🐨 Nicola Palmarini

Ageism includes discrimination toward both younger and older individuals. Discrimination based on generational cohorts can serve as a proxy for discrimination based on age and, therefore, can be argued as a form of ageism. This study examined the occurrence of generational ageism and its relationship to internalized and relational ageism. This cross-sectional study surveyed 913 individuals recruited through ResearchMatch. Analyses found that those in the Millennial and Gen Z groups reported… Show more

Ageism includes discrimination toward both younger and older individuals. Discrimination based on generational cohorts can serve as a proxy for discrimination based on age and, therefore, can be argued as a form of ageism. This study examined the occurrence of generational ageism and its relationship to internalized and relational ageism. This cross-sectional study surveyed 913 individuals recruited through ResearchMatch. Analyses found that those in the Millennial and Gen Z groups reported experiencing the highest levels of discrimination based on generational cohort and reported feeling that their generational groups were viewed as less capable, more opinionated, and more selfish than other generations. Millennial and Gen Z groups also reported experiencing higher internalized and relational ageing anxiety levels than older cohorts. As our collective understanding of the manifestation and perpetuation of ageism grows, it is imperative to explore the impact and consequences of generational bias as a form of ageism. Show less

With the ever-pressing challenges of societal ageing, robotic technologies for older people are increasingly portrayed as a solution for better independent living for longer. However, the application of human-following robots for elderly citizens has not yet been considered, and any prospective benefits offered by the technology for active ageing have previously been overlooked. This qualitative research aimed to explore older people’s needs and requirements towards the human-following robot… Show more

With the ever-pressing challenges of societal ageing, robotic technologies for older people are increasingly portrayed as a solution for better independent living for longer. However, the application of human-following robots for elderly citizens has not yet been considered, and any prospective benefits offered by the technology for active ageing have previously been overlooked. This qualitative research aimed to explore older people’s needs and requirements towards the human-following robot through the reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data from 17 independent older adults, supported by a video-based demonstration of the robot. The results indicate that older people believed that human-following robot has the potential to provide social benefits to an independent older adult by encouraging walking trips and prompting social interaction with others in the community. Practical limitations and cost of the robot are barriers to adoption at present. The findings indicate that there is potential for human-following robots to support active ageing, through increasing opportunities for the social participation of an older adult, but further development of the robot is needed for this potential to be realised. Show less

We need to take a multipronged whole-of-life approach to tackle all the different, but interacting, drivers of health and disease. These include lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity; socioeconomic determinants, such as discrimination, early and lifelong education, training and skills, financial status, and social support; and, increasingly, the characteristics of physical environments, such as green spaces and air quality, which need more attention.6
Particularly, continuous… Show more

We need to take a multipronged whole-of-life approach to tackle all the different, but interacting, drivers of health and disease. These include lifestyle factors, such as diet and physical activity; socioeconomic determinants, such as discrimination, early and lifelong education, training and skills, financial status, and social support; and, increasingly, the characteristics of physical environments, such as green spaces and air quality, which need more attention.6
Particularly, continuous interactions with and cumulative exposures to the surrounding physical and social environments throughout life have crucial roles in later-life outcomes.
The Quantum Healthy Longevity blueprint aims to harness such opportunities, address urgent needs, and fulfil aspirations of the UK Innovation Strategy to tackle big, real-world problems in climate and health, by harnessing developments that we are seeing in longevity science and data innovation to maximise access to healthier, longer lives for everyone. Show less

Live Longer with AI examines how the latest cutting-edge developments are helping us to live longer, healthier and better too. It compels us to stop thinking that health is about treating disease and start regarding it as our greatest personal and societal asset to protect.

The book discusses the impact that AI has on understanding the cellular basis of aging and how our genes are influenced by our environment – with the pandemic highlighting the interconnectedness of human and planetary… Show more

Live Longer with AI examines how the latest cutting-edge developments are helping us to live longer, healthier and better too. It compels us to stop thinking that health is about treating disease and start regarding it as our greatest personal and societal asset to protect.

The book discusses the impact that AI has on understanding the cellular basis of aging and how our genes are influenced by our environment – with the pandemic highlighting the interconnectedness of human and planetary health. Show less

The landscape in which employers and candidates interact is changing as more job adverts are pushed online. Employment platforms (e.g., Indeed and LinkedIn) are now among the primary mechanisms for job posting, job search, and initial negotiations. Through such job platforms, a single job advert can now reach millions of people around the world. This exposure of a job advert has obvious benefits for the employer, but this exposure also has the power to alienate and exclude large portions of… Show more

The landscape in which employers and candidates interact is changing as more job adverts are pushed online. Employment platforms (e.g., Indeed and LinkedIn) are now among the primary mechanisms for job posting, job search, and initial negotiations. Through such job platforms, a single job advert can now reach millions of people around the world. This exposure of a job advert has obvious benefits for the employer, but this exposure also has the power to alienate and exclude large portions of society. Show less

