Introduction
"The United States is about to experience the greatest demographic change in its history. Most of this change will
occur over the next 30 years, as 77 million baby boomers cease to work and pay payroll taxes and instead start to retire and collect
benefits."
-The National Center for Policy Analysis, Study 273
This issue can best be addressed by integrating the knowledge and perspectives of social science, computer science, and in
partnership with potential elderly recipients of the technology. Social scientists can best understand the potential of the
technology, examine the ways aging clients might use it in their own context, and determine what challenges must be overcome
for success. Technologists can provide reconfigurable experimental systems supporting field tests designed to provide empirical
data that can be used as dynamic feedback into this analysis. Together, these synergistic activities can provide systems for studying
the broader introduction of technology to the aging population.
