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Abstract
The increasing advance and use of technology presents challenges for older users and older generations often experience difficulty in using new technology compared with their younger counterparts. The purpose of this work was to investigate how touchscreen devices have affected the usability of interactive consumer products by older adults. This work was conducted with older adults to explore their perceptions of touchscreen interfaces and to understand existing usability issues and barriers to their adoption. The research was conducted with four participants and each was required to carry out common tasks on mobile phones which they were unfamiliar with. It was seen that some older users are frequent users of modern technologies such as touchscreens and find this easier to use than systems which are generally perceived as more 'simple' systems such as keypads on a mobile phone. Technological advances show a change in interface design, making use easier for all users, in particular older people, yet this has not been developed to its full potential and still deters certain users from choosing to use products implementing these technologies. It is recommended that technology developers consider the needs and desires of older adults as a user group.
... Based on satisfaction scores, it is necessary for the elderly to use new technologies and learn how to use them to keep in touch with family and friends as Page et al. found in his study [2]. ...
... Some of the participants were afraid of setting the alarm and most of them were afraid of working with the map application; they tended to only do familiar tasks and use only their own smartphone. These results were consistent with previous studies [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. The results of this study approved Tsai and Van Biljon's finding which indicated that typing was hard for elderly users, and it took them many wrong taps in order to select the right key, therefore they needed smartphones with bigger touchscreens and larger buttons [12][13][14][15]. ...
... In a friendly conversation, the participants claimed that the technology was perfect, and they were not able to tap correctly due to weak-eyesight or big fingers, blaming themselves for their low performance. The present study did not support the results of previous studies claiming that the elderly believed that smartphones were not designed properly for people on their age and had many flaws [2]. Additionally, participants expressed a desire to take part in classes (alongside others in their age group) to learn how to work with their smartphones, because family members usually didn't instruct them on how to use smartphones and just solved their problems. ...
Smartphones are one of the latest technologies which have a profound impact on users' daily life. This technology was adapted to meet the expectations of users in different age's groups, but elderly users may encounter some difficulty while using these devices. The current study was aimed to evaluate the usability of smartphones for elderly users, and assess their level of satisfaction with these devices. The number of 30 elderly subjects with previous experience of using a smartphone were invited to take part in the study. Participants were asked to unlock the phone, enter their contact list and call a specific person, add a new number to their contact list and save it, compose a text message and send it, set an alarm, and locate the nearest bank with the help of a smartphone map application. Demographic questionnaires and System Usability Scale (SUS) were filled out by the subjects and a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to assess user's satisfaction. The average time spent on completing different tasks, namely unlocking, finding a specific contact, adding a new number, texting, setting an alarm, and using a map were: 45.6, 79.4, 119.5, 113.5, 54, and 48 seconds ,respectively. The mean score for SUS and satisfaction were 59.13 and 62.5, respectively, which were acceptable for these two factors. Age is an important factor in the usability of this technology, with older people stating lower levels of usability. Since the results of the study showed that smartphones need to become more usable for this group of users, it can be said that age of consumers is an important factor that should be taken into account when designing new technologies.
... Learning of new technologies is a complex challenge for many older adults if it does not suit individual capabilities; reasons include perceived loss of control, lack of confidence, not seeing the need, wanting to retain the status quo and so on, many articulated in this chapter already [47][48][49][50][51]. Reasons for adoption of new technology de facto follow the reverse of these, and would include feeling confident and in control, perceiving a current need and recognising a future need plus past relevant experience [52,53]. ...
... Page [50] suggested that whilst older users may show a keen interest in learning and using technology, they often do not feel fully equipped to do so. Motivation to learn may also be a function of utility; this means that over-complexity may present older users with a problem beyond what they can manage [29]. ...
Numbers of older people are increasing and this will continue for several decades to come. With that, there are changes as we age that can affect or impact upon our travelling and transportation needs and behaviour. In addition, there is an almost universal problem that many of all ages people have low levels of computer literacy. Transport may well look very different in the future. Not only automated vehicles, but also new transportation systems, such as Mobility as a Service [MaaS] and the likely developments in public transport that incorporate real time travel information, facilities and ease of use information all mean that older people wishing to travel will necessarily have to engage with some forms of new technology. The new systems will need to be personalisable to individual travellers. This chapter considers the needs of older travellers and how new technology can meet some of those needs and what is necessary for it to be appropriate to, and usable by, older travellers.
... Charness & Boot, 2009), which could be a result of having less cognitive resources, lower speed in information processing, and difficulties ignoring irrelevant information. It is thus harder for older adults to adapt to new technologies (Page, 2014). Therefore, developers should put more effort into making IT applications simpler for this age group (Czaja et al., 2006). ...
... Aging theories suggest that interest in experiencing new activities reduces with age (e.g. Charness & Boot, 2009) because older adults face greater limitations in their cognitive resources and information processing (Page, 2014). As we described in the previous section, cognitive age has been found to better measure individuals' age and predict behaviors (Sudbury-Riley, Kohlbacher, & Hofmeister, 2015;Teller, Gittenberger, & Schnedlitz, 2013). ...
Recently, the popularity of smart wearable technologies, such as Fitbit, has significantly increased. There are numerous potential benefits in using these devices, especially among seniors. Yet, little is known about seniors' adoption behavior. Through a mixed-methods approach, this study investigates the factors that impact seniors' intention to use wearable devices. Results from an online survey and interviews showed that seniors' perception of the complexity of working with these devices is a barrier to their adoption decisions. Looking more deeply into the role of complexity revealed that seniors' concern about the complexity of reading and interpreting the output of wearable devices is the main deterring element. Furthermore, we explored the role of two important elements: seniors' cognitive age, and the influence of their subjective well-being on their adoption behavior. Results demonstrated that cognitive age does not significantly impact use intention by itself; nonetheless, subjective well-being moderates its effect. This result revealed an interesting finding, which is that the influence of cognitive age on seniors' use intention depends on seniors' level of subjective well-being. When seniors' subjective well-being is low, surprisingly, cognitive age increases seniors' intention to use the device. These findings provide interesting implications for practice and future research.
... The advantages of using touchscreen technology are widely recognized. First, touchscreen can be easily interacted with and used by a diversity range of population, especially by inexperienced, disabled or older users [4][5][6][7]. In addition, physical dimensions of a device can be largely reduced by the use of touchscreens, because physical buttons, such as keyboards or mice applied in traditional input devices, can be replaced by on-screen virtual buttons [6,8,9]. ...
... First, touchscreen can be easily interacted with and used by a diversity range of population, especially by inexperienced, disabled or older users [4][5][6][7]. In addition, physical dimensions of a device can be largely reduced by the use of touchscreens, because physical buttons, such as keyboards or mice applied in traditional input devices, can be replaced by on-screen virtual buttons [6,8,9]. Moreover, touchscreen interface can be designed to provide specific keyboards that are customized for relevant tasks (e.g., digit button keyboards only for digit input tasks) [10]. ...
Small, mobile touchscreen devices have increasingly permeated into our daily life over the last decade. However, interface design factors that are likely to influence input performance of the devices have not yet been fully investigated. The purpose of the current study was to explore the effects of keyboard size, gap and button shape on usability metrics in thumb interaction with a small, mobile touchscreen device. Twenty-eight volunteers attended a lab-based experiment where they were required to complete a series of letter input tasks with a touchscreen smartphone. The results indicated that keyboard size yielded significant effects on both accuracy rate and task completion time, and button shape and gap exerted significant influence on task completion time only. Interaction effects were observed between keyboard size and button shape on both accuracy rate and task completion time. Keyboard design factors that exerted optimal input performance were mostly preferred by users. Our findings have important implications and can help with the design of usable touchscreen interface, especially for small, mobile touchscreen devices.
... The visual interaction interface necessitates learning its operation (Page, 2014), understanding the meaning of graphical elements, and searching for the object to be operated within the visual range, all of which lead to high learning costs (Liu and Ma, 2010;Bai et al., 2020). Voice interaction, in contrast, only requires users' short-term memory and clear verbal expression, with low learning costs. ...
Voice user interface (VUI) is widely used in developing intelligent products due to its low learning cost. However, most of such products do not consider the cognitive and language ability of elderly people, which leads to low interaction efficiency, poor user experience, and unfriendliness to them. Firstly, the paper analyzes the factors which influence the voice interaction behavior of elderly people: speech rate of elderly people, dialog task type, and feedback word count. And then, the voice interaction simulation experiment was designed based on the wizard of Oz testing method. Thirty subjects ( M = 61.86 years old, SD = 7.16; 15 males and 15 females) were invited to interact with the prototype of a voice robot through three kinds of dialog tasks and six configurations of the feedback speech rate. Elderly people’s speech rates at which they speak to a person and to a voice robot, the feedback speech rates they expected for three dialog tasks were collected. The correlation between subjects’ speech rate and the expected feedback speech rate, the influence of dialog task type, and feedback word count on elderly people’s expected feedback speech rate were analyzed. The results show that elderly people speak to a voice robot with a lower speech rate than they speak to a person, and they expected the robot feedback speech rate to be lower than the rate they speak to the robot. There is a positive correlation between subjects’ speech rate and the expected speech rate, which implies that elderly people with faster speech rates expected a faster feedback speech rate. There is no significant difference between the elderly people’s expected speech rate for non-goal-oriented and goal-oriented dialog tasks. Meanwhile, a negative correlation between the feedback word count and the expected feedback speech rate is found. This study extends the knowledge boundaries of VUI design by investigating the influencing factors of voice interaction between elderly people and VUI. These results also provide practical implications for developing suitable VUI for elderly people, especially for regulating the feedback speech rate of VUI.
... The key for users to accept information technology is to perceive the usefulness of technology. The fear that technology does not achieve the expected performance usually leads to the behavior of older individuals unwilling to use the technology (39). Many studies in the medical field have proved that performance expectations have a positive impact on users' behavioral intention (40). ...
Background
Although older adults health management systems have been shown to have a significant impact on health levels, there remains the problem of low use rate, frequency of use, and acceptance by the older adults. This study aims to explore the significant factors which serve as determinants of behavioral intention to use the technology, which in turn promotes actual use.
