Narrowing the age-based digital divide: Developing digital capability through social activities

Healthcare information technologies (HIT) have shown great potential for improving the effectiveness and quality of healthcare services. However, the inequal ability of older adults to use HIT may limit their exploitation of these benefits. To narrow the age-based “digital divide”, this research further develops the concept of digital capability and emphasises the link between older adults and their social context. Based on a qualitative inductive study of 33 participants, who included Chinese patients and their family members, we generate a novel theoretical model for understanding the process by which social activities may shape older adults' digital capabilities. Based on the model, we suggest two strategies that might encourage older adults to engage with HIT. This research contributes to the information systems (IS) literature by strengthening digital capability as a conceptual lens to investigate individuals' engagement with information communication technologies (ICTs). It also extends research on the social context for ICT use by revealing how social processes at multiple levels influence digital capability development. Finally, this study offers practical implications for governments and private sectors to encourage and promote ICT use by older adults.     

Enriching in-person encounters through social media: A study on family connectedness for the elderly

Social media sites have become immensely popular. In 2010 it was estimated that Americans spent a quarter of their online time using social networking sites (SNSs) and blogs. Prior studies have shown how people spend more time socializing through digital communication services such as SNSs reducing face-to-face interaction. Individuals limited offline interactions cause a sense of self-perception of being less socially involved. In this paper we explore how the use of an ubiquitous system we developed, Tlatoque, is able to adapt and move the SNS's social capital outside the desktop into a domestic setting to support older adults' offline interactions with their family. The findings of a 21 week deployment study uncovered the offline practices surrounding the use of Tlatoque and its social implications toward the existing family ties (n=30). Results qualitatively indicate that the content shared in SNSs strengthens older adults' social network by enriching and complementing traditional social engagements such as those conducted over the phone or in-person.     

The use of contextual cues to improve warning symbol comprehension: making the connection for older adults

This study teased apart the effects of comprehensibility and complexity on older adults' comprehension of warning symbols by manipulating the relevance of additional information in further refining the meaning of the symbol. Symbols were systematically altered such that increased visual complexity (in the form of contextual cues) resulted in increased comprehensibility. One hundred older adults, aged 50–71 years, were tested on their comprehension of these symbols before and after training. High comprehensibility–complexity symbols were found to be better understood than low- or medium-comprehensibility–complexity symbols and the effectiveness of the contextual cues varied as a function of training. Therefore, the nature of additional detail determines whether increased complexity is detrimental or beneficial to older adults' comprehension – if the additional details provide ‘cues to knowledge’, older adults' comprehension improves as a result of the increased complexity. However, some cues may require training in order to be effective.

Practitioner Summary: Research suggests that older adults have greater difficulty in understanding more complex symbols. However, we found that when the complexity of symbols was increased through the addition of contextual cues, older adults' comprehension actually improved. Contextual cues aid older adults in making the connection between the symbol and its referent.     

The effects of 3D interface metaphor on older adults’ mobile navigation performance and subjective evaluation

Navigating vast information spaces through mobile interfaces has become a common activity in older adults' everyday lives. Studies suggested that interface metaphors could be used to facilitate users' metal model development and information processing when using mobile technologies. However, we know little about how metaphors affect older adults' mobile navigation behavior, and which user characteristics matter during this perceptual and cognitive process. To investigate this, a card interface with a 3D metaphor and a list interface without 3D metaphors were compared among twenty-two participants when performing four navigation tasks. User characteristics including demographic factors, technology experience, and user capabilities were examined. The participants' navigation performance and subjective evaluations were measured as the dependent variables. From the results, we recommend the list interface without 3D metaphors as a beneficial choice for older adults. It performed better in navigation performance, although the differences are not statistically significant. Moreover, navigation performance using the card interface with a 3D metaphor was significantly associated with participants' perceptual speed, thus this interface may be more sensitive to capability declines. Valuable insights into the older adults’ mobile navigation performance and preferences are discussed and important implications for the design of mobile navigation user interfaces are proposed based on the results.Relevance to industryThe experimental results propose a more beneficial way to present contents on a mobile user interface for older adults and provide valuable insights for the designers and industry to help them understand the older adults’ usage and perceptions towards the application of 3D metaphors when navigating with mobile interfaces.     

