`)})}();}catch(e) {console.error(e)}
return vwo_$('head')[0] && vwo_$('head')[0].lastChild;})("head")}}, C_940895_39_1_2_0:{ fn:function(log,nonce=''){return (function(x) {
try{
var _vwo_sel = vwo_$("`);
!vwo_$("head").find('#1740425171461').length && vwo_$('head').append(_vwo_sel);}catch(e) {console.error(e)}
try{}catch(e) {console.error(e)}
try{const getCurrentDate = (d = new Date()) => d.toISOString().split('T')[0];
function vwoCustomEvent (labelValue) {
window.VWO = window.VWO || [];
VWO.event = VWO.event || function () {VWO.push(["event"].concat([].slice.call(arguments)))};
VWO.event("customEvent", { "label": labelValue.toString() });
}
class RadioButtonComponent {
constructor (element) {
this.radio = element.querySelector('input[type="radio"]');
this.label = element.querySelector('label');
}
get value () {
let value = this.radio.value;
if (Number.isNaN(parseFloat(value)))
return value;
if (parseFloat(value) % 1 == 0)
return parseInt(value);
return parseFloat(value);
}
set value (newValue) {
this.radio.value = newValue;
}
get text () {
return this.label.textContent;
}
set text (newText) {
if (this.label.querySelector('.form-required')) {
const labelTextNode = [...this.label.childNodes].filter(({ nodeType }) => nodeType === Node.TEXT_NODE)[0];
labelTextNode.nodeValue = newText;
} else {
this.label.textContent = newText;
}
}
get checked () {
return this.radio.checked;
}
set checked (bool) {
this.click(),
bool === true && this.radio.checked === true;
}
click () {
this.label.click();
}
select () {
this.click();
}
addEventListener (eventType, callbackFunction) {
switch (eventType) {
case 'click':
this.label.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction);
case 'change':
default:
this.radio.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction);
}
}
}
class TextFieldComponent {
constructor (element) {
this.input = element.querySelector('input[type="text"]');
this.label = element.querySelector('label');
}
get value () {
return this.input.value;
}
set value (newValue) {
this.input.dispatchEvent(new Event('focus'));
this.input.value = newValue;
this.input.dispatchEvent(new Event('keyup'));
this.input.dispatchEvent(new Event('change'));
this.input.dispatchEvent(new Event('blur'));
}
get text () {
return this.input.placeholder;
}
set text (newText) {
this.input.placeholder = newText;
}
addEventListener (eventType, callbackFunction) {
this.input.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction);
}
}
class GiftArrayButton extends RadioButtonComponent {
constructor (element) {
super(element);
}
get amount () {
return this.value;
}
set amount (newAmount) {
if (Number.isNaN(parseInt(newAmount)) || parseInt(newAmount) <= 0)
throw new Error("New amount must be a valid number greater than 0.");
newAmount = parseInt(newAmount);
this.text = '$' + newAmount;
this.value = newAmount;
}
}
class GiftArrayOtherAmount extends TextFieldComponent {
constructor (element) {
super(element);
}
get amount () {
return parseFloat(this.value);
}
set amount (newAmount) {
if (Number.isNaN(parseInt(newAmount)) || parseInt(newAmount) <= 0)
throw new Error("New amount must be a valid number greater than 0.");
newAmount = parseFloat(newAmount);
this.value = newAmount;
this.input.dispatchEvent(new Event('updateSummary'));
}
}
class GiftArray extends Array {
constructor (items) {
if (!Array.isArray(items) && items.length === 0) {
throw new Error("GiftArray: Arugment 1 is not an instance of Array with a length greater than 0:" + items.join(', '));
}
if (items.every((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayButton || item instanceof GiftArrayOtherAmount)) {
if (items.find((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayOtherAmount)) {
let temp = items.find((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayOtherAmount);
items = items.filter((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayButton);
items.push(temp);
}
} else if (items.every((item) => item instanceof HTMLElement)) {
items = items.map((item) => item.matches(".webform-component-textfield") ? new GiftArrayOtherAmount(item) : new GiftArrayButton(item));
} else {
throw new Error("GiftArray: Arugment 1 is not of type HTMLElement, HTMLElement[], or GiftArrayButton|GiftArrayButton[]:" + items.join(', '));
}
super(...items);
this.Buttons = items.filter((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayButton);
this.OtherAmountInput = items.find((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayOtherAmount);
}
get amount () {
const activeButton = this.Buttons.find((item) => item.checked);
if (activeButton.value === "other") {
const otherButton = activeButton;
if (!otherButton) {
throw new Error("GiftArray.amount: Other Button was not defined.");
}
otherButton.click();
return this.OtherAmountInput.value;
} else {
return activeButton.value;