Methods
This study took a total of 402 urban older adults over 60 years to explore the impact of the use behavior toward remote health management (RHM) through an online questionnaire. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), the author adds four dimensions: perceived risk, perceived value, perceived interactivity and individual innovation, constructed an extended structural equation model of acceptance and use of technology, and analyzed the variable path relationship.
Results
In this study, the factor loading is between 0.61 and 0.98; the overall Cronbach's Alpha coefficients are >0.7; The composite reliability ranges from 0.59 to 0.91; the average variance extraction ranges from 0.51 to 0.85, which shows the good reliability, validity, and discriminant validity of the constructed model. The influencing factors of the behavioral intention of the older adults to accept the health management system are: effort expectation, social influences, perceived value, performance expectation, perceived interactivity and perceived risk. Effort expectation has a significant positive impact on performance expectation. Individual innovation positively impacts performance expectation and perceived interactivity. Perceived interactivity and behavioral intention have a significant positive effect on the use behavior of the older adults, while the facilitating conditions have little effect on the use behavior.
Conclusions
This paper constructs and verifies the extended model based on UTAUT, fully explores the potential factors affecting the use intention of the older adult users. According to the research findings, some suggestions are proposed from the aspects of effort expectation, performance expectation, perceived interaction and perceived value to improve the use intention and user experience of Internet-based health management services in older adults.
... Digital products have more interaction design space and possibilities than traditional products, and good age-appropriate interaction design can bring better use experience to the elderly than traditional products. Scene interaction is a new interaction mode gradually mature with the development of interaction design, focusing on the interaction between the specific scene and behavior [11]. When designing the embodied interaction of elderly products, the interaction needs of the elderly should be considered from two perspectives: natural scene and user scene. ...
... The results emphasized that the influence of vibration should be fully considered and tested when designing touchscreen interfaces that are likely to be used under vibrational environments. In addition, practitioners are recommended to conduct usability tests for identifying design deficiencies [18,40,41]. Second, overall, a 17.5-mm button size and a 1-mm button spacing are recommended in terms of efficiency. ...
Touchscreen interfaces are increasingly used in vibration contexts. However, little is known about how they should be designed to cope with vibrations. This study aimed to examine the effects of button size and button spacing on entry performance in varied vibrational environments. Twenty participants were instructed to perform a series of digit- and letter-entry tasks with a touchscreen interface. Vibrational environments (static, low vibration, and high vibration), button sizes (7.5–27.5 mm with 5-mm increments), and button spacings (0, 1, and 3 mm) were factorially combined. Increased vibration level was associated with increased time to complete task, lower accuracy rate, higher perceived workload, and increased perceived discomfort. User performance improved as button size increased up to 17.5 mm. A button spacing of 1 mm was favorable in terms of entry efficiency. The detrimental effects of vibration on information entry performance and users’ perceptions were observed. The results indicated that touchscreen interfaces should be carefully designed to cater for use in vibrational environments. Favorable button size and button spacing to deal with vibrational environments were identified.
... Despite many older adults being keen to adopt technology [7], a negative narrative prevails [8]. For example, research suggests that this user group may still lack confidence in their ability (or self-efficacy) to use their devices [9][10][11] and may show deficits in ICT skills and literacy [2,12,13], something often referred to as the "second level" of the digital divide (where access to information and communication technology [ICT] forms the first level [1]). However, some researchers have argued that rather than there being an age-related skill gap, older adults may simply underestimate their actual capabilities and knowledge [14]. ...
Known age differences exist in relation to information and communication technology (ICT) use, attitudes, access, and literacy. Less is known about age differences in relation to cybersecurity risks and associated cybersecurity behaviours. Using an online survey, this study analyses data from 579 participants to investigate age differences across four key cybersecurity behaviours: device securement, password generation, proactive checking, and software updating. Significant age differences were found; however, this is not a straightforward relationship. Older users appear less likely to secure their devices compared to younger users; however, the reverse was found for the other behaviours, with older users appearing more likely to generate secure passwords and show proactive risk awareness and regularly install updates. Gender was not a significant predictor of security behaviour (although males scored higher for self-reported computer self-efficacy and general resilience). Self-efficacy was identified as a mediator between age and three of the cybersecurity behaviours (password generation, proactive checking, and updating). General resilience was also a significant mediator for device securement, password generation, and updating; however, resilience acted as a moderator for proactive checking. Implications of these findings are twofold: firstly, helping to guide the development of training and interventions tailored to different cybersecurity behaviours and secondly informing cybersecurity policy development.
... Although the overall results of our usability tests were positive, we uncovered some design problems. Similar to previous studies, scrolling [53,54], identifying buttons to trigger an action [54][55][56], and interacting with nonactionable targets [32] were the most common problems encountered in our evaluations. Therefore, we recommend that designers be mindful of these potential difficulties when designing mHealth apps for older adults. ...
Background:
Postfracture acute pain is often inadequately managed in older adults. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies can offer opportunities for self-management of pain; however, insufficient apps exist for acute pain management after a fracture, and none are designed for an older adult population.
Objective:
This study aims to design, develop, and evaluate an mHealth app prototype using a human-centered design approach to support older adults in the self-management of postfracture acute pain.
Methods:
This study used a multidisciplinary and user-centered design approach. Overall, 7 stakeholders (ie, 1 clinician-researcher specialized in internal medicine, 2 user experience designers, 1 computer science researcher, 1 clinical research assistant researcher, and 2 pharmacists) from the project team, together with 355 external stakeholders, were involved throughout our user-centered development process that included surveys, requirement elicitation, participatory design workshops, mobile app design and development, mobile app content development, and usability testing. We completed this study in 3 phases. We analyzed data from prior surveys administered to 305 members of the Canadian Osteoporosis Patient Network and 34 health care professionals to identify requirements for designing a low-fidelity prototype. Next, we facilitated 4 participatory design workshops with 6 participants for feedback on content, presentation, and interaction with our proposed low-fidelity prototype. After analyzing the collected data using thematic analysis, we designed a medium-fidelity prototype. Finally, to evaluate our medium-fidelity prototype, we conducted usability tests with 10 participants. The results informed the design of our high-fidelity prototype. Throughout all the phases of this development study, we incorporated inputs from health professionals to ensure the accuracy and validity of the medical content in our prototypes.
Results:
We identified 3 categories of functionalities necessary to include in the design of our initial low-fidelity prototype: the need for support resources, diary entries, and access to educational materials. We then conducted a thematic analysis of the data collected in the design workshops, which revealed 4 themes: feedback on the user interface design and usability, requests for additional functionalities, feedback on medical guides and educational materials, and suggestions for additional medical content. On the basis of these results, we designed a medium-fidelity prototype. All the participants in the usability evaluation tests found the medium-fidelity prototype useful and easy to use. On the basis of the feedback and difficulties experienced by participants, we adjusted our design in preparation for the high-fidelity prototype.
Conclusions:
We designed, developed, and evaluated an mHealth app to support older adults in the self-management of pain after a fracture. The participants found our proposed prototype useful for managing acute pain and easy to interact with and navigate. Assessment of the clinical outcomes and long-term effects of our proposed mHealth app will be evaluated in the future.
... This trend is not different in European countries: 35% of people aged 65 years and older did not own a mobile phone, in contrast to over 98% of those aged 18 to 45 years that did own a mobile phone in the United Kingdom in 2020 [6]. Furthermore, digital literacy to use mobile devices comfortably is negatively related to age [7], and older adults often encounter numerous challenges in using new technologies [8][9][10][11]. Socioeconomic status is another crucial factor contributing to the digital divide. Approximately 40% of adults with lower incomes (households earning less than US $30,000 a year) do not have home broadband services or a computer, and a majority of them are not tablet owners [12]. ...
Background:
As mobile computing technology evolves, such as a smartphone or a tablet computer, it increasingly offers features that may be particularly beneficial to older adults. However, the digital divide exists, and many older adults have been shown to have difficulty using these devices. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified how much older adults need but are excluded from having access to technologies to meet essential daily needs and overcome physical distancing restrictions.
Objective:
This study sought to understand how older adults who had never used a tablet computer learn to use it, what they want to use it for, and what barriers they experience as they continue to use it during social isolation by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
We conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with eight people aged 65 and older for 16 weeks, investigating older novice users' adoption and use of a tablet computer during the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19.
Results:
The results show that participants were gradually yet successfully accustomed to using a tablet computer to serve various daily needs, including entertainment, social connectedness, and information-seeking. However, it was not through developing sufficient digital skills but by applying the methods already familiar with in its operation, such as taking and referring to instruction notes.
Conclusions:
Our findings imply that older adults without digital literacy can still benefit from a digital device for quality of later life if proper traditional methods they are already familiar with are offered in its use.
Clinicaltrial:
... Touch interfaces are generally considered convenient and easy to use, especially for those lacking experience with ICTs. Compared to mouse and keyboard interfaces, the more direct input route required by touchscreens imposes less cognitive load on users [7,16,73,74]. Touchscreens also decrease user error rates and usability differences that exist between older and younger generations [36]. Nonetheless, despite the spread of touch interfaces, some older adults continue to be frustrated by touchscreens and remain reluctant to learn how to use them [97]. ...
... One person stated they owned a computer/laptop, a tablet PC, or a smartphone, but never used these devices in everyday life. In other studies, the user-friendliness of systems and technical experience are also seen as important factors promoting successful use [59]. ...
Comprehensive measurements are needed in older populations to detect physical changes, initiate prompt interventions, and prevent functional decline. While established instruments such as the Timed Up and Go (TUG) and 5 Times Chair Rise Test (5CRT) require trained clinicians to assess corresponding functional parameters, the unsupervised screening system (USS), developed in a two-stage participatory design process, has since been introduced to community-dwelling older adults. In a previous article, we investigated the USS’s measurement of the TUG and 5CRT in comparison to conventional stop-watch methods and found a high sensitivity with significant correlations and coefficients ranging from 0.73 to 0.89. This article reports insights into the design process and evaluates the usability of the USS interface. Our analysis showed high acceptance with qualitative and quantitative methods. From participant discussions, suggestions for improvement and functions for further development could be derived and discussed. The evaluated prototype offers a high potential for early detection of functional limitations in elderly people and should be tested with other target groups in other locations.
