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An Attempt to Counter Agism in Gerontechnology Through the Engagement of Older Adults in the Development of Wisdom of Age

  • Conference paper
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Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health (ICT4AWE 2021, ICT4AWE 2022)

Part of the book series: Communications in Computer and Information Science ((CCIS,volume 1856))

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Abstract

The Wisdom of Age (WoA) project aims to develop a matchmaking mentoring platform with specialized knowledge from older adults to help them remain active while also supporting industrial businesses and students in their respective endeavors. Engaging older adults in technology development is crucial to enable and facilitate equal exchange between retirees and companies. Even more, it can contribute to bridging the digital divide among older adults. We explored the use of an online survey to assess the background and needs of the targeted future user-base of the WoA platform. The survey involved older adults with a background in engineering or IT in one of the early development stages and ensured that the necessary features were implemented o increase the potential usefulness of the platform. Overall, older adults showed a positive attitude towards spending time on the platform. They indicated that the platform can provide older adults an opportunity to support society as well as make them feel useful and engaged. In sum, we were able to collect quantitative data and assign a leading role to a larger sample of end-users in the early stages of the WoA development process. The WoA platform has the potential to address the age-related brain drain in industrial companies while supporting the individualization of retirement.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences, Rosenbergstrasse 59, St. Gallen, Switzerland

    Katja Antonia Rießenberger, Sabina Misoch, Samira-Salomé Hüsler & Damian Hedinger

  2. In4care - Happy Aging, Interleuvenlaan 10, Leuven, Belgium

    Leen Stulens & Sanne Broeder

  3. Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Memorandumului 28, 400114, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Bogdan Gherman

Authors
  1. Katja Antonia Rießenberger
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  2. Sabina Misoch
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  3. Samira-Salomé Hüsler
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  4. Damian Hedinger
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  5. Leen Stulens
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  6. Bogdan Gherman
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  7. Sanne Broeder
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katja Antonia Rießenberger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Wrocław University of Economics Institute of Business Informatics and Macquarie University,, Wroclaw, Poland

    Leszek A. Maciaszek

  2. University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, UK

    Maurice D. Mulvenna

  3. RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    Martina Ziefle

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Rießenberger, K.A. et al. (2023). An Attempt to Counter Agism in Gerontechnology Through the Engagement of Older Adults in the Development of Wisdom of Age. In: Maciaszek, L.A., Mulvenna, M.D., Ziefle, M. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies for Ageing Well and e-Health. ICT4AWE ICT4AWE 2021 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1856. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37496-8_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-37496-8_7

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