}
}
set amount (newAmount) {
if (Number.isNaN(parseInt(newAmount)) || parseInt(newAmount) <= 0)
throw new Error("New amount must be a valid number greater than 0.");
newAmount = parseFloat(newAmount);
const matchingButton = this.find((item) => item.value === newAmount);
if (matchingButton) {
matchingButton.click();
} else {
const otherButton = this.Buttons.find((item) => item.value === "other");
otherButton.click();
this.OtherAmountInput.amount = newAmount;
}
}
addEventListeners (eventType, callbackFunction, filter = undefined) {
if (filter && typeof filter === 'function') {
const filteredItems = this.filter((item) => filter.call(this, item));
filteredItems.forEach((item) => item.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction));
} else if (filter && typeof filter === 'string') {
if (filter.match(/buttons/gmi))
this.Buttons.forEach((item) => item.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction));
if (filter.match(/other/gmi))
this.OtherAmountInput.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction);
} else {
this.forEach((item) => item.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction));
}
}
}
class FrequencyButton extends RadioButtonComponent {
constructor (element) {
super(element);
}
get frequency () {
return this.text.match(/Monthly/gmi) ? "Monthly" : "One-Time";
}
set freqency (newAmount) {
if (Number.isNaN(parseInt(newAmount)) || parseInt(newAmount) <= 0)
throw new Error("New amount must be a valid number greater than 0.");
newAmount = parseInt(newAmount);
this.text = '$' + newAmount;
this.value = newAmount;
}
}
class FrequencyArray extends Array {
constructor (items) {
if (!Array.isArray(items) && items.length === 0) {
throw new Error("FrequencyArray: Arugment 1 is not an instance of Array with a length greater than 0:" + items.join(', '));
}
/*if (items.every((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayButton || item instanceof GiftArrayOtherAmount)) {
if (items.find((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayOtherAmount)) {
let temp = items.find((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayOtherAmount);
items = items.filter((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayButton);
items.push(temp);
}
} else*/ if (items.every((item) => item instanceof HTMLElement)) {
items = items.map((item) => item.matches(".webform-component-textfield") ? new GiftArrayOtherAmount(item) : new GiftArrayButton(item));
} else {
throw new Error("FrequencyArray: Arugment 1 is not of type HTMLElement or HTMLElement[]:" + items.join(', '));
}
super(...items);
this.Buttons = items.filter((item) => item instanceof GiftArrayButton);
}
get frequency () {
const activeButton = this.Buttons.find((item) => item.checked);
if (activeButton.value === "recurs")
return "monthly";
if (activeButton.value === "NO_RECURR")
return "one-time";
return activeButton.value;
}
set frequency (newFrequency) {
const reNewFrequencyValue = new RegExp(newFrequency, 'gmi');
const matchingButton = this.find((item) => item.value.match(reNewFrequencyValue) || item.text.match(reNewFrequencyValue));
matchingButton.click();
}
get recurring () {
return this.frequency === "monthly" ? true : false;
}
set recurring (bool) {
this.frequency = bool === true ? "monthly" : "one-time";
}
addEventListeners (eventType, callbackFunction, filter = undefined) {
if (filter && typeof filter === 'function') {
const filteredItems = this.filter((item) => filter.call(this, item));
filteredItems.forEach((item) => item.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction));
} else if (filter && typeof filter === 'string') {
if (filter.match(/buttons/gmi))
this.Buttons.forEach((item) => item.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction));
if (filter.match(/other/gmi))
this.OtherAmountInput.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction);
} else {
this.forEach((item) => item.addEventListener(eventType, callbackFunction));
}
}
}
//
const lockedProperty = { writable: false, configurable: false, enumerable: true };
function DonationFormAPI (elements, options = {}) {
const defaultOptions = {
min: 1.00,
max: 999999.99,
makeTabbed: false,
fakeSubmit: true,
overrideGiftArrayValues: false,
};
options = { ...defaultOptions, ...options };
//
const { frequencyRadios, submitButton, root } = elements;
const [ amountRadiosOnetime, amountRadiosMonthly ] = elements.amountRadios;
const oneTimeOtherAmountWrapper = amountRadiosOnetime.find((div) => !div.matches('.webform-component-textfield') || div.querySelector('input[type="text"]'));
const oneTimeRadioButtons = amountRadiosOnetime.filter((div) => div !== oneTimeOtherAmountWrapper);
const monthlyOtherAmountWrapper = amountRadiosMonthly.find((div) => !div.matches('.webform-component-textfield') || div.querySelector('input[type="text"]'));