... This research is designing and manufacturing a mini motherboard, assembling several electronic circuits, modules, and devices, and carrying out integrated wiring with the time span of the activity is two months at the Laboratory for Instrumentation and Automation, Electrical Engineering Study Program, Faculty of Engineering and Science, University of Ibn Khaldun Bogor. The acquisition of the three research objectives is an effort to realize the half-duplex interface device for communicating based on the modules of Arduino UNO R3 and MEGA2560 R3 are controlled by the touch-tone signal or otherwise known as the dual-tone multiplefrequency (DTMF) signal [26]. ...
An electronic device with various purposes needs in-depth study from the very beginning of the idea, before getting the final product. It relates to an essential role in providing user's infrastructure and service. The research objectives are to obtain the electronic circuits, modules, and devices by integrating the wiring. The research methods are conducted in the form of designing, manufacturing, assembling, and diagnosing. Designing stage is to obtain several electronic circuits as a liaison and the manufacturing stage is to obtain the printed circuit board. The assembling stage is to obtain the gateway boards which are controlled by the Arduino modules and diagnosing stage to obtain the interface device for communicating (IDC) is formed by integrating the wiring. Integrating several electronic circuits, modules, and devices has resulted in an IDC. Operating the IDC uses two different systems, i.e. from the telephony system to the radio-frequency system or vice versa with a half-duplex mechanism.
... Others have described ways to improve in-person usability testing with older adults that may be transferable to remote methods. For example, touch screen devices and hardware that is selected for simplicity may produce better usability testing results with older adults [30][31][32] and can therefore reduce barriers to remote usability testing. Additionally, the use of large closed captions during a remote testing session has been recommended for older users with visual or hearing impairments. ...
Background
Technology can benefit older adults in many ways, including by facilitating remote access to services, communication, and socialization for convenience or out of necessity when individuals are homebound. As people, especially older adults, self-quarantined and sheltered in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of usability-in-place became clear. To understand the remote use of technology in an ecologically valid manner, researchers and others must be able to test usability remotely.
Objective
Our objective was to review practical approaches for and findings about remote usability testing, particularly remote usability testing with older adults.
Methods
We performed a rapid review of the literature and reported on available methods, their advantages and disadvantages, and practical recommendations. This review also reported recommendations for usability testing with older adults from the literature.
Results
Critically, we identified a gap in the literature—a lack of remote usability testing methods, tools, and strategies for older adults, despite this population’s increased remote technology use and needs (eg, due to disability or technology experience). We summarized existing remote usability methods that were found in the literature as well as guidelines that are available for conducting in-person usability testing with older adults.
Conclusions
We call on the human factors research and practice community to address this gap to better support older adults and other homebound or mobility-restricted individuals.
... Table (3) shows the ability of farmers at different ages and educational backgrounds to use the technology in an efficient way. The results proved that the application could be used by different farmers' categories, as shown previously by Page (2014). Illiterate farmers can use the touch screen mobile phone through an interface with graphic design. ...
... We found that most elements that participants were uncomfortable with during gameplay could be applied to all generations, regardless of age. The young generation also experiences difficulties with using touchscreen technologies, but they are better at adopting technological changes [68]. Thus, improving older adults' gaming experience may improve the experience for other generation groups as well. ...
Background
The number of older adult gamers who play mobile games is growing worldwide. Earlier studies have reported that digital games provide cognitive, physical, and socioemotional benefits for older adults. However, current mobile games that understand older adults’ gameplay experience and reflect their needs are very scarce. Furthermore, studies that have analyzed older adults’ game experience in a holistic manner are rare.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to suggest mobile game design guidelines for adults older than 50 years from a holistic gaming experience perspective. Adopting a human-centric approach, this study analyzes middle-aged and older adults’ gameplay experience and suggests practical design guides to increase accessibility and satisfaction.
Methods
We organized a living laboratory project called the “Intergenerational Play Workshop.” In this workshop, 40 middle-aged and older adults (mean age 66.75 years, age range 50-85 years) played commercial mobile games of various genres with young adult partners for 1 month (8 sessions). Using a convergent parallel mixed-method design, we conducted a qualitative analysis of dialogue, game diaries, and behavioral observations during the workshop and a quantitative analysis of the satisfaction level of the game elements for the mobile games that they played.
Results
This project was active from April 2019 to December 2021, and the data were collected at the workshops from July 1 to August 28, 2019. Based on the identified themes of positive and negative experiences from the qualitative data, we proposed 45 design guides under 3 categories: (1) cognitive and physical elements, (2) psychological and socioemotional elements, and (3) consumption contextual elements. Our empirical research could reaffirm the proposals from previous studies and provide new guidelines for improving the game design. In addition, we demonstrate how existing commercial games can be evaluated quantitatively by using the satisfaction level of each game’s elements and overall satisfaction level.
Conclusions
The final guidelines were presented to game designers to easily find related information and enhance the overall understanding of the game experience of middle-aged and older adults.
... Among older adults, it has previously been found that touchscreen EICT devices may be easier to use in comparison to keypad devices (Page, 2014). The findings of this thesis seem in agreement, as the overall challenge of smartphones was perceived by participants both with and without dementia to be generally lower than that of pushbutton mobile phones (i, ii). ...
Background: Increased reliance on technology in society incurs a risk that older adults with and without dementia could become excluded from participating in aspects of everyday life in and outside home. This thesis responds to a gap in present understanding about the conditions for Everyday Technology (ET) use (i.e. ticket machines, smartphones) in different international and geographical contexts. By generating new knowledge about the interplay of these conditions on participation, practical information and guidance follow to support both dementia- and age-friendliness as well as general inclusivity in society.
Aim: To illuminate the conditions, particularly different country and geographical contexts, of ET use and the interplay of these conditions with participation and inclusion in everyday life both in and outside the home for older adults living with and without mild stage dementia.
Methods: Participants with dementia (n =99) and with no known cognitive impairment (n =216) were recruited in the US (sub-study i, n =114), Sweden (sub-study i, n =73, ii, n =69), and England (sub-studies i, iv, n =128, rural sub-study iii, n =10). These four cross-sectional studies used multiple predominantly quantitative methods (i, ii, iv) and a case study approach also involved qualitative data (iii). Structured home-based interviews used the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire to map respondents’ use of technologies, and the Participation in Activities and Places Outside Home Questionnaire to investigate the amount and pattern of participation outside home. Qualitative data included fieldnotes, observations, annotated maps and more. The findings of the four studies were synthesised using an approach to triangulation.
Findings: The triangulation approach yielded three themes: 1) Dementia as a condition of ET use, 2) National, geographical, public and home context as a condition of ET use, 3) Interplay of conditions with participation.1) Dementia was generally not found to be a condition that impacted the challenge of ETs, however groups with dementia typically regarded less ETs to be relevant. There were notable exceptions in both instances. 2) The varying social, infrastructural, and service conditions surrounding national and geographic contexts were seen to shape the constitution and use of ETs outside home. 3) There was a complex interplay between the conditions of ET use and participation outside home. Close and distant human relationships, structural inequalities and transportation options were implicated as stabilising and de-stabilising everyday life.
Conclusions: Insights are provided into the interplay between the conditions of ET use and participation in everyday life outside home among older adults with and without dementia. These insights provide opportunities for many different people in societies, communities, neighbourhoods and households to take action. Reducing any friction that people encounter when using ETs in public places and allowing opportunities for manualised participation in occupations outside home could lead to a more inclusive everyday life.
... Using multimedia in UI design decreases the time required for reading and raises the level of understanding. This recommendation is supported by Page (2014), and (Owsley, 1983) who reported that older adults favour multimedia interfaces with minimal reading regardless of their education level. ...
The rapid growth in the number of elderly people globally has inspired researchers in human-computer interaction (HCI) to design technologies that enhance their life. The present user interface (UI) of web pages, applications, systems and electronic devices have design issues concerning usability and accessibility for the elderly users which hinder them from using technology at an optimal level. This is particularly true for the elderly users utilising mobile applications for the first time or who have little experience in using them. As people need to access and use information at a much faster rate and at their fingertips, a user interface design that meets their demands and satisfies the concerns of all user groups is vital. This paper covers the limitations faced by elderly users associated with aging such as visual, cognitive and memory impairments and the required design for successful applications. It also describes the interface design elements for these users by suggesting guidelines for developers and interface designers to overcome these limitations. A total of 124 participants were recruited to generate the design guidelines for this study. The results showed colour, font, icons, language, button information architecture and multimedia are the most important UI elements.
... Research on the usability of online financial texts (and on the impact of plain language) is lacking. However, the usability of websites and other information and communication technologies for older adults has received some attention [17,32]. Furthermore, Rodrigues et al. [34] identified several usability and accessibility issues on frequently accessed websites, such as information overload and unclear terminology. ...
With financial institutions increasingly transferring products and services online, the interaction of older adults with the web has received some attention. However, research on the accessibility and usability of the language of online financial content for older adults is lacking. Furthermore, evidence on the potential benefits of plain language is needed. We conducted a two-part study to fill these research gaps. First, we conducted a focus group with four older adults to find out: (i) if participants had concerns about the accessibility of online financial texts; and (ii) which types of texts might have benefited from plain language editing in their experience. We observed that older adults regarded Terms and Conditions as difficult to read. In a second stage, we examined the usability of Terms and Conditions through an experiment with 25 older adults. We tested the impact of plain language on different usability components, namely satisfaction ratings, reading comprehension, perceived comprehensibility, and reading behaviour for Terms and Conditions related to direct debits provided by a bank and an insurance company. We found no benefits of plain language on the usability components under investigation. However, despite a general tendency to skim through or read only parts of Terms and Conditions, we also observed that reading behaviour was more varied—including repeated readings, section skipping, and reading abandonment—with texts that had not undergone plain language editing. Furthermore, aspects other than language (such as visual components) were valued by older adults. Conclusions and implications are outlined.
... However, innovative things have a tendency to create anxieties among their users (i.e., a challenge that old people face, especially females; they feel uncomfortable about using mobile phones). However, there is a rapid growth in the adoption of mobile phones among both males and females and among different age groups; this has also brought about challenges for elder users [35]. The authors in [4] studied the behaviors of mobile phone users such as safety and cost consciousness, dependent users, sophisticated users and practical users. ...