The urban-rural dichotomy underpins the common approach in studying environmental conditions influencing older adults’ lives characterized by post-Second World War urban migration in both Italy and the United States (US). However, the traditional opposition urban-rural dichotomy is inadequate to study how the environmental characteristics of a geographical area can account for the heterogeneous profile of its populations and its age distribution. This study aims to overcome the traditional… Show more

The urban-rural dichotomy underpins the common approach in studying environmental conditions influencing older adults’ lives characterized by post-Second World War urban migration in both Italy and the United States (US). However, the traditional opposition urban-rural dichotomy is inadequate to study how the environmental characteristics of a geographical area can account for the heterogeneous profile of its populations and its age distribution. This study aims to overcome the traditional mobility theories as an explanatory dichotomy for understanding the distribution of the age structure of a given population. Show less

Autonomous longitudinal functional health assessment is critically important to support the rehabilitation of older adults in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). Although the wide availability of commodity smarthome sensors and internet-of-things (IoT) is facilitating continual monitoring of individuals' health-related vital signs and behaviors, missing values, presence of multi-inhabitants and diversity of smarthomes interfere with successful longitudinal assessment and impact the scalability… Show more

Autonomous longitudinal functional health assessment is critically important to support the rehabilitation of older adults in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs). Although the wide availability of commodity smarthome sensors and internet-of-things (IoT) is facilitating continual monitoring of individuals' health-related vital signs and behaviors, missing values, presence of multi-inhabitants and diversity of smarthomes interfere with successful longitudinal assessment and impact the scalability of autonomous health assessments. In this paper, we propose a novel scalable framework to provide health assessments of older adults living in varied smarthome environments. As a critical first step, we propose a novel algorithm to track individuals in a multi-inhabitant smarthome environment. We then propose a novel data curation technique to address missing sensor signals in a multi-modal ambient sensor-assisted environment. Finally, we propose a novel trajectory featurization method inspired Deep Convolutional Neural Network TDCNN, leveraging appropriate samples from a well-labeled source smarthome, to transfer functional health assessment knowledge to unlabeled diverse smarthomes, boosting the scalability of autonomous health assessment. Our evaluation on real SNFs data, collected over 5 months from 95 individuals residing in 9 diverse sensored SNFs environments shows promising results (93% accuracy) with respect to the scalability of our framework. Show less

Loneliness is an increasing risk factor for a growing global aging population. Its growth is such that even the popular press has recently taken up the topic and its impact on society. With implications that extend to personal, economic, and even societal well-being, business leaders, medical professionals, policy-makers, advocacy groups, and social service organizations should not only be aware, but also active, in understanding, identifying, and addressing the root causes of loneliness in… Show more

Loneliness is an increasing risk factor for a growing global aging population. Its growth is such that even the popular press has recently taken up the topic and its impact on society. With implications that extend to personal, economic, and even societal well-being, business leaders, medical professionals, policy-makers, advocacy groups, and social service organizations should not only be aware, but also active, in understanding, identifying, and addressing the root causes of loneliness in order to avert consequences. Show less

We wrote this brief book as a starting point, a catalyst,
and a conversation-opener for the technology community
and beyond. In it, you’ll find out why an aging population
poses such unique challenges – and opportunities. You’ll
hear how IBM collaborated with the Consumer Technology
Association Foundation to conduct fresh research in
an unconventional way. Our goal? To find new ways for
technology to improve the lives of older adults. We will
explore innovative ideas for… Show more

We wrote this brief book as a starting point, a catalyst,
and a conversation-opener for the technology community
and beyond. In it, you’ll find out why an aging population
poses such unique challenges – and opportunities. You’ll
hear how IBM collaborated with the Consumer Technology
Association Foundation to conduct fresh research in
an unconventional way. Our goal? To find new ways for
technology to improve the lives of older adults. We will
explore innovative ideas for serving this aging demographic
created by college-age visionaries with unfettered
imaginations. And we highlight strategies for moving
forward.
We want this book, and the dialogue it inspires, to help
define the challenges, crowdsource great ideas for new
innovations and approaches, and identify areas of major
potential. But most importantly, this book is an invitation
to all – technology innovators large and small, governing
bodies at all levels, non-profit organizations, solution
providers, and the growing population of aging individuals
and their caregivers.
Join us. Lend your voice to the dialogue. Create new
partnerships and innovations. Together, we can outthink
aging. Now is the time to start Show less

«Non è necessario che le ragazze si iscrivano». Questa frase campeggiava su un cartello che nel 2009 faceva bella mostra di sé all’Università della California. Per quanto offensiva possa sembrare, non è una pratica così inusuale tenere le donne fuori da faccende che gli uomini giudicano molto maschili come le scelte formative legate alle discipline STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. E mentre le ragazze sono «indirizzate» a occuparsi d’altro, non possiamo nemmeno immaginare… Show more

