6 research outputs found
Stimulating intellectual activity with adaptive environment (SMILE)
© 2017 Association for Computing Machinery. As of 2016, 47.5 million people have dementia worldwide according to the World Health Organization, and it is expected that this number will nearly double every 20 years, reaching 100 million sooner than 2030. The goal of the SMILE concept is to help the elderly to live independently and to prevent/delay dementia. It should improve the quality of life of elderly by introducing healthy habits and a lifelong involvement in mentally and socially stimulating activities. It should reduce social isolation, i.e. high degree of loneliness, dissatisfaction with social contacts, and decreased social network. The focus is on prevention of gradual decline in memory function and planning ability, as well. Applying social network concepts provides easier social interaction for older people. Using stimulating and interactive environment enhances and maintains brain plasticity through social interaction. So far there are no published articles or projects that are targeted at the same goal to develop a self-care social interactive TV system as a Service, which is the aim of the SMILE concept. There are a lot of projects and papers about the relevant technologies, however not the integrated approach, which is the key innovation in this concept
Sustainable technologies for older adults
: The exponential evolution of technology and the growth of the elderly population are two
phenomena that will inevitably interact with increasing frequency in the future. This paper analyses
scientific literature as a means of furthering progress in sustainable technology for senior living.
We carried out a bibliometric analysis of papers published in this area and compiled by the Web of
Science (WOS) and Scopus, examining the main participants and advances in the field from 2000 to
the first quarter of 2021. The study describes some interesting research projects addressing three
different aspects of older adults’ daily lives—health, daily activities and wellbeing—and policies
to promote healthy aging and improve the sustainability of the healthcare system. It also looks at
lines of research into transversal characteristics of technology. Our analysis showed that publications
mentioning sustainability technologies for older adults have been growing progressively since the
2000s, but that the big increase in the number of research works in this area took place during the
period 2016–2021. These more recent works show a tendency to study those factors that improve
healthy aging, ensure the social inclusion of the elderly through technology and prolong the time in
which they can live independent lives thanks to smart environments. Current research gaps in the
literature are also discussed.: This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, (CSO2017-86747-R) and supported in part by the FEDER/Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación
y Universidades-Agencia Estatal de Investigación, through the Smartlet and H2O Learn Projects under Grants TIN2017-85179-C3-1-R and PID2020-112584RB-C31, and in part by the Madrid Regional
Government through the e-Madrid-CM Project under Grant S2018/TCS-4307
Sustainable Technology and Elderly Life
The coming years will see an exponential increase in the proportion of elderly people in our society. This accelerated growth brings with it major challenges in relation to the sustainability of the system. There are different aspects where these changes will have a special incidence: health systems and their monitoring; the development of a framework in which the elderly can develop their daily lives satisfactorily; and in the design of intelligent cities adapted to the future sociodemographic profile. The discussion of the challenges faced, together with the current technological evolution, can show possible ways of meeting the challenges. There are different aspects where these changes will have a special incidence: health systems and their monitoring; the development of a framework in which the elderly can develop their daily lives satisfactorily; and in the design of intelligent cities adapted to the future sociodemographic profile. This special issue discusses various ways in which sustainable technologies can be applied to improve the lives of the elderly. Six articles on the subject are featured in this volume. From a systematic review of the literature to the development of gamification and health improvement projects. The articles present suggestive proposals for the improvement of the lives of the elderly. The volume is a resource of interest for the scientific community, since it shows different research gaps in the current state of the art. But it is also a document that can help social policy makers and people working in this domain to planning successful projects
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Satisfaction with time use and its relationship with subjective well-being
Much research on time use has been based on assumptions about clock and calendar time. Less is known about how people experience their time use, what makes people satisfied with their time use and about the nature of the relationship between the use of time and well-being. This thesis addressed these questions though literature reviews of well-being and time-use and two empirical studies.
The first study employed a qualitative design using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 21 purposefully selected participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. The ten super-ordinate themes that emerged from the data as contributing to satisfaction with time use were allocated into four overarching categories: Motivation, Organisation, Execution and Evaluation.
The objectives of the second quantitative study were to investigate if key themes identified in the previous study would be replicated with a larger sample and to examine relationships between satisfaction with time use, subjective well-being, and locus of control. The study employed a survey design using postal questionnaires, completed by 173 randomly selected Open University students. A factor analysis of the time use questionnaire produced four factors: liking what one does and perceiving it as worthwhile; balance; achievement and responsibility; time anxiety and lack of control. These factors accounted for 40% of the variance in satisfaction with time use. Satisfaction with time use was also found to correlate significantly with various wellbeing measures.
The studies highlighted a number of factors contributing to satisfaction with time use previously ignored or under-researched in the time use literature, including motivation for time use activities, perceived balance in time allocation, taking responsibility for one's time, and the sense of achievement. The findings suggest that in terms of satisfaction with time use, time use interventions might be more helpful if focused on psychological aspects of time use, and less on time management techniques
Recommended from our members
Satisfaction with time use and its relationship with subjective well-being
Much research on time use has been based on assumptions about clock and calendar time. Less is known about how people experience their time use, what makes people satisfied with their time use and about the nature of the relationship between the use of time and well-being. This thesis addressed these questions though literature reviews of well-being and time-use and two empirical studies.
The first study employed a qualitative design using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 21 purposefully selected participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. The ten super-ordinate themes that emerged from the data as contributing to satisfaction with time use were allocated into four overarching categories: Motivation, Organisation, Execution and Evaluation.
The objectives of the second quantitative study were to investigate if key themes identified in the previous study would be replicated with a larger sample and to examine relationships between satisfaction with time use, subjective well-being, and locus of control. The study employed a survey design using postal questionnaires, completed by 173 randomly selected Open University students. A factor analysis of the time use questionnaire produced four factors: liking what one does and perceiving it as worthwhile; balance; achievement and responsibility; time anxiety and lack of control. These factors accounted for 40% of the variance in satisfaction with time use. Satisfaction with time use was also found to correlate significantly with various wellbeing measures.
The studies highlighted a number of factors contributing to satisfaction with time use previously ignored or under-researched in the time use literature, including motivation for time use activities, perceived balance in time allocation, taking responsibility for one's time, and the sense of achievement. The findings suggest that in terms of satisfaction with time use, time use interventions might be more helpful if focused on psychological aspects of time use, and less on time management techniques