scholarly journals ACCOMMODATING COMMUNICATION WITH CONVERSATIONAL AGENTS: EXAMINING THE PERCEPTIONS AND BEHAVIORS OF OLDER ADULTS WHEN USING VOICE ASSISTANT TECHNOLOGY

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie O'Connell ◽  
Kelly Quinn ◽  
David Marquez ◽  
Jessie Chin ◽  
Naoko Muramatsu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Human Communication ◽  
Communicative Behaviors ◽  
Utaut Model ◽  
Technological Adoption ◽  
Communicative Relationship

The purpose of this study is to examine the communicative relationship between older adults and conversational agents (CA), such as a Google Home Mini, to understand if and how interaction with AI-based voice technology affects perceptions, technological adoption, and, ultimately, human-machine communicative behaviors. Using the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) framework (Gallois & Giles, 2015), and the categorical schema as outlined in the Unified Theory of Adoption and Utilization of Technology (UTAUT) model (Venkatesh et al., 2003) of technology acceptance, we qualitatively assess the relationship between expectations for use and ongoing / post-interaction user attitudes. CAT focuses on the adjustments we make in our perceptions of and engagement in communicative behaviors. In other words, we enter into communicative situations with intentions and motivations derived from antecedent socio-historical context in mind. This squares with what the UTAUT model details as influencers of technological adoption and use: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions (Venkatesh et al., 2003). We use these constructs as a coding guideline to index data scraped from the Mini, and collected from surveys, interview transcripts, user journals, and field notes throughout a 10-week study. Historically, CAT is applied to human-human communication exchanges. As the theory posits that interpersonal relationships can and will influence motivations or intentions for dyadic communication, this makes sense. However, we argue that as AI-based voice technologies become more sophisticated as voice assistants enter our intimate spaces, the application of CAT to the human-machine communicative relationship is warranted.

scholarly journals Designing Conversational Agents to Support Self-Regulated Learning for Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 124-124
Author(s):  
Jessie Chin ◽  
Smit Desai
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Regulated Learning ◽  
Novice Users ◽  
Barriers To Use

Abstract The rapid growth of the off-the-shelf smart speakers (such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home), also called Conversational Agents (CAs), creates potential to deliver everyday life support to users at home (such as checking weather, listening to news, scheduling events). Literature demonstrated the technology acceptance of CAs among older adults (including novice users) given the low barriers to use CAs. The natural conversations among CAs and users enable the opportunities to build deeper understandings about a topic through theory-driven guided dialogues. Our study has designed the metacognition strategies in the guided dialogues of CAs to support informal self-regulated learning of health information among older adults. The study has shown the feasibility and acceptance of CAs to help older adults learn new health information on their own through these guided dialogues. Additional analyses on the feasibilities to implement different metacognitive strategies in guided dialogues in the off-the-shelf CAs were also conducted.

scholarly journals Mindful Age and Technology: a Qualitative Analysis of a Tablet/Smartphone App Intervention Designed for Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Vailati Riboni ◽  
Isabel Sadowski ◽  
Benedetta Comazzi ◽  
Francesco Pagnini
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Post Intervention

Abstract The global population is aging while modern healthcare systems are responding with limited success to the growing care demands of the senior population. Capitalizing on recent technological advancements, new ways to improve older adults’ quality of life have recently been implemented. The current study investigated, from a qualitative point of view, the utility of a mindfulness-based smartphone application for older adults. A description of the older adults’ experience with the smartphone application designed to enhance well-being and mindfulness will be presented. Participants’general beliefs about the benefits of technology for personal well-being will also be discussed. 68 older adults were recruited from different education centers for seniors. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: a) a treatment group, which received the smartphone application intervention (n = 34), or b) a waitlist control group (n = 34). The experimental intervention included the utilization of a smartphone app designed specifically for improving older adult well-being and mindfulness levels. Participants completed semi-structured interviews evaluating participants’ treatment experience and technology-acceptance at recruitment (T0, baseline) and post-intervention (T1, post-intervention). Through thematic analysis, four themes were identified from verbatim responses of both interviews: Utility of technology for health, Impressions of technology, Mindful-benefits of smartphone application usage, and Smartphone application usage as a means to improve interpersonal relationships. Participants showed a positive experience of the app intervention. Qualitative analysis underlined the main Mindfulness-benefits reported by participants and the potentially crucial role of “Langerian” mindfulness in the relationship between older adults and health technology.

