Misconstruction of Older Adults: The Use of Sociotechnical Imaginaries in the Design of Older Adult Monitoring Technologies and the Conflicting Ethical Perspectives of Stakeholders
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The older adult population in the U.S. is expected to more than double over the next 40 years and as this segment of the population expands, society will encounter an eldercare crisis. One promising solution is the use of monitoring technologies to ease the burden of care, however as described by STS scholar, Shelia Jasanoff, these technologies are constructed with certain assumptions in the design and implementation process that can be referred to as ‘sociotechnical imaginaries’. Through this thesis I highlight the social impetus, promise, and importance of the development of these technological solutions for senior care. I then explore technologists’ construction of the older adult lived experience – the ‘sociotechnical imaginaries’ - as made known through two real life case studies showcasing misuses of an older adult monitoring tool. My assessment concluded that these sociotechnical imaginaries are biased in their construction of older adult life and do not account for older adults' preferences. These limitations can make eldercare monitoring technologies unable to sufficiently care for older adults, can heighten older adult’s vulnerability, and can negatively impact older adult’s abilities to thrive. Finally, this misalignment of values in the design and implementation of older adult monitoring technologies highlights the conflicting ethical perspectives of eldercare stakeholders.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | 2021 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Tarquinio, Abigail |
|---|
Subjects
| Subject | monitoring technologies |
|---|---|
| Subject | eldercare |
| Subject | ethics of care |
| Subject | surveillance |
| Subject | sociotechnical imaginaries STS |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
Collection
Stanford University, Program in Science, Technology and Society, Honors Theses
View other items in this collection in SearchWorksContact information
- Contact
- abbytarq@stanford.edu
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...