scholarly journals How Prefrail Older People Living Alone Perceive Information and Communications Technology and What They Would Ask a Robot for: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katia Daniele ◽  
Maura Marcucci ◽  
Cesarina Cattaneo ◽  
Nunzio Alberto Borghese ◽  
Lucia Zannini
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Older People ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
The Past

BACKGROUND In the last decade, the family system has changed significantly. Although in the past, older people used to live with their children, nowadays, they cannot always depend on assistance of their relatives. Many older people wish to remain as independent as possible while remaining in their homes, even when living alone. To do so, there are many tasks that they must perform to maintain their independence in everyday life, and above all, their well-being. Information and communications technology (ICT), particularly robotics and domotics, could play a pivotal role in aging, especially in contemporary society, where relatives are not always able to accurately and constantly assist the older person. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to understand the needs, preferences, and views on ICT of some prefrail older people who live alone. In particular, we wanted to explore their attitude toward a hypothetical caregiver robot and the functions they would ask for. METHODS We designed a qualitative study based on an interpretative phenomenological approach. A total of 50 potential participants were purposively recruited in a big town in Northern Italy and were administered the Fried scale (to assess the participants’ frailty) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (to evaluate the older person’s capacity to comprehend the interview questions). In total, 25 prefrail older people who lived alone participated in an individual semistructured interview, lasting approximately 45 min each. Overall, 3 researchers independently analyzed the interviews transcripts, identifying meaning units, which were later grouped in clustering of themes, and finally in emergent themes. Constant triangulation among researchers and their reflective attitude assured trustiness. RESULTS From this study, it emerged that a number of interviewees who were currently using ICT (ie, smartphones) did not own a computer in the past, or did not receive higher education, or were not all young older people (aged 65-74 years). Furthermore, we found that among the older people who described their relationship with ICT as negative, many used it in everyday life. Referring to robotics, the interviewees appeared quite open-minded. In particular, robots were considered suitable for housekeeping, for monitoring older people’s health and accidental falls, and for entertainment. CONCLUSIONS Older people’s use and attitudes toward ICT does not always seem to be related to previous experiences with technological devices, higher education, or lower age. Furthermore, many participants in this study were able to use ICT, even if they did not always acknowledge it. Moreover, many interviewees appeared to be open-minded toward technological devices, even toward robots. Therefore, proposing new advanced technology to a group of prefrail people, who are self-sufficient and can live alone at home, seems to be feasible.

scholarly journals How Prefrail Older People Living Alone Perceive Information and Communications Technology and What They Would Ask a Robot for: Qualitative Study

10.2196/13228 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. e13228
Author(s):  
Katia Daniele ◽  
Maura Marcucci ◽  
Cesarina Cattaneo ◽  
Nunzio Alberto Borghese ◽  
Lucia Zannini
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Older People ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
The Past

Background In the last decade, the family system has changed significantly. Although in the past, older people used to live with their children, nowadays, they cannot always depend on assistance of their relatives. Many older people wish to remain as independent as possible while remaining in their homes, even when living alone. To do so, there are many tasks that they must perform to maintain their independence in everyday life, and above all, their well-being. Information and communications technology (ICT), particularly robotics and domotics, could play a pivotal role in aging, especially in contemporary society, where relatives are not always able to accurately and constantly assist the older person. Objective The aim of this study was to understand the needs, preferences, and views on ICT of some prefrail older people who live alone. In particular, we wanted to explore their attitude toward a hypothetical caregiver robot and the functions they would ask for. Methods We designed a qualitative study based on an interpretative phenomenological approach. A total of 50 potential participants were purposively recruited in a big town in Northern Italy and were administered the Fried scale (to assess the participants’ frailty) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (to evaluate the older person’s capacity to comprehend the interview questions). In total, 25 prefrail older people who lived alone participated in an individual semistructured interview, lasting approximately 45 min each. Overall, 3 researchers independently analyzed the interviews transcripts, identifying meaning units, which were later grouped in clustering of themes, and finally in emergent themes. Constant triangulation among researchers and their reflective attitude assured trustiness. Results From this study, it emerged that a number of interviewees who were currently using ICT (ie, smartphones) did not own a computer in the past, or did not receive higher education, or were not all young older people (aged 65-74 years). Furthermore, we found that among the older people who described their relationship with ICT as negative, many used it in everyday life. Referring to robotics, the interviewees appeared quite open-minded. In particular, robots were considered suitable for housekeeping, for monitoring older people’s health and accidental falls, and for entertainment. Conclusions Older people’s use and attitudes toward ICT does not always seem to be related to previous experiences with technological devices, higher education, or lower age. Furthermore, many participants in this study were able to use ICT, even if they did not always acknowledge it. Moreover, many interviewees appeared to be open-minded toward technological devices, even toward robots. Therefore, proposing new advanced technology to a group of prefrail people, who are self-sufficient and can live alone at home, seems to be feasible.

