The Investigation of Adoption of Voice-User Interface (VUI) in Smart Home Systems among Chinese Older Adults

Examining the influence of technological self-efficacy, perceived trust, security, and electronic word of mouth on ICT usage in the education sector

The context of education has changed due to revolutionary developments in the information communication technology (ICT) industry in the post-COVID era. Innovative learning methods were introduced in the education sector to promote quality education. The students find it more convenient to use ICT tools to integrate their knowledge-seeking. China has recently paid more attention to developing and adopting electronic infrastructure. The study assesses the effect of technology self-efficacy (TSE) on ICT acceptance and implementation in China's education sector. It also analyzed the role of perceived trust, perceived security, and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) in integrating digital information sharing and interaction tools. Data is collected from 382 business students at Chinese universities. The results revealed that perceived trust mediates the relationship between TSE and the actual use of ICT tools, intention to use ICT tools for information, and intention to use ICT tools for interaction. Further, perceived security and eWOM significantly moderate the relationship between TSE and perceived trust. The findings indicate that it is essential to offer assistance and instruction to students in the educational sector so they can use ICT technology more frequently. It is also crucial for organizations to establish a supportive culture and provide the necessary technological resources to facilitate the use of ICT.

A Social Work Analysis of Facilitators of and Barriers to Adopting Technology in Older Adults: A Systematic Literature Review

Increasing concern within social work about delivering comprehensive and high-quality care to older adults necessitates exploring their interest in information and communication technologies. The aim is to determine, via a systematic review using the PRISMA method, how the scientific literature on older adults' technology experiences through the lens of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The review differentiates between enabling factors and barriers that influence older adults' use and acceptance of technology from their own perspective. It provides social workers with a comprehensive overview of use of technologies and identify general guidelines to enhance older adults' personal and communal autonomy.

Factors influencing older adults' acceptance of voice assistants

Introduction

Voice assistants (VAs) have the potential to uphold and enhance the quality of life for older adults. However, the extent to which older adults accept and benefit from VAs may be relatively modest.

Methods

This study developed a comprehensive model combined with product and personal characteristics to explain the acceptance of VAs among older adults, using semi-structured interviews (Study 1) and questionnaires (Study 2).

Results

Results revealed that in terms of product characteristics, perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment significantly affect behavior intention. Regarding personal characteristics of older adults, technological self-efficacy and dispositional resistance to change significantly affect behavior intention. However, no direct impact of perceived ease of use and perceived trust on behavior intention. Additionally, perceived enjoyment influenced both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness.

Discussion

Results suggested the significant role of technology self-efficacy and dispositional resistance to change in predicting the acceptance of VAs among older adults. Our newly developed model offers valuable insights for tailoring VAs to this demographic during design and implementation.

Older adults' intention to use voice assistants: Usability and emotional needs

Population aging is a global problem, and improving the well-being of older adults is an urgent issue. Voice assistants (VAs) offer hands-free voice control and friendly human-computer interaction, making them a significant solution to address the aging problem. Most extant research on VAs is fragmented, and there are relatively few studies conducted from the perspective of emotional needs. This work proposes a comprehensive research model extending the technology acceptance model (TAM) by incorporating the influencing factors subordinate to two research directions: usability and emotional needs. Usability needs include three factors: perceived convenience, security/privacy, and Internet self-efficacy. Emotional needs include humanized interaction, perceived enjoyment, and perceived companionship. A structural equation model (SEM) was used to validate the model empirically with a sample of 425 older users of VAs. The analysis results are quite consistent with the research assumptions, and the findings illustrate that companionship is the most critical factor affecting older adults' intention to adopt VA use, which demonstrates the pivotal role of VAs in meeting the emotional needs of the elderly. The most unexpected observation was seen for the relationship between perceived ease of use and behavioral intention, which was non-significant. This result confirms that when a technology is perceived as very easy to use, perceived ease of use has little to no impact on individuals' intention to use that technology. The novelty of this study lies in the investigation of older adults' behavioral intentions toward using VAs, providing valuable insights for the design and development of VAs tailored for the elderly population. Beyond the academic realm, this research serves as direct inspiration for designers, developers, and policymakers in the fields of assistive technologies and geriatric care. It offers practical insights into creating VAs that effectively address the emotional needs of older adults and enhance their quality of life. Furthermore, elderly individuals are poised to experience significant benefits from the outcomes of this study，the insights garnered from this study empower the elderly to embrace technological advancements that align with their preferences and comfort levels. This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of VAs and their potential to enhance the well-being of older adults, while also paving the way for future investigations in this domain. As underscored by this study's emphasis on the significance of emotional needs in technology acceptance, it encourages the adoption of more user-centered design strategies in the development of future VAs.

