scholarly journals Service robots: value co-creation and co-destruction in elderly care networks

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Čaić ◽  
Gaby Odekerken-Schröder ◽  
Dominik Mahr
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Value Networks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Value Network ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Socially Assistive Robots

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential roles for service robots (i.e. socially assistive robots) in value networks of elderly care. Taking an elderly person’s perspective, it defines robot roles according to their value co-creating/destroying potential for the elderly user (i.e. focal actor), while acknowledging consequences for a network of users around the elderly (i.e. network actors). Design/methodology/approach This qualitative, interpretative study employs in-depth phenomenographic interviews, supported by generative cards activities (i.e. Contextual Value Network Mapping), to elicit an elderly person’s tacit knowledge and anticipate the effects of introducing an automated actor on institutionalized value co-creation practices. Findings The proposed typology identifies six roles of socially assistive robots in an elderly person’s value network (enabler, intruder, ally, replacement, extended self, and deactivator) and links them to three health-supporting functions by robots: safeguarding, social contact, and cognitive support. Research limitations/implications Elderly people have notable expectations about the inclusion of a socially assistive robot as a new actor in their value networks. The identified robot roles inform service scholars and managers about both the value co-destruction potential that needs to be avoided through careful designs and the value co-creation potential that should be leveraged. Originality/value Using network-conscious phenomenographic interviews before the introduction of a novel value proposition sheds new light on the shifting value co-creation interplay among value network actors (i.e. elderly people, formal and informal caregivers). The value co-creation/destruction potential of socially assistive robots and their corresponding roles in care-based value networks offer insights for the design of meaningful robotic technology and its introduction into the existing service networks.

scholarly journals Should the family or the state provide support for the elderly people? Findings from a two-generational Finnish study

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 138-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti O. Tanskanen ◽  
Johanna Kallio ◽  
Mirkka Danielsbacka
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The State ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Opinions ◽  
The Family ◽  
Nationally Representative

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate public opinions towards elderly care. The authors analysed respondents’ opinions towards financial support, practical help and care for elderly people. Design/methodology/approach The authors used nationally representative data collected in Finland in 2012. Respondents represent an older generation (born between 1945 and 1950, n=1,959) and their adult children (born between 1962 and 1993, n=1,652). Findings First, the authors compared the opinions of older and younger Finns but did not find that older adults were more likely than younger adults support the state responsibility, or vice versa. It was also when only actual parent-child dyads (n=779) from same families were included. Next, the authors found that several socioeconomic and family-related variables were associated with public opinions of elderly care in both generations. For instance, in both generations lower-income individuals supported the state’s responsibility more compared to their better-off counterparts. Originality/value The study provides important knowledge on attitudes towards elderly care using unique two-generational data of younger and older adults.

scholarly journals AIR-Act2Act: Human–human interaction dataset for teaching non-verbal social behaviors to robots

2021 ◽  
pp. 027836492199067
Author(s):  
Woo-Ri Ko ◽  
Minsu Jang ◽  
Jaeyeon Lee ◽  
Jaehong Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Social Behaviors ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Human Interaction ◽  
Microsoft Kinect ◽  
Service Robots ◽  
Interaction Dataset ◽  
Humanoid Nao

To better interact with users, a social robot should understand the users’ behavior, infer the intention, and respond appropriately. Machine learning is one way of implementing robot intelligence. It provides the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience instead of explicitly telling the robot what to do. Social skills can also be learned through watching human–human interaction videos. However, human–human interaction datasets are relatively scarce to learn interactions that occur in various situations. Moreover, we aim to use service robots in the elderly care domain; however, there has been no interaction dataset collected for this domain. For this reason, we introduce a human–human interaction dataset for teaching non-verbal social behaviors to robots. It is the only interaction dataset that elderly people have participated in as performers. We recruited 100 elderly people and 2 college students to perform 10 interactions in an indoor environment. The entire dataset has 5,000 interaction samples, each of which contains depth maps, body indexes, and 3D skeletal data that are captured with three Microsoft Kinect v2 sensors. In addition, we provide the joint angles of a humanoid NAO robot which are converted from the human behavior that robots need to learn. The dataset and useful Python scripts are available for download at https://github.com/ai4r/AIR-Act2Act . It can be used to not only teach social skills to robots but also benchmark action recognition algorithms.

