This book gathers peer-review contributions to the 5th International Workshop on Gerontechnology, IWoG 2022, held on November 17-18, 2022, in Évora, Portugal, and in Caceres, Spain. They report on cutting-edge technologies and optimized workflows for promoting active aging and assisting older adults at home, as well as in healthcare centers. They discuss the main challenges in the development, use and delivery of health care services and technologies. Besides proposing solutions for improving monitoring and management of health parameters and age-related diseases, the chapters also describe approaches for helping seniors in their daily tasks and facilitating their communication and integration with assistive technologies. All in all, this book provides health professionals, researchers, and service providers with extensive information on the latest trends in the development and application of gerontechnology, with a special emphasis on improving quality of life and social integration of the elderly.

This book gathers peer-review contributions to the 5th International Workshop on Gerontechnology, IWoG 2022, held on November 17-18, 2022, in Évora, Portugal, and in Caceres, Spain. They report on cutting-edge technologies and optimized workflows for promoting active aging and assisting older adults at home, as well as in healthcare centers. They discuss the main challenges in the development, use and delivery of health care services and technologies. Besides proposing solutions for improving monitoring and management of health parameters and age-related diseases, the chapters also describe approaches for helping seniors in their daily tasks and facilitating their communication and integration with assistive technologies. All in all, this book provides health professionals, researchers, and service providers with extensive information on the latest trends in the development and application of gerontechnology, with a special emphasis on improving quality of life and social integration of the elderly.

This publication is concerned with gerontechnology - the study of technology and ageing with the aim of improving the functioning of older people in daily life. The first part of the book is a compilation of the key-note addresses describing the background for and the conditions under which the emerging field of gerontechnology can be developed further. The chapters deal with political, socio-economic, ethical, demographic issues related to gerontechnology. Furthermore, methodological approaches in human factors, ergonomics and industrial design are described. Trends in technological developments and innovations conclude the first volume. The second part presents some 80 case studies, divided over 9 sections (1) perception and cognition, (2) communication technology, (3) mobility and transport, (4) health and home care technology, (5) housing, (6) training and education, (7) safety and security, (8) product design and (9) culture and attitudes.

Two "megatrends" of modern culture are rapid population aging and the inexorable advances in various technologies encountered by the population at large. This comprehensive volume explores the intersections of technology with aging and serves as both a primer and reference for educators, students, researchers, and practitioners. It includes concepts from the basics of gerotechnologyóperson-environment fitóto the core activity fieldsócomputer and assistive devices and their practical applicationsóto models, or prototypes for technical development and its application to everyday life. Thought-provoking concluding chapters address ethical concerns for the future as well as offer new perspectives or context to ideas and innovations explored earlier.

Awarded third place in the 2017 AJN Book of the Year Awards in Information Technology Two mega-trends of modern culture, the rapid aging of the population and the inexorable advances in technology, have fueled the development of gerontechnology--the use of technology to sustain individual autonomy to an advanced age. This expansive book encompasses state-of-the-art research in gerontechnology and promising new technologies, products, and services that can improve activities of daily living, general health, and wellbeing of older individuals. It addresses current and future applications in such crucial areasas mobility and transportation, assistive devices, smart homes for senior citizens, in-home technologies, safety and privacy, and research and development highlighting--among others--design. Topics include, but are not limited to, virtual environments as a research tool, sensation, perception, and cognition research advancements, novel accessibility challenges to information and communication technology, as well as the evolving characteristics of the elderly. These are among the welcome developments addressed in the book. Contributors from around the globe, including the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada, The Netherlands, Korea, the United States, and more, bring unprecedented cross-cultural insight to the intersections of aging phenomena and technology. Key Features: Disseminates empirically proven findings and evidence-based theories, models, and concepts Written by world-recognized leaders in the field of technology and aging Reflects the global usage of gerontechnological applications Includes new technologies, research, and applications for virtual environments, smart homes, assistive technology care, and robotics Discusses computer-assisted social engagement, technology-facilitated caregiving, business case examples, and more

