Conference Agenda

We present a qualitative interview study on older adults attitudes towards social networking sites (SNSs), in particular on reasons that keep them from using SNSs or entice them to do so. In cooperation with a multigenerational house in Bavaria (Ger.: Mehrgenerationenhaus, abbr. MGH), we conducted eight semi-structured interviews with older adults (50+) who were involved in computer tuition at the MGH. We recruited two different participant groups: 1. tutors, older adults with advanced computer skills who give free computer lessons and 2. tutees, participants of said lessons with relatively fewer computer skills. Although our sample included dedicated Facebook users, we found prejudices towards SNSs to be prevalent among our interviewees. Our findings indicate that security concerns and a lack of knowledge play a big part in keeping participants from using SNSs. Among the reasons fielded for SNS use were particular forms of participation and social interaction, but also pastimes and hobbies. Though more of the tutors are using SNSs, we could not find stark differences in attitudes towards SNS usage between tutors and tutees.

Der Artikel beschreibt eine Langzeitstudie über die (ex-ante) Erwartungen an und (ex-post) Erfahrungen mit einem integrierten Enterprise Collaboration System (ECS) für die elektronische Unterstützung studentischer Gruppenarbeiten über einen Zeitraum von vier Jahren. Die Forschungsergebnisse basieren auf Befragungen der User sowie auf Datenbankanalysen mittels Social Collaboration Analytics (SCA). Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Vorerfahrung der Studierenden bezüglich Kollaborationssoftware über die Jahre zugenommen hat. Die Studierendengruppen geben an, dass sie die funktionalen Module Wiki, Dateienablage, Aufgabenverteilung, Blog, Foren und Lesezeichen mit absteigender Intensität einsetzen. Die von den Usern eingeholten Angaben konnten mit Hilfe der Analyse der Aktivitätslogs bestätigt werden. Die Studierenden erkennen den Nutzen einer voll integrierten Unternehmenssoftware und geben an, dass sie diese auch in künftigen Projekten einsetzen würden.

This study used longitudinal data collected from 109 participants to investigate the impact of computer-related causal attributions on users’ problem-solving motivation. Attribution theory deals with subjectively perceived causes of events and is commonly used for explaining and predicting human behavior, emotion, and motivation. Individual attributions may either positively or negatively influence one’s learning behavior, confidence levels, effort, or persistence. Results indicate that computer-related causal attributions indeed influence users’ problem-solving motivation. Users with favorable attribution styles exhibit greater levels of motivation in problem handling than users with unfavorable attribution styles. The findings can be used in HCI research and practice to understand better why users think, feel, or behave in a certain way. It is argued that an understanding of users’ attributional characteristics is valuable for developing and improving existing computer learning training strategies and methods, as well as support and assistance mechanisms.