Given the growing number of older people, society as a whole should ideally provide a higher quality of life (QoL) for its ageing citizens through the concept of personalised ageing. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are subject to constant and rapid development, and can contribute to the goal of an improved QoL for older adults. In order to utilise future ICT solutions as a part of an age-friendly smart environment that helps achieve personalised ageing with an increased QoL, one must first determine whether the existing ICT solutions are satisfying the needs of older people. In order to accomplish that, this study contributes in three ways. First, it proposes a framework for the QoL of older adults, in order to provide a systematic review of the state-of-the-art literature and patents in this field. The second contribution is the finding that selected ICT solutions covered by articles and patents are intended for older adults and are validated by them. The third contribution of the study are the six recommendations that are derived from the review of the literature and the patents which would help move the agenda concerning the QoL of older people and personalised ageing with the use of ICT solutions forward. Original article at MDPI; DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082940 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers "Age-Friendly Cities & Communities: State of the Art and Future Perspectives")
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BACKGROUND: Consideration of older adults' quality of life (QoL) is becoming increasingly important in the evaluation, quality improvement and allocation of health and social care services. While numerous definitions and theories of QoL have been proposed, an overall synthesis of the perspective of older adults themselves is lacking.METHODS: Qualitative studies were identified in PubMed, Ebsco/Psycinfo and Ebsco/CINAHL, through a search on 28 November 2018. Articles needed to meet all of the following criteria: (i) focus on perceptions of QoL, (ii) older adults living at home as main participants, (iii) use of qualitative methodology, (iv) conducted in a Western country and (v) published in English (vi) not focused on specific patient groups. A thematic synthesis was conducted of the selected studies, using the complete 'findings/results' sections from the papers.RESULTS: We included 48 qualitative studies representing the views of more than 3,400 older adults living at home in 11 Western countries. The QoL aspects identified in the synthesis were categorized into nine QoL domains: autonomy, role and activity, health perception, relationships, attitude and adaptation, emotional comfort, spirituality, home and neighbourhood, and financial security. The results showed that although different domains can be distinguished, these are also strongly connected.CONCLUSION: QoL can be expressed in a number of domains and related subthemes that are important for older adults living at home. The findings further support that the concept of QoL should be seen as a dynamic web of intertwined domains.
In The Guardian, Alan Rushbridger compared the future of newspapers to climate change. Five years ago, many climatologists were sceptical whether climate change was a real and serious issue. Today, most scientists agree that global warm ing is a fact of life. In the world of newspapers, at present, almost everyone agrees that the traditional, particularly quality, newspapers are facing huge problems. The blog ‘Print is dead’ chose a fitting title for Rushbridger’s article: Print is dead: an inconvenient truth. Another traditional icon of the information society, the public library, is facing similar problems as the newspaper industry. The information function, the core business of the library, is under threat. People tend to use search engines at home instead of visiting and accessing the (virtual) library and ask for professional advice. It is important to note that these search engines are more and more driven by commercial interests than by a genuine concern of quality information. Ranking algorithms are more beauty contests and quality stamps. (Local) governments tend to demand more and more new social services included in the library. Commercial publishers’ concerns are understandable. In the United States and Europe the world of the press faces a real crisis, and the battle to survive is a race against the clock. Newspapers, especially the quality press, will only survive if they can persuade the audience of generation Z to read them on the Web. Failure to do this will signal their demise. We will discuss the tensions in this field by addressing the mutual relationships between the stock market driven economic business model and the traditional characteristics of quality journalism as well as the cultural changes in consuming news stories and analyses in print and on the web. The key question is: how these societal tendencies will affect the quality of information consumed by the public and hence the public quality of discourse? This paper aims to address both issues by asking whether quality is really under siege and to what extent can the new, convergent media improve the quality of the information society by fostering the interaction of the roles of journalists and librarians. In the new world of journalism and librarianship both will prove their roles and functions by engagement, enrichment, empowerment and entertainment for both readers and library users.
