Karen R. Barnett

Ageing, Learning, and Computer Technology in Australia

Learning is an important aspect of active ageing, yet older people are not often included in discussions of the issue. Older people vary in their need, desire, and ability to learn, and this is evident in the context of technology. The focus of the data analysis for this paper was on determining the place of learning and technology in active ageing. The paper describes results from 2,645 respondents aged from 50 to 74 + years, in Australia, to a 178-item variable postal survey. The survey measured aspects of learning;, work; social, spiritual and emotional status; health; vision; home; life events; and demographics. There was also an open-ended question about being actively engaged in life. Ordinal regression analysis showed that interest in learning, keeping up to date, valuing communication, being younger, and being male are predictors of learning about technology. The results are at variance with an earlier analysis of our data which showed that women are generally more interested in learning. The open statements contained mentions of learning about technology for the purposes of communication, learning, family links, keeping up to date, enjoyment, staying mentally alert, and just using the computer. These results are discussed in terms of the subtle but important differences between needing and wanting to learn about technology and the opportunities for such learning by older people.

Information and Communication Practices: the Joint Concerns of Age and Gender in the Information Age

Objectives: To explore the extent to which gender differences appear in the choices of information and communication sources used by older men and women.

Public space as ‘context’ in assistive information and communication technologies for people with cognitive impairment

This paper examines emergent issues of ‘context’ raised by the application of information and communication technologies for people with cognitive impairment. The issue of the development and application of cognitive prostheses for this group provides an opportunity to examine assumptions and issues emerging from this area pertaining to understandings of the term ‘context’ in these applications. In this sense the paper takes these assumptions and issues as a point of departure for the development of a ‘problematic’ that can contribute to the study of the experience of cognitive impairment. The paper specifically addresses recent concerns about the lack of knowledge of these experiences in public spaces such as shopping centres, given that this is a critical site for the civic participation of this group. We argue that this participation should be understood in terms of the ‘meeting of two histories’: the history of contemporary requirements governing participation in public space and the habitus of people with cognitive impairment with regard to this participation. The paper proposes that the salience of cognitive impairment in these spaces turns on what it means for individuals to inhabit them as complex ‘Container Technologies’ (Sofia) and underlines the importance of understanding their efforts to attain a sense of normality (Goffman) in these contexts. We propose that this approach can inform research contributing to the development of a ‘pattern language’, informing applications that make cognition a system property in networks that operate between humans, machines and their contexts.

Older women's fears of violence: the need for interventions that enable active ageing

ABSTRACT Womens fear of violence can impact negatively on their active participation in life. An ageing survey conducted with 2,620 Australian respondents aged 50 to 90 years examined aspects of work, learning, social, spiritual and emotional status, health, vision, home, life events, demographics, and asked an open-ended question about what being actively engaged in life meant. Ordinal regression was carried out on two dependent variables: wanting and needing to learn to discourage violence. Analyses found that as womens age increased, those on lower incomes were more likely than others to say they needed to learn how to discourage violence against them. This paper investigates the variables associated with the findings–transport, finances, news media, home safety, and reduced social interactions. Results highlight the importance of understanding womens fear in the context of personal and social issues, and the need to provide learning opportunities to improve safety and social engagement.

Information technology and sustainable change within the domain of local practice

Objectives:  To explore the local service delivery level when information technology (IT) was introduced into a non‐profit residential aged care facility.