Ebook: Computers Helping People with Special Needs: 9th International Conference, ICCHP 2004, Paris, France, July 7-9, 2004. Proceedings

The introduction to the 1st International Conference on Computers for Han- cappedPersons(Vienna,1989)byAMinTjoa(UniversityofVienna)andRoland Wagner(UniversityofLinz)?nishedwiththefollowingmissionstatementonthe “Future Direction on Computers for Handicapped Persons”: “The di?erent themes show that a lot of problems are solved by the usage of computer technology for helping handicapped persons, for instance for the blind and visually handicapped. A consequence of the discussed themes there are two directions which should be done in the next years. One direction is obvious. The tools must be improved and research and development work should be extended to all groups of handicapped (even if they are numerically not so large as for instancetheblindorvisuallyhandicappedpersons). Ontheothersideinthearea of social implications there is an increasing demand on social science studies on overall computer use among disabled persons. Because sources are in principle missing today about disabled persons work tasks, research in this ?eld must begin by trying to survey this aspect. Particular attention should be paid to the extent and character of computer use among the handicapped in work life. There are a lot of questions, which should be answered during the next years for reaching the aim of rehabilitation. ” Fifteen years later the 9th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (Paris, 2004) o?ered a comprehensive and deepened view on general awareness,special research and individual applications conce- ing disabled people and their participation in our society.

This book consitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs, ICCHP 2004, held in Paris, France in July 2004.

The 172 revised contributions presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers evaluate how various fields in computer science can contribute to helping people with various kinds of disabilities. Among the technical fields evaluated are information systems, Web and Internet, the information society, computer-assisted education, human-computer interaction, interface design, virtual reality, mobile computing, ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing, assistive technology, multimedia, display technology, haptic computing, audio interfaces, ad societal and administrative issues.