Dementia work webcast to the world

Key work being carried out at the University of Dundee on using information and communications technology to alleviate the effects of dementia has been broadcast live world-wide.

Dr Norman Alm, Senior Lecturer in the Division of Applied Computing, recently gave a presentation at a symposium on Scotland's ageing population in Edinburgh.

The event, organised by the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland, marked the first time an RSE event has been presented as a live "webcast" which anyone can log on to through the internet.

Dr Alm talked about work being done at the University in developing computer-based support for people with dementia and their families and carers.

"It is great that we are using facilities such as webcasting now to make a presentation much more accessible - a fine example of making good practical use of technology," said Dr Alm.

"The emphasis of my talk was on developing technology which is appropriate, usable and acceptable, instead of just throwing computers at the problem."

"Another key point is the importance of multidisciplinary approaches of finding solutions to this increasing challenge. One of the examples of this is the CIRCA project, which was jointly developed by Dundee and St Andrews Universities, with the team including psychologists from St Andrews, designers from Duncan of Jordanstone College at Dundee University, and software engineers from Applied Computing at Dundee. It took all three disciplines to make sure the system was appropriate, usable and acceptable."