Exploring Older Adult Susceptibility to Fraudulent Computer Pop-Up Interruptions

© 2019, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature. The proliferation of Internet connectivity and accessibility has been accompanied by an increase in cyber-threats, including fraudulent communications. Fake computer updates, which attempt to persuade people to download malicious software by mimicking trusted brands and/or instilling urgency, are one way in which fraudsters try to infiltrate systems. A recent study of young university students (M 18.52-years) found that when such pop-ups interrupt a demanding cognitive task, participants spent little time viewing them and were more likely to miss suspicious cues and accept these updates compared to when they were viewed without the pressure to resume a suspended task [1]. The aim of the current experiment was to test an older adult sample (N = 29, all >60 years) using the same paradigm. We predicted that they would be more susceptible to malevolent pop-ups [2]; trusting them more than younger adults (e.g., [3]), and would attempt to resume the interrupted task faster to limit forgetting of encoded items. Phase 1 involved serial recall memory trials interrupted by genuine, mimicked, and low authority pop-ups. During phase 2, participants rated messages with unlimited time and gave reasons for their decisions. It was found that more than 70% of mimicked and low authority pop-ups were accepted in Phase 1 vs ~80% genuine pop-ups (and these were all approximately 10% higher than [1]). This was likely due to a greater tendency to ignore or miss suspicious content when performing under pressure, despite spending longer with messages and reporting high awareness of scam techniques than younger adults. Older adult participants were more suspicious during Phase 2 performing comparably to the younger adults in [1]. Factors that may impact older adult decisions relating to fraudulent computer communications are discussed, as well as theoretical and practical implications

Elderly Users’ Perspective on the Use of Technology in Daily Life: A Comparative Study of a sample in the UK and Brazil

This paper investigated the perceptions of sample composed by British and Brazilian adults and older people on the use of electronic devices in their daily lives. This is an exploratory, cross-sectional, descriptive study involving 100 adults and elderly subjects, 50 Brazilian and 50 British adults. The data collection included a social-economic questionnaire; an IDLA index – the Lawton & Brody scale (1969), and a self-reported and a structured questionnaire. The results show that exposure time to technology had a positive impact during the most advanced phases of usage, which was supported by reports of fewer difficulties in the use of such devices, a feeling of greater confidence, and a sense of belonging to the modern world. The frequency in the use electronic devices in daily life, the ability to use them, use perception in public as a stressful experience were shown to be the main differences between the British and Brazilian groups. Both are not comfortable in modern society, complain of unsuitable appliances and refer to their lack of contact with these devices in the past

In person versus remote cognitive rehabilitation in patients with subjective cognitive decline or neurocognitive disorders: what factors drive patient’s preference?

BackgroundTo date, there is still a lack of consensus for identifying the ideal candidate for cognitive telerehabilitation (TR). The main goal of the present study is to identify the factors associated to the preference for either TR or in-person cognitive training (CT) programs in older adults at risk of dementia or with early cognitive impairment.MethodsA sample of 56 participants with subjective cognitive decline or neurocognitive disorders eligible for CT were enrolled at the Dementia Research Center and Neurorehabilitation Unit of IRCCS Mondino Foundation. All individuals underwent a baseline assessment to capture their complete profile, including cognitive reserve and lifestyle habits, sociodemographic characteristics, cognitive functioning, and mental health. Patients were then asked their preference for TR or in-person CT, before being randomized to either treatment as per protocol procedures. Statistical analyses included explorative descriptive approach, logistic regression, and non-parametric models to explore the overall contribution of each variable.ResultsThe two (TR and in-person) preference groups were similar for cognitive functioning and mental health status. Socio-demographic and lifestyle profiles seem to be the most important factors to influence the preference in terms of the area under the curve (AUC) of the models. The two preference groups differed in terms of socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., level of technological skills, age, and distance from the clinic). Furthermore, participants who selected the TR modality of CT had significantly higher levels of cognitive reserve and adopted more protective lifestyle habits (e.g., regular physical activity, Mediterranean diet) when compared to those who preferred in-person CT.DiscussionThese findings highlight that the preference to receive CT delivered by TR or in person is a complex issue and is influenced by a variety of factors, mostly related to lifestyle habits and sociodemographic characteristics. Availability of profiles of patients that may be more attracted to one or the other modality of TR may help promote shared decision-making to enhance patient experience and outcomes

Complex Decision Support for Older Adults: Effects of Information Visualization on Decision Performance