Effects of label format on knowledge acquisition and perceived readability by younger and older adults

This research examines consumers' information acquisition and preference for labels of a simulated over-the-counter (OTC) medication. Twelve otherwise identical OTC drug bottles were compared with different back labels varying in (a) print size, (b) amount of white space between text, and (c) label design (standard vs extended/pull-out). A no back label condition served as a control. Older (mean age=77.7 years) and younger (mean age=21 years) adults were given one of the 12 bottles and asked to perform one of two information acquisition tasks: (a) they examined the bottle for 3 minutes and then completed a questionnaire with the bottle absent, or (b) they answered the same questionnaire while the bottle was present. Afterwards, participants were given all of the bottles and asked to rank them according to perceived readability. The younger adults' information acquisition performance was significantly better than the older adults' for all label conditions except the control condition where both groups' low performance did not differ. Specifically, the older adults' performance was significantly better in the medium and large print conditions than in the small print conditions - with the latter conditions not differing from the control condition. Younger adults showed no performance differences among the different print-size conditions. No substantial effects on knowledge acquisition performance from the white space manipulations were found. However, the perceived readability ranks showed that both groups preferred larger print size and white space. The white space effect was smaller than for print size, particularly for older adults. The extended/pull-out label design was facilitative for older adults in that it allowed the use of larger print. The results suggest that older consumers may be unable to acquire information in the ‘fine’ print frequently found in various kinds of product literature.     

The impact of University of the Third Age courses on ICT adoption

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are widely reported to increase older adults’ quality of life, although their use is limited among the older cohorts. This study analyzed the effects of education on ICT adoption by focusing on the impact of older adult education. Relying on a survey of 135 Italian seniors, we found that, in addition to the positive effect of formal education, seniors taking part in University of the Third Age (U3A) courses had higher ICT use. Specifically, ICT adoption increased by 18.5% for high school graduates and up to 39% for those who completed a primary school diploma.     

Migrant Live-in Caregivers Providing Care to Canadian Older Adults: An Exploratory Study of Workers’ Life and Job Satisfaction

Since aging-in-place is the preferred choice for many older adults, employing in-home caregivers to look after them is an emerging practice in Canada. The Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP), established by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, allows Canadians to employ qualified foreign workers in their private residence, for care of children, the elderly, the sick and persons with disabilities. While the LCP has been researched from various critical viewpoints focusing on workers?? rights, relatively few studies have examined the program from other perspectives, and even fewer have focused exclusively on LCP caregivers who provide long term care to older adults. This study attempts to enhance our understanding of the characteristics of LCP elder care workers, and their older adult clients. It also explores the care-providers?? job trajectory and their job and life satisfaction over time. Fourteen migrant long term care workers were interviewed in 2009 and five again in 2011. In both the initial and follow-up interviews job satisfaction was assessed through open-ended questions and through administration of a scale adapted by Grau et al. (Journal of Aging and Health 3: 47, 1991). In addition to reflecting the challenges identified in previous research, this study provides a glimpse of the achievements, sense of reward and empowerment workers experienced through participating in the LCP, and its relative attractiveness to care-workers who often have transnational experiences against which to compare its benefits and drawbacks.     

Telling the story of older people e-mailing: An ethnographical study

While e-mail is the Internet application most used by older people, very little is known about how they interact with e-mail systems and use them in their daily lives. We undertook a 3-year ethnographical study aimed at revealing and explaining real life e-mailing. We describe and discuss the nature of e-mail use in terms of social circles; frequency, type of content and patterns of communication; relationship with other technologies and activities; motivation and interactive experiences. Within this context of everyday use, we uncover and explain the (relative) importance of several interaction barriers, such as cognitive load, difficulties using input devices and perception of visual information. We claim that cognitive difficulties are much more relevant than difficulties in reading from the screen, for instance, so challenging results of current HCI research with older people. We show and discuss some implications for designing better e-mail systems (and interactive technologies) for older people.     

A comparison of empathic communication pattern for teenagers and older people in online support communities

This article reports a study that investigated the occurrences of empathy in online support communities for teenagers. Qualitative content analysis with 400 messages from a discussion board about depression was used to identify how empathy was expressed in the specific online communication. Emphasis was also placed on the comparison of this age group to older people, by comparing the results with those from a previous study on empathy in an online support community about depression for older people. Specifically, the analysis focused on the frequencies of the categories of the code scheme, linguistic characteristics of the communication content, the occurring components of empathy, and the roles as well as activities of the members. From our analysis, we concluded that young people exchanged a substantial amount of empathic emotional communication when participating in an online support community, and they communicated on a more personal level compared to older people, who tended to engage in a more formal communication. In addition, teenagers also showed a high level of understanding but lower level of concern compared to older persons when expressing empathy online.     

