Abstract The paper, ‘“Who Wants to Know all this Stuff?!”: Understanding Older Adults’ Privacy Concerns in Aged Care Monitoring Devices’, by Sami Alkhatib, Ryan Kelly, Jenny Waycott, George Buchanan, Marthie Grobler and Shuo Wang, published in Interacting with Computers (November 2021), explores the use of care technology and the privacy concerns of older people.
Objectives There are growing concerns that social isolation presents risks to older people's health and well‐being. Thus, the objective of the review was to explore how technology is currently being utilised to combat social isolation and increase social participation, hence improving social outcomes for older people. Methods A systematic review of the literature was conducted across the social science and human‐computer interaction databases. Results A total of 36 papers met the inclusion criteria and were analysed using a four‐step process. Findings were threefold, suggesting that: (i) technologies principally utilised social network services and touch‐screen technologies; (ii) social outcomes are often ill‐defined or not defined at all; and (iii) methodologies used to evaluate interventions were often limited and small‐scale. Conclusion Results suggest a need for studies that examine new and innovative forms of technology, evaluated with rigorous methodologies, and drawing on clear definitions about how these technologies address social isolation/participation.
In this paper, we present a foundation for understanding the elements that enable people with visual impairment to engage with digital games. This is defined by the gamer's relation- ships with information and with elements of control provided by the game, and is mediated through in-game metaphors and affordances when gamers interact as users or creators. This work complements previous research exploring the points of view of gamers with visual impairment by focusing on the games they play and prioritising the relationships between the key enablers of access to digital games. Using the framework to examine existing and missing components will enable de- signers to consider broader aspects of accessibility in game design.
This article discusses sociotechnical challenges of technology-based interventions to address loneliness in later life. We bring together participatory and multidisciplinary research conducted in Canada and Australia to explore the limits of digital technologies to help tackle loneliness among frail older people (aged 65+). Drawing on three case studies, we focus on instances when technology-based interventions, such as communication apps, were limiting or failed, seeming to enhance rather than lessen loneliness. We also unpack instances where the technologies being considered did not match participants’ social needs and expectations, preventing adoption, use, and the intended outcomes. To better grasp the negative unintended consequences of these technological interventions, we combine a relational sociological approach to loneliness with the Strong Structuration Theory developed by sociologist Rob Stones. This combined lens highlights the connection between sociotechnical factors and their agentic and structural contexts, facilitating a rich understanding of why and when technologies fail and limit.
Industry depends on effective training for employees so that organisations can be efficient and productive. A number of theories exist to explain the relationship between ability and performance. The present paper explores difficulties in testing theories of skill acquisition, with a focus on Ackerman's model of ability—performance relations, and summarises various research projects which have tested this theory. Suggestions are made for further research.
It has been widely suggested, and in some respects accepted, that a so-called Net Generation of students is passing through [Australia's] universities. Born roughly between 1980 and 1994 these students have been characterised as being technologically savvy, having grown up in an age where computers, mobile phones and the Internet are part of mainstream culture and society. A number of commentators have even suggested that educators, whom they label 'digital immigrants', need to radically adjust their teaching and learning strategies to accommodate their 'digital native' students, predominantly by adopting and capitalising on the affordances of emerging technologies. This project explored the notion of the Net Generation in higher education to gain a better understanding of: students' and teachers' current technological experiences and preferences; and a range of issues associated with the implementation of emerging technologies in local learning and teaching contexts. This handbook represents a key project outcome. The main messages that have emerged from the project are that: (1) the rhetoric that university students are 'digital natives' and university staff are 'digital immigrants' is not supported; (2) there is great diversity in students' and staff experiences with technology, and their preferences for the use of technology in higher education; (3) emerging technologies afford a range of learning activities that can improve student learning processes, outcomes, and assessment practices; (4) managing and aligning pedagogical, technical and administrative issues is a necessary condition of success when using emerging technologies for learning; (5) innovation with learning technologies typically requires the development of new learning and teaching and technology-based skills, which is effortful for both students and staff; and (6) the use of emerging technologies for learning and teaching can challenge current university policies in learning and teaching and IT.
Virtual Reality (VR) has been increasingly used for enrichment in later life. This review aims to investigate what is currently known about this topic. Following the PRISMA guidelines, fifteen articles were included for in-depth review. The review indicates that this topic is being explored by researchers in multiple disciplines. The VR systems in the studies reviewed ranged from fully immersive to less immersive systems. For most study participants, emotions were positively changed after experiencing VR. Participants enjoyed travel-based applications, social interaction, and reminiscing about things in new and interesting ways with the blending of multisensory experiences. VR experiences were improved when a facilitator mediated discussion about experiences and provided guidance. However, usability issues and discomfort in using the equipment are major concerns of VR. This paper contributes key considerations for the design and implementation of VR to provide enrichment for older adults and opportunities for future work in this area.
Recent advances in technologies designed for general population use (eg. autobank, mobile phone, video recorder) necessitate users to acquire information quickly and easily, about how a particular device should be oeprated. However it is often the case that technological devices and accompanying instructions, are not ‘user-friendly’, and are difficult to operate for ‘lay learners’, since learning must often occur individually, without verbal instruction, or assistance from experts or teachers. The current study set out to investigate the usability of a mobile phone network in an experiment lasting 4 hours with 94 student participants. It aimed to investigate (a) how advance organizers might affect performance and (b) the interaction between cognitive ability and effects of advance organizers. Participants were allocated to three experimental conditions: control, ‘text’ advance organizer, and ‘graphic’ advance organizer. Results showed that the ‘text’ group performed better than the ‘graphic’ group, and that as predicted, both advance organizer groups performed better than the control group. Further, low ability groups (associative memory and verbal reasoning) performed better in advance organizer groups, especially the text condition, than the control group suggesting that the effect of an advance organizer can ameliorate the influence of low ability, on performance. High ability groups were relatively unaffected by the influence of advance organizers. Further research is needed with common technological devices, into the effects of advance organizers on different ability groups amongst the population at large.
Modern society is characterized by the use of information and communication technologies. Older adults are believed to face challenges while learning to use new technologies but there is very limited understanding of what those challenges are or how they should be overcome. In this paper, we present findings from a literature review of 22 articles conducted to a) identify challenges that older adults face learning digital skills, and b) understand older adults' reactions in response to learning challenges. The findings indicate that older adults mainly face five types of challenges in learning digital skills: 1) age-related barriers, 2) problems related to technology features or design, 3) perceptions of low self-efficacy, 4) negative societal attitude, and 5) complexity of training materials. The findings also indicate that facing and trying to overcome the challenges result in negative emotions like fear and anxiety which are detrimental to gaining confidence in technology use. We identify opportunities to improve digital skills training so that older adults can benefit from confident use of new technology.
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