A survey of assistive robots and systems for elderly care

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karthik Kumar Santhanaraj ◽  
Ramya M.M. ◽  
Dinakaran D.
Keyword(s):  
Elderly Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Holistic Care ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Aged People ◽  
To Come

Purpose The rousing phenomenon of the ageing population is becoming a vital issue and demanding fulminant actions. Population ageing is a resultant of the enhanced health-care system, groovy antibiotics, medications and economic well-being. Old age leads to copious amounts of ailments. Aged people, owing to their reduced mobility and enervating disabilities, tend to rely upon caretakers and/or nursing personnel. With the increasing vogue of nuclear families in the society, the elderly are at the risk of being unveiled to emotional, physical and fiscal insecurities in the years to come. Caring for those seniors will be an enormous undertaking. Design/methodology/approach There is a dire need for an intelligent assistive system to meet out the requirements of continuous holistic care and monitoring. Assistive robots and systems used for elderly care are studied. The design motivation for the robots, elderly–robot interaction capabilities and technology incorporated in the systems are examined meticulously. Findings From the survey, it is suggested that the subsystems of an assistive robot revamped for better human–machine interactions will be a potential alternative to the human counterpart. Affirmable advancements in the robot design and interaction methodologies that would increase the holistic care and assistance for aged people are analyzed and listed. Originality/value This paper reviews the available assistive technologies and suggests a synergistic model that can be adopted for the caring of the elderly.

Does an impaired capacity for self-care impact the prevalence of social and emotional loneliness among elderly people?

2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irena Canjuga ◽  
Danica Železnik ◽  
Marijana Neuberg ◽  
Marija Božicevic ◽  
Tina Cikac
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Self Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Self ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Assessment ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of self-care on the prevalence of loneliness among elderly people living in retirement homes and older people living in their homes/communities. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted through standardized SELSA-L assessment loneliness questionnaires and the Self Care Assessment Worksheet for self-care assessment. The results were processed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. Findings The obtained results have shown that impaired self-care ability affects the prevalence of loneliness among the elderly almost the same in both groups of participants. However, regarding the relationship between the state of health and self-care, only a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of loneliness is found in the case of the participants living in their homes, with the worst health condition affecting the poorer psychological care. Research limitations/implications It is necessary to point out the limitations of the research, primarily sample limitations and the selected design of the study. The sample consisted of two different and relatively small groups of participants which could adversely affect the representativeness of the sample and reduce the possibility of generalising the results. The next limiting factor is the age distribution the authors used in the research, where the age of the participants as a very important variable was collected by age range and not precisely which consequently resulted in inequality in subgroup sizes. Thus, the middle age (75–85) covers up to ten years, which is a huge range at an older age and can mean major differences in functional ability, and can impact the self-care assessment. Practical implications Nurses are indispensable in care for the elderly and they need to promote and encourage self-care of the elderly through health care. Elderly people living in retirement homes should be allowed to participate equally in health care in order to preserve their own autonomy and dignity. However, to benefit those who live in their homes, nurses should be connected to the local community and thus stimulate various forms of preventative (testing blood sugar levels, blood pressure and educating on the importance of preventive examinations) or recreational activities in the environment of elderly people with the goal of preserving their functional abilities. Originality/value The impact of self-care on loneliness was not sufficiently researched, and this paper contributed to understanding the complexity of loneliness phenomena among the elderly with the aim of developing a model of prevention.

scholarly journals Knowledge Provision Model Through Distance Learning Method for Promoting Quality of Life of the Elderly in Rural Areas of Thailand

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Sumalee Sungsri
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Relationship ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Community Leaders ◽  
The World ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

Thailand is becoming an elderly society like many countries in the world. The number of elderly people is increasing continuously every year. In order to enable the elderly to live with good quality of life in the rapidly changing society, knowledge and information related to their health and living factors are considered to be necessary for them. Therefore, this study was carried out in order to develop a model of knowledge provision for promoting quality of life of the elderly in rural areas of the country. The samples were drawn from every region of the country which included 480 elderly people, 480 elderly caretakers, and 160 people representing the community leaders, community committee members and staff of local government agencies. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed for data collection. The study found that there were five areas of knowledge for promoting quality of life of the elderly: physical health, mental health, social relationship, economic, and learning. The model of knowledge provision to the elderly synthesized from the study could enable the elderly to gain necessary knowledge deemed useful for promoting their quality of life. The elderly, the elderly care caretakers and related people were found to be satisfied with the model.

Socially Assistive Robots in Elderly Care: A Systematic Review into Effects and Effectiveness

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-120.e1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Bemelmans ◽  
Gert Jan Gelderblom ◽  
Pieter Jonker ◽  
Luc de Witte
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Assistive Robots ◽  
Socially Assistive Robots

Active and wealthy Brazilian older adults: identity and consumption motivations

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 633-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andre Fregolente ◽  
Irene Junqueira ◽  
Priscilla Yung Medeiros
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Relationships ◽  
Older Consumers

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between identity construction and consumption motivation of the socially active and wealthy Brazilian older adults, applying a new approach that focuses on important circumstances and life events retrieved through storytelling. Design/methodology/approach Using in-depth semi-structured interviews with socially active and wealthy older Brazilian consumers, this study adopts “Noting, Collecting and Thinking about Things” (NCT) and two-cycle coding methods to explore the qualitative data. Findings The results indicate the need to explore identity construction and consumption motivation in an integrated matter. Life circumstances and events help explain older consumers’ identities and its impact on main consumption motivations, which include self-expression, a need for social contact and relationships, attachment, detachment, nostalgia, knowledge appreciation and technology affinity, among others. An integrated approach allows for the identification of new consumption motivations. Practical implications The main consumption motivations identified in this study help delineate some new marketing strategies targeted to older consumers, such as taking into account the importance of building relationships with older customers, adopting family references to promote products and services, taking into account the value older customers place on technology usage and being connected with current matters and treating the elderly as a heterogeneous group, among others. Originality/value This paper focuses on an attractive and yet unexplored segment of older consumers in the literature, contextualizing their identity and consumption motivations in an integrated fashion, rather than studying these concepts in isolation. New marketing strategies targeted to the older consumers are identified.

