This research addressed how older adults experience their mobile phones in their everyday lives and how mobile phones could be designed to best meet their needs. Two studies were conducted using a mixed-research method to identify representative user clusters and to understand user experiences. In Study 1, 154 older adult mobile phone users completed a questionnaire to investigate 1) functional usage, 2) perception about mobile phone quality, and 3) other aspects of user experiences (e.g., motivations of acquisition and learning method). Results showed that older adults are generally conservative mobile phone users who use a few functions of mobile phones and perceive their phone to be difficult to use. Understanding error messages, menu navigation, and text input were found to be most difficult for them. Female users perceived their phones to be more difficult to use than male users. Three user clusters (explorers, basicians, and minimalists) were identified based on mobile phone usage behavior, and their characteristics were described. User satisfaction was effected by three attributes of mobile phones: usefulness, ease of use, and pleasure of use, indicating that developers need to focus on improving all factors when designing a mobile phone for older adults. Study 2 used a more holistic approach to describe older adults' user experiences. The aims of Study 2 were 1) to capture stories that reflected user experiences, 2) to identify barriers that older adults faced through the course of user experience and 3) to provide recommendations to improve user experiences. Qualitative data was collected in the form of existential phenomenology-based interviews. Twelve older adult mobile phone users (over age 56), representing the three clusters found from Study 1, participated in this study. The domestication of technology theory was adopted as a framework to describe instances and themes represented in users' utterances and behaviors. Results showed that, regardless of their abilities to operate technology, older adults used a limited number of mobile phone functions because of their parsimonious cost-benefit analyses when integrating technologies into their lives. A theoretical explanation for this phenomenon was provided using socio-emotional selectivity theory. Barriers (perceptual, cognitive, attitudinal, knowledge, and information barriers) were found to hinder older adults' utilization of mobile phone technology over the four dimensions of the domestication process (appropriation, objectification, incorporation, and conversion). Recommendations to resolve those barriers were provided and related to published literature. This study proved that the domestication of technology theory can be a useful analytical tool for describing and understanding user experiences and capturing users' needs. Detailed discussion about its applicability to user needs analysis process was provided. A set of user requirements along with diverse user profiles were developed as outcomes of this research. / Ph. D.

This study is an attempt for providing a socio-historical perspective to the smart home concept that is a proposal for the future domestic sphere by the application of intelligent technologies. For achieving this attempt, the smart home is investigated with its roots within the social history of domestic technology, by posing the question of a relation between the machine house idea of modern architecture and the smart home concept as the main question of the research. After an inquiry on the smart home concept and on the future private sphere that is envisaged within it, the emergence of modern private sphere, the transformation of private sphere under the impacts of industrialization, the appearance and the social consequences of the machine house idea, the introduction of mass produced appliances to the home and the impacts of it on private sphere, the development of communication and information technologies and their domestication processes are investigated. The coconstructive relationship of technology with the private sphere is pursued throughout this investigation. The research questions of the study are answered in the light of the gained knowledge and critical perspective throughout the investigations. At the end, it is revealed that the smart home has conceptual, technical, and ideological constructive roots within the histories of the modern private sphere, modern architecture and design, and domestic communication and information technologies. It is discussed that these roots constitute the smart home as a domain of social reproduction, which also provides the ground for its conceptualization and promotion as the future domestic sphere.