const monthlyRadioButtons = amountRadiosMonthly.filter((div) => div !== monthlyOtherAmountWrapper);
const debug = {
log: (...args) => window.NA.DonationForm.DEBUG_MODE && console.log(...args),
info: (...args) => window.NA.DonationForm.DEBUG_MODE && console.log(...args),
warn: (...args) => window.NA.DonationForm.DEBUG_MODE && console.log(...args),
error: (...args) => window.NA.DonationForm.DEBUG_MODE && console.log(...args),
};
//
const api = new Object();
Object.defineProperty(api, 'root', {
value: root,
writable: false,
configurable: true,
enumerable: true,
});
Object.defineProperties(api, {
'FORM_MINIMUM': {
value: options.min || 0,
...lockedProperty
},
'FORM_MAXIMUM': {
value: options.max || Infinity,
...lockedProperty
},
});
Object.defineProperties(api, {
GiftArrays: {
value: {
"one-time": new GiftArray([ ...oneTimeRadioButtons, oneTimeOtherAmountWrapper ]),
"monthly": new GiftArray([ ...monthlyRadioButtons, monthlyOtherAmountWrapper ]),
},
writable: false,
configurable: true,
enumerable: true,
},
Frequencies: {
value: new FrequencyArray(frequencyRadios),
writable: false,
configurable: true,
enumerable: true,
},
SubmitButton: {
value: submitButton,
writable: false,
configurable: false,
enumerable: true,
}
});
Object.defineProperties(api, {
'getFrequency': {
value: async function () {
if (!this || this === null) throw new Error("validate: Unable to read API context.");
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
try {
resolve(this.Frequencies.frequency);
} catch (error) {
reject(error);
}
});
}, ...lockedProperty
},
'setFrequency': {
value: async function (frequency) {
if (!this || this === null) throw new Error("validate: Unable to read API context.");
return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
try {
this.Frequencies.frequency = frequency;
if (await this.getFrequency() === frequency)
resolve(frequency);
} catch (error) {
reject(error);
}
});
}, ...lockedProperty
},
'getAmount': {
value: async function (frequency = undefined) {
if (!this || this === null) throw new Error("validate: Unable to read API context.");
return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
try {
frequency = frequency || await this.getFrequency();
if (frequency && this.GiftArrays.hasOwnProperty(frequency)) {
const activeGiftArray = this.GiftArrays[frequency];
resolve(activeGiftArray.amount);
} else {
throw new Error("getAmount: Invalid frequency: " + frequency);
}
} catch (error) {
reject(error);
}
});
}, ...lockedProperty
},
'setAmount': {
value: async function (amount, frequency = undefined) {
if (!this || this === null) throw new Error("validate: Unable to read API context.");
return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
try {
const currentFrequency = await this.getFrequency();
if (!frequency) {
frequency = currentFrequency;
} else if (frequency !== currentFrequency) {
frequency = await this.setFrequency(frequency);
}
if (frequency && this.GiftArrays.hasOwnProperty(frequency)) {
const activeGiftArray = this.GiftArrays[frequency];
activeGiftArray.amount = amount;
} else {
throw new Error("setAmount: Invalid frequency: " + frequency);
}
if (await this.getAmount() === amount)
resolve(amount);
} catch (error) {
reject(error);
}
});
}, ...lockedProperty
},
'getRecurring': {
value: async function () {
if (!this || this === null) throw new Error("validate: Unable to read API context.");
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
try {
resolve(this.Frequencies.recurring);
} catch (error) {
reject(error);
}
});
}, ...lockedProperty
},
'setRecurring': {
value: async function (bool) {
if (!this || this === null) throw new Error("validate: Unable to read API context.");
return new Promise(async (resolve, reject) => {
try {
this.Frequencies.frequency = bool ? true : false;
if (await this.getRecurring() === bool)
resolve(bool);
} catch (error) {
reject(error);
}
});
}, ...lockedProperty
},
freqency: {
get () { return this.getFrequency() },
set (value) { this.setFrequency(value) },
enumerable: true, configurable: true,
},
amount: {
get () { return this.getAmount() },
set (value) { this.setAmount(value) },
enumerable: true, configurable: true,
},
recurring: {
get () { return this.getRecurring() },
set (value) { this.setRecurring(value) },
enumerable: true, configurable: true,
},
});
Object.defineProperties(api, {
'submit': {
value: async function (condition = this.validate||function(){return true}) {
//this.hooks['onBeforeSubmit'].forEach((callback) => callback.call(this));
let result;
const isAsyncFunction = (func) => func.constructor.name === "AsyncFunction";
if (Array.isArray(condition)) {
if (condition.every((c) => typeof c === 'function' && isAsyncFunction(c))) {
result = await Promise.all(condition.map(async (c) => await c.call(this)));
} else if (condition.every((c) => typeof c === 'function')) {