«Non è necessario che le ragazze si iscrivano». Questa frase campeggiava su un cartello che nel 2009 faceva bella mostra di sé all’Università della California. Per quanto offensiva possa sembrare, non è una pratica così inusuale tenere le donne fuori da faccende che gli uomini giudicano molto maschili come le scelte formative legate alle discipline STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. E mentre le ragazze sono «indirizzate» a occuparsi d’altro, non possiamo nemmeno immaginare, perché non abbiamo mai davvero potuto metterlo alla prova, un sistema socio-economico-politico globale realmente paritario. Reiteriamo lo stesso modello di cui siamo figli e in cui da un lato c’è «la società» e dall’altro centinaia di iniziative «al femminile», come se la società e la società al femminile fossero entità separate.

Ma qui non si tratta di studiare un algoritmo. Qui si tratta di sfruttare il talento, la conoscenza, la capacità, il merito, la diversità, nell’interesse di tutti. Non è la conquista di posizioni di potere e di leadership: è la scommessa del cambiamento proposto dalla società digitale, con tutti i suoi limiti e iperboli ma anche con quelle che sembrano essere oggettive opportunità-di-pari-opportunità, abilitate dall’apparente asessualità del codice binario.

La svolta è possibile, se le ragazze adesso, immediatamente, capiscono che sta a loro scegliere di percorrere strade in cui la necessità di competenze e capacità è semplicemente, oggettivamente maggiore e più urgente del retaggio della discriminazione. Alla nascente industria del digitale, dell’analisi dei dati, dei modelli predittivi servono scienziati preparati, intelligenti, in grado di cambiare i paradigmi e, perché no?, portatori di quella competenza, propria del femminile, che si forma nell’abitudine a occuparsi delle cose della vita, a saperci stare dentro. Show less

Yes, now we are experienced -- after 100 years of innovations and conceptual boomerangs launched without considering their impact and future trajectories -- it is time for a deeper (re)view about our relationship with technology. The acceleration from social media and the "light" techies is driving us toward an unknown future. In this scenario, where everything seems possible, where all seems clean and irreversible despite the final direction, employment, salary, life standards, privacy and… Show more

Yes, now we are experienced -- after 100 years of innovations and conceptual boomerangs launched without considering their impact and future trajectories -- it is time for a deeper (re)view about our relationship with technology. The acceleration from social media and the "light" techies is driving us toward an unknown future. In this scenario, where everything seems possible, where all seems clean and irreversible despite the final direction, employment, salary, life standards, privacy and level of happiness are far from what was expected or promised. It is time for a broader discussion about the outcome we want from all this techno-belief and how we can launch "boomerangs" we'll be able to handle toward the future, to built a more human and better world. A book which could address the efforts of a generation to come. Show less

IT'S TIME TO START TO CO-WORK!
In today’s business world, things are changing, shifting, morphing. Companies are looking for new ways to create value and grow while grappling with increasing complexity and the demand for greater efficiency and productivity - all within the context of the movement from industrial mechanization to knowledge and innovation.
People and their ideas are more important than ever. The social networking systems available today are poised to take full advantage of… Show more

IT'S TIME TO START TO CO-WORK!
In today’s business world, things are changing, shifting, morphing. Companies are looking for new ways to create value and grow while grappling with increasing complexity and the demand for greater efficiency and productivity - all within the context of the movement from industrial mechanization to knowledge and innovation.
People and their ideas are more important than ever. The social networking systems available today are poised to take full advantage of an enterprise’s employees’ capabilities. Organizations must decide whether or not to exploit the social network to:
— Break down their historical boundaries.
— Overcome a "we've always done it this way" philosophy.
— Redefine the concept of “working day” and of the work place as a whole.
— Embrace “ad hocratic” structures instead of hierarchical ones while questioning years of leadership.
— Be fully reinvented.
In a word, organizations must decide whether or not to get in the game and compete.
It's time to start to co-work.

E' TEMPO DI COLLAVORARE!
«Meno finanza e più società»: così suona oggi l’appello condiviso da più parti quando si tocchi il tema della crescita. Alla ricerca di una via nuova per generare quel valore che l’accumulazione capitalistica non è più in grado di garantire, in un contesto di complessità e connessione crescenti, dominato dai fattori intangibili della conoscenza e della capacità di innovazione, e dalla richiesta di un’efficienza sempre più spinta, il modello alternativo deve ripartire dall’interno delle imprese e dalle capacità delle persone. La domanda posta dal titolo di questo libro arriva a racchiudere un profondo riesame del proprio «essere impresa»: chiudersi o aprirsi? Resistere sul fronte dell’«abbiamo sempre fatto così» o mettersi in gioco? Ridefinire il concetto di giornata, così come di luogo di lavoro; immaginare strutture organizzative adhocratiche anziché gerarchiche: è arrivato il momento di iniziare a collavorare. Show less

My column on LINKIESTA online newspaper