This research aims to investigate the impact of mobile phones in the lives of youths of mountainous rural areas of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). A total of 272 (133 male and 139 female) respondents of ages between 16 and 25 years participated in this study. To analyze the demographic data such as age, gender, district, the descriptive statistics (mean, SD and percentage) and inferential statistics such as independent sample t-test were used. The regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between independent and dependent variables such as mobile phone features (M = 3.66, SD = 1.15); a mobile phone as a tool for socio-economic impact (M = 3.80, SD = 1.20); as a fashion symbol (M = 1.29, SD = 0.11) and a tool for safety (M = 3.91, SD = 1.06). The findings show that 97% (M = 1.026 SD = 0.159) of youths from GB own a mobile phone (47% male and 48% female). The findings also verify that a mobile phone is beneficial to its users in the fields of economic, education, safety, and security. However, using a mobile phone as status symbol could have a negative impact on the lives of youths. This study recommends that the government should develop effective and efficient policy for mobile phone usage and users should also be aware of the blessings and risks associated with using a mobile phone in their lives.
... While researchers such as Czaja et al. concluded that older people have no interest in using new technologies, researchers in more recent studies often drew contrary conclusions [10]. Kurniawan or Page cite fear of failure as the main reason for non-use of digital technologies [20,25]. Murata and Iwase name cognitive and physical impairments as the cause of these fears [24]. ...
User studies to evaluate public transport systems are often hard to set up. While field tests provide important insight into real-world usability of public transport systems, they are also complex and expensive. Especially in early development stages of public transport related systems, field tests are not appropriate. However, usability of public transport systems is often depending on “real-life” context factors that are hard to reproduce in lab-based user studies. We have developed a mockup of a tram or train compartment that can be flexibly used to create a public transport experience in user studies. In this paper we will describe our experiences and recurring challenges with user studies in public transport, the design and set-up of our mockup, as well as give an insight into its applications in studies we conducted and lessons we learned.
... us, the accessibility of a mobile phone, especially by young women (e.g., universitylevel girls and women doing jobs), is now becoming a priority matter to achieve their objectives [50] such as connecting, accessing knowledge [7], doing business, and improving safety and security matters. [6] Moreover, the advancement in the mobile phone technology brought challenges and difficulties for the elder users as compared to younger users [51]. In the same line, the authors in [5] listed the mobile phone users in groups and studied their behaviors towards mobile phones such as cost consciousness, safety conscious, mobile-dependent users, sophisticated users, and practical uses. ...
This study aims to investigate the access to a mobile phone, usage pattern, and its impact on mountainous rural women of two districts, i.e., Hunza and Nagar districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. To attain the objective of the research, the researchers have employed various statistic methods, and data were collected through a questionnaire from 190 respondents in the study area (200 respondents were selected). Initially, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s tests were used for sampling adequacy, and factor analysis technique was used to explain correlations among multiple outcomes. The results revealed that 80% of women in the Hunza and Nagar districts own mobile phones (access) and 63% have good skills of mobile phone usage for a variety of purposes. Moreover, 56.4% of women use mobile phones in their daily life activities; however, 23.6% disagreed with the statements. On the contrary, the results show that 71.8% women use mobile phones for security purposes. Therefore, the study recommends that effective use of the mobile phone in daily activities of mountainous rural women can be one of the effective strategies to boost their confidence level and feeling of security. Finally, socioeconomic development of the area is possible by providing technical skills related to mobile phone business to the unskilled women of the two districts.
... Older adults would like to try newer technologies e.g. touchscreen mobile devices, however, they may rely on previously used technology due to the uncertainty of understanding the new technology (Page, 2014). The new field of assistive technology -robotics has the potential to enhance the lives and experiences of older adults (McGinn et al. 2014;Bedaf et al. 2017). ...
Older adults may have some prior use and knowledge of technology, but may also express or
experience the digital divide, whereby the pace of emerging technology can present challenges
to older adults and their ability to ‘keep up’. This can be a factor to device abandonment or loss
in confidence to adopt the technology. The experience of ageing can be a positive one, with
many older adults expressing the freedoms of mind and body when possible.
Exoskeletons and exosuits offer capacity to augment the ability and mobility of older adults
who experience functional limitations. However, these emerging technologies also present
challenges of acceptance and adoption by older adult users. It is critical that understanding and
insights are incorporated throughout concept development phases as a means to optimise
acceptance and adoption.
Study 1 explored and engaged with 22 older adult participants in order to observe and
understand challenges to mobility and quality of life as we age. In addition, it implemented a
number of design methods and collaborative approaches in order to share the findings from the
fieldwork, culminating in a Co-Design Symposium.
Study 2 completed a narrative review regarding the Technology Acceptance Models and user
centred design guidance in relation to older adults’ acceptance of exoskeletons.
Study 3 was an opportunity to conduct a second phase of fieldwork with 24 new older adult
participants. The purpose of this fieldwork was to investigate the perceptions older adults have
to emerging technologies, including exoskeletons.
Study 4 Upon completion and analysis of the fieldwork, novel outputs emerged that created
the basis for a Pilot study with older adult participants and XoSoft exoskeleton in a lab setting.
Globally, as the ageing population currently continues to grow, the intervention of social robots
and robotic assistive devices offers potential additional supports to independence and quality
of life.
Gerontechnology ensures we, as designers or developers of emerging technologies include
understanding of the older adults’ experience and acceptance as part of a user-centred design
approach. Older adults have specific acceptance criteria regarding exoskeletons and exosuits,
and to date, this is currently not widely understood or documented.
This research documents a ground theory approach, gaining knowledge, understanding and
insights from older adults. It offers interpretations and analyses that have emerged as crucial
factors to the development of an original approach to exoskeleton and exosuit development.
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10344/8489
... e mobile phone has introduced a wide range of innovative potentials for social networks [15], media usage and productivity, information sharing, political activities, security, safety, and learning [11]. Innovative things have a tendency to create anxieties among aged people; the rapid growth in adoption and advancement in mobile phone technology brought challenges and difficulties for the elder users as compared to younger users [20]. In the same line, the authors in [21] listed the mobile phone users in groups and study their behaviors towards mobile phones such as cost consciousness, safety conscious, mobile dependent users, sophisticated users, and practical user. ...
The study aims to explore the access of mobile phone, emerging technologies, and use of the mobile phone by the youth of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), Pakistan, for learning and safety and security purposes. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the data. The descriptive statistics was employed to test the research model. Among the 300 distributed sample size, 272 participants responded back including 133 male and 139 female students of Karakoram International University (KIU) from eight districts of GB as research participants for data collection. Only 1 male and 6 females responded that they do not have their own mobile phone, comprising of 90.6% response rate. The results show that 97% of students of rural mountainous areas own a mobile phone. The study contributes valuable findings about the access and positive use of mobile phones for learning and safety and security purposes. The result also shows that the youth of GB have enough skills of mobile phone technologies to cope with the future challenges of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by taking advantages of China Pakistan Information Corridor (CPIC is a fiber optics cable laid down from the China border to Islamabad Pakistan for the purpose of providing the fast internet facility including 5G). This is the baseline survey and future study will be based on this survey.
... Second, all the risk factors discussed in the review were physical in scope, but the cognitive and general conditions of adult SP users (e.g., being elderly or impaired) were not negligible. In the initial sample, some studies focused on the usability of touchscreens, the performance of elderly SP users, the behavioral differences in using electronic devices, and deaf or blind users, but we excluded these studies from the review to evaluate the effect of SP on healthy and normal users [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. ...
... Around 42% of US adults with ages 65 and older reported owning smartphones [1]. However, several studies do show that they experience more difficulties in controlling their technological environments in fields such as e-commerce [23], web search [10], touchscreen mobile devices [29], and mobile health [30]. Technology adoption is imperative to manage in modern day society because it is pervasive across all domains of life, including managing social ties, participating in the workforce, improving our health, continuing to learn, and even doing our daily shopping. ...
Older people experience difficulties when managing their security and privacy in mobile environments. However, support from the older adult's social network, and especially from close-tie relations such as family and close friends, is known to be an effective source of help in coping with technological tasks. On the basis of this existing phenomena, I investigate how new methods can increase the availability of social support to older adults and enhance learning in tackling privacy and security challenges. I will develop and evaluate several technological interventions in the support process within social networks for older adults: finding methods that increase seekers' technology learning and methods that increase help availability and quality.
In my Ph.D., I suggest conducting three studies: the first study aims to analyze existing approaches and scenarios of social support to older adults. The initial results suggest that people have a significant willingness to help their older relatives (specifically, their parents), but the actual instances in which they do so is much rarer. We conclude that the potential for social help is far from being exploited. In the second study, I plan to explore social support as a system to increase older adults' self-efficacy and collective efficacy to overcome privacy and security problems. The final study will investigate physiological signals to identify when an older adult required help with mobile security and privacy issues. A successful outcome will be a theoretical model of social support, focused on the domain of privacy and security, and based on vulnerable populations such as older adults. From a practical standpoint, the thesis will offer and evaluate a set of technologies that enable and encourage social support for older adults on mobile platforms.
... In addition, past studies have found demographic factors such as experience and age to influence product usability and satisfaction perceived by users (Kang & Yoon, 2008;Kurniawan, 2008;Mayhorn et al., 2012;Page, 2014;Ghayas et al., 2013). These researchers are however rare and limited in scope and context. ...
One of the most trending and current technological innovations in mobile commerce today is mobile banking or m-banking for short. Notably, the ever growing market for mobile phone have led to a consequent parallel mounting opportunities for the growth and saturation of m-banking enterprises with lots of accruing business dividends following. This notwithstanding, the m-banking apps' usage context presents pronounced challenges particularly with regard to usability in mobile context and to the apps acceptability and comfort in use. The uniqueness features of mobile phones such as non-traditional input method, limited memory space and battery life, smallness of screen size among others, make usability very complex, hard and difficult and thus, negatively impacting users' perceived satisfaction, enjoyment, comfort of use and usability of the m-banking apps' interfaces. In the design, service and evaluation of mobile phones, usability is counted as a central issue. This is because users access and use a range of functions and features in an app through the obviously limited user interface regularly whilst they are on the move (or busy doing other activities). These usability challenges by implication have effect on the users' perceived satisfaction and the comfort of use of these apps. This paper reports on a study of comfort-of-use and perceived satisfaction for three banks in Nigeria by users of m-banking apps. In the study, the effect or influence of user demographics such as age, experience, education and gender, on the users' comfort of use and on their perception of satisfaction about the usability of m-banking apps were assessed and evaluated. The study was triggered because of the scarcity of studies related to this very important domain. This study's data was captured online via an online-based survey. The study's outcome reveals that these demographics have significant impact on the comfort of use and the perceived satisfaction and usability of m-banking apps. These results will ultimately assist banks in improving on their m-banking apps so as to capture, sustain, and enhance their customers' loyalty and patronage and improve their revenue standing, return on investment and overall competitive advantage.
