scholarly journals Capitalizing and Compensating: Older Adults’ Religious and Spiritual Uses of Technology

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-31
Author(s):  
Samantha L.C. Kang ◽  
Camille G Endacott ◽  
Gabrielle G Gonzales ◽  
Vern L Bengtson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Unexpected Finding ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Faith Traditions ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Religious Lives

This study explores how older adults use information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their spiritual and religious lives. How widespread is their use? What kinds of ICTS do they use and for what reasons? What impact do they have on their religious and spiritual lives? We explored these questions by collecting interviews with 90 older adults, average age 77, from six major Judeo-Christian faith traditions. The sample was developed from nominations by pastors, priests, and rabbis in three southern California cities. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed through abductive analysis. Many older adults in our sample reported using ICTs to assist their devotional lives—nine in ten of our participants provided examples, thus dispelling technology as merely a tool for the young to incorporate into their religious lives. An unexpected finding of the research was the wide variety of ICT usage mentioned by these elderly participants —over 15 distinct ones were mentioned.  The reasons for using ICTs fell into two primary categories: compensating for age related changes and capitalizing on unique opportunities for growth in later life. The results demonstrate support for Carstensen’s Socio-Emotional Selectivity Theory and have implications for practitioners working with older adults, such as social workers and clergy, as well as for marketers in industry.  

scholarly journals A Implementação da Telemedicina em Cabo Verde: Fatores Influenciadores

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur Correia ◽  
Vanda Azevedo ◽  
Luís Velez Lapão
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Cape Verde ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Conditioning Factors ◽  
Information And Communication

Introduction: Telemedicine is the provision of health services, where distance is a critical factor, using information and communication technologies. Cape Verde has bet on using this tool to increase access of the population of its islands to specialized care.Material and Methods: Qualitative study, covering the period between 2013 and 2014. It uses document analysis, semi-structured interviews and focus groups to collect data and analysis of content for their analysis. The participant population includes doctors, nurses and professionals from some institutions related to telemedicine.Results: The priorities of the National Telemedicine Program are set, the cores and reference centers are operational, with trained personnel and equipment installed. Several other policy instruments and conditioning factors and facilitators of the program have been identified.Discussion: Telemedicine is contributing to the reduction of inequalities in access to health, in Cape Verde. However, the full adoption of a service based on a new technology depends on conditioning factors and facilitators, and several success factors of telemedicine, identified in the literature, are not observed and in conjunction with other existing weaknesses affect the overall development of the National Telemedicine Program. However the strengths and capabilities are highlighted opportunities to act.Conclusion: Despite the progress, some telemedicine success factors highlighted on the literature are not seen in the country.

scholarly journals An analysis of the policies of Information and Communication Technologies for Agriculture in Mali

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 100-117
Author(s):  
Macire Kante ◽  
Patrick Ndayizigamiye
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Documents ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Production Areas ◽  
National Framework

To harness the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), developing countries need to develop national ICT policies that will serve as a framework for integrating ICTs at all levels of society. In the absence of that, different actors often engage in various actions for the same beneficiaries and in pursuit of the same objectives. That raises the need to define a national framework for the promotion and application of ICTs in the various production areas, particularly agricultural ones. It is for that reason that this study examined through qualitative methods (policy documents and semi-structured interviews) the national policy of Mali on the use of ICTs in agriculture. Data was analysed using the Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) method with the aid of NVIVO 12 software. The results showed that the country has two policy documents that articulate the country’s strategy towards the use of ICTs in the agricultural sector, that is, the Agricultural Orientation Law and the National Strategy for the Development of the Digital Economy. Further examination revealed that that these two policy documents are neither appropriate nor coherent in today's Malian landscape. This has resulted in an underutilisation of digital tools by agricultural extension officers which led to the low agricultural productivity in the country. This study recommended therefore the recasting of both documents to take into account the reported observations

Rising above It: Status Ambivalence in Older Adults

Gerontology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 576-588
Author(s):  
Deirdre A. Robertson ◽  
David Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Protective Mechanism ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Social ◽  
Implicit And Explicit

Background: Social status is the standing of a person or group in the social hierarchy, and is perceived to change across the life span from low social status in early life, to peak in midlife, and to a decline thereafter. As threats to subjective social status are known to be detrimental to individuals’ health, it is important to better understand how older adults perceive themselves and others in terms of age-related social status. Objective: We examined status ambivalence – the potential discrepancy between how older adults’ perceive social status for themselves compared to older adults in general. Method: Study 1 used qualitative data from 37 semi-structured interviews with older adults to assess perceptions of social status. Study 2 used quantitative survey data from 114 older adults who completed explicit and implicit measures of social status. Results: Study 1 (n = 37, meanage = 71.72, SDage = 5.69; 81.1% women) provided preliminary evidence for status ambivalence such that older adults reported unequivocal low social status for other older adults but a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Study 2 (n = 114, meanage = 64.32, SDage = 8.98, 57.9% women) compared implicit and explicit measures of social status revealing that older adults consistently perceive older adults to have low social status but again show a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Conclusion: We discuss status ambivalence as a potential protective mechanism in the context of negative societal perceptions of age-related social status that may be important for well-being in later life.

How to Design a Virtualized Platform?