Flying insects like dragonflies, flies, bumblebees are able to couple hovering ability with the ability for a quick transition to forward flight. Therefore, they inspire us to investigate the application of swarms of flapping-wing mini-drones in horticulture. The production and trading of agricultural/horticultural goods account for the 9% of the Dutch gross domestic product. A significant part of the horticultural products are grown in greenhouses whose extension is becoming larger year by year. Swarms of bio-inspired mini-drones can be used in applications such as monitoring and control: the analysis of the data collected enables the greenhouse growers to achieve the optimal conditions for the plants health and thus a high productivity. Moreover, the bio-inspired mini-drones can detect eventual pest onset at plant level that leads to a strong reduction of chemicals utilization and an improvement of the food quality. The realization of these mini-drones is a multidisciplinary challenge as it requires a cross-domain collaboration between biologists, entomologists and engineers with expertise in robotics, mechanics, aerodynamics, electronics, etc. Moreover a co-creation based collaboration will be established with all the stakeholders involved. With this approach we can integrate technical and social-economic aspects and facilitate the adoption of this new technology that will make the Dutch horticulture industry more resilient and sustainable.
Professionals van woningbouwcorporaties en gemeentes die zich bezig houden met verduurzaming hebben vragen over hergebruik van afvalhout uit hun (renovatie) projecten. De doelstelling van dit voorstel is het onderzoeken van de mogelijkheden om hout te hergebruiken door gebruik te maken van innovatieve digitale productietechnieken, en om implementatiestrategieën hiervoor te ontwikkelen voor publieke organisaties in de bouwsector, in het bijzonder woningcorporaties en gemeentes. Strategieën omvatten concrete voorstellen om a) afvalhout van woningen in te zamelen en te verwerken; b) waarde toe te voegen aan houtafvalstromen door middel van digitale productie; c) de betrokkenheid en acceptatie van huurders te vergroten bij circulaire verwerking van hout in nieuwe toepassingen; en d) goede toepassingen voor een circulaire economie te realiseren. Het project onderzoekt aard en omvang van houtafvalstromen uit woningrenovatie en identificeert de mogelijkheden voor het hergebruik van specifieke fracties daarvan voor (lokale) toepassingen. Uit voorgaande projecten blijkt dat digitale productie mogelijkheden biedt om stedelijk afval om te zetten in zinvolle circulaire producten. Digitale productie maakt de (lokale) creatie van unieke prototypen en grootschalige toepassingen mogelijk. Het onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd in vier werkpakketten. De eerste identificeert de aard van huishoudelijk houtafval (volume, houtsoort, verzamelproces) door zorgvuldig cases van Ymere en Rochdale te bestuderen. Daarnaast worden er een raamwerk van indicatoren gedefinieerd om projectresultaten te kunnen evalueren. Het tweede werkpakket onderzoekt welke toepassingen kunnen worden bedacht, gegeven de beschikbare houtfracties. In het derde werkpakket wordt een aantal case studies uitgevoerd voor concrete projecten van de deelnemende woningcorporaties. Deze applicaties hebben als doel het potentieel van digitale productie met houtafval te laten zien, rekening houdend met het perspectief van bewoners. Het biedt belangrijke inzichten in de uitvoerbaarheid van concrete toepassingen uit teruggewonnen hout. In het vierde werkpakket worden alle projectbevindingen gecombineerd in een set implementatie strategieën voor publieke organisaties in het stedelijk domein.
This project addresses the critical issue of staff shortages and training inefficiencies in the hospitality industry, particularly focusing on the hotel sector. It connects with the urgent need for innovative, and effective training solutions to equip (inexperienced) staff with hospitality skills, thereby improving service quality and sustainable career prospects in the hotel industry. The project develops and tests immersive technologies (augmented and virtual reality, AR/VR) tailored to meet specific training needs of hotels. Traditional training methods such as personal trainings, seminars, and written manuals are proving inadequate in terms of learning effectiveness and job readiness, leading to high working pressure and poor staff well-being. This project aims to break this cycle by co-creating immersive training methods that promise to be more engaging and effective. Hotelschool The Hague has initiated steps in this direction by exploring AR and VR technologies for hotel staff training. This project builds on these efforts, aiming to develop accessible, immersive training tools specifically designed for the hotel sector. Specifically, this project aims to explore the effectiveness of these immersive trainings, an aspect largely overlooked in the rapid development of immersive technology solutions. The central research question is: How do immersive AR and VR training methods impact job readiness and learning effectiveness in the hotel sector? The one-year KIEM project period involves co-creating, implementing, and evaluating immersive training in collaboration with Hotelschool The Hague and Hyatt Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht Hotel in real-life settings. The partnership with Warp Industries, a leader in immersive technology, is crucial for the project’s success. Our findings will be co-created and multiplied through relevant sector associations such as House of Hospitality. This project aligns with the MV’s Impact Level 1: Transitions by promoting innovative training strategies that can lead to a fundamental shift in the hospitality industry, thereby enhancing social earning capacities.
