Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Ethics and Information Technology
Published in: Ethics and Information Technology 4/2011

01-12-2011 | Original Paper

Ethical frontiers of ICT and older users: cultural, pragmatic and ethical issues

Author: Athena McLean

Published in: Ethics and Information Technology | Issue 4/2011

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

The reality of an ageing Europe has called attention to the importance of e-inclusion for a growing population of senior citizens. For some, this may mean closing the digital divide by providing access and support to technologies that increase citizen participation; for others, e-inclusion means access to assistive technologies to facilitate and extend their living independently. These initiatives address a social need and provide economic opportunities for European industry. While undoubtedly desirable, and supported by European Union initiatives, several cultural assumptions or issues related to the initiatives could benefit from fuller examination, as could their practical and ethical implications. This paper begins to consider these theoretical and practical concerns. The first part of the paper examines cultural issues and assumptions relevant to adopting e-technologies, and the ethical principles applied to them. These include (1) the persistence of ageism, even in e-inclusion; (2) different approaches to, and implications of independent living; and (3) the values associated with different ethical principles, given their implications for accountability to older users. The paper then discusses practical issues and ethical concerns that have been raised by the use of smart home and monitoring technologies with older persons. Understanding these assumptions and their implications will allow for more informed choices in promoting ethical application of e-solutions for older persons.
previous article The incorrigible social meaning of video game imagery
next article Returning students’ right to access, choice and notice: a proposed code of ethics for instructors using Turnitin

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe




 

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Footnotes
1
€1bn in digital technologies for Europeans to age well. Brussels, 14 June 2007. http://​ec.​europa.​eu/​information_​society/​newsroom/​cf/​itemlongdetail.​cfm?​item_​id=​3457.
 
2
Cited in Wright (2008, p. 18).
 
3
European Commission, Ageing well in the Information Society, Action Plan on Information and Communication Technologies and Ageing, An i2010 Initiative, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM(2007) 332 final, Brussels, 14 June 2007. http://​eur-lex.​europa.​eu/​LexUriServ/​LexUriServ.​do?​uri=​CELEX:​52007DC0332:​EN:​NOT.
 
4
See Mordini et al. (2009) for an elaboration about justice issues.
 
5
As discussed at the Socio-Anthropological Workshop on ICT and Ageing, SENIOR, Brussels, 2 June 2008.
 
6
For an excellent discussion of the theoretical issues involved in differentiating the old from the young, and among different groups of older persons, and their implications for different uses of ICT, see Mordini et al. (2009).
 
7
The same homogenizing thinking, that underlies agelessness, in attempting to defy ageism by rejecting negative images associated with ageing may also have stimulated the promotion of “design-for-all” or “universal design” principles in some cases, especially for purposes of marketing. See Dienel et al. (2004: 224–238) for further discussion.
 
8
See, for example, Ethics of e-Inclusion of older people. Discussion paper for the workshop on Ethics and e-Inclusion. SENIOR Project, Bled, 12 May 2008.
 
9
WHO (2002: 11).
 
10
Mordini et al. (2009) also recognized a hint of this within EU policies of e-inclusion.
 
11
For information about the TRIL Centre, see http://​www.​trilcentre.​org/​.
 
13
Ethics of e-Inclusion of older people. Discussion paper for the workshop on Ethics and e-Inclusion, p. 13. SENIOR Project, Bled, 12 May, 2008 and in Mordini et al. (2009).
 
14
The need to avoid “single instrumental thinking” and to embrace a broad approach to protecting human rights was also addressed in the Bled workshop paper, p. 26. Fn 46.
 
16
Abused could include, e.g., using older persons as instruments to test new technologies. See caveat in Mordini et al. (2009).
 
17
Quoted in Bernard (2001: 58).
 
18
As a product of the Enlightenment, Kant reserved the attribution of pricelessness only for those people he deemed rational.
 
19
For further discussion on how this occurred, see McLean (2007: 43–44).
 
20
According to the Smart Homes Association. Soprano (2007: 7).
 
21
van Berlo (2005), cited in Steg et al. (2006).
 
22
This is an acronym used by designers at the TRIL Centre, Dublin.
 
23
There are strategies, however, that might minimize losses. See Morris (2005: 31–33) and Morris et al. (2003: 232).
 
24
Andy Cochrane, TRIL project, personal communication, May 2008.
 
25
Cahill, Suzanne (2008). Conference paper, The Subjective Experience of New Patients and their Primary Caregivers attending a first appointment at a Memory Clinic. Presented at 18th Alzheimer Europe Conference, Oslo, Norway, 23 May 2008.
 
