Social Contexts of Technology Use in Old Age

This review paper has two major aims, first to synthesise recent research findings and conceptual developments in the field of psychological gerontology in Germany and in German language publications, and secondly, to argue that the field's research findings deserve greater attention, for both their substance and their relevance to social policy. The review focuses on three major fields of psychological gerontology: (1) cognitive development in old age; (2) personality development in old age; and (3) social relationships in old age. It highlights the major findings generated by German scholars since the 1990s. Although numerous and diverse, a common thread is the move away from a focus on the limitations and decrements of later life, and increased attention to the continuing capacities and developmental achievements of older people. The discussion elaborates the view that there is considerable merit in considering the broader social implications of these results. In conclusion, and from a general rather than disciplinary perspective, it is argued that there is a strong need for geropsychological research to be designed and interpreted with explicit attention to the cultural and social contexts in which the subjects live.

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Aging with physical disabilities: experience intersected by stigma, social isolation and finitude

Escola Anna Nery ◽

10.1590/2177-9465-ean-2018-0128 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

José Alves Martins ◽

Miriam Aparecida Barbosa Merighi ◽

Maria Cristina Pinto de Jesus ◽

Helena Akemi Wada Watanabe

Keyword(s):

Old Age ◽

Social Isolation ◽

Physical Disability ◽

Physical Disabilities ◽

The Elderly ◽

Social Contexts ◽

The Body ◽

Metropolitan Region ◽

Negative Experience ◽

Mato Grosso

Abstract Objective: To understand the experience from a perspective of elderly people with physical disabilities. Method: Qualitative study that interviewed 15 people from the Mato Grosso Association of Disabled Person. Testimonies were obtained from 2016 July to 2017 June in the metropolitan region of Cuiabá/Brazil. Data were organized in thematic categories and analyzed through social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz. Results: It was evidenced that the stigma intersects the experience of the physical deficiency including in the old age. The perpetuation of stigma translated into impaired identity, social isolation, lack of perspective and acceptance of finitude as inevitable, contributing to a negative experience in old age. Conclusion and implications for practice: The experience of aging with physical disability has an intrinsically multidimensional nature, confronting complex lives and social contexts hostile to the body diversity, which need to be considered in public policies, by service managers and professionals involved in the processes of care for the elderly with physical disability.

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Traveling the Road of Research: Stories of Teaching and Technology

Brock Education Journal ◽

10.26522/brocked.v24i1.446 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kate E O'Hara

Keyword(s):

Lived Experience ◽

Technology Use ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Tenure Track ◽

The Road ◽

Professional Experiences ◽

Teacher Researcher ◽

Tenure Track Position

This autobiographical account relates the journey of becoming a critical teacher researcher.. Through critical refection and analysis, the cultural, historical, and social contexts of research, teaching, and technology use are described as lived experience. Rich narrative accounts exemplify personal and professional experiences before and during the professoriate in a tenure track position.

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Subjective Technology Adaptivity Predicts Technology Use in Old Age

Gerontology ◽

10.1159/000471802 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 63 (4) ◽

pp. 385-392 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Stefan T. Kamin ◽

Frieder R. Lang ◽

Anja Beyer

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Old Age ◽

Technology Use ◽

Behavioral Plasticity ◽

Functional Limitations ◽

Late Life ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Innovative Technology ◽

Interindividual Differences

Background: To date, not much is known about the psychological and motivational factors underlying technology use in late life. What are the interindividual determinants that lead older adults to invest in using technological innovations despite the age-related physiological changes that impose challenges on behavioral plasticity in everyday life? Objective: This research explores interindividual differences in subjective technology adaptivity - a general technology-related motivational resource that accounts for technology use in late life. More specifically, we investigate the influence of this factor relative to demographic characteristics, personality traits, and functional limitations in a longitudinal sample of community-dwelling older adults. Methods: We report results from a paper-and-pencil survey with 136 older adults between 59 and 92 years of age (mean = 71.4, SD = 7.4). Of those participants, 77 participated in a 2-year follow-up. We assessed self-reports of technology use, subjective technology adaptivity, functional limitations, and the personality traits openness to new experiences and neuroticism. Results: Higher levels of subjective technology adaptivity were associated with technology use at the first measurement as well as increased use over the course of 2 years. Conclusions: Subjective technology adaptivity is a significant predictor of technology use in old age. Our findings contribute to improving the understanding of interindividual differences when using technological innovation in late life. Moreover, our findings have implications in the context of user involvement and may contribute to the successful development of innovative technology for older adults.

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A phased framework for long-term user acceptance of interactive technology in domestic environments

New Media & Society ◽

10.1177/1461444817727264 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 20 (7) ◽

pp. 2582-2603 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Maartje MA de Graaf ◽

Somaya Ben Allouch ◽

Jan AGM van Dijk

Keyword(s):

Technology Acceptance ◽

Technology Use ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Interactive Technology ◽

Temporal Dimension ◽

User Experiences ◽

Domestic Environments ◽

Acceptance Research ◽

Over Time

The temporal dimension of acceptance is under-researched in technology acceptance research. Yet, people’s perceptions on technology use may change over time when gaining user experiences. Our 6-month home study deploying an interactive robot provides insight into the long-term use of use interactive technology in a domestic environment. We present a phased framework for the acceptance of interactive technology in domestic environments. Based on 97 interviews obtained from 21 participants living in different household types, the results provide an initial validation of our phased framework for long-term acceptance showing that acceptance phases are linked to certain user experiences which evolve over time when people gain experience with the technology. Involving end users in the early stages of development helps researchers understand the cultural and social contexts of acceptance and enables developers to apply this gained knowledge into their future designs.

