Not All on the Same Page: E-Book Adoption and Technology Exploration by Seniors

This paper aims to understand the adoption of e-books and e-readers by persons aged sixty and above. This includes an investigation into where seniors are in the stages of e-book adoption. Method: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in a mid-size city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Analysis: Interviews were transcribed, and coded using grounded theory. Rogers\u27s model of the innovation-decision process was used to inform the data analysis process. Results: The results show three key factors affecting adoption: longing for materiality, technology confidence, and technology exploration. While seniors are interested in e-books and e-readers, see many benefits to their use, and are curious about how they function, the majority perceive this technology as being primarily appropriate for younger generations. Conclusion: The findings have implications for our understanding of the diffusion of innovations amongst the senior population and the development of services geared toward them. E-books and e-readers are technologies that could prove beneficial, aiding with issues related to both portability and convenience. However, e-books do not allow for the sharing of books that this population is accustomed to, and many of them are still on the fence about fully adopting this tool into their reading practices

The Teletalker – A Design Researcher’s Tool to Explore Intergenerational Online Video Connectivity in-the-Wild

Although a fair amount of research around older adults’ perception of digital technology exists, there is only a moderate amount of research investigating older people’s reactions and sense-making in real-world contexts with emerging digital tools. This paper reports on the constructivist research approach used by the author, which initiated co-production with participants to gather older and younger adults’ reactions towards digital video connectivity during a series of design research interventions. For this, the author had built a research tool, the Teletalker kiosks (TT), which connected two locations using digital live video to provide a ‘window into the other space’. Participants, if they wished, could activate the volume with a designed mechanism aimed at non-computer literate people, which was used in order to speak to each other. The three connections were between an older people’s charity day centre and the university, between two locations at the university, and between two-day centres in the U.K. The returns collected revealed overall positive reactions towards video connectivity by younger adults and mixed reactions by older adults. The design for the volume mechanism did not work as expected for both groups. The interventions also brought out opinions and conformity dynamics within groups of older adults and attitudes by younger audiences towards older people. More research is needed to understand these reactions and attitudes in comparable contexts

Utilizing ICT to prevent loneliness and social isolation of the elderly. A literature review

Ageing of the population is a worldwide phenomenon. Numerous ICT-based solutions have been developed for elderly care but mainly connected to the physiological and nursing aspects in services for the elderly. Social work is a profession that should pay attention to the comprehensive wellbeing and social needs of the elderly. Many people experience loneliness and depression in their old age, either as a result of living alone or due to a lack of close family ties and reduced connections with their culture of origin, which results in an inability to participate actively in community activities (Singh & Misra, 2009). Participation in society would enhance the quality of life. With the development of information technology, the use of technology in social work practice has risen dramatically. The aim of this literature review is to map out the state of the art of knowledge about the usage of ICT in elderly care and to figure out research-based knowledge about the usability of ICT for the prevention of loneliness and social isolation of elderly people. The data for the current research comes from the core collection of the Web of Science and the data searching was performed using Boolean? The searching resulted in 216 published English articles. After going through the topics and abstracts, 34 articles were selected for the data analysis that is based on a multi approach framework. The analysis of the research approach is categorized according to some aspects of using ICT by older adults from the adoption of ICT to the impact of usage, and the social services for them. This literature review focused on the function of communication by excluding the applications that mainly relate to physical nursing. The results show that the so-called ‘digital divide’ still exists, but the older adults have the willingness to learn and utilise ICT in daily life, especially for communication. The data shows that the usage of ICT can prevent the loneliness and social isolation of older adults, and they are eager for technical support in using ICT. The results of data analysis on theoretical frames and concepts show that this research field applies different theoretical frames from various scientific fields, while a social work approach is lacking. However, a synergic frame of applied theories will be suggested from the perspective of social work.El envejecimiento de la población es un fenómeno mundial. Se han desarrollado numerosas soluciones basadas en las Tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) para el cuidado de ancianos, pero concentradas principalmente en los servicios relacionados con aspectos fisiológicos y de enfermería. El Trabajo Social es una profesión que tiene que prestar atención al bienestar integral y a las necesidades sociales de las personas mayores. Muchas personas sufren soledad y depresión en la vejez, ya sea como resultado de vivir solas o debido a la falta de lazos familiares y a la reducción de las conexiones con su cultura de origen. Todo ello desemboca en una incapacidad para participar en las actividades comunitarias (Singh y Mishra, 2009). La participación en la sociedad mejoraría su calidad de vida. Con el desarrollo de la tecnología de la información, su uso en la práctica del Trabajo Social se ha visto incrementado notablemente. El objetivo de esta revisión bibliográfica consiste en trazar el estado actual del conocimiento sobre el uso de las TIC en el cuidado de las personas mayores y saber cuál es el estado de la investigación acerca de la capacidad de uso de las TIC para la prevención de la soledad y el aislamiento social de las personas de edad avanzada. Los datos de esta investigación provienen de la colección básica de la Web of Science, y su búsqueda se ha realizado con operadores «booleanos», cuyo resultado ha sido el hallazgo de 216 artículos publicados en inglés. Después de revisar los temas y resúmenes, se seleccionaron 34 artículos para el análisis de datos en el marco de varios enfoques. El análisis de los enfoques de investigación se clasifica de acuerdo con el proceso de acceso a las TIC por las personas mayores y la adopción de las mismas para su uso, y el servicio social que se les presta a ellos. Esta revisión bibliográfica se centró en la función de la comunicación, excluyendo las aplicaciones que se relacionan principalmente con la enfermería física. Los resultados muestran que, aunque todavía existe la llamada «brecha digital», las personas mayores tienen la voluntad de aprender y utilizar las TIC en su vida cotidiana, especialmente en el ámbito de la comunicación. Se ha demostrado que el uso de las TIC puede prevenir la soledad y el aislamiento social de los personas mayores, y que están muy interesadas en ampliar su conocimiento en el uso de las TIC. El resultado del análisis de los datos obedece a unos marcos teóricos y conceptuales diversos que muestran que en este campo de investigación su diversidad teórica procede de múltiples campos científicos, pero que se echa en falta una aproximación desde la perspectiva del Trabajo Social. Por ello, se sugiere la elaboración de un marco sinérgico de teorías que se apliquen con la perspectiva del Trabajo Social