26
Bailey, TRIL project, personal communication, October 2007.
 
27
Quoted in Pols (2010).
 
28
Communication on Radio-frequency identification (RFID) in Europe: steps towards a policy framework. COM (2007) 96, Brussels, 15 March 2007. http://​ec.​europa.​eu/​information_​society/​policy/​rfid/​doc/​rfid_​en.​pdf, cited in Ethics of e-Inclusion of older people, Senior Discussion Paper No. 2008/01, April 2008.
 
29
Julian Hughes, personal communication, 21 April 2008.
 
30
See SENIOR’s recommendation to “promulgate the use of good practice case studies.” Wright (2009: 77).
 
31
These directives, though by no means a perfect solution, could be similar to those designed for disclosing a disease. See Keeting et al. (2005).
 
32
See also Mordini et al. (2009) on limited guarantees of informed consent.
 
33
See MacMillan (2006) for interview with Dishman. See also Dishman (2004).
 
34
Nohr, Oyvind. Conference paper, “The competent seniors: Ageing and the use of digital media—conflict or happiness.” Presented at the Socio-Anthropological Workshop on ICT and Ageing, Brussels, 2 June 2008.
 
35
I thank Eamon O’Shea, National University of Ireland, Galway, for helping to conceptualize these questions.
 
Literature
Agich, G. (2003). Dependence and autonomy in old age: An ethical framework for long-term care. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef
Andrews, M. (1999). The seductiveness of agelessness. Ageing and Society, 19, 301–318.CrossRef
Bernard, J. (2001). The person. In D. Thomasma, D. Weisstub, & C. Hervé (Eds.), Personhood and health care (pp. 55–58). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Blaikie, A. (1999). Ageing and popular culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bowling, A., et al. (2003). Let’s ask them: A national survey of definitions of quality of life and its enhancement among people aged 65 and over. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 56(4), 269–306.MathSciNetCrossRef
Bytheway, B. (1995). Ageism. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Bytheway, B. (2000). Youthfulness and agelessness a comment. Ageing and Society, 20, 781–789.CrossRef
Christakis, N. (1992). Ethics are local: Engaging cross-cultural variation in the ethics for clinical research. Social Science and Medicine, 35(9), 1079–1091.CrossRef
Cole, T. (1983). The ‘Enlightened’ view of aging: Victorian morality in a new key. The Hastings Center Report, June, 34–40.
Cole, T. (1992). The journey of life: A cultural history of aging in America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Comyn, G., Olsson, S., Guenzler, R., Özcivelek, R., Zinnbauer, D., & Cabrera, M. (2006). User needs in ICT research for independent living, with a focus on health aspects. (Report on a Joint DG JRC/IPTS-DG INFSO Workshop held in Brussels, 24 and 25 November 2005). Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (Directorate General Joint Research Centre European Commission), Directorate General Information Society and Media (ICT for Health Unit).
Cowan, D., & Turner-Smith, A. (1999). The role of assistive technology in alternative models of care for older people. In A. Tinker et al. (Ed.), Research volume 2, alternative models of care for older people. Appendix 4 (pp. 325–346). Stationery Office, London: Royal Commission on Long Term Care.
Culliton, G. (2008). Older peoplei. Irish Medical Times, 42(19), 1.
Dienel, H.-L., Peine, A., & Cameron, H. (2004). New participative tools in product development for seniors. In D. Burdick & S. Kwon (Eds.), Gerotechnology: Research and practice in technology and aging: A textbook and reference for multiple disciplines (pp. 224–241). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Dishman, E. (2004). Healthcare revolution: Technologies enable seniors to age gracefully at home. Technology@Intel Magazine. November 2004.
Featherstone, M., & Hepworth, M. (1991). The mask of ageing and the postmodern life course. In M. Featherstone, M. Hepworth, & B. Turner (Eds.), The body: Social process and cultural theory. London: Sage.
Garcia, E. L., et al. (2005). Social network and health-related quality of life in older adults: A population-based study in Spain. Quality of Life Research, 14(2), 511–520.CrossRef
Glass, C., Mustian, R., & Carter, L. (1986). Knowledge and attitudes of health care providers toward sexuality in the institutionalized elderly. Educational Gerontology, 12, 465–475.CrossRef
Greaves, C. J., & Farbus, L. (2006). Effects of creative and social activity on the health and well-being of socially isolated older people: Outcomes from a multi-method observational study. Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 126(3), 134–142.CrossRef
