International Society for Gerontechnology
TU/e, Matrix 1.06,
PO box 513
5600 MB Eindhoven
The Netherlands
Fax: +31 40 2475923
Dear ISG-Member,
From 4 till 7 of June, 2008 the International Society for Gerontechnology will hold its 6th conference in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy! If you register before the 31ste of January you are eligible to a early bird discount. See http://www.isg08.org/registration.html for more details.
Furthermore, if you want to, you can still submit a paper:
Authors are invited to submit individual contributions in format for publication to any of the Conference topics listed in the Call for Papers.
Topics include, but are not limited to:
ACTIVE AGEING AND LEISURE
AGEING-IN-PLACE: THE SMART LIVING ENVIRONMENT
BIOMECHANICS OF AGEING
BIOROBOTICS FOR ACTIVE LONGEVITY
CARE SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY
COGNITIVE AGEING
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
INCLUSIVE DESIGN AND ERGONOMICS
MOBILITY: DRIVING AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
SOCIAL POLICY
STAY CONNECTED: ICT FOR AN AGEING SOCIETY
WORKING CONDITIONS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The topics listed above shall be used to classify your paper when submitting.
Deadlines
January 31, 2008 (23:59 GMT) - Submission of extended abstracts.
March 7, 2008 (23:59 GMT) - Notification of paper/poster acceptance.
April 1, 2008 (23:59 GMT) - Author registration and submission of final papers.
Below you can find a message from the program director.
With kind regards,
Mr. J. Knies
Assistant Secretary Gerontechnology Quarterly Journal, Official Journal of the
International Society for Gerontechnology (ISG)
Visit http://www.jdc.org.il/mailman/listinfo/isg_discussion and become a member of the gerontechnology discussion list
Dear Friend,
As you know, one major aspect of today's society is the significant increase in longevity and the progressive ageing of the population in all countries. By 2025, the over-60's population will have increased by 66% in Europe, and will constitute about 30% of the population. There will be a particular increase in the over-75's and over-85's, amounting to around 15% and 2.5%, respectively, of the total.
At the same time, the demand for self-sufficiency is increasing among senior citizens who, although their functions are in a way disabled "by exhaustion", choose to continue living in their own homes or in any case want to have a greater degree of independence. As a result, there will be an increase in the demand for social involvement, mobility, productivity, use of free time, personal care and attention, which the social and territorial infrastructures will have to make the necessary adjustments for. Society has a stake in finding ways to improve quality of life, to reduce healthcare costs, and to extend the independence of older people.
Technology can provide important solutions to these issues and many groups are now working in this direction. Multiple nations are launching or are already executing initiatives to better understand how technology may be used to support an aging society as well as form the basis of new markets for export. Countless universities around the world are developing robust research agendas to develop technology to respond to the needs of older adults as well as their caregivers. Likewise, many small businesses – as well as global giants – such as Intel, Microsoft, Matsushita, and General Electric are investing in new products and services to meet the demands of a grayer marketplace.
Gerontechnology - term born in Europe just prior to the 1990's as a composite of a two words: "gerontology", the scientific study of aging, and "technology" - is concerned with research on the biological, psychological, social, and medical aspects of ageing exploiting the potentials offered by the progress of technology. The number of research centres and private companies working in this field strongly increasing worldwide.
The 6th Conference of the International Society for Gerontechnology - ISG08 - will be gathering gerontechnology specialists from around the world in Italy in 2008. The conference is staged about once every three years, and it is now back in Europe after nine years. More details about ISG08 can be found at the conference site: http://www.isg08.org .
This time, the conference will be host in Pisa placed in Tuscany, an Italian region sensitive to issues related to increasing aging of population. Tuscany is a very attractive region for many European senior citizens to retire, due to a unique mix of cultural heritage and quality of life with an extraordinary wealth of artistic and cultural heritage, deep attention to preserving the environment and social relations, excellent climate, good food and a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
ISG08 is intended to be a forum where all the people involved in activities on gerontechnology (robotics researchers, architects, biomedical engineers, neuroscientists, biologists, experts in political science and economics, and scientists from many other communities) will meet and interact, present results and discuss about current and future research lines and about the tools usable to move innovative technologies and services into seniors lives to expand market opportunities.
The conference theme is SMART TECHNOLOGY FOR ACTIVE LONGEVITY. The programme of ISG08 will include not only the papers, but many other events of high impact: five plenary lectures delivered by worldwide renowned leaders, many workshops and tutorials on a range of emerging and important technical and non technical topics, students events, exhibitions, practical demos, and many others.
Undoubtedly, this is the right target, the right place and the right moment for you to promote your research activities and products from highly qualified scientific theatre towards the global market, to present their scientific products to this community, to learn about most recent advancements in gerontechnologies.
I look forward to seeing you at ISG08!
Professor Paolo Dario
ISG 2008 General and Program Chair