Older adults are faced with complex decision tasks that impose high working memory demands. A representative task is choosing a prescription drug plan from a multitude of options that must be evaluated along many factors. The combined effect of the quantity of complex information, and reduced working memory capacity puts older adults at a disadvantage. However, research with younger adults suggests that the working memory burden of decision tasks can be reduced using well-designed, graphical decision aids (i.e., environmental supports). The current study examined the use of environmental supports to support complex decision-making for older adults. Two experiments were conducted; experiment 1 assessed two information visualizations (color and size) on their ability to minimize the working memory demands of the task. Results from experiment 1 suggest that the color information visualization does in fact minimize working memory demand by replacing cognitive comparisons with perceptual comparisons. The second experiment validated the efficacy of the color information visualization in an older adult group. Findings suggest that the use of color to visualize information can successfully ameliorate working memory demand for direct comparisons, but not for complex integration tasks. Finally, the results suggest that information visualizations that rely on perceptual abilities rather than cognitive abilities may help improve older adults\u27 decision making accuracy

Factors Predicting the Use of Technology: Findings From the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE)

The successful adoption of technology is becoming increasingly important to functional independence. The present article reports findings from the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) on the use of technology among community-dwelling adults. The sample included 1,204 individuals ranging in age from 18 -91 years. All participants completed a battery that included measures of demographic characteristics, self-rated health, experience with technology, attitudes toward computers, and component cognitive abilities. Findings indicate that the older adults were less likely than younger adults to use technology in general, computers, and the World Wide Web. The results also indicate that computer anxiety, fluid intelligence, and crystallized intelligence were important predictors of the use of technology. The relationship between age and adoption of technology was mediated by cognitive abilities, computer self-efficacy, and computer anxiety. These findings are discussed in terms of training strategies to promote technology adoption. Keywords: aging, technology adoption, cognition, attitudes Technology, which is broadly defined as the application of scientific knowledge (including tools, techniques, products, processes, and methods) to practical tasks (United States National Library of Medicine, 2004), is ubiquitous in most societal contexts within the United States and most other industrialized countries. Use of technology has become an integral component of work, education, communication, and entertainment. Technology is also being used increasingly within the health care arena for service delivery, in-home monitoring, interactive communication (e.g., between patient and physician), transfer of health information, and peer support. Although older adults in the United States are increasingly using technology, data indicate that they typically have more difficulty than do younger people in learning to use and operate current technologies such as computers, the Internet, videocassette recorders, automatic teller machines, and telephone menu systems (e.g., Further, seniors who use the Internet perform online activities such as e-mail and information searches at lower rates than do younger Internet users (Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2004). Results from a recent survey also suggest that computer users over the age of 65 have less confidence in their ability to use computers than do younger people and have fewer computer skills (American Association of Retired Persons [AARP], 2002). Not being able to use technology such as computers or the Internet puts older adults at a disadvantage in terms of their ability to live and function independently and successfully perform everyday tasks. Further, older populations may not realize the ful

Effects of Age, Speech Rate, and Environmental Support in Using Telephone Voice Menu Systems

Age differences in the use of telephone menu systems were investigated in two experiments. Participants from three age groups (younger: 18--39; middle-aged: 40--59; older: 60+ years) were required to obtain specified information or perform some action using simulated voice menu systems. Measures reflecting task performance, menu navigation, and subjective responses were collected. The focus in Experiment 1 was on examining the effect of speech rate. Data from 196 participants indicated age differences in performance, especially for complex problems. There was no effect of speech rate on any of the performance measures. Experiment 2 examined two types of support devices: a screen phone and a graphical aid. Data from 114 participants indicated that the screen phone provided some benefits in navigational efficiency. In terms of performance, the older participants benefited more from the graphical aid and the younger participants performed better with the screen phone. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance in the use of support devices that can reduce memory demands and the identification of appropriate speech rates

