Profile
Dr. Kobayashi is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and a Research Affiliate with the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health at the University of Victoria. She is also the Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
She is a social gerontologist who uses a life course perspective to explore the intersections of structural, cultural, and individual factors/experiences affecting health and aging in the Canadian population. She has been nominated to and held positions in the Canadian Sociological Association and the Canadian Association on Gerontology, and is currently co-leader of the Ethnicity and Aging theme team for the National Initiative for the Care of the Elderly (NICE). Karen sits on the CIHR-IA’s Social Dimensions of Aging review committee, and has been a reviewer for SSHRC in both their standard research grant and CURA competitions. She is a member of the MSFHR’s Research Trainee Fellowship Committee in Population Health, and locally is part of the CLSA’s local organizing committee. AGE-WELL Funded ProjectsOutputs
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Catalyst Program (2017) – Implementing changes in technology development practices that protects users’ security and privacy (AWCAT - 2017- 109)Our aim is to improve the practices of AGE-WELL members when developing technologies, so that they become international leaders in ethical development and commercialization of technologies for the elderly with cognitive
impairments. Persons with cognitive impairments constitute about a quarter of the aging population. They have trouble remembering, learning, concentrating, or making decisions affecting everyday life. They benefit from the use of information
and communication technologies (ICT) that are known as cognitive assistive technologies, because of the support they provide to independent living. However, the elderly with cognitive impairments are among the most vulnerable to privacy
breaches and their use of technology raises many ethical concerns. For example, many of these individuals
misunderstand who has access to the information being recorded by ICT. Currently, safety and monitoring of these
individuals supersede privacy considerations. Furthermore, technology developers often lack awareness of the privacy and
security regulations, and struggle with applying best practices within a sustainable business plan. We propose an
Implementation of Change process, which is a knowledge mobilization process leading to improved professional practices.
It is a 7-step process and this grant will fund the first two steps. We will conduct an analysis of AGE-WELL members’
security and privacy practices, and identify areas of improvements and targets for change. This will inform the following
steps of the process, and lead to increased awareness of privacy and security regulations and best practices when
developing ICT for persons with cognitive impairments. The team includes the AGE-WELL CC1 leads who will use the
proposed project as a pilot testing of knowledge mobilization strategies among the network members. This project and the
subsequent steps of the model will lead to improved practices among AGE-WELL members and beyond, and will therefore
contribute to make available technologies that respect the privacy and security of their users.8.3 PRIV-SENSE CHEO Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, University of Toronto | Scientific Excellence - Leadership | 2017-07-19 | | Protecting the Privacy of Persons with Cognitive Impairments in the Development of TechnologiesPoster presentation 8.3 PRIV-SENSE CHEO Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, University of Toronto | Scientific Excellence - Advancing Knowledge | 2017-10-17 | | Interactive Web-based Platform of Privacy Laws, and Information and Training Resources in Canada This Drinks N’ Demos showcases one major output of this project. It consists of a web-based platform presenting a scan of Canadian privacy laws and related information and training resources relevant to technology developers. The purpose of this platform is to inform AGE-WELL members on the regulations existing in Canada to protect the privacy of all citizens. The platform was designed to be interactive and engaging to allow individuals to navigate to sections that are of interest to them CHEO Research Institute, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières | KTEE - Knowledge Mobilization | 2018-10-16 | |
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