... The interviewed seniors mentioned concerns about forgetting operating gestures and operating the system incorrectly. According to Pages [30], operating errors are the result of lack of knowledge and experience in technology use, as well as cognitive impairment. Considering this, it is essential to prevent concerns about avoiding operating errors. ...
The “SmartPointer” (SP) technology comprises a universal buttonless gesture-controlled handheld remote device with a simple quasi-intuitive operating structure. With this handset, elderly people will be able to control various household devices in their living environment. In order to develop an age-appropriate SP system, the aim of the study was to determine the requirements of elderly people and people with tremor. For this purpose, a mixed-method design, involving several assessments, a guideline-based interview, a task-based investigation and a questionnaire using a gesture catalog, was applied. The whole sample included 20 seniors being 60 years and older. In the process, qualitative requirements were collected on the topics of device use, operating problems, desired devices for gesture control, receiver unit, gestures, feedback and safety. The interview results emphasized the elderly participants’ needs to an easy and intuitive system use. Furthermore, concerns should be prioritized in order to the development of the system. In the quantitative evaluation, the use of various technical devices was analyzed and the frequency of used gestures was determined based the gesture catalog and the task-based investigation. The most frequently used gestures were horizontal, vertical, circular and targeting gestures. In summary, the elderly people were very interested in, and open-minded towards, the SP-system. In a comparison between healthy persons and persons with tremor, the results demonstrated only minimal differences regarding the requirements.
... Likert Scales were used to evaluate the level of errors, efficiency, learnability, memorability, and satisfaction. Page [4] conducted a usability studied on touchscreen mobile devices for older adults. He used pre-interview to understand participants' current perceptions of touchscreen technologies and post-interview to obtain thoughts and attitudes towards the touchscreen mobile devices. ...
Since touchscreens were introduced into mobile devices, interaction directly on the touchscreen replaced interaction with the keyboard. In order to protect touchscreens and improve user experience, touchscreen protectors are widely used. This study selected three different designs of touchscreen protectors with three different levels of friction, and a touchscreen without a protector as a control group. The experiment was divided into two tasks, namely the moving task (including horizontal movement and vertical movement) and the circling tasks (including clockwise movement and counter-clockwise movement). User experience was measured through performance, questionnaires and psychophysiological techniques including electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG) measurements. Results reflected that a touchscreen without a protector was most suitable for gesture control to improve performance. Among various types of protectors, the protector with the same friction as a touchscreen, was more suitable to improve performance. Results suggested that protectors with excessive or too little friction cannot improve performance.
... Mobile devices are smaller which makes them challenging in a multitude of ways Nicolau et al (2014a); Rodrigues et al (2015). The sheer amount of applications and tasks ( Figure 1), adding up to the small size of the display, makes them cognitively challenging Page (2014). Mobile devices are also often used under challenging conditions, so called situationally-induced impairments and disabilities Sears et al (2003); Yesilada et al (2010Yesilada et al ( , 2011, and even more so if you already face a health-induced disability Nicolau (2012); let's call those situationally-augmented impairments and disabili ties. ...
Mobile devices are the tools of the trade to access services and contents on the Internet, already surpassing their desktop counterparts. These gadgets are always available and provide access to social networks, messaging, games, productivity tools, among many others. Accessing the Web with mobile devices, either through a browser or a native application, has become more than a perk; it is a need. Such relevance has increased the need for provide accessible mobile webpages and (Web and native) applications; failing to do so would exclude people with different abilities from a world of opportunities. In this chapter, we focus our attention on the specific challenges of mobile devices for accessibility, and how those have been addressed in the development and evaluation of mobile interfaces and contents. We finish with a discussion on future directions in the field, that outlines the need to learn from the fast emergence of a mobile world, and be prepared for the impact of other upcoming technologies.
... One focus of those studies has been to encourage acceptance through improving technology usability for older adults. Such studies have focused, primarily, on the effects of several technology components (Chung et al., 2015;Page, 2014) or age-related differences (Chevalier, Dommes, & Marquié, 2015; Dommes, Chevalier, & Lia, 2011; van der Wardt, Bandelow, & Hogervorst, 2010). These researchers investigated these effects by asking users to accomplish specific technology-based tasks and collecting measurement data such as task accuracy and speed. ...
... It is understood that young people can have more facility of learning and understandability, because they belong to Millennial age group, who tend to be highly versed in technology [28]. As is understandable that older individuals may have less retentive, that younger, in fact studies recommend making technical changes to the handables devices and apps, as in touchscreen [29], or aesthetics with special design and narrative methods for older and disabled people [30]. ...
BACKGROUND
Apps for mobile phones can measure heart rate simply and painlessly.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research was to demonstrate that the Heart Rate Plus App is an easy, understandable, and attractive application for use by the general population and by nurses as well.
METHODS
The pilot case-control study study included 80 adult healthy volunteers, 40 nurses and 40 non-nurses. They then completed a questionnaire regarding the usability criteria of the App.
RESULTS
The entire study sample rated the App highly for Learnability (85%), Memorability (92.5%), and Understandability (87.5%) and Attractiveness (87.5%). The association of the variable Sex with usability criteria, a significant association was found between the Sex and Learnability (p = 0.044) and also between Sex and Understandability (p = 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
Our fingings demonstrate that Heart Rate Plus App is an easy, memorable, understandable, and attractive application to use for the general population and for nurses.
CLINICALTRIAL
It is not a Trial.
Digital Twins and Healthcare: Trends, Techniques, and Challenges facilitates the advancement and knowledge dissemination in methodologies and applications of digital twins in the healthcare and medicine fields. This book raises interest and awareness of the uses of digital twins in healthcare in the research community. Covering topics such as deep neural network, edge computing, and transfer learning method, this premier reference source is an essential resource for hospital administrators, pharmacists, medical professionals, IT consultants, students and educators of higher education, librarians, and researchers.
Assistive technology for the elderly was the focus of the literature review that would help support the elderly's healthcare. This chapter discusses the potential of assistive technology in general to offer a cost-effective way of assisting healthcare services for the elderly; no systematic research on the expenses of these technologies for this population has been carried out. Throughout the process of evaluation, evidence of significance is considered. This chapter explains the methods and conclusions of the literature review. As a result of this chapter, the elderly will have better access to health care.
Purpose
Online reviews are regarded as a source of information for decision-making because of the abundance and ready availability of information. Whereas, the sheer volume of online reviews makes it hard for consumers, especially the older adults who perceive more difficulties in reading reviews and obtaining information compared to younger adults, to locate the useful ones. The main objective of this study is to propose an effective method to locate valuable reviews of mobile phones for older adults. Besides, the authors also want to explore what characteristics of the technology older adults prefer. This will benefit both e-retailers and e-commerce platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
After collecting online reviews related to mobile phones designed for older adults from a popular Chinese e-commerce platform (JD Mall), topic modeling, term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF), and linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC) methods were applied to extract latent topics and uncover potential dimensions that consumers frequently referred to in their reviews. According to consumers' attitudes towards different popular topics, seven machine learning models were employed to predict the usefulness and popularity of online reviews due to their excellent performance in prediction. To improve the performance, a weighted model based on the two best-performing models was built and evaluated.
Findings
Based on the TF-IDF, topic modeling, and LIWC methods, the authors find that older adults are more interested in the exterior, sound, and communication functions of mobile phones. Besides, the weighted model (Random Forest: Decision Tree = 2:1) is the best model for predicting the online review popularity, while random forest performs best in predicting the perceived usefulness of online reviews.
Practical implications
This study’s findings can help e-commerce platforms and merchants identify the needs of the targeted consumers, predict reviews that will get more attention, and provide some early responses to some questions.
Originality/value
The results propose that older adults pay more attention to the mobile phones' exterior, sound, and communication function, guiding future research. Besides, this paper also enriches the current studies related to making predictions based on the information contained in the online reviews.
Owing to the global COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic, many people have been forced to adopt a new lifestyle that makes extensive use of information and communication technology (ICT) under the slogan “Stay Home.” Because older adults have been reported to be more resistant to information technology, such rapid changes in their lifestyle would be more difficult for them to accept. However, some senior citizens have used ICT or have improved their ICT skills since the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing the current situation of older adults may allow for a detailed analysis of the acceptance process of information technology. In this article, we aim to clarify the mechanism of acceptance and use of information technology among older adults in terms of social conditions, support systems, and the usability and accessibility of interfaces. The results indicated that the transtheoretical model of behavior change in terms of interest and usage status of ICT/IoT services can be used to categorize technology acceptance situations.
Digital media technologies have been gradually integrated into teaching activities over the past few years, providing teachers with more possibilities for teaching. This study examines the teaching effects of an interactive AI based image-processing platform in assisting as a teaching aid for children painting education. In this study, we compared the learning interest, learning attitude, and continuous learning intention of 96 children aged 5 to 13 in the process of painting education. The subjects were divided into two groups: the experimental group used AI image processing for painting education, and the control group utilized traditional teaching methods for painting learning. Results showed that the use of AI image-processing tools in painting education reduces girls’ learning attitudes and continuous learning intention, while stimulating boys’ learning interest.
Peer support is a powerful tool in improving the digital literacy of older adults. However, while existing literature investigated reactive support, this paper examines proactive support for mobile safety. To predict moments that users need support, we conducted a user study to measure the severity of mobile scenarios (n=300) and users' attitudes toward receiving support in a specific interaction around safety on a mobile device (n=150). We compared classification methods and showed that the random forest method produces better performance than other regression models. We show that user anxiety, openness to social support, self-efficacy, and security awareness are important factors to predict willingness to receive support. We also explore various age variations in the training sample on moments users need support prediction. We find that training on the youngest population produces inferior results for older adults, and training on the aging population produces poor outcomes for young adults. We illustrate that the composition of age can affect how the sample impacts model performance. We conclude the paper by discussing how our findings can be used to design feasible proactive support applications to provide support at the right moment.
