Economic studies have shown that living in poverty may produce a subjective feeling of scarcity, which affects people's cognitive functions and decision-making. Understanding this mechanism could inform healthcare designers on designing inclusive health interventions by considering the psychological scarcity and limited cognitive resources of impoverished individuals. We conducted a psychological experiment to test the impact of psychological scarcity on cognitive function and health decisions of rural residents in China. We randomly assign participants to two financial scenarios (hard vs. easy) with the technique of priming to induce their immediate financial worries. Then we measure cognitive function using Raven’s Progressive Matrices and uncover their decision-making priorities with a budget allocation task. 301 participants finished the study and 264 were included in the main analysis. The results show that both immediate financial worries and cumulative poverty have negative effects on participants’ cognitive performance. Responses to scarcity could lead to attentional focus on limited resources, thereby neglecting long-term health consequences, particularly for the lower income group. Based on the findings, we suggest a number of human factors design considerations that are critical to successful healthcare design.

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There are great potential benefits to a company of engaging in inclusive design (ID), that is, in designing for a wide range of potential users, including those who are older or have disabilities. Doing so can have significant commercial benefits, tapping into a large and growing number of older and disabled consumers, as well as meeting legislative requirements. However, while many companies agree with this, many still target young, able-bodied people. As part of the research into ID, it is important to understand why this is so and to identify barriers to and drivers for the adoption of ID by industry. Furthermore, it is useful to identify whether there are any groupings amongst companies that would influence their adoption of ID and the strategies for convincing them of its usefulness. This paper therefore presents the results of exploratory statistical analysis of data from a questionnaire survey of industry's response to ID, consisting of 99 response sets from companies representing manufacturing, retailing, ICT, design and communication industries predominantly in the south of the United Kingdom. Both cluster and factor analysis were applied to the set of companies to elicit groupings on the basis of their responses to questions. These groupings are used to identify four main kinds of companies that respond to ID in different ways. Suggestions are provided for how ID materials can be tailored to meet the needs of these companies, by emphasizing different barriers and drivers and their application to the particular needs of these kinds of companies.@en

Two case studies of inclusive product design are presented in this paper: the Selectronic Shower of a UK-based manufacturer and the Bahco Rx Cutter by Ergonomidesign, Sweden. The initiatives of the two projects and their design process were investigated, and the business case discussed. Based on evidence, we concluded that inclusive design is cost-effective.@en

Although there are great potential benefits to companies of widening their target market to include older and disabled users, many companies still target a narrow range of users. In the context of research into inclusive design, we are addressing this by conducting a survey of UK companies to examine their awareness of inclusive design, the barriers to it in their companies and the drivers that would encourage them to design more inclusively. In this paper, we summarise results from the first 87 companies and discuss their implications for the development of inclusive design promotion and support tools.@en

Inclusive or universal design is about designing more accessible products and services for the widest possible range of users, regardless of age and capabilities. It requires better understanding and empathy with all potential users. Traditional user research methods are limited in accommodating a wide range of users and hence there is a need to find more appropriate methods of user research for inclusive design. This paper describes a method called 'Critical User Forums' which involves direct interaction between design teams and a mixed group of users with severe disabilities. The evaluation of the effectiveness of this method for inclusive design is based on the interviews of eight UK design consultancies that took part in a design competition, emphasising inclusive design and involving users, known as the 'DBA Design Challenge'. The contribution of critical users to the DBA projects is discussed and the design teams' viewpoints on such user involvement in the process are investigated. The paper concludes that Critical User Forums provide an ideal chance for designers to understand a wider range of users through direct interaction with them, thus helping designers build empathy with all potential users.@en

Despite increasing discussion in academia, genuinely 'inclusive' design in industry remains the exception rather than the rule. Based on literature reviews and industry surveys, this paper explores the barriers faced by manufacturers, retailers and design consultancies in adopting inclusive design. Drivers for practising inclusive design are also investigated. Using information about such barriers and drivers and linking them to business objectives, a basic framework for the business case for inclusive design is proposed. The paper contributes to the in-depth understanding of industry barriers and motivations for inclusive design and forms the basis for further research into the business case in an inclusive design context. The paper provides an insight into industry practice that is applicable to the design of User Interfaces for All.

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In the past twenty years, a number of resources and tools to support inclusive design have been developed. However, the impact of these resources and tools on industry is not evident -few industrialists have been using them in practice. Investigations into industry have identified unmet needs, for example, the lack of appropriate user data relating to inclusive design. The fundamental problem is that few resources and tools have been developed based on rigorous requirements capture. In fact, many of them were developed only because the developers think the information could be useful. It is essential to prepare a detailed requirements list when clarifying the task at the product planning stage. This is also true for developing resources and tools for inclusive design. Requirements capture plays an important role in identifying real needs from users and developing appropriate methods of support for them. This paper starts with a survey of available resources and tools for inclusive design, and a discussion on their merits and deficiencies in respect to industry application. A number of methods are employed for the requirements capture for an inclusive design toolkit, which leads to a consistent result. An outline of the toolkit is also presented.@en

Despite increasing discussions on the topic in academia, truly inclusive design in industry remains the exception. This paper compares industry perceptions to inclusive design based on data collected from the UK, the US and Japan. Two comparisons are made. Firstly, the perceptions of UK consumer product manufacturers and retailers are compared with the perceptions of companies in the US and Japan. It appears that the attitudes to legislation and government regulations in the UK differ from those in the US and Japan. Secondly, comparisons are made between the perceptions of UK consumer industries. It was found that manufacturers, retailers and design consultancies all consider that major barrier obstructing their adoption of inclusive design were from the other parties, rather than themselves. The paper concludes that 'perception barriers' form the majority of the barriers to inclusive design and are the most significant, followed by 'technical barriers' and then 'organizational barriers.' A toolkit that has been developed to address the barriers identified is also presented.@en

The theory of inclusive design tends to require user involvement and iterative assessment throughout the whole design process. However, in an industrial context, companies are restricted by design constraints such as time and cost. Through investigating eight projects focusing on inclusive design, the authors highlight discrepancies between theoretical models and industry practice and analyse the underlying reasons. Related issues such as bottom-up design approaches and estimates of design exclusion are also discussed. It is concluded that a change of attitudes towards people with disabilities by people commissioning, as well as performing, design and the provision of design support tools are necessary to bring inclusive design theory and practice closer together.

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