scholarly journals A User Study on the Feasibility and Acceptance of Delivering Physical Activity Programs to Older Adults through Conversational Agents

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-37
Author(s):  
Jessie Chin ◽  
Kelly Quinn ◽  
Naoko Muramatsu ◽  
David Marquez
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Rapid Growth ◽  
User Study ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Personnel Costs ◽  
The Future ◽  
Turn Taking

The implementation of evidence-based physical activity (PA) programs for older adults is limited in part due to the administration-related personnel costs. The rapid growth of the off-the-shelf smart speakers, conversational agents (CAs), demonstrates the potential of scalable delivery of PA programs to older adults at home. We implemented a PA virtual coach based on an evidence-based PA program on a Google Home device, and conducted a user study to examine how older adults interact with the virtual coach. Results suggested that all older adults were able to complete the PA program with guidance from the virtual coach, and showed high acceptance and intentions to use CAs in the future. Analyses on conversation turn-taking further suggested that all older adults (including 80% novice CAs users) experienced minimum difficulty talking with the PA virtual coach. Relationships among age, technology acceptance, conversation patterns and the perceived sociability of CAs are also discussed.

Closing the Loop in Computer Agent/Patient Communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 711-715
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Communication Techniques ◽  
Improve Instruction

While patient-centered communication supports patient self-care, providers rarely have enough time to consistently use patient- centered communication techniques. Technology has potential to support patient-centered communication, but frequently older adults prefer face-to-face communication with providers. Conversational agents (CAs) may support provider communication with older adults by emulating best practices from face-to-face communication. We investigated older adults’ response to a prototype CA communication system that served as a virtual provider and presented medication instructions using teachback, a recommended best practice that involves asking patients questions to ‘close the communication loop’. Older adults were told how to take medications by a CA who used (or did not use) teachback, and then were interviewed. Older adults were open to interacting with the CA and thought it would help support self-care. They thought the CA was a more effective teacher when using teachback and that this interactive strategy helped them remember the instructions. However, teachback did not improve instruction memory.

scholarly journals Developing a Healthcare Technology Acceptance Model (H-TAM) for Older Adults with Hypertension

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Maurita T. Harris ◽  
Wendy A. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Technology Acceptance Model ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Healthcare Technology ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Healthcare Technologies ◽  
Acceptance Model

Abstract Older adults with a chronic health condition (e.g. hypertension) use various self-management methods. Healthcare technologies have the potential to support health self-management. However, it is necessary to understand the acceptance of these technologies as a precursor to older adults’ adoption and integration into their health plan. Our focus was on the factors older adults with hypertension initially consider when introduced to three new healthcare technologies that might support their health self-management. We compared their considerations for a blood pressure monitor, an electronic pillbox and a multifunction robot to simulate incrementally more complex technologies. Twenty-three participants (aged 65–84) completed four questionnaires and a semi-structured interview. The interview transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. We identified the factors that were frequently mentioned among the participants for each of the three healthcare technologies. The factors that older adults initially considered were familiarity, perceived benefits, perceived ease of use, perceived need for oneself, relative advantage, complexity and perceived need for others. Upon further reflection, participants considered advice acceptance, compatibility, convenience, facilitating conditions, perceived usefulness, privacy, subjective norm, and trust. We integrated the factors that older adults considered into the Healthcare Technology Acceptance Model (H-TAM), which elucidates the complexity of healthcare technology acceptance and provides guidance for future explorations.

The Acceptance Behavior of New Media Entertainment Among Older Adults: Living Arrangement as a Mediator

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-298
Author(s):  
Dawei Liu ◽  
Anqi Liu ◽  
Wanying Tu
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
New Media ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Technology Acceptance Model ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Business Practitioners ◽  
Acceptance Model

New media entertainment is currently being spotlighted by business practitioners and researchers. This article highlighted this issue of elder online users and explored the factors affecting their acceptance decisions in new media entertainment. Older adults prefer to status and value orientations, so their online acceptance of new media entertainment is significantly influenced by the perceived usefulness and social benefits. In addition, types of living arrangement significantly affect technology acceptance model of older adults.

