Mobile Application Development for Senior Citizens

Aged care is a significant issue which concerns all governments. In order to provide assistance and provide quality of life to senior citizens, enormous resources are invested by the government each year. A significant proportion of the investment is used to provide a range of services for senior citizens who stay at home. Since providing quality aged care is an ongoing and complex process, there is a desperate need to develop innovative solutions, which will benefit society at large. Although modern information technology products are changing the lifestyle of younger generations, they have much less impact on old people. This research therefore undertakes a novel study into the question of: What mobile applications can be developed on smartphone devices to improve senior citizens’ quality of lives. By using a requirement framework developed from the literature, this study also explored the availability and suitability of current mobile applications which are available from IPhone Application shops, Nokia OVI stores and other sources in order to identify possible directions for future mobile application development for aged care purposes

The "Free from housing accessibility problems" app

Publisher Copyright: © 2016 The authors and IOS Press.The present study concerns the development of a computerized tool targeting housing accessibility issues. A user-centered approach involving professionals from the housing sector and senior citizens from four European countries resulted in a fully functional prototype of a mobile application (app) including an apartment database. The app raises awareness on housing accessibility and has the potential to support decision making and strengthen all citizens regardless of functional capacity to be more active in their endeavors for a satisfying housing solution. Further refinements and additional features are needed to enhance the potential benefits; they include addressing potential challenges facing senior citizens, developing interactive features that allow users to provide input and adapting to different national contexts to make the app applicable for the European market.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Senior Citizen Day Care Management Application for Nursing Staff

Manage2Care is a mobile application in which is inspired to help the senior citizen. Nursing home is the place where many senior citizens that will be located or stayed at a shelter place and this is the place where trained staffs need to care for them. However, the staff might probably encounters or face difficulties such as overloaded with loads of work and they might not do the work in time. Apart from that, for some reasons the house management need to estimate the time for each of the senior citizen to accomplish their daily routine in the nursing home. These types of constraint will certainly cause the job done with the lack of effectiveness and efficiency reasons. To encounter this problem, the author comes up with the idea of a health-based management tool to help in managing the senior more efficiently and effectively. Some important features in this application consist of the application in which can save the senior citizen data that include medicine details and doctor appointment detail. Secondly, the application can forward the reminder to the management. In order to remind them, they need to save the important date at the application. The completion of the project is to be developed with Rapid Application Development methodology, the reason for using RAD is due to its own flexible and suitable applications to be developed in short duration of the time. Once the application has been completed, the prototype could be tested by the nursing staffs in nursing home. After the completion of prototype testing, the author acquires knowledge whether either this application will achieve the objectives of the project. Based on the user evaluation, 63.64% agree this application help them to completing the jobs

Withme Alarm App

Ensuring the safety of individuals near us traditionally involves keeping them within sight or holding hands. However, incidents of people going missing still occur, particularly among parents and guardians of senior citizens with special needs. Additionally, in crowded areas like Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Times Square, New York, or Myeong-dong, Seoul, remaining vigilant and navigating these bustling environments is crucial to prevent disorientation and loss. To address these challenges, the WithMe Alarm is introduced as a mobile application that employs geofencing technology. It allows registered monitors to track and monitor individuals, including children, senior citizens, or adults. When the monitored person goes outside radar, the app triggers an alarm to notify the monitor. The project development follows the Agile software process model, chosen for its adaptability to frequent changes in user and system requirements within a short duration. The testing process yields positive results, affirming the app's readiness for commercialization. The project successfully achieves its objectives within the defined scopes

Taking Afrobarometer Data Everywhere

According to statistics gathered by research group Afrobarometer, many countries in Africa lack infrastructure and basic necessities. In fact, Afrobarometer knows the specific rates of need and availability sampled across thirty-six countries but more prosperous African countries do not know these numbers. These more developed countries are in a position to help their less fortunate neighbors if only made aware of the social and economic climate in the respective areas. Our partnership with Afrobarometer will allow us to advertise these statistics through the use of a mobile application. The data will be displayed in a way that is easy for the average reader to digest and understand. By exposing a larger African audience to the results from these public opinion surveys, Afrobarometer hopes to inspire these people to take action and make donations to the appropriate social benefit groups. The countries represented by the surveys can then receive help in the areas expressing need