Patterns of living arrangements of the elderly in mainland China

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiehua Lu ◽  
Yun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Population Census ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Healthy Longevity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes and consequences of the patterns of Chinese elderly population’s living arrangements. It contains information that can be considered for future policy making for the elderly and to gain a better understanding of the social transition in China. Design/methodology/approach Based on the analysis of the population census data in 2000 and 2010, the authors examined the changes and trends of the living arrangements of the elderly Chinese population. Furthermore, the authors analyzed factors influencing the Chinese elderly’s living arrangements according to the data acquired from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. Findings First, the proportion of the elderly people living with children has been decreasing. Second, the proportions of elderly people “living alone” and “living with spouse independently” has largely increased. Third, the changes and trends showed differences between urban and rural regions. Originality/value By looking at the characteristics among elderly people with different living arrangement patterns, those that are “living alone” are typically in disadvantaged conditions, and thus special attention should be paid with regards to related research and policies for the elderly who are “living alone.”

scholarly journals Exploring the facet of elderly care centre in multiethnic Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Filzah Md Isa ◽  
Shaista Noor ◽  
Goh Wei Wei ◽  
Sharifah Diyana Binti Syed Hussain ◽  
Hairunnisa Mohamad Ibrahim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Trained Staff ◽  
The Government

Purpose Malaysia is considered to be a relatively young country as compared to other older countries such as Japan, China and Australia in terms of the ageing population. However, until 2035, Malaysia will be in the ageing group countries as 15% of the entire population will be above 60 years of age. This situation is quite alarming as more and more ageing care centres will be required to fulfill the ongoing demands of the ageing population. The elderly care centres in Malaysia are categorised as public (sponsored by the government), private, and charity based that comes under religious centres. Currently, there are about 365 registered elderly care centres working in the main states of Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, two states of the East Malaysia. Due to the importance of ageing population issues, the present study is conducted to explore the demographics facet of Malaysian’s elderly care centres. The main reason behind that lies on the fact that many of these centres are still labelled as being not well equipped and lacking behind in trained staff, equipment and also suffering from severe financial constraints but some still capable of working on a sustainability basis. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative Research Strategy has been adopted, and 28 centres throughout Malaysia are included in this study. About 18 Operators from different centres and 15 caregivers were interviewed to get the holistic view of ageing care and facilities in their respective centres. Findings The results highlight that the majority of centres are not receiving any financial help from the government, and few centres are doing small business such as supplying consumable medical and non-medical items and providing renting and rehabilitation centres facilities to sustain. The caregivers are facing issues such as excess workload, less salary, peer conflicts and non-cooperative centre leadership. Originality/value The present study may help to provide useful information to the policymakers, which enables them to formulate the strategies for ageing care centres in Malaysia. As this study provides insight of components that have an impact on the overall wellbeing of elderly care centres, hence, it could help the care services providers to act as a rising star for Malaysian’s social life comfort.

How Politico-Economic Systems Shape Individuals’ Value of Elderly Care: Evidence From the German Reunification

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freya Diederich ◽  
Hans-Helmut König ◽  
Christian Brettschneider
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Informal Care ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Market Economy ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Care For The Elderly ◽  
Average Marginal Effects ◽  
Social Market

Abstract Background and Objectives Perceptions of how societies should care for the elderly people can differ among countries. This study examines to what extent individuals’ value of informal care is shaped by the politico-economic system in which they grew up and if this value adjusts once an individual lives in a different politico-economic system. Research Design and Methods We use data from the German Family Panel and take advantage of the unique setting of the German separation and reunification. Probit models are used to examine the effect of being born in East Germany on individuals’ value of informal care relative to employment at different birth cohorts and survey waves (N = 14,093). Average marginal effects are calculated. Results Twenty years after reunification, East Germans who spent their adolescence under communism exhibit a higher value of informal care relative to employment than West Germans who grew up in a western social market economy. Differences in values between East and West Germans do not significantly converge over time. Discussion and Implications Individuals’ value of informal care is deeply shaped by the politico-economic system in which they grew up. If immigration policies are introduced to increase the care for elderly people, differences in individuals’ cultural perceptions of elderly care should be considered as these will not suddenly adjust.

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