This study undertakes a comparative analysis of the negative stereotypes of older persons described by young and older adult university students at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. This study is innovative in that it compares three analytical perspectives: the perception of young students (18–27 years); the perception of older adult students (50 years and above) regarding older persons (hetero-stereotypes); and, finally, the perception of older adult students with regard to themselves as part of the group of older adult students (self-stereotypes). The sample is made up of 460 young students and 148 older adult students who completed the Questionnaire on Negative Ageing Stereotypes (QNAS), comprising three dimensions: health; character and personality; and social relationships and motivation. A statistical analysis was subsequently carried out using the independent samples t-test in the IBM Statistics 19.0 program. Of note among the principal results is the low level of negative stereotypes reported among the groups studied, as well as the existence of significant differences in their means, which indicate that the negative stereotypes of the groups differed. The most stereotyped of the dimensions analyzed was character and personality. In contrast, the least-stereotyped dimension was that of social relationships and motivation. Finally, the dimension of health occupied an intermediate position. With regard to the three perspectives studied, the older adult group (hetero-stereotypes) was the most stereotyped, followed by the young students and, finally, the older adult students with reference to self-stereotypes.

This paper presents a case study of the Local Care Ecosystems developed by the provincial government of Gipuzkoa (Basque Country, Spain) to strengthen coordination between social services, health services, and community-based initiatives at the municipal level. The initiative seeks to personalize care, enhance service integration, and support community-based care with the overarching goal of improving the quality of life for older adults living at home. These ecosystems incorporate social, institutional, and technological innovations aimed at supporting individuals who are frail or vulnerable throughout the care cycle. At present, 18 Local Care Ecosystems are active, providing services to 1202 people over the age of 65 and 167 families. The model addresses a growing global challenge linked to population aging, which has led to increasing demand for care and support services that are often fragmented, under-resourced, and constrained by outdated regulatory frameworks. These structural issues can compromise both the quality and efficiency of care for dependent individuals. Based on the findings, the paper offers policy recommendations to support the transfer and adaptation of this model, with the aim of improving the well-being of older adults who wish to remain in their own homes.

Los grupos de más edad se benefician menos de los dispositivos tecnológicos que los grupos más jóvenes. En este trabajo se analiza cómo influye el modo en que los mayores aprenden a utilizar las tecnologías digitales en el grado de competencia que adquieren. En concreto, nos centraremos en los aprendizajes intergeneracionales y familiares para medir en qué grado pueden ser determinantes a la hora de cambiar actitudes y potenciar un uso mejor aprovechado de los dispositivos digitales.El principal hallazgo es que la apropiación de las tecnologías digitales de los mayores depende de la configuración de distintos factores. Para adquirir competencias digitales de manera efectiva no existe un único modelo de aprendizaje, sino que para elegir el más adecuado se deben tener en cuenta los factores relacionales y motivacionales.

In conditions of liquid modernity, marked by accelerated technological change, the virtualization of essential services, and the erosion of stable institutional support, digital participation in later life is less a matter of initial access than of continuously renegotiating engagement within unstable socio-technical environments. While established technology adoption models such as TAM, UTAUT, and STAM have provided robust explanations of cognitive and age-related determinants of adoption, they remain limited in accounting for the relational processes through which technological engagement is learned, stabilized, and sustained over time. This article advances a relational perspective on technology appropriation by foregrounding the role of warm experts—trusted informal supporters who mediate learning, interpretation, and adaptation in everyday contexts. Moving beyond dyadic understandings of assistance, the paper conceptualizes mediation as a distributed ecology of roles embedded within relational networks that both enable and constrain digital inclusion. Building on this perspective, the study proposes the Relational Technology Appropriation Model (RELTAM) as a general multi-level architecture integrating individual determinants, relational mediation processes, and network-level support configurations within a dynamic framework of appropriation. The Relational (Older Adult) Technology Appropriation Model (REL(OA)TAM) is introduced as a context-specific instantiation of this broader framework, calibrated to the distinctive conditions of later life. By incorporating temporal instability and mediation ecologies as structural components, REL(OA)TAM offers a socially grounded account of digital inclusion as an ongoing process of adaptive negotiation within the fluid and uncertain conditions of liquid modernity.

This paper presents the quantitative research results of a comprehensive study titled “Current Profile of Older Adults in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain).” The study aims to understand and describe the characteristics of individuals aged 65 and above within this autonomous region, with a focus on the variables of sex, age, and habitat. A cross-sectional approach was employed, utilizing quantitative methods to collect data. To gather information, a customized questionnaire was developed to address the study objectives, covering various aspects such as sociodemographic factors, living conditions, leisure activities, social participation, and cultural interests. The survey was conducted via telephone, ensuring representation by employing gender quotas, age-group stratification, and considerations for habitat size. A representative sample of 1,065 participants was included in the study. The findings reveal a degree of homogeneity in the lifestyles of older adults, with discernible variations influenced by factors such as sex, habitat, and age. These results shed light on the diverse habits and experiences of older adults, emphasizing the significance of habitat conditions, social participation, and the aging process.

This article analyses how the simultaneous pursuit of green decarbonisation and digital transformation—the twin transition—generates disproportionate structural burdens on marginalised social groups. Drawing on Max Weber’s ideal‐type methodology (Idealtypus) and Spanish statistical evidence, it develops six prototypical profiles of structural exclusion across key twin‐transition sectors: urban mobility and transport, the platform and gig economy, rural energy and depopulation, digital public infrastructure and smart cities, digital agriculture, and urban renovation. Each profile identifies the mechanisms through which green and digital policies impose unequal costs on vulnerable groups, examining the resulting dynamics of institutional disaffection, potential political radicalisation, and common structural patterns. Comparative analysis identifies four recurring exclusion mechanisms—the upfront cost barrier, the digital literacy gateway, the geographic penalty, and knowledge disqualification—tracing a common pathway from structural exclusion to political disaffection. The article concludes by proposing five governance principles grounded in community work and participatory governance, offering a framework transferable to comparable EU contexts.