Visualizing subjective decision criteria for system evaluation

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-109).The tools and methods used to evaluate complex systems in terms of human systems integration (HSI) include software, hardware, models, simulations, processes, and techniques. Hundreds of such tools currently exist to evaluate complex HSI systems, and the number is continuously growing. Many HSI tools are developed in research settings, or in an ad-hoc fashion to meet specific project goals. As such, there is no standard repository of HSI tools. Additionally, as HSI systems become more complex and the number of HSI dimensions in which decision-makers evaluate systems continues to grow, the HSI cost-benefit trade space that explores the costs and benefits of a system on the HSI dimensions expands. Therefore, it becomes more difficult for decision-makers to determine if and to what degree a system meets their specific HSI criteria. Engineers, managers, and other decision-makers often have to evaluate complex HSI systems, such as the case of acquisitions in which decision-makers need to rate and compare particular systems. Since there are hundreds of tools that currently exist to evaluate the HSI aspects of systems, decision-makers may not be familiar with all of them. Additionally, with the HSI cost-benefit trade space continually expanding, decision-makers need a way to reduce the number of HSI tools, or downs elect, from the hundreds of HSI tools to a smaller set of desirable tools. This smaller set of desirable tools is defined by users' criteria, which is often vague and ambiguous. This research investigates the visualization techniques of such downselection tools and how the visual representation of information impacts the decisions of decision-makers. The results of this work show that salient information biases decision-makers' decisions when using decision support tools (DSTs). Also, information aggregation did not appear to have an effect on decision-makers' level of automation bias when using decision support tools. There did not appear to be any correlation between decision-makers' trust in DSTs and the extent to which they rely on the results presented in those tools. Additionally, decision-makers' perception of the ease of use of DSTs is correlated with their trust in those tools, although there appeared to be an influence of age on users' perceptions of such tools. While this thesis focuses on the specific example of downselecting a database of HSI tools for a decision maker, the overall processes and research in this effort can generally be applied to any downselection from a large database of elements to a smaller set of desirable elements using both objective and subjective decision criteria of decision-makers.by Jodyann Felicia Coley.M.Eng

Let’s Play: Understanding the Role and Significance of Digital Gaming in Old Age

Despite a marked increase in the use of digital games among older persons, there is insufficient research that provides insight into the gaming experiences of this population. A major demographic shift within the senior gaming market has ushered in a new perspective on the use of digital games as a tool for physical and cognitive health, and improved socialization. It is proposed that individual notions of play, which are developed over the life course, influence digital game play engagement and interaction preferences, and contribute to well-being. This study explored how self-perceptions of play over the course of the senior gamer’s life influence digital game engagement. Because the emerging area of senior gaming lacks theoretical structure, grounded theory methodology was employed. A qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews of aging gamers was conducted. A total of forty participants (age 44 to 77 with a digital gameplay average of 11 hours per week) were identified and interviewed with the aid of an interview guide. Designed with a life course perspective in mind, this guide sought to explore each participant’s perception of play, personal forms of play throughout their life, and the role of digital games as a component of play in old age. Transcription and analysis (open, axial, and selective coding utilizing the method of constant comparisons) was employed throughout the entire interview process. Findings indicated that digital gaming is a valued form of play and a means for play continuity. An analysis of emergent themes led to the development of a theory that emphasizes three domains: ability, motivation, and experience. Two theoretical models that represent the static and dynamic nature of these domains within the life of a gamer demonstrate the theory. This theory provides understanding of the key factors that influence gameplay, which has the potential of being applied toward the development of better age- and ability-appropriate digital games for aging gamers

The Effect of Enhanced Navigational Affordances on College Students' Comprehension of Informational Auditory Text, and the Role of Metacognitive and Motivational Factors

A proliferation of natural speech audio texts as well as improvements in synthetic text-to-speech technology have created new opportunities for learners. While many studies have examined factors affecting comprehension of print texts, few have examined factors affecting comprehension of audio texts and fewer still the effects of specific moderating variables. This study examines the effects of navigational affordance use on comprehension of informational audio texts. Factors of metacomprehension, including self-regulation and rehearsal, as well as motivational factors of interest, effort regulation, and test anxiety were studied for their relationship to the use of navigational affordances. The study utilized a mobile application distributed through the iTunes® store to administer the experimental procedure. Students enrolled in an introductory political science course at a large state university were solicited to participate. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The experimental group (N = 74) had access to enhanced navigational affordances including pause and continue, forward by sentence, forward by paragraph, backward by sentence, and backward by paragraph. The control group (N = 11) only had access to pause and continue affordances. Results indicate that the presence of enhanced navigational affordances did not demonstrate a significant difference in comprehension between the experimental and control groups. However, there was a significant correlation between navigational affordance use and comprehension. The data indicate the relationship may be curvilinear meaning that affordance use is more frequent for learners with average comprehension, and less frequent for high and low comprehension learners. Metacomprehension and motivational factors were not significantly correlated with navigational affordance use. Motivational factors did positively correlate with comprehension for both groups with an F = 5.49 and α = 0.002. Beta weights for the three factors were 0.29 for interest, -0.35 for test anxiety, and 0.003 for motivation. Information on distractions during the study were also collected. Some participants demonstrated a pattern of skipping behavior when using navigational affordances in which they would quickly navigate through the audio text. The study platform could be used to administer other kinds of audio text comprehension experiments