Smart home adoption factors: A systematic literature review and research agenda

Smart homes represent the complement of various automation technologies that together make up a network of devices facilitating the daily tasks of residents. These technologies are being studied for their application from different sectors, including the projection of their use to improve energy consumption planning and health care management. However, technology adoption depends on social awareness within the scope of cognitive advantages and innovations compared to perceived risk because although there are multiple benefits, potential users express fears related to the loss of autonomy and security. This study carries out a systematic literature review based on PRISMA in order to analyze research trends and literary evolution in the technological adoption of smart homes, considering the main theories and variables applied by the community. In proposing a research agenda in accordance with the identified gaps and the growing and emerging themes of the object of study, it is worth highlighting the growing interest in the subject, both for the present and its development in the future. Until now, adoption factors have been attributed more to the technological acceptance model and the diffusion of innovation theory, adopting components of the Theory of Planned Behavior; therefore, in several cases, the attributes of different theories are merged to adapt to the needs of each researcher, promoting the creation of empirical and extended models.

Talk like me: Exploring the feedback speech rate regulation strategy of the voice user interface for elderly people

Voice user interface (VUI) is widely used in developing intelligent products due to its low learning cost. However, most of such products do not consider the cognitive and language ability of elderly people, which leads to low interaction efficiency, poor user experience, and unfriendliness to them. Firstly, the paper analyzes the factors which influence the voice interaction behavior of elderly people: speech rate of elderly people, dialog task type, and feedback word count. And then, the voice interaction simulation experiment was designed based on the wizard of Oz testing method. Thirty subjects (M = 61.86 years old, SD = 7.16; 15 males and 15 females) were invited to interact with the prototype of a voice robot through three kinds of dialog tasks and six configurations of the feedback speech rate. Elderly people’s speech rates at which they speak to a person and to a voice robot, the feedback speech rates they expected for three dialog tasks were collected. The correlation between subjects’ speech rate and the expected feedback speech rate, the influence of dialog task type, and feedback word count on elderly people’s expected feedback speech rate were analyzed. The results show that elderly people speak to a voice robot with a lower speech rate than they speak to a person, and they expected the robot feedback speech rate to be lower than the rate they speak to the robot. There is a positive correlation between subjects’ speech rate and the expected speech rate, which implies that elderly people with faster speech rates expected a faster feedback speech rate. There is no significant difference between the elderly people’s expected speech rate for non-goal-oriented and goal-oriented dialog tasks. Meanwhile, a negative correlation between the feedback word count and the expected feedback speech rate is found. This study extends the knowledge boundaries of VUI design by investigating the influencing factors of voice interaction between elderly people and VUI. These results also provide practical implications for developing suitable VUI for elderly people, especially for regulating the feedback speech rate of VUI.

Patient Acceptability of Home Monitoring for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration Reactivation: A Qualitative Study

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is a chronic, progressive condition and the commonest cause of visual disability in older adults. This study formed part of a diagnostic test accuracy study to quantify the ability of three index home monitoring (HM) tests (one paper-based and two digital tests) to identify reactivation in nAMD. The aim of this qualitative research was to investigate patients' or participants' views about acceptability and explore adherence to weekly HM. Semi-structured interviews were held with 78/297 participants (26%), with close family members (n = 11) and with healthcare professionals involved in training participants in HM procedures (n = 9) (n = 98 in total). A directed thematic analytical approach was applied to the data using a deductive and inductive coding framework informed by theories of technology acceptance. Five themes emerged related to: 1. The role of HM; 2. Suitability of procedures and instruments; 3. Experience of HM; 4. Feasibility of HM in usual practice; and 5. Impediments to patient acceptability of HM. Various factors influenced acceptability including a patient's understanding about the purpose of monitoring. While initial training and ongoing support were regarded as essential for overcoming unfamiliarity with use of digital technology, patients viewed HM as relatively straightforward and non-burdensome. There is a need for further research about how use of performance feedback, level of support and nature of tailoring might facilitate further the implementation of routinely conducted HM. Home monitoring was acceptable to patients and they recognised its potential to reduce clinic visits during non-active treatment phases. Findings have implications for implementation of digital HM in the care of older people with nAMD and other long-term conditions.