scholarly journals To the Dissertation and Beyond: Independent Study in the New Undergraduate Curriculum

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ainley
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Curriculum ◽  
Independent Study ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
New Information ◽  
New Knowledge

Over the past 30 years social changes have taken place which makes the dialogue of teachers with students as the essential preserve of the higher educational community difficult. This is not only the case for the new universities that have made the most efforts to widen participation. With the decline of industry and the expansion of services, a reformation of social class has re-designated many jobs in what has become the ‘working-middle’ of society as professional occupations requiring higher qualifications. Partly in response to this pressure for certification, many young people are leaving school and college later with supposedly higher standards but often trained rather than educated, or “over schooled but undereducated” (A. Ainley, and Allen 2010). Training to meet externally verified competences is also extending into higher education. Paradoxically, considering the hopes invested in it, new information and communications technology has not necessarily helped. While ICT allows access to a mass of information, it has also facilitated a culture of plagiarism and undermined existing expertise by multiplying the possibly verifiable criteria for new knowledge. On top of all this, academics have also often not helped themselves by designing courses which make a virtue of student choice from a range of options that may even deny the possibility of students constructing coherent conceptual totalities related to their fields of study.

scholarly journals Use of ICT to Enhance the Learning Process in Higher Education

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 97-102
Author(s):  
Chetlal Prasad ◽  
Pushpa Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Teaching Learning

ICTs in Education refers to the development of information and communications technology specifically for teaching/learning purposes, while the ICTs in education involves the adoption of general components of information and communication technologies in the teaching learning process. The National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NME-ICT), launched in 2009 by the Central Government. Let’s see how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) evolved the Higher Education system: The role of ICT in higher education, what students learn, The role of ICT in Higher Education, how Students Learn, The role of ICT in Higher Education, when students learn, The role of ICT in higher education, where students learn. Online courses, development of e-content, e-learning, digital libraries, online encyclopaedias, journals, and books would promote learning and make knowledge available to all irrespective of the distance or location or financial resources. Government intervention is necessary so that ICT can be made successful in higher education. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has the proven power to change the world. This acronym refers to the merging of audiovisual and telephone networks with the computer single unified system of cabling.

The Development of Social E-Enterprises, Mobile Communication and Social Networks

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 68-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Ratten
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Communication ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Social Software ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
Environmental Objectives

As technological innovations have progressed, the ability of social enterprises to find creative solutions to social problems in the global economy has increased. Social electronic enterprises (e-enterprises) contribute to the well-being of society by utilizing information and communications technology that has a financial component in addition to social and environmental objectives. Social e-entrepreneurship is an effective dynamic way that organizations can achieve social objectives that facilitate change in the international environment. More recently, innovation in information and communications technology has increased the ability of individuals to establish social e-enterprises. This paper discusses the role of technological innovations in providing opportunities for social e-enterprises to develop based on mobile online services. The influence of mobile online communities in developing social e-enterprises is investigated along with how mobile communication has encouraged individuals and organisations to be involved in social e-enterprises. The changing mobile social software communications devices that have allowed individuals to build social e-enterprises using technological innovations from the internet are stated. Recommendations for the continued development of social e-enterprises that utilize emerging technological innovations are included in the paper with suggestions for future research.

E-Documents and E-Signatures in Tanzania

2012 ◽  
pp. 90-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ubena John
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
Literature Analysis ◽  
Ict Infrastructure ◽  
The Government

This chapter analyses the use of e-Documents and e-Signatures in Tanzania with a view of establishing their legal status, applicability, and the future of such technologies in e-Government systems. That is important as Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is widely employed in Tanzania. Moreover, the development and application of information systems is influenced by law. Therefore, the problem investigated is twofold: First, legal status, validity, and admissibility of e-Documents and e-Signatures in evidence in Tanzania are questioned. Second, the challenges facing the establishment of e-Government in Tanzania are explored. The chapter is a qualitative study, i.e. library- and desk-based research. Various literatures focusing on e-Documents and e-Signatures are reviewed, analysed, and evaluated so as to draw a conclusion on the relevancy of e-Documents and e-Signatures in the e-Government projects in Tanzania. The literature analysis conducted found that there is a lack of legal framework to recognize e-Documents and e-Signatures compounded with poor ICT infrastructure in Tanzania. This scenario puts e-Government endeavours at risk. It is recommended that the government should enact the laws to recognise e-Documents and e-Signatures to boost e-Commerce as well as e-Government.

