I stumbled across these websites today, which feature others looking at ways to make life more humane, mostly through industrial design.

http://www.hhrc.rca.ac.uk/programmes/cp/competition/index.html
http://www.random-international.com/sunlight-table/

Sudents at the Royal College of Art Center for Inclusive Design are studying how all sorts of things can be more humane...from infusion needles to daylight-integrated worktables.

And, they sponsor a competition called "design for our future selves." What an awesome idea! (Nothing like a little self-centeredness to get us thinking about how to better serve the current-elderly!)