scholarly journals Sociocultural Differences in Accepting Technology for Older Adults Between South Korea and the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 551-552
Author(s):  
Jeungkun Kim ◽  
Suk-Young Kang

Abstract In recent years, Western-originated technology products for older adults are rapidly spreading in Korea, but discussions on technology acceptance taking into account the socio-cultural characteristics of older adults in Korea are relatively insufficient. The purpose of this study is to analyze the influence of the socio-cultural characteristics of Korean older adults on their intention to use technology compared to the United States. Due to Covid-19, a telephone and non-face-to-face survey was conducted for older adults aged 65-95 residing in New York State in the U.S. and the metropolitan area of South ​​Korea from September 2020 to January 2021(N=155 in South Korea, N=180 in the U.S.).In this study, the expanded technology acceptance model for older adults was conceptualized, and socio-cultural factors were used as mediators or modulators. Results show that Korean older adults had higher expectations that technology use would have a positive impact on their lives, and their product purchase intentions were higher than those in the United States(p<0.001). The main reason was that Korean older adults were less anxious about the leakage of personal information, had higher national trust and were relatively less resistant to robots than American older adults. In addition, Korean older adults were more confident that they could receive help in case of problems with technology products than their counterparts in the United States. This study suggests practical and policy alternatives for securing technology acceptance of older adults, taking into account the social and cultural factors of Korea and the United States.

2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (12) ◽  
pp. 1341-1347
Author(s):  
F. Bof de Andrade ◽  
J.L.F. Antunes ◽  
F.C.D. Andrade ◽  
M.F.F. Lima-Costa ◽  
J. Macinko

This study aimed to measure the magnitude of education-related inequalities in the use of dental services among older adults (aged 50 y or older) from a sizable multicountry sample of 23 upper-middle- and high-income countries. This study used cross-sectional data from nationally representative surveys of people aged 50 y and over. Countries included in the Health and Retirement Study surveys were the following: Brazil, China, South Korea, Mexico, United States, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Israel, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The dependent variable was the use of dental services, based on the self-report of having had a dental visit within the previous year, except for the United States and South Korea, which used 2-y recall periods. Educational level was used as the measure of socioeconomic position and was standardized across countries. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to evaluate the factors associated with the use of dental services, and the magnitude of education inequalities in the use of dental services was assessed using the slope index of inequality (SII) to measure absolute inequalities and the relative index of inequality for relative inequalities. The pooled prevalence of the use of dental services was 31.7% and ranged from 18.7% in China to 81.2% in Sweden. In the overall sample, the absolute difference in the prevalence of use between the lowest and highest educational groups was 20 percentage points. SII was significant for all countries except Portugal. Relative educational inequalities were significant for all countries and ranged from 3.2 in Poland to 1.2 in Sweden. There were significant education-related inequalities in the use of dental care by older adults in all countries. Monitoring these inequalities is critical to the planning and delivery of dental services.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Maria Pisu ◽  
Roy C. Martin ◽  
Liang Shan ◽  
Giovanna Pilonieta ◽  
Richard E. Kennedy ◽  
...  

Background: Use of specialists and recommended drugs has beneficial effects for older adults living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD). Gaps in care may exist for minorities, e.g., Blacks, and especially in the United States (U.S.) Deep South (DS), a poor U.S. region with rising ADRD cases and minority overrepresentation. Currently, we have little understanding of ADRD care utilization in diverse populations in this region and elsewhere in the U.S. (non-DS), and the factors that adversely impact it. Objective: To examine utilization of specialists and ADRD drugs (outcomes) in racial/ethnic groups of older adults with ADRD and the personal or context-level factors affecting these outcomes in DS and non-DS. Methods: We obtained outcomes and personal-level covariates from claims for 127,512 Medicare beneficiaries with ADRD in 2013–2015, and combined county-level data in exploratory factor analysis to define context-level covariates. Adjusted analyses tested significant association of outcomes with Black/White race and other factors in DS and non-DS. Results: Across racial/ethnic groups, 33%–43% in DS and 43%–50% in non-DS used specialists; 47%–55% in DS and 41%–48% in non-DS used ADRD drugs. In adjusted analyses, differences between Blacks and Whites were not significant. Vascular dementia, comorbidities, poverty, and context-level factor “Availability of Medical Resources” were associated with specialist use; Alzheimer’s disease and senile dementia, comorbidities, and specialist use were associated with drug use. In non-DS only, other individual, context-level covariates were associated with the outcomes. Conclusion: We did not observe significant gaps in ADRD care in DS and non-DS; however, research should further examine determinants of low specialist and drug use in these regions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 455-455
Author(s):  
Manka Nkimbeng ◽  
Alvine Akumbom ◽  
Marianne Granbom ◽  
Sarah Szanton ◽  
Tetyana Shippee ◽  
...  

