Revived interest in lunar and planetary exploration is heralding a new era for human spaceflight, characterized by frequent strain on astronaut’s mental well-being, which stems from increased exposure to isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) conditions. Whilst Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) has been employed to facilitate self-help interventions to mitigate challenges caused by isolated environments in several domains, its applicability in support of future space expeditions remains largely unexplored. To address this limitation, we administered the use of distinct IVR environments to crew members $(n=5)$ partaking in a simulated lunar habitat study. Utilizing a Bayesian approach to scrutinize small group data, we discovered a significant relationship between IVR usage and a reduction in perceived stress-related symptoms, particularly those associated with asthenia (syndrome often linked to chronic fatigue and weakness; a condition characterized by feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion that can be amplified in ICE conditions). The reductions were most prominent with the use of interactive virtual environments. The ’Aesthetic Realities’ - virtual environments conceived as art exhibits - received exceptional praise from our participants. These environments mark a fascinating convergence of art and science, holding promise to mitigate effects related to isolation in spaceflight training and beyond

Based on our research on the Wikipedia interface and crowdsourcing with older adults, we propose a conversational interface to streamline Wikipedia editing, engage new contributors and increase their well-being. The use of a conversational interface may mitigate the problem of a steep learning curve for new contributors to encourage more people to contribute to Wikipedia, and thus, little by little, make it more accurate, consistent and democratic. This solution can also negotiate some of the barriers apparent in older adults’ interaction with the Wikipedia interface. To achieve these goals, we conceptualized a friendly chatbot called "Gizmo" which inverts the human-chatbot interaction paradigm by making the user be the one to aid the chatbot. In doing so, we explored some of the requirements and challenges associated with the design of a conversational interface to enable Wiki contributions. These include the choice of the appropriate task to crowdsource, in our case the infobox translation verification, the initiation of the conversation as well as the motivational component with key disaffection indicators. At the same time, we discuss some opportunities within the domain of CSCW related to the design and applications of novel conversational crowdsourcing interfaces.

Globally observed trends in aging indicate that older adults constitute a growing share of the population and an increasing demographic in the modern technologies marketplace. Therefore, it has become important to address the issue of participation of older adults in the process of developing solutions suitable for their group. In this study, we approached this topic by organizing a hackathon involving teams of young programmers and older adult participants. In our paper we describe a case study of that hackathon, in which our objective was to motivate older adults to participate in software engineering processes. Based on our results from an array of qualitative methods, we propose a set of good practices that may lead to improved older adult participation in similar events and an improved process of developing apps that target older adults.

We investigated how product attributes, average consumer ratings, and single affect-rich positive or negative consumer reviews influenced hypothetical online purchasing decisions of younger and older adults. In line with previous research, we found that younger adults used all three types of information: they clearly preferred products with better attributes and with higher average consumer ratings. If making a choice was difficult because it involved trade-offs between product attributes, most younger adults chose the higher-rated product. The preference for the higher-rated product, however, could be overridden by a single affect-rich negative or positive review. Older adults were strongly influenced by a single affect-rich negative review and also took into consideration product attributes; however, they did not take into account average consumer ratings or single affect-rich positive reviews. These results suggest that older adults do not consider aggregated consumer information and positive reviews focusing on positive experiences with the product, but are easily swayed by reviews reporting negative experiences.

Abstract Globally observed trends in aging indicate that older adults constitute a growing share of the population and an increasing demographic in the modern technologies marketplace. Therefore, it has become important to address the issue of participation of older adults in the process of developing solutions suitable for their group. In this study, we approached this topic by organizing a hackathon involving teams of young programmers and older adults participants. Below we describe a case study of that hackathon, in which our objective was to motivate older adults to participate in software engineering processes. Based on our results from an array of qualitative methods, we propose a set of good practices that may lead to improved older adult participation in similar events and an improved process of developing apps that target older adults.

In this paper we describe the insights from an exploratory qualitative pilot study testing the feasibility of a solution that would encourage older adults to participate in online crowdsourcing tasks in a non-computer scenario. Therefore, we developed an Android TV application using Amara API to retrieve subtitles for TEDx talks which allows the participants to detect and categorize errors to support the quality of the translation and transcription processes. It relies on the older adults' innate skills as long-time native language users and the motivating factors of this socially and personally beneficial task. The study allowed us to verify the underlying concept of using Smart TVs as interfaces for crowdsourcing, as well as possible barriers, including the interface, configuration issues, topics and the process itself. We have also assessed the older adults' interaction and engagement with this TV-enabled online crowdsourcing task and we are convinced that the design of our setup addresses some key barriers to crowdsourcing by older adults. It also validates avenues for further research in this area focused on such considerations as autonomy and freedom of choice, familiarity, physical and cognitive comfort as well as building confidence and the edutainment value.

In this paper we provide a brief summary of development LivingLab PJAIT as an attempt to establish a comprehensive and sustainable ICT-based solution for empowerment of elderly communities towards better urban participation of seniors. We report on our various endeavors for better involvement and participation of older adults in urban life by lowering ICT barriers, encouraging social inclusion, intergenerational interaction, physical activity and engaging older adults in the process of development of ICT solutions. We report on a model and assumptions of the LivingLab PJAIT as well as a number of activities created and implemented for LivingLab participants: from ICT courses, both traditional and e-learning, through on-line crowdsourcing tasks, to blended activities of different forms and complexity. We also provide conclusions on the lessons learned in the process and some future plans, including solutions for better senior urban participation and citizen science.

Understanding of interaction between people and urban spaces is crucial for inclusive decision making process. Smartphones and social media can be a rich source of behavioral and declarative data about urban space, but it threatens to exclude voice of older adults. The platform proposed in the paper attempts to address this issue. A universal tagging mechanism based on the Pluchik Wheel of Emotion is proposed. Usability of the platform was tested and prospect studies are proposed.

Success of Wikipedia would not be possible without the contributions of millions of anonymous Internet users who edit articles, correct mistakes, add links or pictures. At the same time Wikipedia editors are currently overworked and there is always more tasks waiting to be completed than people willing to volunteer. The paper explores the possibility of involving the elderly in the Wikipedia editing process. Older adults were asked to complete various tasks on Wikipedia. Based on the observations made during these activities as well as in-depth interviews, a list of recommendation has been crafted. It turned out that older adults are willing to contribute to Wikiepdia but substantial changes have to be made in the Wikipedia editor.