abstract: The aim of this study is to test the feasibility of building a storytelling system for older adults to tell and share their life stories based on email. It is measured by the level of participation and people's acceptance of the system. The central goals were to empower people over 60 years old by providing a platform for them to share their wonderful life experience and perspectives on life and lead social services into the digital age by bridging traditional roundtable interaction and modern digital communication. A prototype was built to test the level of participation of the system and follow-up interviews were conducted in order to deeply understand people's acceptance. Content analysis was used to analyze the stories to ascertain what common themes were present. Key design considerations and key factors that affect the feasibility of storytelling system were discussed. This research expands on current research and implementation of Internet-based storytelling system and shed light on the future of combining storytelling with older adults' existing Internet knowledge. Key findings of this research are :(1) Frequency of reminiscence trigger and the number of active participants affect the level of participation collectively. Frequency is considered to be a key determinant. High frequency indicates high level of participation. (2) Categories of topics do not affect the level of participation significantly but serve as key attractions that enhance people's acceptance of the system. (3) Older adults highly accept and get involved in the new email storytelling system. This storytelling program helps them recall their memories and have a profound effect on their own introspection. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.D. Design 2014

Diploma thesis "Utilization of reminiscence in terms of clients' activation in home for the elderly" deals with remembering and its use for working in homes for the elderly. It defines reminiscence, group reminiscence in particular, describing its benefits and possibilities for application. Object of this work is to present reminiscence from the view of reminiscence assistant, record development of reminiscence group and outline some practical recommendation for the work. Theoretical part is devoted to the problems of old age, aging, description of homes for elderly and associated topics. It is focused on reminiscence, defining its theoretical basis and critical founds. It also deals with group reminiscence and the basic principles of its application. Practical part is focused on the activity of a concrete reminiscence group describing its development and details of individual reminiscence meetings including arisen situations. Based on practical example it provides data concerning progress of the reminiscence group and its functioning from the view of a reminiscence assistant. In the conclusion concise practical recommendation for working with reminiscence group are presented.