Abstract The needs and conceptualization of age-friendliness likely vary for immigrant older adults compared to native-born older adults. For example, Hispanic immigrant older adults often return to their home country following the development of ill health. Doubling in size since the 1970’s, the aging needs of African immigrants are not fully understood. This qualitative study examined experiences of aging and retirement planning for African immigrant older adults in the United States (U.S.). Specifically, it explored the factors, processes, and ultimate decision of where these older adults planned to retire. We analyzed semi-structured interviews with 15 older African immigrants in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area. Data were analyzed using thematic analyses in NVivo. The majority of participants were women, with a mean age of 64. We identified three overarching themes with ten sub-themes. The themes included: 1) cultural identity: indicating participant’s comfort with the U.S. society and culture; 2) decision making: factors that impact participants' choice of retirement location, and 3) decision made: the final choice of where participants would like to retire. Age-friendliness for immigrant older adults in the U.S. is complex and it includes the traditional domains such as physical and sociocultural environment (e.g. housing, transportation, and income). However, immigrant age-friendliness also needs to include wider contextual aspects such as political climate in their country of origin, immigrant status, family responsibilities, and acculturation in the U.S. More research is needed understand and facilitate age-friendly environments for transnational immigrant older adults.


2016 ◽  
Vol 02 (04) ◽  
pp. 465-484
Author(s):  
Chung Kyung-Young

The nuclear program is arguably Kim Jong-un’s strategic fantasy and core asset for breaking the status quo in order to achieve a unified Korea. To cope with North Korea’s grave nuclear and missile threats, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system needs to be deployed in South Korea for deterrence by denial. In the meantime, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should not exclude the military option in the event of any further nuclear test and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launch experiment by North Korea. The U.S. government should consider redeploying tactical nuclear warheads to South Korea in order to make the extended deterrence more effective. The South Korean government should make it clear that the Republic of Korea (ROK) does not seek to join, nor will it be incorporated into, the U.S.-led missile defense system. The United States and China should cooperate with South Korea to take the lead in achieving a norm-oriented, nuclear-free, and unified Korea. In particular, ROK-U.S.-China strategic cooperation is essential to preventing any potential nuclear warfare and maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea, the United States and China should propose restructured negotiations on important issues that provide genuine incentives for Pyongyang, culminating in complete and verifiable denuclearization and a treaty that will end the tensions on the Peninsula. In addition, the trilateral cooperation needs to adopt a more proactive engagement policy to facilitate North Korea’s lasting transformation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-65
Author(s):  
Wan-Soo Lee ◽  
Min-Kyu Lee ◽  
Seok Kang ◽  
Jae-Woong Yoo

This study explored a comparative analysis of how the South Korean and United States media framed the Samsung–Apple patent lawsuit. The South Korean and U.S. media have a tendency to report Samsung–Apple patent disputes in a completely different angle. While framing in favor of Samsung was frequent in South Korea, neutral frames were dominant in the United States. The South Korean newspapers showed a stronger nationalism in favor of Samsung, whereas the U.S. newspapers portrayed the business conflict in the market logic. The South Korean and U.S. newspapers also showed differences in framing according to the ideological characteristics of the newspaper. In South Korea, the main conservative newspaper ( Chosun Ilbo) framed the issue in favor of Samsung and the largest liberal newspaper ( Hankyoreh) revealed a tendency to frame it in favor of Apple. However, in the United States, only the main business newspaper ( Wall Street Journal) favored Apple. This study contributes to news framing research in that socio-cultural divergences, framing pool (e.g., generic frames vs. issue-specific frames), and journalistic contexts considered systematically.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maruta Z. Vitols ◽  
Caitrin Lynch

This paper engages with filmic portrayals of older adults in the U.S. in order to ask questions about the impacts of mass media on reproducing, critiquing, or interrogating mainstream values and assumptions about aging. The study considers the recent Hollywood works The Expendables (2010) and R.E.D. (2010), as well as the independent documentary Young@Heart (2007). We forefront questions of visibility, invisibility, and recognition both in terms of what experiences and realities are rendered visible or invisible by mass media, but also in terms of the subjective experiences of many older adults in the United States.


Author(s):  
James C. McShay

This chapter explores why there is a need for scholars to not only systematically couple discussions about technology use along with technology access, but ground their inquiries in a theory of critical multiculturalism as they seek to fully understand ways for minimizing the digital divide. In order to help explain why using this critical framework is important, this discussion is set against the historical backdrop of the country of Brazil whose past in many ways parallels the United States with regard to its history of oppression and servitude of people based upon their racial heritage. Moreover, this work provides a brief discussion of Paulo Freire’s work with African Brazilians and how he helped them to develop critical understandings about how hegemonic structures limited the extent to which they were able to experience their own humanity. This chapter draws from the historical experiences of African Brazilians as a way to deconstruct how issues of technology and educational inequalities are examined in the U.S. The author of this chapter claims that if U.S. educators are to help prepare students to become productive and reflective decision-makers, they must first acquire tools for understanding their own social realities and learn ways for re-creating them to reflect the ideals of democracy and social justice. Furthermore, the author made calls for educational scholars develop a new language that captures the spectrum of questions at the center of the digital divide debate concerning access and use, but also foregrounds issues of liberation, agency and social change.


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