2014 ◽  
pp. 64-83
Author(s):  
Valérie Fernandez ◽  
Laurie Marrauld
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Collaborative Communication ◽  
Remote Management ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Interview Survey

In this chapter, the authors present the project “WITE 2.0.” This project is at the crossroads of various issues related to mobility (Urry, 2007) and use of Information and Communication Technologies. WITE 2.0 is a part of the designing process of a collaborative communication tool: “a virtualized and unified platform.” The authors define scenarios of teleworking practices, “equipped” by ICTs, and use these scenarios to better specify the platform. The project started at the end of 2010 and continued for a period of 18 months. The analysis is based on several complementary methodologies: a qualitative study (47 semi-structured interviews) and an experimentation of the platform. They present the main results of the interview survey through the following themes: remote management, skills, articulation of private and professional spheres, and the maturity of technologies. The authors also describe how these elements help the understanding of the evolution of workers’ practices.

scholarly journals The Impact of Mobile Phone Uses in the Developing World

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain K. Cibangu ◽  
Mark Hepworth ◽  
Donna Champion
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact

In recent years, the rise of information and communication technologies (ICTs) contrasted with the dire living conditions of the world's poorest has been the subject of debate among industry and academia. However, despite the amount of writings produced on mobile phones, Western bias is surprisingly unbridledly prevailing alongside the fêted dissemination of mobile phones. Expansive literature tends to present the rapid adoption of mobile phones among rural individuals, with little to no indication of how local values and voices are respected or promoted. We undertook semi-structured interviews with 16 rural chiefs to inquire into ways in which mobile phones enabled socio-economic development in the rural Congo. Rather than using quantitative, large-scale, or top-down data, we sought to give voice to chiefs themselves about the role of mobile phones. We found that Western bias dominates the literature and deployment of mobile phones more than usually acknowledged. We suggested some paths forward, while bringing the African communal Utu or Ubuntu culture to the center stage.

The Physical–Digital Divide: Exploring the Social Gap Between Digital Natives and Physical Natives

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 1167-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Ball ◽  
Jessica Francis ◽  
Kuo-Ting Huang ◽  
Travis Kadylak ◽  
Shelia R. Cotten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Digital Natives ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Demographic Group ◽  
The Social ◽  
Information And Communication

Older adults are the most digitally divided demographic group. The present study explores how older adults perceive the physical use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly across generations and contexts. Data for the present study come from nine focus groups. Seniors acknowledge that ICTs help them connect with geographically distant social ties, but that they lead to feelings of disconnection with geographically close social ties. We label this phenomenon the “physical–digital divide,” which exists when a group feels ostracized or offended when those around them engage with ICTs while they themselves are not or cannot engage with ICTs. Younger generations are often referred to as “digital natives” and older generations as “digital immigrants.” A more apt label for older adults may be “physical natives,” as their preferred method of communication involves physical face-to-face interactions and traditional codes of etiquette. Suggestions are made for reducing the physical–digital divide.

THE PHENOMENON, CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF INTEGRATING ICTS IN MANUFACTURING PRODUCTS

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (02) ◽  
pp. 335-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOAKIM BJÖRKDAHL
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Total Product ◽  
Provision Of Services ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Way

The rapid and persistent improvement in the performance and cost of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) with respect to their capabilities for capturing, processing, displaying, communicating and storing information provide abundant opportunities. This paper aims to explain the causes and effects of the phenomenon in which manufacturing firms integrate ICTs in their established manufacturing products. The study of this phenomenon is based on structured interviews with executives of 37 large Swedish manufacturing firms. The results show that the phenomenon is wide-spread among manufacturing firms, that the number of products that integrate ICTs is growing relative to firms' total product portfolios, and that the revenues from these products are increasing. Competition is a significant reason why firms integrate ICTs into their goods, but firms also want to reap the rewards of the value provided. Important here is that firms often find it necessary to transform aspects of the way they do business (business model) in order to create a better fit between activities that create value for their customers and activities that produce profits for themselves. They also try to find innovative ways to be rewarded for the value they deliver, mainly based on the provision of services.

scholarly journals Communicating public and social services through iTV: Promoting older adults’ quality of life

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-88
Author(s):  
David Campelo ◽  
Telmo Silva ◽  
Jorge Abreu
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Interactive Television ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Information And Communication

As the demographic transition occurs in a global scale, dealing with the consequences of population ageing has emerged as a critical task to modern societies. This has led government entities to pay more and more attention to seniors’ concerns, limitations and needs. A deep understand of old citizens, especially those unfamiliar with Internet and smartphone technologies, is also a challenge in order to enable them to fully benefit of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In the light of this issue, personalization and user-centred approaches involving older adults in all development stages may be the key for higher levels of user engagement with such ICT solutions as the interactive television (iTV) platform reported in this paper (+TV4E). The +TV4E is an on-going research project conducted at University of Aveiro, Portugal, based on a social inclusion approach, aiming to take benefit from the television viewing dynamics of senior viewers, by interweaving short and personalized adverts related to public and social services alongside regular broadcast contents. The platform is being designed with a user-centred approach featuring the integration of assistive technologies and multiplemultimedia communication channels. In this paper, a system architecture to deliver the informative contents is stated and a discussion of the potential social impacts of providing such platform is presented.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document