Purpose:
To evaluate the usability and long-term adherence to the mobile hyperacuity app Alleye in patients with retinal pathology.
Methods:
We enroled 72 patients (95 eyes) mainly treated for wet AMD (48/95; 50.5%). We calculated changes of clinical characteristics and the System Usability Score (SUS), and personal ratings of usefulness and number of tests performed per month at a follow-up visit of eighteen months.
Results:
At baseline, mean best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 74.9 letters (SD 14.8), mean age was 69.9 (SD 11.4) and 39/72 (54.2%) were female. Of included patients, 47/72 (65.2%) reported to use mobile devices daily. The retention rate until last follow-up was 73.6 % (53/72). The median SUS score at baseline was 90 (interquartile range (IQR) 82.5-95) and 92.5 (IQR 82.5-95) in the follow-up. No association between changes of SUS and clinical characteristics was seen. At baseline, 76.4% (55/72) stated that they would recommend the app to a friend, 83.3% (60/72) were very satisfied with the app and 58/72 (80.6%) of respondents said they trusted the app. These assessments remained similar among patients remaining on the program until the follow-up. Patients who dropped out of the study (n = 19) did not differ in age, gender, BCVA, and SUS at baseline, but stated that they did not use the mobile device daily (Odds Ratio 7.40 (95%CI: 2.32-23.65); p = 0.001).
Conclusions:
The majority of users willing to perform home monitoring with the Alleye app are satisfied with the usability and have a positive attitude towards its trustworthiness and usefulness.
The two Arduino boards (UNO R3 and MEGA2560 R3) have been constructed as the electronic modules of the gateway are become a haft-duplex adapter or can be referred to as the interface device for communicating (IDC). The IDC system drove by the touch-tone signal. The research objectives, i.e. assembly some of the hardware for the embodiment of the half-duplex interface adapter system, make a program structure, and perform a test of verification used in the modules of the gateway. The embodiment has been carried out by integrating all of the components by wiring to form an embedded system. Programming of the Arduino system is carried out by six stages of the algorithm, namely pins configuration, declaration of variables and constants, initialization, the main program, retrieve and send data, and output. The programming syntax structure is based on the Arduino software. The test of verification is carried out in the form of a simulation. The simulation results are obtained for six conditions, namely (i) simulation of the circuit of ring detection, (ii) simulation of the circuit of voice-operated transmit, (iii) simulation of the circuit off/on the hook of the telephone module, (iv) simulation of the circuit of tone decoder, (v) simulation of dial-up telephone numbers via touch-tone push buttons and switching IC circuits, and (vi) simulation of circuits of voice recorder and storage in the form of voice recording and playback. The success of the verification test with six conditions has been an indication that the Arduino-based IDC system is functioning as expected.
Technological improvements and access provide a fertile scenario for creating and developing mobile applications (apps). This scenario results in a myriad of Apps providing information regarding touristic destinations, including those with a cultural profile, such as those dedicated to UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHS). However, not all of the Apps have the same efficiency. In order to have a successful app, its development must consider usability aspects and features aligned with reliable content. Despite the guidelines for mobile usability being broadly available, they are generic, and none of them concentrates specifically into cultural heritage places, especially on those placed in an open-air scenario. This research aims to fulfil this literature gap and discusses how to adequate and develop specific guidelines for a better outdoor WHS experience. It uses an empirical approach applied to an open-air WHS city: Weimar and its Bauhaus and Classical Weimar sites. In order to build a new set of guidelines applied for open-air WHS, this research used a systematic approach to compare literature-based guidelines to industry-based ones (based on affordances), extracted from the available Apps dedicated to WHS set in Germany. The instructions compiled from both sources have been comparatively tested by using two built prototypes from the distinctive guidelines, creating a set of recommendations collecting the best approach from both sources, plus suggesting new ones the evaluation.
Background
Digital registries have been shown to provide an efficient way of gaining a better understanding of the clinical complexity and long-term progression of diseases. The paperless method of electronic data capture (EDC) during a patient interview saves both time and resources. In the prospective multicenter project “Digital Dementia Registry Bavaria (digiDEM Bayern),” interviews are also performed on site in rural areas with unreliable internet connectivity. It must be ensured that EDC can still be performed in such a context and that there is no need to fall back on paper-based questionnaires. In addition to a web-based data collection solution, the EDC system REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) offers the option to collect data offline via an app and to synchronize it afterward.
Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of the REDCap app as an offline EDC option for a lay user group and to examine the necessary technology acceptance of using mobile devices for data collection. The feasibility of the app-based offline data collection in the digiDEM Bayern dementia registry project was then evaluated before going live.
Methods
An exploratory mixed method design was employed in the form of an on-site usability test with the “Thinking Aloud” method combined with an online questionnaire including the System Usability Scale (SUS). The acceptance of mobile devices for data collection was surveyed based on five categories of the technology acceptance model.
Results
Using the “Thinking Aloud” method, usability issues were identified and solutions were accordingly derived. Evaluation of the REDCap app resulted in a SUS score of 74, which represents “good” usability. After evaluating the technology acceptance questionnaire, it can be concluded that the lay user group is open to mobile devices as interview tools.
Conclusions
The usability evaluation results show that a lay user group generally agree that data collecting partners in the digiDEM project can handle the REDCap app well. The usability evaluation provided statements about positive aspects and could also identify usability issues relating to the REDCap app. In addition, the current technology acceptance in the sample showed that heterogeneous groups of different ages with diverse experiences in handling mobile devices are also ready for the use of app-based EDC systems. Based on these results, it can be assumed that the offline use of an app-based EDC system on mobile devices is a viable solution for collecting data in a decentralized registry–based research project.
This study details a method for mHealth app development and user experience design (UX) evaluation, which generates a comprehensive list of stakeholder-users, acknowledges UX barriers, advocates multiple methods, and argues that developers should address the UX needs of each stakeholder-user in a complex health-care system. A case study of a research project on an mHealth app for women who are considering prevention of or treatment for osteoporosis assists to elaborate and define the method. To find any measure of success, a fully functional app for older users should be integrated into the entire health-care system.
Security and privacy pose a serious barrier to the use of mobile technology by older adults. While support from family and friends is known to be an effective enabler in older adults' technology adoption, we know very little about the family members' motivations for providing help, the context, and the process in which they provide it. To bridge this gap, we have conducted a mixed method study, qualitatively analyzing the helpers' assistance stories and quantitatively estimating the factors that affect helpers' willingness to offer assistance to older relatives regarding mobile security and privacy problems. Our findings point to the potential for helping older relatives, i.e., people are more willing to help and guide them than other social groups. Furthermore, we show that familiarity with an older relative's preferences is essential in providing meaningful support. We discuss our findings in the context of developing a theory of collective efficacy for security and privacy and new collaborative technologies that can reduce the barriers to social help.
This research aimed to develop a comprehensive evaluation of the mobile user interface abilities of the elderly so that technology can be designed to meet individualized needs. A total of 135 older adults were evaluated with the developed system, the Elderly Mobile User Interface Ability Evaluation System (EMUIAES). The prediction of age and the use of technology on elderly mobile interface usage were investigated based on the findings of the evaluation. The relationship between performance on Fitts' task and elderly mobile user interface ability (EMUIA) was also examined. The findings showed a strong effect of age on the elderly's use of mobile user interfaces. Previous experience with personal and tablet computers also contributed to the use of mobile user interfaces. In addition, this research demonstrated the application of Fitts' law to describe the elderly mobile user interface behaviors, particularly for tasks involving fast tapping and pointing. The EMUIAES can provide future researchers and designers a comprehensive tool to describe the elderly's diverse behaviors and changes in their ability to use mobile interfaces. Individualized interface designs for elderly users can be developed based on these findings to improve the elderly users' experiences of using technology.
The aims of this mixed-method study were to analyze: older adults’ computer proficiency in relation to intelligence, personality traits and attitudes towards computers (Study 1); intention to use online services in relation to attitudes towards computers (Study 2); enabling factors of using digital devices (Study 3). The goal of the overall study was to propose the intervention that would support older people as digital newcomers. The main findings were that: attitude towards computer was the strongest predictor of older adults’ computer proficiency (Study 1); perceived ease of use proved to be a significant predictor of intention to use electronic services (Study 2), and most important finding from the qualitative research was that family and friends, especially peers, were older adults’ most preferred source of support in acquiring new IT skills (Study 3). On the long run, advocating for involving older people in designing digital tools should be imperative. It is important to develop a self-sustainable program that would, at first, fully engage all the relevant stakeholders: municipality and social care officials, Red Cross professionals and volunteers, social clubs and spaces for seniors, IT and user experience experts, psychologists, producers and retailers of devices, family and friends. Brief focused train the trainer program based on the needs of older people would be the core of the intervention. Sustainability wise, based on identifying and supporting the most skilled ones, older people should be empowered to run the program themselves with stakeholders’ occasional support.
The addiction to technology of older persons is an emerging field, because the literature tends to focus only on the benefits of the use of technology in this age group. Along with this, there is interest in how participation improves the quality of life of older persons. In this context, the present study aims to examine the association between the level of participation of older individuals and their addictive behaviors to Internet, including lack of control and emotional deregulation. All this, considering the social influence for the use of the Internet as a mediator of this relationship. For this, 151 older Internet users answered a set of questions about internet addiction, level of participation, and social influence for the use of technology. A structural equation modeling was carried out to evaluate the mediation model. The results show that the level of participation is indirectly associated with the two dimensions of Internet addiction, via the social influence that promotes the use of technology. This has important implications in the development of interventions that encourage Internet use in older persons, decreasing addictive behaviors that could emerge as the use of technology becomes more common.