Rendezvousing with location-aware devices: Enhancing social coordination

Emerging technologies such as location-awareness devices have the potential to significantly impact users' social coordination, particularly while rendezvousing. It is important that we explore how new technologies influence social behaviours and communication in order to realize their full potential. This paper presents a field study investigating the use of mobile location-aware devices for rendezvous activities. Participants took part in one of three mobile device conditions (a mobile phone, a location-aware handheld, or both a mobile phone and a location-aware handheld) and completed three rendezvousing scenarios. The results reveal key differences in communication patterns between the mediums, as well as the potential strengths and limitations of location-aware devices for social coordination. The paper concludes with a discussion of relevant design issues drawn from observations gathered during the field study.     

Improvement of Japanese adults' English speaking skills via experiences speaking to a robot

This paper reports how robot‐assisted language learning (RALL) impacts Japanese adults' English speaking skills. With existing research on RALL focusing on children, there is little evidence indicating RALL's effects on adults. We developed a RALL system comprising a robot, a tablet, and designed learning materials for speaking practice. To explore the effects of this system on the speaking skills of adults, we conducted a pretest and posttest designed pilot experiment. The participants in this study were nine female Japanese university students. The participants used the system for speaking practice for a total of 30 min per day for 7 days. The results of comparing the pretests with the posttests demonstrated that the adults' English speaking skills were enhanced; in particular, their speaking accuracy, fluency, and pronunciation improved greatly. This study contributes to providing clear evidence of the effects of RALL on Japanese adults' English speaking skills.     

Telemonitoring of patients at home: a software agent approach

To address the issue of the increasing social, economical and medical needs of maintaining at home people in loss of autonomy while preserving privacy and quality of life, the authors present a software agent based telemonitoring and alarm raising system. The article describes the overall architecture, the various components of the model, and the methodology that has been used. It specifically addresses the issue of reflecting in the object oriented model of the system various dimensions including: the physical world of in-home bio-signal sensors, the numerical world of software agents and Internet-related technologies, and the medical and social worlds of patients, physicians and caregivers. In the model, the main stream of information goes from the biophysical world of patients at home to the socio-medical world of carers through a chain of devices including in-home sensors, local area network, home computer, remote server, and carers' computers. Each device hosts software agents with different levels of knowledge and complexity. Internet and Java technologies provide the building blocks of the designed telemonitoring software. Laboratory experiments have been realized using a fully equipped 'smart' demonstration home for telecare. The study takes place into a more general research project on 'smart' homes for telecare conducted at the Hospital Centre of Grenoble, France.     

The ACTive Intervention in Hospice Interdisciplinary Team Meetings: Exploring Family Caregiver and Hospice Team Communication

This paper presents the theoretical framework and rationale for the ACTive intervention which proposes the use of video technology to facilitate patient and family participation in hospice interdisciplinary team meetings where plans of care are determined. It is surmised that patient and family involvement will improve communication and compliance in hospice care. An analysis of data from a pilot project of the ACTive intervention was conducted to explore active participation among family caregivers and the hospice team. Through the use of videophone technology caregivers participated in video‐recorded team meetings. The actual communication behaviors of caregivers and team members were analyzed for active participation. Findings revealed that team–prompted caregiver participation was most common, however, team use of supportive talk in this context was considerably less frequent. The study also found that the team's use of active participation behaviors elicits caregiver active participation behaviors. The results of this study suggest the intervention was an effective way to involve family caregivers as active participants in the designing of care for their loved one. Findings also suggest that hospice staff would benefit from education and training on best practices for communicating with caregivers in the team meeting setting.     

Increasing participation in the information society by people with disabilities and their families in lower-income countries using mainstream technologies

Assistive technology (AT) has been actively researched, developed and implemented throughout higher-income countries, but is relatively absent from lower-income countries. In lower-income countries, there is very little AT for reading, writing, communicating and for participation in the information society. In order for persons with disabilities in lower-income countries to participate fully in society, mainstream information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as mobile phones should be used as AT. This paper explores the potential for using mainstream ICTs as AT in lower-income countries, keeping in mind current ICT trends, characteristics of the post-PC era and ICT-based AT in higher-income countries. The paper concludes with a case study where mobile phones and SMS were used by people with disabilities and their caregivers to access information in a resourced-limited community in Bogota, Colombia. Mobile phones, a readily available mainstream ICT in this community, were a useful tool for addressing the information exclusion of people with disabilities and caregivers.     

