Many older people find it difficult to navigate the digital sphere and to use online services. The aim of the present study was to examine the extent to which user experience (UX) experts, who are entrusted with making websites and online services accessible, are aware of the unique needs of older users and whether they possess the appropriate resources and training. The research data were collected through 28 semi-structured in-depth interviews with UX practitioners, teachers, and researchers. The findings revealed two aspects of ageism: individual and organizational. At the individual level, ageism is expressed in a lack of awareness and understanding of the unique needs and difficulties of older users in the digital space. At the organizational level, ageism is manifested, among other things, in the lack of in-depth research among older users and the lack of appropriate training in characterizing older users. The result is digital ageism.
This study explores tourists’ preferences and how Smart Cities (SC) can provide for them, using Tel Aviv-Yafo (TLV) as a case study. The theoretical model that we suggest measures gaps between the tourists’ perceived importance of the city’s characteristics, such as transportation, personal safety, recreation, etc., and their satisfaction with them. Then we evaluate the extent to which an SC can narrow those gaps and thereby enhance tourists’ satisfaction. The evaluation was performed by aligning each characteristic with a relevant indicator of the SC standard ISO 37122. Our model identified that SC measures can contribute the most to TLV tourists’ experience in the following aspects: information, transportation, personal safety, and disabled accessibility. Therefore, those aspects should be prioritized to improve tourists’ satisfaction and a promote longer stay in the city. We also recommend that cities will continuously challenge themselves with the most advanced technologies that will enable every single tourist to fully experience the city for all purposes of visits and for the different time frames of stay.
Information technology can help older persons continue living independently and keep them active for many years. The aim of the present study is to understand the expectations of older people regarding information technology, how they perceive it, how useful they find it and how significant it is in their life. For this purpose, we interviewed 40 older people aged 65-93 who were attending day centers.
The findings, which were examined in light of the continuity theory presented by Atchley (1989), reveal different levels of resistance to technology that range from rejection and tendency to preserve previous familiar patterns to acceptance of the technology. Findings indicate cracks in the continuity strategy. The discourse about information technology among the older persons is ambivalent, incoherent, and laden with internal contradictions. Older people are immigrants to the new digital world; they do not speak its language and feel alienated from it, simultaneously accepting and rejecting it.
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