Can robots tackle late-life loneliness? : Scanning of future opportunities and challenges in assisted living facilities

This future-oriented study examines the opportunities and challenges offered by social robots and communication technology when aiming to decrease emotional and social loneliness in older people residing in assisted living (AL). The paper draws on prior literature on loneliness, elder care and social robots. The aim is to scan the futures regarding technology support for the frail older people in future AL. The analytical frame was built on Robert Weiss’ division of relational functions: attachment, social integration, opportunity for nurturance, reassurance of worth, sense of reliable alliance, and guidance in stressful situations, and on a distinction between direct and indirect social robots. Our examinations show that social robots could tackle both emotional and social loneliness in assisted living by empowering people to engage in different forms of social interaction inside and outside the facility. However, ethical concerns of objectification, lack of human contact, and deception need to be thoroughly considered when implementing social robots in care for frail older people.Peer reviewe

Attention to Information Quality : The Case of Safety Telephone Services for Ageing People in Finland

This article investigates information quality within multi-actor service networks offering safety telephone services for ageing people. A clear connection between the quality of information and success of business has been acknowledged, but tools for analysing information quality in network environments on the basis of qualitative data have been lacking. There is also a limited understanding of information processes of virtual networks of public and private service organizations in the literature. In the present article, a novel framework for information quality analysis is introduced and operationalized. The framework extends previously developed methods and provides a fundamentally different way to assess information quality, contrary to earlier quantitative studies. Operationalization of the newly developed framework is undertaken in the virtual network environment of safety telephone services for ageing people. These services utilize rapidly developing well-being technology. The analysis is based on data from interviews with professionals working in several service networks of different types and sizes in Finland. The results provide a detailed account of the state of information quality in the case networks. Such results can be utilized as guidelines when planning information-related matters in the case networks in the future

Humanitarian Emergencies Indicators, Measurements, and Data Considerations

This Research in Progress report is divided into two parts. Part I studies the operationalization and indicators of the different elements of complex humanitarian emergencies. It includes discussions of what to try to measure when looking into the magnitude of emergencies and why, what data are available for that purpose, and what are the basic limitations concerning recency, accuracy, comparability and availability of such data.The paper is a contribution to future studies concerning quantitative indicators of crises. It outlines only methodological issues, leaving out a discussion of policy implications at this early stage of the analysis. The paper also includes some preliminary conclusions of analyses of data for a large number of developing countries on the different elements of crises, such as hunger, diseases, deaths due to wars, and displacement.The elements of complex emergencies are seldom systematically measured, and are in fact often unmeasurable. This is likely to lead to major problems and even distorted conclusions in statistical analyses. Yet, such problems often do not attract sufficient attention.Part II contains a discussion of Amartya Sen's entitlement theory as a plausible explanation of humanitarian emergencies. It is suggested that it can be used for organizing the search for causes of emergencies by incorporating new types of entitlements that cover the various - not only economic, but also political, institutional, cultural, etc. - causes of emergencies. The preliminary remarks of Part II should also be useful in building a model of causes of humanitarian emergencies. Part I of the paper examines a few variables to illustrate the existence and extent of human suffering, and discussing causes of emergencies (Part II) with a somewhat modified entitlement approach broadens the analysis of complex emergencies