When Lights Can Breathe: Investigating the Influences of Breathing Lights on Users' Emotion

Light can significantly influence users' physiological and behavioural performance. However, how light breathing influences users' mood regulation remains unknown. To fill this gap, this study conducted a 2-by-2 experiment (N = 20) with light breathing as the between-subject factor and light condition as the within-subject factor. Both physiological indicators and subjective indicators are measured to reflect mood regulation. The data were analysed using a generalised linear mixed model. The results showed that breathing lights are effective in regulating users' moods. More specifically, breathing lights help users lower their electrodermal values and heart rates. Users did not report any significant difference in terms of subjective measures, which suggest that the influence of a breathing light happens unconsciously. Furthermore, this effect is significant for both cold and warm colour temperatures. Designers and engineers can use the research findings to manage user emotion when necessary.

Technological Acceptance of Industry 4.0 by Students from Rural Areas

In this study, our objective was to identify the factors that explain the acceptance of Industry 4.0 technologies by technical students. Industry 4.0 is made up of a series of technologies, such as the Internet of Things; cyber-physical systems; big data, data analytics, or data mining; cloud computing or the cloud; augmented reality or mixed reality; additive manufacturing or 3D printing; cybersecurity; collaborative robots; artificial intelligence; 3D simulation; digital twin or digital twin; drones. We designed a theoretical model based on the technology acceptance model to explain the acceptance of these technologies. The study was carried out on a sample of 326 technical professional students. Students are considered ideal samples to test theoretical predictions regarding the relationships between variables in emerging technologies. The results show the positive effect of technological optimism on perceived usefulness and ease of use. However, there was not a direct effect on the attitude towards the use. A mediating effect was established. In addition, the facilitating conditions influence optimism and the ease of using the technology. These elements influence the attitude and intention to use, which is consistent with previous studies on technology acceptance. The results will guide the design of public policies to incorporate technologies into education.

Prototype of a system based on voice assistants for cognitive stimulation of the elderly

The population of Europe is getting older and factors such as labor mobility and the low birth rate have increased single-person households. In addition, many older people want to stay at home. For this to be possible, it is necessary to promote active aging policies that slow cognitive decline and help maintain good mental health. In this article we describe a system based on voice assistants (VAs) to improve the physical and mental health of the elderly. The solution proposes different activities to the user and gathers information about the status of the user. Voice assistants are an ideal tool to promote the autonomy of the elderly thanks to their low cost, the multiple possibilities they offer to interact with the user and their ease of use. A preliminary study of the system has been conducted with six users aged between 60 and 93 years. The results show a good predisposition to integrate the solution into their daylife. It has also been verified that regardless of age, all the participants were able to interact with the system and complete the proposed activities.

A Technology Acceptance Model Survey of the Metaverse Prospects

The technology acceptance model is a widely used model to investigate whether users will accept or refuse a new technology. The Metaverse is a 3D world based on virtual reality simulation to express real life. It can be considered the next generation of using the internet. In this paper, we are going to investigate variables that may affect users’ acceptance of Metaverse technology and the relationships between those variables by applying the extended technology acceptance model to investigate many factors (namely self-efficiency, social norm, perceived curiosity, perceived pleasure, and price). The goal of understanding these factors is to know how Metaverse developers might enhance this technology to meet users’ expectations and let the users interact with this technology better. To this end, a sample of 302 educated participants of different ages was chosen to answer an online Likert scale survey ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The study found that, first, self-efficiency, perceived curiosity, and perceived pleasure positively influence perceived ease of use. Secondly, social norms, perceived pleasure, and perceived ease of use positively influences perceived usefulness. Third, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness positively influence attitude towards Metaverse technology use, which overall will influence behavioral intention. Fourth, the relationship between price and behavioral intention was significant and negative. Finally, the study found that participants with an age of less than 20 years were the most positively accepting of Metaverse technology.