IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v63y2020ics0160791x20303171.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The development of aged care robots in Japan as a varied process

Author

Listed:
  • Hsu, Eric L.
  • Elliott, Anthony
  • Ishii, Yukari
  • Sawai, Atsushi
  • Katagiri, Masataka

Abstract

In Japan, technological advances in robotics are commonly thought to be integral to facing the challenges of an ageing population. While some research has critically examined this link by investigating the cultural views of care workers in Japan who are positioned to engage with robotic technologies, scholarship focusing on the cultural practices of Japanese gerontechnology developers has remained sparse. The sociological study presented in this article seeks to address this research lacuna. The study finds that there is a tendency for Japanese roboticists to frame ageing as a growing crisis, to justify expenditure on robotic technologies. Additionally, there is a tendency for technology developers to adopt paternalistic design approaches, which often lack substantial input from older persons. However, a key claim of this article is that technology developers should not be conceptualized as a homogenous social group. Gerontechnology developers were found in this study to hold divergent views about the effectiveness of designer-centric approaches. Understanding how technology developers are multifaceted in the views they express and in the environments they work in is beneficial because it challenges the advocacy of more inclusive technology design approaches to be more complex and nuanced.

Suggested Citation

  • Hsu, Eric L. & Elliott, Anthony & Ishii, Yukari & Sawai, Atsushi & Katagiri, Masataka, 2020. "The development of aged care robots in Japan as a varied process," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:63:y:2020:i:c:s0160791x20303171
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101366
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X20303171
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2020.101366?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Toms, G. & Verity, F. & Orrell, A., 2019. "Social care technologies for older people: Evidence for instigating a broader and more inclusive dialogue," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    2. Galily, Yair, 2018. "Artificial intelligence and sports journalism: Is it a sweeping change?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 47-51.
    3. Motoyama, Yasuyuki, 2014. "Long-term collaboration between university and industry: A case study of nanotechnology development in Japan," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 39-51.
    4. Louis Neven & Alexander Peine, 2017. "From Triple Win to Triple Sin: How a Problematic Future Discourse is Shaping the Way People Age with Technology," Societies, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-11, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tamaki Welply, Yuko & Lechevalier, Sébastien, 2024. "‘Social’ robot and social relations in care settings: Undefined positionality and fixed temporality," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. AboJabel, Hanan & Ayalon, Liat, 2023. "Attitudes of Israelis toward family caregivers assisted by a robot in the delivery of care to older people: The roles of collectivism and individualism," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Brondi, Sonia & Pivetti, Monica & Di Battista, Silvia & Sarrica, Mauro, 2021. "What do we expect from robots? Social representations, attitudes and evaluations of robots in daily life," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Wilk-Jakubowski, Grzegorz & Harabin, Radoslaw & Ivanov, Stanislav, 2022. "Robotics in crisis management: A review," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Deng, Shichang & Zhang, Jingjing & Lin, Zhengnan & Li, Xiangqian, 2024. "Service staff makes me nervous: Exploring the impact of insecure attachment on AI service preference," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wei Zhang & José Manuel Pérez Tornero & Qiusheng Tian, 2023. "Dissecting Automated News Production From a Transdisciplinary Perspective: Methodology, Linguistic Application, and Narrative Genres," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    2. Fengting Zhang & Yang Lv & Md Nazirul Islam Sarker, 2022. "Spatio-Temporal Evolution and Development Path of Industry–University–Research Cooperation and Economic Vulnerability: Evidence from China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Jonek-Kowalska, Izabela & Musioł-Urbańczyk, Anna & Podgórska, Marzena & Wolny, Maciej, 2021. "Does motivation matter in evaluation of research institutions? Evidence from Polish public universities," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Saidi, Trust & Zeiss, Ragna, 2016. "Investigating promises of nanotechnology for development: A case study of the travelling of smart nano water filter in Zimbabwe," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 40-48.
    5. Laor, Tal & Galily, Yair, 2020. "Offline VS online: Attitude and behavior of journalists in social media era," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    6. Ulrike Bechtold & Natalie Stauder & Martin Fieder, 2021. "Let’s Walk It: Mobility and the Perceived Quality of Life in Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Khalil, Fares Georges, 2024. "Socio-technical platforms for care transformation: An integrative synthesis and conceptualization," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. Jyoti Choudrie & Efpraxia Zamani & Chike Obuekwe, 2022. "Bridging the Digital Divide in Ethnic Minority Older Adults: an Organisational Qualitative Study," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1355-1375, August.
    9. Jessica Kunert, 2020. "Automation in Sports Reporting: Strategies of Data Providers, Software Providers, and Media Outlets," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 5-15.
    10. Vera Gallistl & Rebekka Rohner & Alexander Seifert & Anna Wanka, 2020. "Configuring the Older Non-User: Between Research, Policy and Practice of Digital Exclusion," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(2), pages 233-243.
    11. Song Wei & Kuili Wang & Xiangliang Li, 2022. "Design and implementation of college sports training system based on artificial intelligence," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 13(3), pages 971-977, December.
    12. Lehoux, P. & Grimard, D., 2018. "When robots care: Public deliberations on how technology and humans may support independent living for older adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 330-337.
    13. Björn Fischer & Britt Östlund & Nicole K. Dalmer & Andrea Rosales & Alexander Peine & Eugène Loos & Louis Neven & Barbara Marshall, 2021. "Co-Design as Learning: The Differences of Learning When Involving Older People in Digitalization in Four Countries," Societies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, June.
    14. Hanna Köttl & Ella Cohn-Schwartz & Liat Ayalon & Deborah S Carr, 2021. "Self-Perceptions of Aging and Everyday ICT Engagement: A Test of Reciprocal Associations [Risk profiles for mild cognitive impairment and progression to dementia are gender specific]," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(9), pages 1913-1922.
    15. AboJabel, Hanan & Ayalon, Liat, 2023. "Attitudes of Israelis toward family caregivers assisted by a robot in the delivery of care to older people: The roles of collectivism and individualism," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    16. Dipannita Das & Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay, 2024. "Examining the emergence of new journalistic forms and innovation in the Indian newspaper industry," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    17. Ulrike Bechtold & Natalie Stauder & Martin Fieder & Harald Wilfing, 2022. "Stuck in the Present: A Human Lack of Ability to Visualise (Different) Needs in the Future May Hamper Timely Implementation of AAL and Supportive Technology," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-14, June.
    18. Lucie Vidovićová & Tereza Menšíková, 2023. "Materiality, Corporeality, and Relationality in Older Human–Robot Interaction (OHRI)," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, January.
    19. Sætra, Henrik Skaug, 2020. "The foundations of a policy for the use of social robots in care," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. Theodore Koutroukis & Dimos Chatzinikolaou & Charis Vlados & Victoria Pistikou, 2022. "The Post-COVID-19 Era, Fourth Industrial Revolution, and New Globalization: Restructured Labor Relations and Organizational Adaptation," Societies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:63:y:2020:i:c:s0160791x20303171. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.