The Mobile Generation: Global Transformations at the Cellular Level

Every year we see a new dimension of the ongoing Digital Revolution, which is enabling an abundance of information to move faster, cheaper, in more intelligible forms, in more directions, and across borders of every kind. The exciting new dimension on which the Aspen Institute focused its 2006 Roundtable on Information Technology was mobility, which is making the Digital Revolution ubiquitous. As of this writing, there are over two billion wireless subscribers worldwide and that number is growing rapidly. People are constantly innovating in the use of mobile technologies to allow them to be more interconnected. Almost a half century ago, Ralph Lee Smith conjured up "The Wired Nation," foretelling a world of interactive communication to and from the home that seems commonplace in developed countries today. Now we have a "Wireless World" of communications potentially connecting two billion people to each other with interactive personal communications devices. Widespead adoption of wireless handsets, the increasing use of wireless internet, and the new, on-the-go content that characterizes the new generation of users are changing behaviors in social, political and economic spheres. The devices are easy to use, pervasive and personal. The affordable cell phone has the potential to break down the barriers of poverty and accessibility previously posed by other communications devices. An entire generation that is dependant on ubiquitous mobile technologies is changing the way it works, plays and thinks. Businesses, governments, educational institutions, religious and other organizations in turn are adapting to reach out to this mobile generation via wireless technologies -- from SMS-enabled vending machines in Finland to tech-savvy priests in India willing to conduct prayers transmitted via cell phones. Cellular devices are providing developing economies with opportunities unlike any others previously available. By opening the lines of communication, previously disenfranchised groups can have access to information relating to markets, economic opportunities, jobs, and weather to name just a few. When poor village farmers from Bangladesh can auction their crops on a craigslist-type service over the mobile phone, or government officials gain instantaneous information on contagious diseases via text message, the miracles of mobile connectivity move us from luxury to necessity. And we are only in the early stages of what the mobile electronic communications will mean for mankind. We are now "The Mobile Generation." Aspen Institute Roundtable on Information Technology. To explore the implications of these phenomena, the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program convened 27 leaders from business, academia, government and the non-profit sector to engage in three days of dialogue on related topics. Some are experts in information and communications technologies, others are leaders in the broader society affected by these innovations. Together, they examined the profound changes ahead as a result of the convergence of wireless technologies and the Internet. In the following report of the Roundtable meeting held August 1-4, 2006, J. D. Lasica, author of Darknet and co-founder of Ourmedia.org, deftly sets up, contextualizes, and captures the dialogue on the impact of the new mobility on economic models for businesses and governments, social services, economic development, and personal identity

Custom-designed motion-based games for older adults: a review of literature in human-computer interaction

Many older adults, particularly persons living in senior residences and care homes, lead sedentary lifestyles, which reduces their life expectancy. Motion-based video games encourage physical activity and might be an opportunity for these adults to remain active and engaged; however, research efforts in the field have frequently focused on younger audiences and little is known about the requirements and benefits of motion-based games for elderly players. In this paper, we present an overview of motion-based video games and other interactive technologies for older adults. First, we summarize existing approaches towards the definition of motion-based video games – often referred to as exergames – and suggest a categorization of motion-based applications into active video games, exergames, and augmented sports. Second, we use this scheme to classify case studies addressing design efforts particularly directed towards older adults. Third, we analyze these case studies with a focus on potential target audiences, benefits, challenges in their deployment, and future design opportunities to investigate whether motion-based video games can be applied to encourage physical activity among older adults. In this context, special attention is paid to evaluation routines and their implications regarding the deployment of such games in the daily lives of older adults. The results show that many case studies examine isolated aspects of motion-based game design for older adults, and despite the broad range of issues in motion-based interaction for older adults covered by the sum of all research projects, there appears to be a disconnect between laboratory-based research and the deployment of motion-based video games in the daily lives of senior citizens. Our literature review suggests that despite research results suggesting various benefits of motion-based play for older adults, most work in the field of game design for senior citizens has focused on the implementation of accessible user interfaces, and that little is known about the long-term deployment of video games for this audience, which is a crucial step if these games are to be implemented in activity programs of senior residences, care homes, or in therapy

Public Service Delivery: Role of Information and Communication Technology in Improving Governance and Development Impact

The focus of this paper is on improving governance through the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the delivery of services to the poor, i.e., improving efficiency, accountability, and transparency, and reducing bribery. A number of papers recognize the potential benefits but they also point out that it has not been easy to harness this potential. This paper presents an analysis of effective case studies from developing countries where the benefits have reached a large number of poor citizens. It also identifies the critical success factors for wide-scale deployment. The paper includes cases on the use of ICTs in the management of delivery of public services in health, education, and provision of subsidized food. Cases on electronic delivery of government services, such as providing certificates and licenses to rural populations, which in turn provide entitlements to the poor for subsidized food, fertilizer, and health services are also included. ICT-enabled provision of information to enhance rural income is also covered

Government Transparency: Six Strategies for More Open and Participatory Government

Offers strategies for realizing Knight's 2009 call for e-government and openness using Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies, including public-private partnerships to develop applications, flexible procurement procedures, and better community broadband access