Designing Meaningful Intergenerational Digital Games

ABSTRACT This paper will focus on intergenerational digital games between grandparents and their grandchildren, which could enhance not only their physical and social well-being but also social bonding between them. This is a topic which has been neglected in digital game research. Therefore, after having discussed the relevance of intergenerational relations the paper will present empirical studies in this field. Then, attention will be paid to (1) the motivation of younger and older adults to play digital games and (2) the impact of age-related difficulties on playing digital games. Finally, the implications for the design of intergenerational digital games will be sketched

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

Older adults experiencing and balancing the ambivalences of digitalisation in everyday life: Media repertoires as resources in domesticating emerging technologies

Older adults have been found to conceive digital technologies as both helpful and problematic in their everyday lives. Based on a qualitative analysis of diaries and interviews with 40 older Finnish adults, this study identifies efforts they engage in to balance this ambivalence. I approach such balancing practices through the theoretical lens of domestication: the process of integrating technologies into everyday life. By combining the concept of media repertoire with the domestication approach, the findings illustrate how ageing individuals take advantage of their media repertoires in the process of making digitalised societies liveable. In order to include ageing individuals in societies that increasingly demand engagement with emerging technologies, then, means that services should be designed in ways that allow them to be integrated into older adults' media repertoires that have been being formed for decades.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Typology of Video Gamers in Croatia: Some Socio-Cultural Characteristics

U ovom radu predstavljeni su rezultati analize internetskog anketnog istraživanja gamera i gamerica u Hrvatskoj (N = 3251) provedenog 2014. godine. Teorijski dio rada problematizira pristup mapiranju tipologije gamerskih profila, ali i samu definiciju gamera i konceptualizaciju onoga što gamerska kultura predstavlja, oslanjajući se pritom prvenstveno na odgovarajuće sociološke perspektive (Crawford, 2011). Posebno se ističe važnost proširenja standardnih sociodemografskih karakteristika na dodatne sociokulturne karakteristike gamera kako bi se uspostavila preciznija klasifikacija istraživane populacije. U metodološkom dijelu opisuje se struktura istraživačkog instrumenta te metoda klasteranalize preko koje je napravljena tipologija gamerskih profila u Hrvatskoj. Rezultati klasterske analize ukazuju na postojanje 6 tipova gamera grupiranih prema žanrovskim preferencijama te na razlike među njima s obzirom na razinu samoidentifikacije s gamerskom kulturom, s obzirom na identitet, intenzitet igranja, prakse participacije i odabrane dimenzije vrijednosnih orijentacija. Dodatna analiza klastera također pokazuje razlike između gamera s obzirom na tehnološke, sadržajne i interakcijske specifičnosti određenih žanrova te se zaključuje kako su pojedini žanrovi kompatibilni s onim igračima koji su tolerantniji prema različitim vrijednosnim orijentacijama, dok su drugi više vezani za zatvorenije i partikularne sociokulturne okvire.This article presents the results of a large scale online survey of the video gaming population in Croatia (N=3251) conducted in 2014. The theoretical part discusses approaches to mapping of videogaming profiles, as well as problems in defining and conceptualizing the video gamer and video gaming as a culture, relying first and foremost on compatible sociological perspectives (Crawford, 2011). The emphasis is laid on the importance of expanding the standard socio- demographic elements of profiling in order to establish a more concise typology of video gamers. The methodological part describes the instruments used, the main characteristics of the sample, as well as the cluster analysis method that was used in creating the video gamers typology. The results of the cluster analysis point to the existence of six different gaming types, grouped mainly around genre preferences but also pointing to differences considering the level of self-identification with gaming culture, intensity of playing, participatory practices and selected dimensions of value orientations. The additional analysis of the clusters shows differences among gamers in terms of technological, content-based and interaction-based characteristics of genres, concluding that specific genres are more compatible with those players that are more tolerant, whilst others are linked more to the insular and particular socio-cultural frameworks

Límites a la domesticación: usos obligados, reticencia y austeridad en la apropiación de la telefonía móvil

Socio-cultural approaches to the study of technology appropriation processes highlight the possibility that a technological device will not always be used in the planned ways. Based on a set of in-depth interviews with adult mobile phone users, this article analyzes the limits and resistances faced by some aspects of its use, related to three issues: the perception that certain uses are not of free choice but are explained by external pressures, the refusal to allocate amounts that are considered unjustified for the acquisition of the most sophisticated terminals and criticism of forms of use that are considered excessive. Consequently, these findings underline that the process of domestication of a technology, in this case mobile telephony, is never linear.Los enfoques socioculturales para el estudio de los procesos de apropiación de tecnologías resaltan la posibilidad de que un dispositivo tecnológico no sea utilizado siempre de los modos previstos. A partir de un conjunto de entrevistas en profundidad realizadas a usuarios adultos de teléfonos móviles, en este artículo se analizan los límites y resistencias que se plantean a algunos aspectos de su utilización, relacionados con tres cuestiones: la percepción de que ciertos usos no son de libre elección, sino que se explican por presiones externas; el rechazo a destinar montos que se entienden injustificados para la adquisición de las terminales más sofisticadas y la crítica a formas de uso que se consideran excesivas. Estos hallazgos subrayan que el proceso de domesticación de una tecnología, en este caso la telefonía móvil, nunca es lineal

Shaping technologies for older adults with and without dementia: Reflections on ethics and preferences