Hammel, J. (2004). Assistive technology as tools for everyday living and community participation while aging. In D. Burdick & S. Kwon (Eds.), Gerotechnology: Research and practice in technology and aging: A textbook and reference for multiple disciplines (pp. 119–132). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Haraway, D. (1995). Cyborgs and symbionts: Living together in the new world order. In C. Habels (Ed.), The cyborg handbook (pp. xi–xx). New York: Routledge.
Holstein, M., & Minkler, M. (2003). Self, society, and the “new gerontology”. The Gerontologist, 43(6), 787–796.CrossRef
Kane, R. L. (1996). The evolution of the American nursing home. In R. H. Binstock, L. E. Cluff, & O. von Mering (Eds.), The future of long-term care: Social and policy issues (pp. 145–168). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Kane, R. L., & West, J. C. (2005). It shouldn’t be this way: The failure of long-term care. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
Katz, S. (2000). Busy bodies: Activity, aging, and the management of everyday life. Journal of Aging Studies, 14(2), 135–152.CrossRef
Keeting, D., Nayeem, K., Gilmartin, J. J., & O’Keeffe, S. (2005). Advance directives for truth disclosure. Chest, 128(2), 1037–1039.CrossRef
Lefebvre, H. (2004[1992]). Rhythmanalysis: Space, time and everyday life (S. Elden & G. Moore, Trans.). London and New York: Continuum (1992 French Ed.).
Lichtenberg, P., & Strezpek, D. (1990). Assessments of institutionalized dementia patients’ competencies to participate in intimate relationships. The Gerontologist, 30(1), 117–120.CrossRef
Litwin, H. (1998). Social network type and health status in a national sample of elderly Israelis. Social Science and Medicine, 46(4–5), 599–609.
Lund, R., et al. (2004). Development in self-rated health among older people as determinant of social relations. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 32(6), 419–425.MathSciNetCrossRef
Marshall, Mary. (2005). Promoting independence through design of the environment. In Alistair. Burns (Ed.), Standards of dementia care (p. 282). London and New York: Taylor and Francis.
McHugh, K. (2003). Three faces of ageism: Society, image and place. Ageing & Society, 23, 165–185.CrossRef
McLean, A. (2007). The person in dementia: A study of nursing home care in the US. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (originally, Peterborough, Ontario:Broadview Press).
Meyer, S., & Mollenkopf, H. (2003). Home technology, smart homes and the aging user. In K. W. Schaie, H.-W. Wahl, H. Mollenkopf, & F. Oswald (Eds.), Aging independently: Living arrangements and mobility (pp. 148–161). New York: Springer.
Minkler, M., & Holstein, M. (2008). From civil rights to… civic engagement? Concerns of two older critical gerontologists about a “new social movement” and what it portends. Journal of Aging Studies, 22, 196–204.CrossRef
Mollenkopf, H. (2003). Comment: Assistive technology: Potential and preconditions of useful applications. In N. Charness & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Impact of technology on successful aging (pp. 203–214). New York: Springer.
Mollenkopf, H. (2004). Aging and technology—social science approaches. In D. Burdick & S. Kwon (Eds.), Gerotechnology: Research and practice in technology and aging: A textbook and reference for multiple disciplines (pp. 54–70). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Mordini, E. (2007). Technology and fear: Is wonder the key? Trends in Biotechnology, 25(12), 544–546.CrossRef
Mordini, E., Wright, D., Wadhwa, K., De Hert, P., Mantovani, E., Thestrup, J., Van Steendam, G., D’Amico, A., & Vater, I. (2009). Senior citizens and the ethics of e-inclusion. Ethics and Information Technology. Published online: 03 April 2009.
Morris, M. (2005). Social networks as health feedback displays. IEEE Internet Computing, 9(5), 29–37.CrossRef
Morris, A., Goodman, J., & Brading, H. (2007). Internet use and non-use: Views of older users. Universal Access in the Information Society, 6(1), 43–57.CrossRef
Morris, M., Lundell, J., & Dishman, E. (2004). Catalyzing social interaction with ubiquitous computing: needs assessment of elders coping with cognitive decline. CHI 2004, (24–29 April). Austria: Vienna.
Morris, M., Lundell, J., Dishman, E. & Needham, B. (2003). New perspectives on ubiquitous computing from an ethnographic study of elders with cognitive decline. In A. Dey, A. Schmidt, & J. F. McCarthy (Eds.), Proceedings of 5th international conference on UbiComp 2003: Ubiquitous Computing (pp. 227–242). Seattle, Washington, USA, 12–15 October 2003 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Morrow, D. (2003). Commentary: Gerotechnology: Technology as environmental support for older adults’ daily activities. In N. Charness & K. W. Schaie (Eds.), Impact of technology on successful aging (pp. 290–305). New York: Springer.