result = condition.every((c) => c.call(this));
} else if (condition.every((c) => c === true || c === false)) {
result = condition.every((c) => c);
}
} else if (typeof condition === 'function' && isAsyncFunction(condition)) {
result = await condition.call(this);
} else if (typeof condition === 'function') {
result = condition.call(this);
} else if (condition === true || condition === false) {
result = condition;
} else {
console.error("Unknown error.");
debugger;
}
//
if (result === true) {
if (window.NA.DonationForm.hasOwnProperty("DEBUG_MODE") && window.NA.DonationForm["DEBUG_MODE"] == true)
return console.log("Submit aborted (debug mode is enabled).");
this.SubmitButton.click(),
this.hooks['onSubmit'].forEach((callback) => callback.call(this));
//this.hooks['onAfterSubmit'].forEach((callback) => callback.call(this));
} else {
return console.log("Submit failed (conditions did not evaluate to true).");
}
}, ...lockedProperty
},
'interceptSubmit': {
value: function (handleInterceptedSubmit = () => { return new Promise((resolve) => resolve(undefined)) }) {
try {
window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy = window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy || createNewSubmitButton(window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButton, { cloneOriginal: false, hideOriginal: true, observeOriginal: false });
window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy.addEventListener('click', async (event) => {
event.preventDefault(), event.stopPropagation();
const shouldFormSubmit = await handleInterceptedSubmit.call(this, event);
if (shouldFormSubmit) {
console.info("Submit allowed by initial interceptSubmit callback function resulting in a truthy evaluation.");
const formIsValid = await window.NA.DonationForm.validate();
if (!formIsValid) { // if submit allowed but there are known errors in the form
console.warn("Form has known errors. Attempting to submit to show errors then retrying.");
console.log("Submitting...");
window.NA.DonationForm.submit(true); // submit anyway to trigger the error to be shown
window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButton.style.setProperty("display", "none"), debug.info("SubmitButton hidden."), // hide the original submit button again
window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy.style.setProperty("display", "none"), debug.info("SubmitButtonCopy hidden."); // hide the copy of the submit button again
window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy.style.removeProperty("display"), debug.info("SubmitButtonCopy unhidden."); // show the copy of the submit button
} else {
console.log("Submitting...");
window.NA.DonationForm.submit(true);
}
} else {
console.log("Submit prevented.");
console.info("Next submit will be allowed.");
window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButton.style.removeProperty("display"), debug.info("SubmitButton unhidden."); // show the original submit button so that if something goes wrong the user can still click the submit button
window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy.style.setProperty("display", "none"), debug.info("SubmitButtonCopy hidden."); // hide the copy of the submit button that intercepts submit attempts so that there aren't two buttons
}
});
console.log("Submit intercept added.\nButton:", window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy);
} catch (error) {
console.error("Failed to add submit intercept:", error);
}
}, ...lockedProperty
},
'validate': {
value: async function (root = undefined) {
if (!this || this === null)
throw new Error("validate: Unable to read API context.");
root = root || this.root;
const flattenArray = (array) => array.reduce((flat, toFlatten) => flat.concat(Array.isArray(toFlatten) ? flattenArray(toFlatten) : toFlatten), []);
try {
const freqency = await this.getFrequency(),
amount = await this.getAmount();
if (!freqency || !amount)
return false;
if (amount < this.FORM_MINIMUM || amount > this.FORM_MAXIMUM)
return console.error("validate:", "Gift amount is invalid:", amount), false;
let requiredFields = Array.from(root.querySelectorAll('label:has(.form-required)'))
.map((label) => document.getElementById(label.htmlFor) || (label.nextElementSibling || label.previousElementSibling))
.filter((_) => !!_) // remove blanks
.filter((field) => {
if (field.name && field.name.includes('[payment_information]'))
return false;
return true;
})
.map((field) => {
if (field.matches("div"))
return [...field.querySelectorAll('input')];
return field;
})
requiredFields = flattenArray(requiredFields);
const valid = requiredFields.every((input) => {
const type = input.tagName.toLowerCase() === 'select' ? 'select' : input.type;
const { name, value, id } = input;
//console.log(type, name, value);