As a result of several years of European funding, progressive introduction of assistive technologies in our society has provided many researchers and companies with opportunities to develop new information and communication technologies aimed at overcoming the digital divide of those at a greater risk of being left behind, as can be the case with healthy older people and those developing cognitive decline and dementia. Moreover, in recent years, when considering how information and communication technologies have been integrated into older people’s lives, and how technology has influenced these individuals, doubts remain regarding whether technologies really fulfil older users’ needs and wishes and whether technologies developed specifically for older users necessarily protect and consider main ethical values. In this article, we address the relevance of privacy, vulnerability and preservation of autonomy as key factors when involving older individuals as target users for information and communication technology research and development. We provide explanatory examples on ethical issues involved in the particular case of developing different types of information and communication technology for older people (from robotics to serious games), what previously performed research tells us about older adults’ preferences and wishes for information and communication technology and what steps should be taken into consideration in the near future

Tecnologias e vida cotidiana: uma revisão do modelo de domesticação

Twenty-five years have passed since Roger Silverstone and other researchers proposed domestication —that is, the process by which an animal or plant species is transformed in order to live with humans— as an appropriate metaphor to understand how technological devices are incorporated into people’s daily lives, starting the journey of the technology domestication framework. This proposal was highly productive in theoretical and empirical terms, giving rise to a set of reflections and inquiries and becoming part of the usual background of research on the processes of appropriation of technologies carried out from a sociocultural perspective. In this review, we propose to present the main guidelines of its approach, review the results of the investigations that it has given rise to, and discuss its limits and the necessary adaptations to account for current technocommunicational phenomena.Ya han transcurrido veinticinco años desde que Roger Silverstone y otros investigadores propusieran a la domesticación —es decir, el proceso por el cual una especie animal o vegetal es transformada con el objeto de convivir con el ser humano— como una metáfora apropiada para comprender los modos en que los dispositivos tecnológicos son incorporados a la vida cotidiana de las personas, iniciando así el recorrido del modelo de domesticación de tecnologías. Esta propuesta resultó sumamente productiva en términos teóricos y empíricos, dando lugar a un conjunto de reflexiones e indagaciones que se convirtieron en parte del trasfondo habitual de la investigación acerca de los procesos de apropiación de tecnologías que se realiza desde una perspectiva sociocultural. Esta revisión presenta los principales lineamientos de su enfoque, reseña los resultados de las investigaciones que ha suscitado y discute sus límites y las adaptaciones necesarias para dar cuenta de los fenómenos tecnocomunicativos actualesVinte e cinco anos se passaram desde que Roger Silverstone e outros pesquisadores propuseram a domesticação —ou seja, o processo pelo qual uma espécie animal ou vegetal se transforma para coexistir com os humanos— como uma metáfora apropriada para entender os modos como os dispositivos são incorporados no dia-adia das pessoas, iniciando o percurso do modelo de domesticação de tecnologias. Essa proposta foi extremamente produtiva em termos teóricos e empíricos, originando um conjunto de reflexões e indagações que se transformaram no habitual background da investigação sobre os processos de apropriação de tecnologias que se realiza a partir da perspectiva sociocultural. Nessa revisão propomos apresentar as principais diretrizes de sua abordagem, revisar os resultados de pesquisas que originam e discutem seus limites e as adaptações necessárias para compreender os fenômenos tecnocomunicativos atuais

Digitaalinen pelaaminen ikäihmisten elämässä

Tämä pelitutkimuksen tutkimusalaan sisältyvä pro gradu käsittelee ikäihmisten digitaalisten viihdepelien pelaamista Suomessa. Tutkielma on toteutettu teemahaastattelujen avulla. Tutkimuskohteina ovat ikäihmisten yksilölliset pelitottumukset, pelaamisen motivaatiot, pelihistoriat ja peleihin liittyvät näkemykset sekä odotukset ja oletukset. Tutkielma tuo näkyviin kuvaa siitä, miten digitaaliset pelit sijoittuvat ikäihmisten elämään ja miten ikäihmisten pelaamiseen suhtaudutaan. Digitaaliset pelit ovat vakiinnuttaneet asemansa monien ajanvietteenä. Niiden pelaaminen kuitenkin vähenee selvästi vanhemmissa ikäryhmissä. Ikäihmisten digitaalisen pelaamisen tutkiminen kytkeytyy sukupolvien välisiin eroihin tietotekniikan ja teknologian käyttötottumuksissa ja niihin haasteisiin, joita teknologian ja tietoyhteiskunnan kehitys tuottavat sellaisille väestöryhmille, jotka altistuvat uusille teknologioille vanhemmalla iällä ja omaksuvat esimerkiksi tietotekniikan käytön eri lähtökohdista ja eri ikävaiheissa. Teknologioihin liittyvien odotusten ja käsitysten tarkastelu eri sukupolvien välillä mahdollistaa erilaisten teknologiasukupolvien havaitsemisen ja tarvittaessa myös eri sukupolvien tarpeiden paremman huomioinnin esimerkiksi pelien tai palvelujen suunnittelussa. Ikäihmisten pelaamisen tarkastelu voi tarjota mahdollisuuksia myös esimerkiksi digitaalisen osallisuuden tai onnistuvan vanhenemisen edistämiseksi. Samalla voidaan pyrkiä löytämään uusia näkökulmia siihen, miten tietoyhteiskuntaa voidaan kehittää esteettömämmiksi tai saavutettavammaksi eri ikäryhmille