Emilia: Utilizing ambiguity to reduce loneliness and support remote intimacy and connectedness.

For many elder adults, �the aging process can be very challenging. A great number of elders experience social isolation, causing them to suffer from depression and loneliness. The Emilia project uses a research through design methodology to investigate and reflect on the application of the concepts of Ambiguity, Tangible User Interfaces and Calm Technology in mitigating loneliness. I designed a prototype called The Happy Box which consists of a pair of internet-connected boxes that aim to support connectedness and Affective Awareness through non-verbal intimate and tangible interaction between elder adults and their family and friends. In this thesis document, I describe and reflect on the process of making and testing The Happy Box

The (m)Health Connection: An Examination of the Promise of Mobile Phones for HIV/AIDS Intervention in Sub-Saharan Africa

This thesis offers an examination of the complex opportunities and challenges that characterize the development of innovative, locally appropriate, sustainable, and scalable uses of mobile phones as instruments to support and advance HIV/AIDS work in sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing together the fields of ICT4D and health communication, this thesis establishes a theoretical framework for mobile health (mHealth) interventions in developing countries from a critical media studies perspective. It interrogates the varied applications of mobile phones vis-à-vis health that have been identified, promoted, or piloted in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere in the Global South, focusing on the potential for mobile phones to enhance two interrelated aspects of HIV/AIDS work: 1) scaling-up prevention and awareness programs; and 2) enhancing access to treatment, care, and support for people living with HIV. By critically examining real-life applications, focusing in particular on a case study from South Africa (the pioneering mHealth organization Cell-Life), this thesis explores both the opportunities presented by the increasing ubiquity of mobile phones in this region, and the corresponding challenges, limitations, and critical issues that inhibit effective realization of mHealth’s potential in this context

Creativity

Creativity and innovation go hand in hand. This book presents a plethora of creative interventions in education, culture, expressions, communications, and other areas. Each chapter brings forth a core idea well attested on the scales of creative interventions. It is a collaborative effort to bring forth multidisciplinary creativity in the ever-evolving world of design, communication, and possibilities. There is really no logical order to the book. You do not necessarily have to start at the beginning, just find a chapter that interests you and read. I hope that you find the book stimulating as well as informative