1 This phenomenon, besides the relative growth of wages and employment of high-wage occupations, also entails the relative growth of wages and employment of low-wage occupations compared to middle-wage occupations. The leading explanation for polarization is the routinization hypothesis, which relies on the assumption that information and computer technologies (ICT) substitute for middle-skill and, hence, middle-wage (routine) occupations, whereas they complement the high-skilled and high-wage (abstract) occupations (Autor, Levy, and Murnane 2003;Autor, Katz, and Kearney 2006;Autor and Dorn 2013;Feng and Graetz 2015;Goos, Manning, and Salomons 2014;Michaels, Natraj, and Van Reenen 2014).The contribution of our paper is two-fold. First, we document a set of facts that raises flags that routinization driven by ICT, although certainly playing a role from the 1980s onward, might not be the only driving force behind this phenomenon.

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BackgroundBecause of the demographic change in industrial countries new technical solutions for the independent living of elderly will become important in the next years. Ambient Assisted Living seeks to address the upcoming challenges by providing technical aids for elderly and care givers. Therefore it is crucial to understand how those socio-technical solutions can address their needs and quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to analyse the main needs of dependent elderly and to investigate how different solutions can contribute to health and quality of life.MethodsA qualitative study design consisting of interviews with 11 professionals of geriatric care organisations was chosen. The data analysis was done by applying the qualitative content analysis by Philipp Mayring. The analysis was based on the basic principle of the bio-psycho-social model of healthResultsAmbient Assisted Living solutions and assistive technologies can have positive impacts on different dimensions of health and quality of life. The needs and problems of elderly can be addressed by applying appropriate solutions which influence the physical, mental and social dimensions of quality of life. There are also benefits for social care providers, their staff and caring relatives of impaired elderly. Ambient Assisted Living solutions can also be used as a facilitator for operational optimization of care services.ConclusionsSolutions for telemedicine and telecare which are connected to Ambient Assisted Living solutions will have the biggest positive impact on care giving services. Also simple technical aids can be beneficial for elderly to enhance QOL by enabling autonomy in their familiar surroundings.

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