if (name === 'submitted[payment_information][payment_fields][credit][card_number]') {
if (value && value.length === 16)
return true;
return console.error("validate:", name+':', "CC is invalid."), false;
}
if (name === 'submitted[leadership_circle]')
return true;
if (name === 'submitted[donation][other_amount]' || name === 'submitted[donation][recurring_other_amount]')
if (amount)
return true;
switch (type) {
case 'email':
const emailRegex = /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/;
if (!emailRegex.test(value))
return console.error("validate:", name+':', "Email address is invalid.\n", input, value), false;
return true;
case 'tel':
if (!value || value.length < 10)
return console.error("validate:", name+':', "Phone number is invalid.\n", input, value), false;
return true;
case 'select':
case 'radio':
case 'text':
if (!value || value.length === 0)
return console.error("validate:", name+':', "Field is invalid.\n", input, value), false;
return true;
default:
debug.log("default");
return true;
}
/*if (!value || value.length === 0)
return false;*/
});
return valid;
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
return false;
}
}, ...lockedProperty
},
//'makeTabbed': { value: function(){} },
'DonationInterrupter': {
value: { init: initDonationInterrupter.bind(api) },
enumerable: true,
configurable: true,
writable: true,
}
});
initHooks(api, ['onFrequencyChange', 'onAmountChange', 'onTrySubmit', 'onSubmit']);
api.Frequencies.addEventListeners('change', (event) => {
if (event.target.checked) {
api.hooks['onFrequencyChange'].forEach((callback) => {
callback.call(api, event.target.value);
});
}
});
Object.entries(api.GiftArrays).forEach(([ key, GiftArray ]) => {
GiftArray.addEventListeners('change', (event) => {
if (event.target.checked) {
api.hooks['onAmountChange'].forEach((callback) => {
callback.call(api, event.target.value);
});
}
});
});
api.SubmitButton.addEventListener('click', (event) => {
api.hooks['onTrySubmit'].forEach((callback) => callback.call(api, event));
});
api.root.addEventListener('submit', (event) => {
api.hooks['onSubmit'].forEach((callback) => callback.call(api, event));
});
if (options.makeTabbed)
api.makeTabbed();
/*if (options.fakeSubmit)
window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy = window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButtonCopy || createNewSubmitButton(window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButton, { cloneOriginal: false, hideOriginal: true, observeOriginal: false });*/
return api;
}
function createNewSubmitButton (originalSubmitButton = window.NA.DonationForm.SubmitButton, options = {}) {
const defaultOptions = {
cloneOriginal: true,
hideOriginal: true,
observeOriginal: true,
};
options = { ...defaultOptions, ...options };
const newSubmitButton = document.createElement('button');
//newSubmitButton.id = "submit-button-copy";
newSubmitButton.classList.add("btn");
newSubmitButton.textContent = originalSubmitButton.value;
originalSubmitButton.after(newSubmitButton);
options.hideOriginal && originalSubmitButton.style.setProperty("display", "none");
return newSubmitButton;
}
function initHooks (api, hookNames = []) {
const hooks = Object.fromEntries(hookNames.map((hookName) => ([hookName, new Array()])));
Object.defineProperty(api, 'hooks', {
value: hooks,
...lockedProperty
});
}
function initDonationInterrupter (options = {}) {
const getExpId = () => {
let experiments = window._vwo_exp;
experiments = Object.entries(window._vwo_exp);
let id = experiments.find(([id, data]) => {
const name = data.name;
return name.match(/Donation Interrupter/);
})[1]?.id;
return id;
};
const getExpVariation = (id) => {
let experiment = window._vwo_exp[id];
return experiment.combination_chosen || experiment.combination_selected;
};
const defaultOptions = {
id: [ 'VWO', getExpId(), getExpVariation(getExpId()) ].join('-'),
tokenName: ("NA__MPR_DonationInterrupter:" + [ 'VWO', getExpId(), getExpVariation(getExpId()) ].join('-')),
min: 10,
max: 100,
askAmount: (originalAmount) => {
if (originalAmount > 500) // $500+
return false; // don't show
if (originalAmount >= 400) // $400-$500
return 50;
if (originalAmount >= 300) // $300-$399
return 40;
if (originalAmount >= 200) // $200-$299
return 30;
if (originalAmount >= 100) // $100-$199
return 15;
if (originalAmount < 100) // $100-
return 10;
return false;
},
askFrequency: (originalFrequency) => {
return "monthly";
},
popupHTML: {
headingHTML: (`
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet
`),
bodyHTML: (`
Consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed nec egestas turpis, hendrerit semper nisl. Pellentesque auctor ipsum at
pharetra eleifend. Pellentesque a rhoncus turpis, ut tempus nibh. Donec vel dui hendrerit nisi imperdiet
tincidunt. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos.
