0000000000055048
AUTHOR
Tuuli Turja
Robotizing meaningful work
PurposeRobots have a history of replacing human labor in undesirable, dirty, dull and dangerous tasks. With robots now emerging in academic and human-centered work, this paper aims to investigate psychological implications of robotizing desirable and socially rewarding work.Design/methodology/approachTesting the holistic stress model, this study examines educational professionals’ stress responses as mediators between robotization expectations and future optimism in life. The study uses survey data on 2,434 education professionals.FindingsRespondents entertaining robotization expectations perceived their work to be less meaningful and reported more burnout symptoms than those with no roboti…
Social Robots and Human Touch in Care : The Perceived Usefulness of Robot Assistance Among Healthcare Professionals
Touching in care work is inevitable, particularly in cases where clients depend on nurses for many activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, lifting and assisting. When new technologies are involved in nurse–client relationships, the significance of human touch needs special attention. Stressing the importance of practitioners’ opinions on the usage of robots in care environments, we analyze care workers’ attitudes toward robot assistance in the care of older people and reflect on their ideas of the embodied relationship that caregivers and care receivers have with technology. To examine nurses’ attitudes toward care robots, we use survey data on professional care workers (n = …
Care Workers’ Readiness for Robotization : Identifying Psychological and Socio-Demographic Determinants
Successful implementation of robots in welfare services requires that the staff approves of them as a part of daily work tasks. In this study, we identified psychological and socio-demographic determinants associated with readiness for robotization among professional Finnish care-workers. National survey data were collected from professional care workers (n = 3800) between October and November 2016. Random samples were drawn from the member registers of two Finnish trade unions. The data were analyzed with regression models for respondents with and without firsthand experience with robots. The models explained 34–39% of the variance in the readiness for robotization. The readiness was posit…
Positive Turn in Elder-Care Workers' Views Toward Telecare Robots.
AbstractRobots have been slowly but steadily introduced to welfare sectors. Our previous observations based on a large-scale survey study on Finnish elder-care workers in 2016 showed that while robots were perceived to be useful in certain telecare tasks, using robots may also prove to be incompatible with the care workers’ personal values. The current study presents the second wave of the survey data from 2020, with the same respondents (N = 190), and shows how these views have changed for the positive, including higher expectations of telecare robotization and decreased concerns over care robots’ compatibility with personal values. In a longitudinal analysis (Phase 1), the positive change…
Robotization of Mobile Communication
The aim of this chapter is to systematize the discussion regarding robotization of mobile communication. The chapter begins by clarifying the fundamental role of both robot hardware and robot software in this process. This is followed by a critical overview of existing research, which is classified into three categories. First, robotization is understood as the hybridization of the human body with existing ordinary mobile devices. Second, the incorporation of new robotic software, such as algorithms, artificial intelligence, and virtual assistants, into mobile devices is seen to robotize them from inside. Third, the convergence of smart communication devices, typically as user interfaces wi…
Robot acceptance model for care (RAM-care) : A principled approach to the intention to use care robots
Robots are emerging in welfare services, and organizations require information on whether novel technologies are approved among staff. On the basis of technology acceptance theories, this study proposes a model that adds a principled approach to the intention to use care robots. Data of 544 professionals with care robot experience were collected. The use intention was predicted by usefulness, enjoyment, social influence, and attitude. Respondents who found robots useful and accepted by their colleagues were more likely to view robot use as consistent with their personal values. The care robot acceptance model supports consideration of the profession-specific context in robotization. peerRev…