Novak, D. (2001). The human person as the image of God. In D. Thomasma, D. Weisstub, & C. Hervé (Eds.), Personhood and health care (pp. 43–54). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Peace, S., Holland, C., & Kellaher, L. (2006). Environment and identity in later life. Berkshire, England: Open University Press.
Pols, J. (2010). Caring devices. About warmth, coldness and ‘fit’ [Special issue: ‘Care and Health Care.”]. Medische Antropologie, 22(1), 143–161.
Post, S. (2000). Alzheimer’s disease in a hypercognitive society. In P. Whitehouse, K. Mauer, & J. Ballenger (Eds.), Concepts of Alzheimer’s disease: Biological, clinical and cultural perspectives (pp. 245–256). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Pragnell, M., Spence, L., & Moore, R. (2000). The market potential for smart homes. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Layerthorpe, UK: York Publishing Services Ltd.
Rhodes, L. (1991). Emptying beds. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Rose, N. (1999). Powers of freedom: Reframing political thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRef
Rose, N. (2001). The politics of life itself. Theory Culture Society, 18, 1–30.CrossRef
Rowe, J., & Kahn, R. (1997). Successful aging. The Gerontologist, 37(4), 433–440.CrossRef
Rozanova, J. (2010). Discourse of successful aging in The Globe & Mail: Insights from critical gerontology. Journal of Aging Studies, 24, 213–222.CrossRef
SOPRANO (Service oriented programmable smart environments for older Europeans) Project. (2007). Review of HIC Concepts and E&AR Deliverable D1.1.1, May 2007.
Steg, H., Strese, H., Loroff, C., Hull, J., & Schmidt, S. (2006). Europe is facing a demographic challenge, ambient assisted living offers solutions. IST Project Report on Ambient Assisted Living (March).
Thomas, W. (2004). What are old people good for?. Acton, MA: VanderWyk & Burnham.
Tinker, A., McCreadie, C., Stuchbury, R., Turner-Smith, A., Cowan, D., Bialokoz, A., Lansley, P., Bright, K., Flanagan, S., Goodacre, K., Holmans, A. (2004). Introducing assistive technology into the existing homes of older people: Feasibility, acceptability, costs, and outcomes. Institute of Gerontology King’s College London. King’s College London and the University of Reading. ISBN 1-872342-17-5.
van Berlo, A. (2005). Smart houses and smart living for senior citizens. Silver Economy, Bonn: European Conference.
Vladeck, B. (2003). Unloving care revisited: The persistence of culture. In A. Weiner & J. Ronch (Eds.), Culture change in long-term care (pp. 1–9). New York: The Haworth Social Work Practice Press.
Vladeck, B. (2004). Foreword. In T. E. Gass (Ed.), Nobody’s home: Candid reflections of a nursing home aid. Ithaca: ILR Press.
World Health Organization. (2002). Active ageing: A policy framework, a contribution of the World Health Organization to the Second United Nations World Assembly on ageing. Madrid, Spain: World Health Organization.
Wright, D. (2008). Summary of SENIOR Deliverable D1.1—Environmental scanning report prepared by, trilateral research & consulting, London, 25 May 2008.
Wright, D. (2009). Good practices in e-inclusion, ethical guidance and designing a dialogue roadmap. The senior project: Social ethical and privacy needs in ICT for older people: A dialogue roadmap. November 2009.
Ybarra, O., Burnstein, E., Winkielman, P., Keller, M., Manis, M., Chan, E., & Rodriguez, J. (2008). Mental exercising through simple socializing: Social interaction promotes general cognitive functioning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(2), 248–259.
Zwijsen, S., Niemeijer, A., & Hertogh, C. (2011). Ethics of using assistive technology in the care of community-dwelling elderly people: An overview of the literature. Aging and Mental Health, 15(4), 419–427.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Ethical frontiers of ICT and older users: cultural, pragmatic and ethical issues
Author
Athena McLean
Publication date
01-12-2011
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Ethics and Information Technology / Issue 4/2011
Print ISSN: 1388-1957
Electronic ISSN: 1572-8439
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-011-9276-4

Other articles of this Issue 4/2011

Ethics and Information Technology 4/2011 Go to the issue

Original Paper

Capabilities in, capabilities out: overcoming digital divides by promoting corporate citizenship and fair ICT

Original Paper

Returning students’ right to access, choice and notice: a proposed code of ethics for instructors using Turnitin

OriginalPaper

The incorrigible social meaning of video game imagery

Original Paper

Contextual gaps: privacy issues on Facebook

Original Paper

Ethics in e-trust and e-trustworthiness: the case of direct computer-patient interfaces

Premium Partner

    Image Credits