Methodological Foundations of the Language of Metaphysics

2023

IJERPH

Many factors are considered vital in supporting successful ageing and older adults’ wellbeing. Whilst evidence exists around facilitating and hindering factors in the general use of various forms of institutional and family support and personal development-oriented education and/or new technologies, evidence is limited with regards to older people’s motivations, expectations, and experiences surrounding ageing. Hence, in this study, the author used a qualitative explanatory method to interpret the factors influencing seniors’ successful ageing. The author’s focus was on how seniors experience ageing. The second issue was how they have been organizing life in old age. The third point concerned their expectations towards ageing now and in the future. Thirteen older adults (60+) were interviewed nationwide using a semi-structured scenario tool. Their objective was to give rich descriptions of their experiences of ageing. The interviews revealed the older adults’ own experiences and enabled an understanding of their motivations, perceptions, moderators, and expectations around successful ageing. Based on the analysis of the qualitative data, the author developed three main themes, each with its own sub-themes: 1. Life satisfaction (transitioning to retirement, using coping strategies in adaptation to negative changes, reaching personal goals, leading a meaningful life); 2. Supportive environments (being independent but using temporary assistance from relatives and/or people close to oneself, living with family members (e.g., husband or wife, children, grandchildren), having access to health care system); 3. Social integration (social relations, social engagement, independence in using technological advancements). The main categories that emerged from the three themes were social networks, new technologies, and wellbeing. To analyze these issues, the author used a sociological approach. The theoretic explorations were embedded mainly in two methods: criticism of writing and the analytical and comparative one.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Networks, New Technologies, and Wellbeing—An Interview Study on Factors Influencing Older Adults’ Successful Ageing

2023

IJERPH

“…However, the differences between them are considered to be secondary, as the methodological procedure mentioned above remains valid at all times. A scholar who has made a significant difference in the sociological reflections to the concept of theory is Anselm Strauss [56]. He had a completely new understanding of the concept of grounded theory that was hitherto unheard of in sociology.…”

Section: The Design/methodology/approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ageing and Keeping Pace with Technology: A Grounded Theory Study on Blind Adults’ Experiences of Adapting to New Technologies

Gondek²,

Gondek³

2023

IJERPH

This study investigated blind adults’ experiences of adapting to digital technologies. The authors’ focus was on how they have been experiencing changes implied by digital transformation, which provided the starting point for assessing their prospects and/or limitations for self-development through new technologies in the future. The second point concerned designing technologies for blind adults by adding questions about their specific needs and expectations for digital device designers. To develop these main issues, we planned a qualitative grounded theory study in which 16 blind adults were individually interviewed. It aimed to provide rich descriptions of a selected phenomenon. The research analysis was conducted by using the sociological and philosophical methods, which provided insights into the social assessment of digital development for ageing by blind adults. The data analysis revealed five distinct categories that captured these experiences and expectations: (1) wishing to learn—“Digital technology gives me privacy and independence”; (2) having to learn—“If you do not have new digital devices or do not know how to use them, you end up on the margins of society”; (3) being socially excluded—“Designers of new technologies do not think about blind adults”; (4) fearing to stop understanding—“Technological development is too rapid, it is difficult to be on time while ageing”; and (5) waiting for the changes—“I hope my situation will change in the future”. Together, these five categories form the basis of the core category “Ageing and keeping pace with technology”, which encapsulates the initial adaptation experiences of the interviewees to the technological development. The findings indicate that the blind adults experienced digital devices as tools for improving their well-being, but they also saw them as posing the threat of being socially excluded because of new technology designs and accessibility barriers.

“…He focused on the description of specific properties of new technologies that have their social determinants. Tightening social bonds, interactions, communication, creating structures, redefining cultural assumptions, gathering information and knowledge, social control -all these concepts have been translated into the language of network analysis (Gondek, 2020). In a sense, one has to admit that no other contemporary perspective referring to technical categories is so epistemologically comprehensive.…”

Section: Digital Exclusion: Beyond Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning Technologies for People with Mild Intellectual Disabilities. From Digital Exclusion to Inclusive E-education in Network Society

Ohotina

2022

IJREL

The research focuses on the issue of learning technologies for people with mild intellectual disabilities. The analysis carried out is grounded in the theses of the network society. The initial objectives addressed three main issues: analysis of risks of digital exclusion of people with mild intellectual disabilities in highly technological developed societies; a conceptual view of learning technologies as tools to support social inclusion; and the importance of creating accessible e-learning environments to support inclusive e-education for people with mild intellectual disabilities. The authors used the analytical and descriptive method on the basis of the chosen literature sources to draw the conceptual view of functions of learning technologies in network society. The paper is structured as follows: introduction; analysis of theoretical background of network society to understand the need to go beyond technology to understand contemporary digital disparities; the overview of learning technologies for inclusive e-education for individuals at risk of digital exclusion, the research conclusions and directions for future research.