Ana Carla Amaro

Intergenerational Joint Media Engagement - Pre-testing Interviews, Activities and Tablet's Applications.

This paper presents the results of a preliminary study, in which grandchildren/children and grandparents/middle aged to older adults were observed while interacting with each other and with an App, on a tablet, to develop a proposed activity. Before and after these Joint Media Engagement (JME) sessions, participants were also interviewed, in order to collect data and to assess the perceived impact of the JME sessions in the quality of the intergenerational relationship, on the attitude towards each other and on children and older adults’ digital literacy. The main goals of this preliminary study were to validate data collection instruments and techniques, namely the JME sessions activities, Apps and protocols and the pre- and post-JME session interviews’ scripts. This preliminary study is part of a research that aims to understand the interactions and communication processes taking place during JME sessions involving grandparents/older adults (over 55 years old) and grandchildren/children (5 to 10 years old) in collaborative usage of tablets and tablets’ Apps, in order to develop guidelines for designing mobile contents and Apps to support and promote intergenerational interactions.

Technologies for intergenerational family communication

Many families have begun to make use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and social media, incorporating their functionalities in their daily lives in order to keep in touch with each other. An exploratory investigation on how technology and social media are used to support intergenerational family communication was carried out, in order to understand, not only the technologies and media adopted, but also how and for what they are used by each family member. After the selection of families through pre-established criteria, semi-structured interviews were conducted to each of its members. It was possible to conclude that, despite the media differences and asymmetry in their use between generations, the members of the families under study use technologies and digital media at their disposal to maintain contact with each other. This paper proposes a social network for intergenerational family communication, based on a set of characteristics and functionalities identified as fundamental for any technology platform focused on family communication.

Supporting Participatory Citizenship Insights from LXAmanhã Platform

Participation in decisions surrounding city-related interests promotes transparency of governance, enables progress, democracy and enhances the empowerment of citizens as central elements in a political, economic and cultural context. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the relevance of online digital platforms to enhance participatory citizenship in the current social, economic and political fabric of cities, through the analysis of a case study. In this way, this paper focuses on the case study of the LXAmanha platform, as part of an on-going research on online platforms to support participatory citizenship. The design and functionality of the platform were analysed, as well as the data related to the projects submitted between 2012 and 2016. The results translate into insights and thoughts regarding citizens’ participation in the platform, platform mechanisms and features and technological resources for the future. However future work is still needed, it was possible to conclude that the main challenge for these platforms is sustaining the community participation and significant engagement.

Social games and different generations: A heuristic evaluation of Candy Crush Saga

This paper presents the results of a heuristic evaluation of Candy Crush Saga, considering Usability, Playability, Accessibility and Sociability categories and with a special focus on the game adaptation to different generations and to intergenerational interactions and communication. The heuristic inspection was performed by 16 evaluators and was based in a model with 4 inspection categories and a total of 57 heuristics. Results suggest that improvements can be made and the game is only partially adapted to different generations.