A Sign of the Times: An Analysis of Organizational Members' Email Signatures

Drawing from genre theory in organizational communication ( Yates & Orlikowski, 1992 ), this study examines the content and function of email signatures used by organizational members. Email signatures are appended at the end of email messages and contain information about the sender such as his or her title, postal address, and phone number. One hundred and ninety-three email signatures were collected and analyzed in this study. A content analysis revealed demographic and occupational differences in signature content and suggests the potential impression management function of signatures. Based on the results from the content analysis, the evolution of the memo genre in email messages and implications of new communication technologies for contemporary organizational life are discussed .     

Pervasive Computing and Autism: Assisting Caregivers of Children with Special Needs

Pervasive computing technologies can support children with autism and their caregivers. Work continues on systems that aid record collection and analysis, decision making, communication, and assessment of children's internal states     

Developing a pragmatic evaluation of ICTs for older adults with cognitive impairment at scale: the IN LIFE experience

Implementing information and communications technology (ICT) at scale requires evaluation processes to capture the impact on users as well as the infrastructure into which it is being introduced. For older adults living with cognitive impairment, this requires evaluation that can accommodate different levels of cognitive impairment, alongside input from family and formal caregivers, plus stakeholder organisations. The European Horizon 2020 project INdependent LIving support Functions for the Elderly (IN LIFE) set out to integrate 17 technologies into a single digital platform for older people living with cognitive impairment plus their families, care providers and stakeholders. The IN LIFE evaluation took place across six national pilot sites to examine a number of variables including impact on the users, user acceptance of the individual services and the overall platform, plus the economic case for the IN LIFE platform. The results confirmed the interest and need among older adults, family caregivers, formal caregivers and stakeholders, for information and communications technology (ICT). Relative to the baseline, quality of life improved and cognition stabilised; however, there was an overall reluctance to pay for the platform. The findings provide insights into existing barriers and challenges for adoption of ICT for older people living with cognitive impairment.

     

Collaborative technologies in knowledge telework: an exploratory study

Abstract.  Knowledge workers in distributed work environments require substantial communication with colleagues and supervisors to perform their work activities, and collaborative technologies, like groupware, continue to improve the potential for such communication. This study investigates how an improvement in collaborative technology among a group of knowledge teleworkers impacts their communication patterns. The study focuses on one communication-based work process: knowledge sharing. The research involves a 6-month exploratory longitudinal case study of a group of teleworkers where a new groupware technology was implemented. The results indicate that while there are fewer instances of communication among group members after the technology is implemented, communication becomes more centralized around the district manager. These results suggest that increased collaborative technologies result in an adjustment between explicit and tacit knowledge sharing, as the availability of a centralized and updateable database reduces workgroup communications. However, consistent with structuration theory, telework group members do use communication technologies to address their most apparent needs and concerns. Other potential explanations and implications of these findings are discussed.     

A study on the acceptance of website interaction aids by older adults

The goal of the present work is to investigate the potential acceptance of a set of web interaction aids by older adults, in order to help them overcome difficulties associated with ageing and help them continue using the web as a source of information, communication and services. This paper presents a survey with older adults concerning their perceptions about a set of web interaction aids defined after a field observation study, a study with questionnaires and user tests of web applications. The survey involved 313 participants, of which about 44 % were older adults and elderly users. The results showed that the use of aids to support the interaction of older adults with the web promotes improvements in the interaction of older adults and younger users alike, which supports the argument for enhanced universal usability. Finally, it was possible to diagnose barriers that still remain and which aids had best acceptance by older adults.     

Optimising assembly learning in older adults through the manipulation of instruction

The present investigation assessed the putative benefits of reducing instructions for older adults' learning of an assembly task. Young and older adults had to build a product by assembling six components. Two groups practiced following instruction methods that differed in the degree of explicit information they conveyed about the correct assembly order. After practice, retention, consolidation of performance (tested immediately after practice and on a separate day, respectively) and stability of performance (tested by introducing a concurrent second task) were assessed. Younger adults showed similar performance levels for both instruction methods. Older adults, however, showed similar retention but clearly weaker consolidation and stability of performance following less encompassing instructions. Contrary to expectations, enhancing the involvement of explicit processes allowed older adults to gain a more permanent and stable performance improvements. The findings are discussed relative to the characteristics of the assembly task.