Conference Agenda (All times are shown in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) unless otherwise noted)

Dementia is a progressive and incurable disease which impacts both people who have been diagnosed with some type of neurocognitive disorder but also their family members. Since dementia care has lately started to include not only pharmacological treatment and medical care but also a person-centered and evidence-based (neuro)rehabilitation in the community, library and information science scholars and professionals have started to investigate how they can contribute to development of dementia friendly communities. The paper discusses how findings from an ongoing multi-phase research have been translated into practice in the city of Osijek, Croatia. Information sciences scholars have collaborated with librarians, civic organizations, neurology and human rights professionals to develop diverse programs in the local community, which aim to raise the quality of life of older citizens, people with dementia and their caregivers through information sharing and raising awareness, supporting their health and wellbeing, and capacity building of librarians.

Digital technology has a great potential for assisting older people in their everyday tasks and general well-being. However, older adults are relatively slow to adopt the new technology and one of the obstacles may be their negative perception or perceived uselessness of the technology. The paper presents preliminary findings from a study into the attitudes toward digital technology and its perceived usefulness among the older adults in the city of Osijek, Croatia. Results show that majority of respondents have positive attitudes toward digital technology and majority perceives it as very useful. The study identified a number of factors, such as age, gender, education and quality of life that affect the respondents’ varying attitudes toward digital technology and its perceived usefulness. The research findings can help policy makers and local institutions such as libraries in designing digital literacy courses and provision of support to older adults.

The welding industry in the U.S. faces a serious shortage of skilled welders. The goal of this paper is to explore welding instructors’ attitudes toward applications of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) as well as artificial intelligence (AI) in welding training. Such approaches could allow future welders to acquire welding skills faster and in a safer work environment. Also, the welding industry could attract a more diverse group of workers. This paper builds on previous literature and studies researching the use of AR, VR, and AI in welding and in other comparable industries. The paper reports findings from interviews with eight welding instructors at a community college to obtain insights regarding how they believe AR, VR, and AI could be used in welding training. The paper provides implications for using AR, VR, and AI to attract and retain the next generation of welders.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to the widespread use of videoconference (VC) technologies, particularly in education and this trend is projected to continue. Prolonged VC usage can lead to “videoconference fatigue” (VCF). While research on factors contributing to VCF has been conducted among university students, there is limited research on younger students (especially teenagers). To fill this gap, this study adopts an affordance-based approach to identify VC affordances (resources and constraints) contributing to VCF in teenagers. Specifically, the objectives are to examine if (a) VC affordances (visibility, information, and availability), and (b) demographic profiles (age and gender) have effects on VCF among teenagers. A large-scale survey was conducted and responses from 491 teenagers were analyzed using Hierarchical Regression Analysis. Results indicate that the three identified VC affordances contribute to VCF in teenagers. In addition, teenage girls and older teenagers are more prone to VCF.

This high-exposure study explores the information seeking practices of a specific unstably housed, mobile population. Vehicle residents earn a wage but have chosen to move into their vehicles as a survival strategy during a time when housing expenses account for more than half of lower-income Americans’ monthly income. Drawing from previous work that highlights the importance of place in information behavior, this study investigates the ways that places influence information seeking for a population whose information environment is ever-changing. This study is informed by two sets of semi-structured interviews with seven individuals, including information horizon interviews and guided tours, from November 2020-June 2021. Key initial findings demonstrate that both place and mobility constrain and facilitate information seeking for participants. Overall, understanding the unique features and needs of this particular group results in a more thorough comprehension of their information seeking practices to better understand information and service provision, information inequality, and inequity.