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Identidade, Aposentadoria e Terceira Idade

Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre o Envelhecimento ◽

10.22456/2316-2171.4653 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Author(s):

Sergio Antonio Carlos ◽

Maria da Graça Correa Jacques ◽

Sandra Vieira Larratéa ◽

Olga Collinet Herédia

Keyword(s):

Old Age ◽

Social Contexts ◽

The Body ◽

Third Age ◽

The Real ◽

Goods And Services ◽

Collective Representation ◽

Work World ◽

Work Class ◽

Empirical Material

Resumo: A associação corrente entre velhice e aposentadoria remete a uma representação coletiva em que o velho é percebido não mais como um agente de bens e serviços, e consequentemente marginalizado nos contextos sociais contemporâneos pautados pelo valor produtivo. A partir da análise e interpretação de depoimentos de pessoas com mais de 60 anos e aposentadas há pelo menos 5 anos, propõe-se uma compreensão para a permanência real ou simbólica do vínculo com o mundo formal do trabalho. O material empírico recolhido permite constatar que são os valores e idéias de referência da cultura de classe trabalhadora que continuam dando sentido e referência para estas pessoas; ainda, verifica-se a ocorrência de uma "dupla aposentadoria" no plano subjetivo: a primeira, legal, por tempo de serviço e a segunda, nem sempre com reconhecimento oficial, mas determinada pelos limites impostos pelo corpo (doenças e/ou idade) e pelo processo de exclusão do mundo do trabalho. Palavras-chave: Identidade. Terceira idade. Aposentadoria. Abstract: The current association between old age and retirement sends us into a collective representation where seniors are not perceived as producers for goods and services, thus marginalized in the contemporary social contexts noted for the valuing of productiveness. From the analyzes and interpretation of the declarations of the individuals over 60 and retired for at least 5 years, it was proposed an understanding for the real or symbolic permanence of the link with the formal work world. The empirical material collected allowed for the realization that it is the values and the cultural reference ideas of the work class that keep giving meaning and reference to these individuals; furthermore, it was noted the occurrence of a "double retirement" in the subjective plan: the first, legal and for the years of work, and the second, not always officially recognized, but determined by the limits imposed by the body (illness and/or age), and by the process of exclusion from the work world. Keywords: Identity. Third Age. Retirement.

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The intertwining of second couplehood and old age

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x14000294 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 35 (9) ◽

pp. 1864-1888 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

CHAYA KOREN

Keyword(s):

Old Age ◽

Theoretical Orientation ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Care Giving ◽

Self Image ◽

The Social ◽

Health Related ◽

Gains And Losses

ABSTRACTSecond couplehood in old age is a growing phenomenon alongside increases in life expectancy. Lately, a shift has occurred in that individual diversity of ageing is perceived to depend on the physical and social contexts in which older persons experience change. Thus, the purpose of the study on which this paper reports was to examine second couplehood in the context of old age and old age in the context of second couplehood using an existential-phenomenological theoretical orientation. Twenty couples were recruited using criterion-sampling: men aged 65+ and women aged 60+, with children and grandchildren from a lifelong marriage that had ended in widowhood or divorce, living in second couplehood – married or not – in separate houses or co-habitating. Forty individual semi-structured interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed according to phenomenological tradition. Five sub-themes emerged, demonstrating couplehood and old age intertwining: (a) enjoying life while still possible; (b) living with health-related issues; (c) relationships with adult children: autonomy versus dependency; (d) loneliness: living as a couple is better than living alone; (e) self-image: feeling young–feeling old. Findings support the existence of positive and negative aspects of old age. Our discussion suggests the need to replace perceptions of old age as either a negative burden or a positive asset towards a period of balancing between gains and losses. Furthermore, we acknowledge the role of second couplehood in older peoples’ wellbeing on the personal–micro level through love, the familial–mezzo level through care-giving and the social–macro level by reducing prejudice.

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Comparision of Quality of Life of Senior Citizens Residing in Old Age Homes and Own Residence

Journal of Nepal Health Research Council ◽

10.33314/jnhrc.v18i1.2050 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 16-20

Author(s):

Nebina Piya ◽

Tara Shah ◽

Angur Badhu ◽

Sharmila Shrestha

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Old Age ◽

Senior Citizens ◽

Social Contexts ◽

Equal Proportion ◽

High Quality ◽

Ageing Society ◽

Research Participants ◽

Old Age Homes

Background: Quality of life of elderly is becoming even more relevant with demographic shift happening towards an ageing society. With fast changing family condition and social contexts, lives of elderly people in Nepal have been changing dramatically. Old age homes have sprung up to cater to the needs of the elderly from different socio-economic backgrounds. The objective of this study is to compare the quality of life of senior citizens of selected old age homes and own residence and to find the association of quality of life with selected study variables.Methods: A comparative study was conducted among 120 senior citizens from Dhankuta, Morang and Sunsari districts of Koshi zone. Two strata were formed based on their residence, i.e., old age homes and own residence. Equal proportion of the samples were selected from both the settings. Data was collected using interview schedule through pretested semi-structured and standard World Helth Organization, quality of life – old questionnaires. Results: More than one fifth (23.33%) of research participants were from the age group 65-69 and 75-79 and more than half (55%) of them were female. More than half (58.33%) of the research participants residing in their own residence had high quality of life level, while among those residing in the old age homes, only about 40% had high quality of life level. Quality of life level was found to be significantly associated with sex and educational status of the research participants. Conclusions: Quality of life was found to be better among the people residing in their own residence as compared to those residing in old age homes.Keywords: Old age homes; quality of life; senior citizens

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