scholarly journals Conversational Agents for the Elderly, the Guardian Platform

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andressa Ferreira ◽  
Fran Oliveira ◽  
Adson Damasceno ◽  
Mariela Cortés
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Intelligent Agents ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
System Usability Scale ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
System Usability ◽  
The Guardian

With increasing of life expectancy innovative solutions that ensurewell-being of the seniors become most needed. In this context, inorder to deny the main difficulties reported by the senior public withthe use of mobile devices, we propose a technology entirely basedon voice interactions and we name this project of Guardian. Theessence of the project is to provide, through a mobile application, aplatform with a set of intelligent agents focused on the well-beingof the older adults. In this work the mains objectives to analyze andevaluate the usability of the Guardian and the cultural impacts ofthe technology. For the data collection, video recordings were used,a questionnaire that identifies the socio-technological profile of theresearch participants and the system usability scale (SUS).

scholarly journals Helping others use social media: age stereotypes when estimating learner’s success

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey J. GINSBURG ◽  
Rebecca CAMERON ◽  
Roque V MENDEZ ◽  
Michael WESTHOFF
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Redes Sociales ◽  
Helping Others ◽  
Medios Sociales ◽  
Internet Networks

ABSTRACT: Social networking sites (SNS) include online products such as Facebook that allow users to build and maintain large interpersonal Internet networks. Older adult users have dramatically increased (Duggan & Smith, 2014). This investigation examined how 212 university undergraduate Facebook users estimated success with helping others use Facebook when learner’s age (20, 40, 60 year olds.) and type of acquaintance (friend or kin) was manipulated in hypothetical scenarios. In these scenarios, a person is identified as KW, described as being a college student much like the participant. KW has 20, 40 or 60 year-old acquaintances, a friend or a kin at each age, all wanting KW’s help learning about social media. This was the only information provided. Qualities and strengths of these interpersonal relationships were not examined. Results from repeated measures 2x3 ANOVA showed a significant main effect for age, but no effect for acquaintance type. Results showed no significant interaction. Although the age demographic above 50 years is the fastest growing SNS group, results showed possible age stereotyping among youth when they assist older adults learning to use SNS. This age effect may be lessened as older adults become more skillful social media users. These findings are limited because of the sample demographics and a lack of identifying qualities of participants’ attributions about the hypothetical friends or relatives. Future research using multiple items per condition might be able to further elucidate how the type of associations between helper and learner, close or distant, positive or negative, would influence outcomes.Ayudando a otros a usar los medios sociales: estereotipos de edad al estimar el éxito del alumnoRESUMEN: Sitios de redes sociales (SNS) como Facebook permiten a usuarios crear y mantener redes de Internet interpersonales. El número de usuarios adultos mayores de edad sigue incrementado (Duggan y Smith, 2014). Esta investigación examinó como 212 estudiantes universitarios usuarios de Facebook calcularon su éxito en ayudar a otros a usar Facebook cuando la edad de la persona a quien ayudaron (20, 40, 60 años) y su conocimiento de la persona a quien ayudaron (amigo o pariente) fue manipulado en escenarios hipotéticos. En estos escenarios, una persona hipotética identificada como KWfue definida como un estudiante universitario al igual que el participante. En cada escenario se supuso que KW tuviera un amigo o pariente de 20, 40 o 60 años de edad quien le pidiera que le enseñara los medios de comunicación social. Esta fue la única información proporcionada. No fueron examinadas las cualidades de estas relaciones interpersonales. Los resultados de un 2X3 ANOVA de mediciones repetidas mostraron un efecto significativo para la edad, pero no para conocimiento. Los resultados no mostraron interacción significativa. Aunque los mayores de edad en encima de 50 años es el grupo demográfico que ha visto el más rápido crecimiento de uso de sitios de redes sociales, los resultados mostraron posibles estereotipos entre los jóvenes hacia estos adultos. Este efecto de edad disminuye si los adultos mayores de edad llegan a ser más hábiles en el uso de los medios sociales. Estos resultados son limitados debido a las características demográficas de la muestra y la falta en identificar las cualidades de atribución hechas por los participantes sobre amigos o familiares hipotéticos. Las investigaciones futuras utilizando varias ítems por condición podrían aclarar cómo las asociaciones entre el ayudante y alumno, y la relación cercana o distante de quien ayuda, podrían influir en los resultados.

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