference. The book reflects the professional and disciplinary diversity represented in the UD movement, and will be of interest to all those whose work involves inclusive design.

The three-volume set LNCS 10277-10279 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the11th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, UAHCI 2017, held as part of the 19th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2017, in Vancouver, BC, Canada in July 2017, jointly with 14 other thematically similar conferences. The total of 1228 papers presented at the HCII 2017 conferences were carefully reviewed and selected from 4340 submissions. The papers included in the three UAHCI 2017 volumes address the following major topics: Design for All Methods and Practice; Accessibility and Usability Guidelines and Evaluation; User and Context Modelling and Monitoring and Interaction Adaptation; Design for Children; Sign Language Processing; Universal Access to Virtual and Augmented Reality; Non Visual and Tactile Interaction; Gesture and Gaze-Based Interaction; Universal Access to Health and Rehabilitation; Universal Access to Education and Learning; Universal Access to Mobility; Universal Access to Information and Media; and Design for Quality of Life Technologies.

Good design is enabling, and each and every one of us is a designer. Universal Design is widely recognized an important concept that should be incorporated in all person-centred policies. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) clearly stipulates that the most effective way of delivering on the promise of an inclusive society is through a Universal Design approach. Sitting at the intersection of the fields of Higher Education and Universal Design, this book presents papers delivered at the Universal Design and Higher Education in Transformation Congress (UDHEIT2018), held in Dublin, Ireland, from 30 October to 2 November 2018. This event brings together key experts from industry, education, and government and non-government organization sectors to share experiences and knowledge with all participants. The 86 papers included here are grouped under 17 headings, or themes, ranging from education and digital learning through healthcare to engagement with industry and urban design. Celebrating and integrating all that is good in design, diversity and education, this book will be a valuable resource for all those interested in the inspiring and empowering developments in both Universal Design and higher education.

This open access book addresses the issue of diffusing sustainable energy access in low- and middle-income contexts. Access to energy is one of the greatest challenges for many people living in low- income and developing contexts, as around 1.4 billion people lack access to electricity. Distributed Renewable Energy systems (DRE) are considered a promising approach to address this challenge and provide energy access to all. However, even if promising, the implementation of DRE systems is not always straightforward. The book analyses, discusses and classifies the promising Sustainable Product-Service System (S.PSS) business models to deliver Distributed Renewable Energy systems in an effective, efficient and sustainable way. Its message is supported with cases studies and examples, discussing the economic, environmental and socioethical benefits as well as its limitations and barriers to its implementation. An innovative design approach is proposed and a set of design tools are supplied, enabling readers to create and develop Sustainable Product-Service System (S.PSS) solutions to deliver Distributed Renewable Energy systems. Practical applications of the book’s design approach and tools by companies and practitioners are discussed and the book will be of interest to readers in design, industry, governmental institutions, NGOs as well as researchers.

Health information technologies are revolutionizing and streamlining healthcare, and uptake continues to rise dramatically. If these technologies are to be effectively implemented, capacity must be built at a regional, national and global level, and the support and involvement of both government and industry will be vital. This book presents the proceedings of the 2017 Information Technology and Communications in Health conference (ITCH 2017), held in Victoria, BC, Canada, in February 2017. The conference considers, from a variety of perspectives, what is required to move the technology forward to real, sustained and widespread use, and the solutions examined range from improvements in usability and training to the need for new and improved design of information systems, user interfaces and interoperable solutions. Government policies, mandates, initiatives and the need for regulation are also explored, as is the requirement for improved interaction between industrial, governmental and academic partners. With its focus on building the next generation of health informatics and the capacity required to deliver better healthcare worldwide, this book will be of interest to all those involved in the provision of healthcare.

Nursing informatics has a long history of focusing on information management and nurses have a long history of describing their computer use. However, based on the technical advances and through the ongoing and consistent changes in healthcare today, we are now challenged to look to the future and help determine what nurses and patients/consumers will need going forward. This book presents the proceedings of the Post Conference to the 13th International Conference on Nursing Informatics, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in June 2016. The theme of the Post Conference is Forecasting Informatics Competencies for Nurses in the Future of Connected Health. This book includes 25 chapters written as part of the Post Conference; a result of the collaboration among nursing informatics experts from research, education and practice settings, from 18 countries, and from varying levels of expertise – those beginning to forge new frontiers in connected health and those who helped form the discipline. The book content will help forecast and define the informatics competencies for nurses in practice, and as such, it will also help outline the requirements for informatics training in nursing programs around the world. The content will aid in shaping the nursing practice that will exist in our future of connected health, when practice and technology will be inextricably intertwined.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the Second EAI international Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for Social Good, GOODTECHS 2016, held in Venice, Italy, November 30 – December 1, 2016. The 38 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 73 submissions. The papers reflect the design, implementation, deployment, operation and evaluation of smart objects and technologies for social good. A social good can be understood as a service that benefits a large number of people in a most possible way. Some classic examples are healthcare, safety, environment, democracy, and human rights, or even art, entertainment, and communication.