Smartphones have seen an exponential growth in their utility during the past decade. The study of mobile phone usage patterns as well as mobile phone feature preferences has been given due focus by the research community in the past. However, a comprehensive study targeting different population demographics is required for the assessment and evaluation of smartphone features, both from the consumer point of view and the vender’s perspective. This study aims to find correlation between the smartphone usage patterns and its features. The user demographics considered in this work include age, gender, marital status, education, profession, income level and geographical location of the smartphone users. The smartphone usage data for this research is collected through user surveys. The survey sought information regarding three key aspects of this study: the usage pattern of the smartphone users, their feature preferences and their demographic details. The key statistical parameters computed in this work include the mean and standard deviation of the replies given on the Likert scale against the usage of the features mentioned in the questionnaire. A normality test is performed by measuring the skewness and kurtosis of the collected dataset. The results for both kurtosis and skewness are found to be within the acceptable range, suggesting the data to be normally distributed. One-way ANOVA (analysis of variance) test is performed to identify the significant difference within the groups in relation to the usage of smartphone features. Finally, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is performed to identify the structure of the data and the underlying relationships. Singles, urban users, younger users, college and university graduates, professional degree holders and users with high-income level formed the group using the smartphone more frequently than their counterparts. Moreover, they were also found to be using advanced features like, social apps, Internet, camera and picture viewing on a daily basis. This work has identified smartphone features like disk space, RAM, device security camera and battery talk time as key preferences for a specific group of consumer.
The relevance of enabling mobile access to business enterprise information systems for experts working in the field has grown significantly in the last years due to the increasing availability of smartphones; the shipment of smartphones exceeded that of personal computers in 2011. However, the screen sizes and display resolutions of different devices vary to a large degree, along with different aspect ratios and the complexity of mobile tasks. These obstacles are a major challenge for software developers, especially when they try to reach the largest possible audience and develop for multiple mobile platforms or device types. On the other side, the end users’ expectations regarding the usability of the applications are increasing. Consequently, for a successful mobile application the user interface needs to be well-designed, thus justifying research to overcome these obstacles. In this paper, we report on experiences during an industrial project on building user interfaces for database access to a business enterprise information system for professionals in the field. We discuss our systematic analysis of standards and conventions for design of user interfaces for various mobile platforms, as well as scaling methods operational on different physical screen sizes. The interoperability of different systems, including HTML5, Java and .NET is also within the focus of this work.
This study investigates the effects of interaction devices on performance of using WWW user interface for older users, and ways to design appropriate user interfaces to enhance browsing and searching performance for older users. Two experiments were designed and conducted to test two hypotheses, that for older novice users, browsing and searching performance and attitudes will be better with a direct manipulation devices rather than with indirect manipulation device. The results indicated that older users using touch screen were faster and less frustrated than older users using voice control and mouse. Moverover, older users using touch screen were faster and less frustrated than older users using voice control and mouse, and older users using mouse and keyboard were less frustrated than older users using voice control
A formal approach to analysing the user complexity of interactive systems or devices is described, based on theoretical results from cognitive psychology. The user's knowl- edge of how to use a system to accomplish the various tasks is represented in a procedural notation that permits quantification of the amount and complexity of the knowledge required and the cognitive processing load involved in using a system. Making a system more usable can be accomplished by altering its design until the knowledge is adequately simplified. By representing the device behaviour formally as well, it is possible to simulate the user-device interaction to obtain rigorous measures of user complexity.
The UTOPIA project (Usable Technology for Older People—Inclusive and Appropriate) is focused on developing effective methods for the early involvement of older people in the development of information technology-related products for people aged 60 and over, and on providing industry with tools to assist in the development of information technology products for such older people. An essential part of this methodology is building a diverse user base, forming a long-lasting partnership with older people, and developing approaches for effective interaction with this target user group. Our experiences with eliciting information from groups of older people about technology is described, together with a report on seminars for Scottish industry designed to raise an awareness of these issues.
Improving the quality of life of elderly people is an emerging issue within our information society for both research and
development. This paper addresses some issues on the development of applications for mobile devices, which have been designed
to enhance the quality of life of the growing number of elderly people, and how they can be made more acceptable to the target
population. We summarize some relevant issues in order to devise a research methodology to cover more than just the technological
and physical aspects of user interfacing but also psychological and sociological aspects. One aspect of achieving this aim
is to confront designers and developers with those problems that the elderly face daily and which are not easily understood
– especially by younger designers and developers. Finally, we present some issues on how to simulate certain physical constraints
of elderly by using the AgeSim, which is a simulation suit. However, not only physical but also cognitive impairment cause
problems amongst elderly and result in fear, anxiety and consequently in rejection. The main goal of this paper is to raise
awareness amongst developers on which problems are to be taken into considerations during design and development of mobile
applications for the elderly.
Assisted Living Systems with Ambient Intelligence technology raise new challenges to system and software engineering. The
development of Assisted Living applications requires domain-oriented interdisciplinary research – it is essential to know
both the domain and the context. It is also important that context-descriptive prototypes are: (1) an integrated description
that describes system, work processes, context of use; and (2) a formal description. Because (1), designers, including end
users, are provided with a means to investigate the system in the context of the envisioned work processes. Because (2), investigations
into questions of formalization and automation, not only of the system, but also of the work processes, can be made explicitly
and become subject for discussions and further elaboration. Adapted engineering approaches are required to cope with the specific
characteristics of ambient intelligent systems. Elderly are the most demanding stakeholders for IT-development – even highly
sophisticated systems will not be accepted when they do not address the real needs of the elderly and are not easily accessible
and usable. Communication processes are essential in that respect. The evolution and, in particular, the spread of unambiguous
symbols were an necessary postulate for the transfer of information, as for example in sign language, speech, writing, etc.
In this paper, we report on our experiences in design, development and evaluation of computer applications in the area of
ambient assisted living for elderly people, where, to our experiences, engineers highly underestimate the power of appropriate
knowledge on semiotics and we demonstrate how we can emphasize universal access by thinking of informatics as semiotics engineering.
Industrialized countries are faced with severe demographical and social changes. Consequently, areas including Ambient Assisted Living are of increasing importance. The vision is to provide technologies for supporting (elderly) people in their daily lives, allowing them to stay longer within their own home aiming at living independent and self-determined. User Interfaces in such systems are mostly multimodal, because standard interfaces have limited accessibility. Multimodal user interfaces combine various input and output modalities (including seeing/vision, hearing/audition, haptic/tactile, taste/gustation, smell/olfaction etc) which are classical research areas in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Usability Engineering (UE). One of the advantages of multiple modalities is increased usability: the weaknesses of one modality are offset by the strengths of another. For example, on a mobile device with a small visual interface and keypad, a word may be quite difficult to read/type, however very easy to say/listen. Such interfaces, in combination with mobile technologies, can have tremendous implications for accessibility and can be a benefit for people. An important issue is that interfaces must be accessible, useful and usable. Traditionally, HCI bridges Psychology/Pedagogy and Informatics, while UE is anchored in software technology. Together, HCI&UE provide the emerging potential to assist the daily workflows in the realm of AAL. This special thematic session is devoted to promote a closer collaboration between Psychologists, Pedagogues and Computer Scientists.
In Usability and Accessibility Engineering, metric standards are vital. However, the development of a set of reciprocal metrics—which
can serve as an extension of, and supplement to, current standards—becomes indispensable when the specific needs of end-user
groups, such as the elderly and people with disabilities, are concerned. While ISO 9126 remains critical to the usability
of a product, the needs of the elderly population are forcing the integration of other factors. Familiarity and recognisability
are not relevant to someone with no experience and therefore no referent; however, acceptance becomes a major factor in their
willingness to learn something new and this acceptance requires trust based on association. Readability and legibility are
of less relevance to a blind person than to someone with failing eyesight. This paper describes some usability metrics ascertained
on the basis of experiments made with applications for elderly people throughout the summer term of 2007. The factors that
influence the older users’ acceptance of software, including the extent of their previous exposure to technology, are evaluated
in order to provide short guidelines for software developers on how to design and develop software for the elderly. The evaluation
of the expectations, behavior, abilities, and limitations of prospective end-users is considered of primary importance for
the development of technology. A total of N = 31 participants (22 women/9 men) took part in various tests. The participants’ ages ranged from 49 to 96 years with an
average age of 79. Five of the tests were designed for a PDA or cellular phone, one test was designed for a laptop PC. Of
the total of 55 tests, 52 tests provided sufficient data to evaluate the results. In 23 of the tests, all tasks were completed.
As a main outcome, it can be experimentally proved that the acceptance is related to a factor, which is this paper is called
PET (Previous Exposure to Technology). This is discussed in light of the aforementioned metrics.
In this experiment, older and younger novice mobile phone users were examined when using handsets of different complexity. The independent variables were user age (young: 20 – 35 years; old: 50 – 64 years) and cognitive complexity of two mobile phones (Nokia 3210; Siemens C35i). The cognitive complexity of the phones was defined by the number of production rules applied when processing the four experimental tasks. Dependent variables were effectiveness and efficiency as taken from user protocols and the reported ease of use. The less complex phone (Nokia) performed significantly better than the complex one (Siemens). However, the benefit from the lower complexity was much larger than theoretically predicted. Thus, defining cognitive complexity of technical devices by the number of production rules does not account for the real difficulties which users experience. Older users had a lower navigation performance than younger users, however their performance matched younger users' when using mobiles with low complexity.
Input devices enable users to interact with systems. In two experiments, we assessed whether and how task demands and user age influenced task performance for a direct input device (touch screen) and an indirect input device (rotary encoder). In Experiment 1, 40 younger (18-28 years) and 40 middle-aged to older adults (51-65 years) performed tasks using controls such as sliders, up/down buttons, list boxes, and text boxes while using a system. The optimal input device to facilitate performance was dependent on the task being performed and the age of the user. In Experiment 2, touch screen use was assessed for 20 younger (19-23 years) and 20 older adults (51-70 years). Task demands were manipulated through button size, movement distance, direction, and type of movement. Performance was moderated by the age of the user and by task demands. Actual or potential applications of this research include guidance for the optimal selection of input devices for different user populations and task characteristics.