Duis efficitur dolor ut nisl blandit imperdiet. Nullam pretium est nunc, tincidunt viverra ligula dapibus.
Duis malesuada:
dui eu venenatis volutpat
urna libero posuere lectus
non tincidunt mauris ligula consectetur felis
lacinia hendrerit enim at molestie
Sed placerat fringilla consequat. Nullam eu pellentesque sem?
The International Federation of Robotics says interest in professional service robots is largely driven by staff shortages and lack of applicants. Ivan Bajic via Getty Images
Are robots the answer to the shortage of elder care workers?
The International Federation of Robotics says interest in professional service robots is largely driven by staff shortages and lack of applicants. Ivan Bajic via Getty Images
Older Americans are living longer than before on average. That means there is more demand for long-term care services. A Wells Fargo report from earlier this year, for example, estimated that 1.7 million more people will need some form of elder care 10 years from now. But the elder care industry is already having trouble hiring and keeping enough workers. Is this yet another industry that might solve some of its problems with the use of automation?
A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research on robots in Japanese nursing homes, which face similar challenges, offers some intriguing insights. Marketplace’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been taking a closer look. He spoke with “Marketplace Morning Report” host Sabri Ben-Achour. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Sabri Ben-Achour: What kinds of things do these robots do? I mean, are these robots actually helping people out of bed and helping them walk down the hall? What do they do?
Chris Farrell: Yeah, some of them are helping people walk down the hall. Some of it is they’ll interact with people, perhaps sing songs and, yes, and helping people out of bed.
Ben-Achour: So what kind of conclusions did these economists draw from looking at the data of how these robots worked out?
Farrell: It’s essentially a suggestive story about the positive impact of automation at work. And they found that robots are largely complementary to the elder care job done by care workers and nursing staff. Now, robots took over some tasks, but automation allowed workers to spend more time and effort on the kind of caregiving tasks that benefit from human touch and empathy. And the researchers found that productivity, revenue, quality and quantity of care improved after nursing homes adopted robots. Overall employment went up, although there was a slight decline in full-time care workers. Quit rates went down.
Ben-Achour: I understand that you have actually seen these kinds of robots in action here in the U.S.
Farrell: That’s right. And the memorable one is when I visited Mom in 2019 at Knollwood Military Retirement Community in Washington, D.C. And she introduced me to Stevie II, a very friendly looking robot created at Trinity College Dublin. Stevie is what they call a “socially assistive” robot with artificial intelligence features. And the robot was nearly 5 feet tall, and it sang a very nice version of “Danny Boy.”
Ben-Achour: Oh, my gosh. What did your mom think of that robot?
Farrell: I was shocked. She was impressed by the robot, although she did get annoyed at herself for apologizing to Stevie when she got in Stevie’s way. But my mom wasn’t a fan of new technology — I mean, believe me. But she really said that, in the community, Stevie showed genuine promise at supplementing workers at their jobs and interacting with community residents.
Ben-Achour: How far, based on this, do you think robots could go in the service sector?
Farrell: I think they’re going to go really far. I mean, robots, they are spreading already into the service sector, even businesses like health care and elder care, retail and hospitality and logistics, just to name a few. And the International Federation of Robotics says interest in professional service robots is largely driven by staff shortages and lack of applicants. One implication of this study is that the fear of job loss with robots may be exaggerated, but more important, the opportunity for greater job satisfaction and customer experience with robots, I think it’s tantalizing.
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