DefinePK

Abstract

There is a need for activities that promote the use of technology among the elderly. Mobile applications (M apps) open up new opportunities for improving the quality of life for the elderly. However, the cognitive psychology of design is unable to recognize human preferences of the interface. To overcome this problem, a different approach to interface design is required. Activity theory is used commonly to provide suitable concepts and contexts to help researchers analyse and design activities for mobile applications. It helps identify ineffective aspects of the user interface design. Activity theory includes notions of history, mediation, intentionality, understanding, motivation, community, culture and is proven to improve interface design. It is also used to investigate and improve the understanding of the behavior of the individuals when interacting with technology and how the related social entities interact with technology such as mobile applications for daily activities. This paper explains the reasons for using activity theory as a methodology to study the interaction between elderly Arabs and the user interface of mobile applications. It also describes the problems faced by elderly Arabs when using mobile applications’ user interface (mapps UI) and their preference. Based on this, the paper then designs a mobile health application based on their preferences using activity theory.