The successful adoption of technology is becoming increasingly important to functional independence. The present article reports findings from the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) on the use of technology among community-dwelling adults. The sample included 1,204 individuals ranging in age from 18-91 years. All participants completed a battery that included measures of demographic characteristics, self-rated health, experience with technology, attitudes toward computers, and component cognitive abilities. Findings indicate that the older adults were less likely than younger adults to use technology in general, computers, and the World Wide Web. The results also indicate that computer anxiety, fluid intelligence, and crystallized intelligence were important predictors of the use of technology. The relationship between age and adoption of technology was mediated by cognitive abilities, computer self-efficacy, and computer anxiety. These findings are discussed in terms of training strategies to promote technology adoption.
With the population of older consumers increasing and with the recent changes in legislation and attitudes towards this group, there have been corresponding changes n product design practice and a growing attempt to adopt an inclusive design approach. This recognises that people can become excluded from using products, services or environments if the needs and capabilities of all potential users are not taken into account. The inclusive design approach has developed from collaborations between industry, designers and researchers. One major influence
in this area is the i~design project, whose definition is simply that “inclusive design is better design” (EDC, 2011). The Inclusive Design Toolkit website, a key output from the i~design project, states that a successful product must be “functional, usable, desirable and ultimately profitable” and that a key to good design is to reduce the demand on the user when capabilities decline with age or disability (EDC, 2011)
The current study is an initial investigation of two reading behaviours related to Short Message Service SMS advertising i.e., when an advertisement is read and how much of an advertisement is read across different age groups. The results showed that for most age groups, expectation is the most influential predictor of when a message is read, whereas perceived relevance is the most influential predictor of how much of a message is read. Different age groups display similar reading behaviours, but the mechanisms underlying the reading behaviours differ across age groups. These findings suggest that customised marketing strategies for different age segments are necessary for successful SMS advertising campaigns.
Part I: cognitive processes --Attention --Human Memory --The organisation of memory in old age --reasoning and spatial abilities --language and aging Part II: Neuropsychology and neurosciences --physiological framework for percpetual and cognitive changes in aging --neuropsychology of memory and aging --cognitive dysfunctionin alzheimer's disease Part III: Applications --applied cogntive aging research --human factors and aging
briefly describe some of the changes with age in movement control, specifically speed of behavior as measured by laboratory and daily tasks / identify attempts at diminishing the negative aspects of expected changes, emphasizing the benefits of practice, a physically and mentally active lifestyle, and effective human factors design / age-related changes in motor behavior may be expressed at least in terms of capacity characteristics and their changes within the organism, demand characteristics of tasks to be performed within a specified environment, and how science (and technology) might influence the interaction of the organism and environment (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Why are older adults reluctant to adopt new technology, such as the Internet, given its potential to improve the quality of their lives? We review evidence indicating that attitudes and abilities are among the most powerful predictors of technology use. We conclude that normative age-related changes in ability must be taken into account when designing products and training programs for aging adults, and we discuss new tools to support designers. The most promising emerging technologies likely lie in training cognitive abilities and augmenting or substituting for impaired abilities. We discuss reasons to expect that the lag in technology adoption between younger and older adults may lessen but will not disappear in future generations.
Older people have successful search strategies for finding practical information in everyday situations but, increasingly, traditional information sources are being supplemented or replaced by web based ones. However, there are wider issues than just making information available if people are to replace existing strategies by new web based ones. In this paper we use three studies on the information usage of older people to explore the issues surrounding why they favour specific search strategy and technology combinations. The studies each investigate different aspects of information search in a natural setting and concern tasks relevant to older people as their lives change: finding e-government information and planning travel. Results suggest that a variety of measures are important in choice of strategy. Furthermore, interface mechanisms are needed that complement existing strategies, reinforce the existence and crossing of boundaries, and support interactive use of landmarks.
In this study, we observed the behavior of younger adults (20–29 years old) and middle-aged adults (46–59 years old) interacting with complicated electronic devices. Two recently released multi-functional multimedia devices, namely PMPs (portable multimedia players) and MP3 players were used in the observations. We examined various aspects of interaction behaviors in terms of performance, strategies, error consequences, physical operation methods, and workload. Our analysis of age-related differences included differences in background knowledge as an important independent factor. The results revealed that differences in age meaningfully affected the observed error frequency, the number of interaction steps, the rigidity of exploration, the success of physical operation methods, and subjective perception of temporal demand and performance. In contrast, trial-and-error behavior and frustration levels were influenced by background knowledge rather than age. These novel findings provide important new insights into user interaction characteristics between different age groups and may facilitate the design of age group-appropriate interfaces for complicated electronic devices.
A formal approach to analysing the user complexity of interactive systems or devices is described, based on theoretical results from cognitive psychology. The user's knowledge of how to use a system to accomplish the various tasks is represented in a procedural notation that permits quantification of the amount and complexity of the knowledge required and the cognitive processing load involved in using a system. Making a system more usable can be accomplished by altering its design until the knowledge is adequately simplified. By representing the device behaviour formally as well, it is possible to simulate the user-device interaction to obtain rigorous measures of user complexity.
This paper investigates issues related to the use of mobile phones by people aged 60 years and over and characteristics of an ageing-friendly mobile phone. This study combines qualitative and quantitative analysis methods of Delphi interviews, focus group discussions, and online survey. The expert interviews and the focus group discussions covered usage patterns, problems, benefits, and desired and unwanted features. The issues raised in the discussions were translated into an online survey of 100 people. This study revealed that older people are passive users of mobile phones, that they experience fear of consequences of using unfamiliar technology, and that most preferred design features are aids for declining functional abilities. Gender differences in preferred design features were observed, with women focusing on haptic aids and men on perceptual aids.
“Usability” is considered to be inherent in human–computer interface because it expresses the relationship between end users and computer applications. In this paper, we conducted a study to examine the usability of human–computer interface for middle-aged learners in Taiwan. There are two phases contained in the study: (1) an elementary computer-training task, and (2) a usability analysis of human–computer interface. Making use of a questionnaire survey, correlation analysis, and the grey relational model, some user characteristics and learning behavior were derived. For example, regarding middle-aged learners, the usability of present mouse and monitor devices is preferable to that of the keyboard device and a Windows-based software interface. Educational level is the major factor influencing middle-aged learners’ use of computer interfaces. To unemployed middle-aged learners, more males than females were found to exhibit the phenomenon of computerphobia. The younger age learners show lower anxiety and hold more positive attitudes toward computer learning than the older-aged ones. Besides, the higher education learners hold much more positive expectation toward computer learning while the lower education learners pay more attention to their learning capability and deficiency.
This paper reports on the design and development of a mobile application to support archaeological education and to raise awareness for our cultural heritage by making use of the powerful notion of play. The application reads information from Quick-Response Codes (QR-Codes) on paper sheets, which can be placed directly at the points of interest. Users can now follow an archaeological scavenger hunt along those points of interest. They start at one point of interest and get hints on how to find the others. This makes use of collective intelligence, i.e. using the mobile devices amongst the group of users as social communicators in order to get specific information on the target; through these additional discussions both the one who states questions and the one who gets the answer can learn incidentally. Although this App has been developed for educational purposes, it can be used just for fun, e.g. for a children's birthday party: Hiding treasures in various spots in the garden and delivering information on QR-codes showing hints on how to find the spots. Moreover, the use of the ArchaeoApp in the Tourism modus, is a challenge for e-Business.
First computers became more visual, then they took a step further to understand vocal commands and now they have gone a step further and became „TOUCHY‟, that is skin to screen. In this paper we will throw light on significance of touchscreen technology, its types, components, working of different touchscreens, their applications and a comparative study among various types of touchscreen technologies. Recently touchscreen technology is increasingly gaining popularity as these can be seen at ATMs, cellphones, information kiosks etc. Touch screen based system allows an easy navigation around a GUI based environment. As the technology advances, people may be able to operate computers without mice and keyboards.The touchscreen is an assistive technology. This interface can be beneficial to those that have difficulty in using other input devices such as a mouse or keyboard. When used in conjunction with software such as on-screen keyboards, or other assistive technology, they can help make computing resources more available to people that have difficulty in using computers. Currently various researches are being made to develop touchscreen video projectors. The ability to transform any surface in a touchscreen means lower costs, making the technology more cost effective.
The relationships among abilities, strategies, and performance on an associative learning task were investigated for young (aged 17 to 34) and older adults (aged 60 to 82). Participants received extensive practice on a noun-pair task in which they could use a visual-scanning strategy or a memory-retrieval strategy. Older adults were more likely to use the scanning strategy. Age differences were reduced when comparisons were made only for participants using a retrieval strategy. Associative memory was predictive of learning on the task, and semantic memory access speed was predictive of practiced performance. Practiced performance on a memory-search task that also required associative learning was predictive of practiced noun-pair performance. Models of ability-performance relationships for skill acquisition are discussed.
On the Development of Smart Adaptive User Interfaces for Mobile E-Business Applications: Towards Enhancing User Experience – Some Lessons
- A Holzinger
- M Geier
- P Germanakos
Holzinger, A., Geier, M. and Germanakos, P. (2012) On the Development of Smart Adaptive User Interfaces for Mobile E-Business Applications: Towards Enhancing User Experience – Some Lessons
Chapter 87 think-aloud protocol
- B Martin
- B Hanington
Martin, B. and Hanington, B. (2012) 'Chapter 87 think-aloud protocol', chapter 87, in Universal Methods of Design, 1st ed., Rockport Publishers, London.
Integrating user-centred design in an early stage of mobile medical application prototyping: a case study on data acquistion in health organisations
- B Peischl
- M Ferk
- A Holzinger
Peischl, B., Ferk, M. and Holzinger, A. (2013) 'Integrating user-centred design in an early stage of mobile medical application prototyping: a case study on data acquistion in health organisations', 10th International Joint Conference on e-Business and Telecommunications, pp.185–195, Iceland.
A mobile information system for improved navigation in public transport user centered design, development, evaluation and e-business scenarios of a mobile roadmap application
- B Peischl
- M Ziefle
- A Holzinger
Peischl, B., Ziefle, M. and Holzinger, A. (2012) 'A mobile information system for improved navigation in public transport user centered design, development, evaluation and e-business scenarios of a mobile roadmap application', in Obaidat, M.S., J.L.S., Zhang, Z., Marca, D. and van Sinderen, M. (Ed.): International Conference on Data Communication Networking, e-Business and Optical Communication Systems, Rome, Italy, SciTec Press, pp.217–221.