Remote Work, Sexual Harassment, and Worker Well-Being

2021 ◽  
pp. 32-52
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Strenio ◽  
Joyita Roy Chowdhury
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
Occupational Hazard ◽  
Remote Work ◽  
Employment Trajectories ◽  
Global North ◽  
Mental And Physical Health

Workplace sexual harassment is a serious occupational hazard, adversely affecting workers' employment trajectories, economic well-being, and mental and physical health. Prior to COVID-19, it was widespread and primarily perpetrated by men against women, both in the physical workplace and physical and virtual public spaces associated with work. This chapter examines how the transition to remote work has effected changes in the prevalence and types of sexual harassment, paying attention to its gendered nature. Remote work holds both promise and peril. While exposure to physical harassment has fallen, information and communications technology has increased the risk of sexual harassment in virtual spaces. The cases of the United States and India are explored in more detail to compare worker experiences across the Global North and Global South, in countries with vastly different socioeconomic structures. This chapter contributes to the understanding of the benefits and challenges of remote work in combatting sexual harassment.

scholarly journals Relational Aspects between ICT and the Modernization of Differentiated and Individualized Teaching of Foreign Languages in Higher Education

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-35
Author(s):  
Brânduşa-Oana Niculescu ◽  
Georgeta Obilişteanu
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Educational Theory ◽  
Individualized Instruction ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
Modern Methods ◽  
Individualized Teaching

Abstract The amplitude of the interest and of the concerns related to the identification and the setting of the foundation necessary for perfecting higher education increasingly brings the adjustment of didactic activities to the students’ particularities to the attention of educational theory and practice, with a view to forming and developing their personality. The necessity and utilization of differentiating learning through modern methods specific to an efficient didactic methodology requires the adaptation of higher education to new modalities of organization and development, combined with knowledge adjusted to the particularities of the students’ personality. The rethinking and reconsideration of the didactic activities from this perspective also benefits from the opportunities provided by the facilities of the new scientific breakthroughs in the field of technology. Therefore, making differentiated and individualized instruction efficient by using advanced technologies represents one of the challenges of updating teaching foreign languages within higher education. Being a major component, the information and communications technology (ICT) opens new and significant opportunities, as well solutions for enhancing the level of the outcomes obtained by students in the differentiated and individualized education of foreign languages. Approaching several aspects specific to the implementation of ICT in the didactic activities pertains to the theoretical, methodological and praxiological preoccupations that aim at diversifying and increasing the obvious advantages offered by differentiated instruction in higher education.

scholarly journals Personal Social Networks of Community-Dwelling Oldest Old During the Covid-19 Pandemic—A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenni Kulmala ◽  
Elisa Tiilikainen ◽  
Inna Lisko ◽  
Tiia Ngandu ◽  
Miia Kivipelto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Older People ◽  
Oldest Old ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Personal Networks ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
Personal Social Networks

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related restrictions have affected the everyday life of older people. Advanced age is a significant predisposing factor for a more severe COVID-19 infection, increasing the risk for hospitalization and mortality. Even though restrictions have been, thus, well-grounded, they may also have had detrimental effects on the social well-being of older people. Personal networks and social activity are known protective factors against the premature decline in health and functioning, and it is widely acknowledged that social isolation increases feelings of loneliness, poor quality of life, and even the risk for diseases and disabilities among older adults. This qualitative study investigated changes in personal networks among community-dwelling oldest-old individuals (persons aged 80 and over) during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland. The data is part of the Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Dementia (CAIDE85+) study, which is an ongoing large longitudinal population-based study in Finland. In this qualitative sub-study, we analyzed fifteen in-depth telephone interviews using directed content analyses and identified five types of changes in personal social networks during the pandemic. In type 1, all social contacts were significantly reduced due to official recommendations and fear of the virus. Type 2 included modified ways of being socially active i.e., by deploying new technology, and in type 3, social contacts increased during the lockdown. In type 4, personal social networks were changed unexpectedly or dramatically due to a death of a spouse, for example. In type 5, we observed stable social networks, which had not been affected by the pandemic. At an individual level, one person could have had different types of changes during the pandemic. These results highlight the heterogeneity of the oldest olds' personal social networks and changes related to them during the exceptional times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social activity and personal networks play an important role in the well-being of the oldest old, but individual situations, needs, and preferences toward personal social networks should be taken into account when planning social activities, policies, and interventions.

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