This open access book explains the state of the art in quantum software engineering and design, independent from a specific hardware. It deals with quantum software theoretical aspects and with classical software engineering concepts like agile development approaches, validation, measurement, and deployment applied in a quantum or hybrid environment, and is complemented by a number of various industry applications. After an introductory chapter overviewing the contents of the subsequent chapters, the book is composed of three parts. It starts with a theoretical part on quantum software, as a bold declaration that quantum software theory is deep and valuable independent from the existence of specific quantum hardware. It is based upon the claim that quantum software is the more general theory subsuming classical and hybrid software system theories. The second, more extensive part deals with quantum software system and engineering design. Its quality follows from the comparison of the broad diversity of sometimes conflicting views. Moreover, the variety of approaches to design, enable the reader to make a well-pondered rational choice of preference. The book concludes with a third part, referring to multiple software applications and corresponding laboratory experiences, in order to understand their implications in practice and avoid repeating past mistakes. This book is of interest to industry professionals and researchers in academia, which are either producing or applying quantum software systems in their work or are considering their potential utility in the future. Furthermore, it also could be beneficial for practitioners already experienced with classical software engineering who desire to understand the fundamentals or possible applications of quantum software.

This book aims at disseminating information and knowledge in Gerontechnology, a topic that is still considered a specific area of interest for techno-experts (i.e. informatics, engineers, bio-engineers, bio-statistics, etc.) while there is a relatively low diffusion of technological expertise among clinicians and other health professionals who are involved in the care of older people. In many parts of the world, average life expectancy is rising consistently, and at the same time technology is developing at a dramatic pace. This means having completely new options for the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of diseases and disabilities of older people but also a new challenge to improve the quality of life by promoting an active and healthy aging at population level. This book explores the technical developments that are beginning to change the management of diseases and disabilities of geriatric patients. These include advanced Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), i.e. the new online services in healthcare and electronic medical-health records, Assistive Technologies (AT), i.e. behavior and motility monitoring sensorial tools, smart homes tools and telemedicine tools as well as Human–Computer Interaction technologies (HCI), i.e. robots for supporting people with mobility or cognitive limitations, humanoid robots, exoskeletons and rehabilitation robots. The Work is divided into three main parts: 1) Technology in a world of aging people, 2) Clinical applications of technologies in older people, and 3) Older people and technologies interaction including privacy issues, acceptability of technologies by older people and education and training of healthcare professionals in gerontechnology. The book will be an invaluable tool for geriatricians and other health professionals who are involved in the care of older people.

This book provides the first foundation of knowledge about the intellectual traditions, contemporary scope and future prospects for the interdisciplinary field of rural gerontology. With a focus on rural regions, small towns and villages, which have the highest rates of population ageing worldwide, Rural Gerontology is aimed at understanding what it means for rural people, communities and institutions to be at the forefront of twenty-first-century demographic change. The book offers important insights from rural ageing studies into today’s most pressing gerontological problems. With chapters from more than 65 established and emerging rural ageing researchers, it is the first synthesis of knowledge about rural gerontology, harnessing a burgeoning interdisciplinary scholarship on the rural dimensions of ageing, old age and older populations. With a view to advancing a critical understanding of rural ageing populations, this book will have an overreaching impact across the social sciences by drawing on advancements in understandings of rural ageing from social, environmental, geographical and critical gerontology to facilitate a comprehensive exploration of the diversity, complexity and implications of the ageing process in rural settings. Bringing together valuable international perspectives, this book makes a timely contribution to gerontology, rural studies and the social sciences, and will appeal to scholars and researchers across USA and Canada, UK and Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, China and countries in Africa, South America and South-East Asia.

As healthcare organisations and governments look to information technology to capitalise and enhance healthcare, the need for effective investment to update existing technology and provide cost-effective infrastructure for the future becomes clear. The issues of defining success and understanding opportunities are crucial to planning optimum investment and the best use of scarce resources. This book presents papers from the Australian Health Informatics Conference (HIC 2014), held in Melbourne, Australia, in August 2014. With the theme of investing in e-health: people, knowledge and technology for a healthy future, the papers delivered at the conference and included here address the issues of building a future-focused, scalable and adaptable infrastructure and of training the healthcare workforce necessary to support it. Subjects covered include: user participation in ICT development for older adults; interactive patient websites; application areas of multi-user virtual environments in the healthcare context; as well as governance, training and assessing the quality of data in public health information systems. The book will be of interest to all those policy makers and practitioners involved in the planning and implementation of information technology projects as part of the healthcare system.

The challenge of population aging requires innovative approaches to meet the needs of increasing numbers of older people. Emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as pervasive computing and ambient assistive technology, have considerable potential for enhancing the quality of life of many older people by providing additional safety and security while also supporting mobility, independent living, and social participation. The proposed book will be a landmark publication in the area of technology and aging that will serve as a statement of the current state-of-the-art and as a pointer to directions for future research and emerging technologies, products, and services.