Extended deadline: Music, Ageing, Technology Symposium (Joensuu, Finland, May 11-13 2016)

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It’s not too late to apply! The deadline for the Music, Ageing, Technology Symposium at the University of Eastern Finland has been extended to February 29th, 2016.

In May 2016, the University of Eastern Finland, the Finnish Society for Ethnosicology, and Concordia’s  Ageing, Communication, Technologies project (ACT), will bring together researchers from music studies and various other disciplines in order to discuss music in relation to ageing and technology. The  Music, Ageing, Technology Symposium will be held in the Joensuu campus of the University of Eastern Finland, from May 11th to 13th, 2016.

Participants of the symposium will look at all genres of music and ageing, often in the context of modern communication technology. The symposium hopes to offer multilayered and critical perspectives on the crosscuttings of digital technologies and ageing in relation to music studies and to explore how these approaches relate to other research traditions. The theme is closely linked to the University of  Eastern Finland’s current research orientations surrounding human sciences and technology. 

Possible topics for proposals include, but are not limited to, the following themes:

· Music, musicians, and everyday ageing
· Theoretical and methodological ear points on research into music, ageing, technology
· Music genres and ageing
· Perspectives on historical research on ageing and music
· Sounds of generations and musical heritage
· Music, soundscape, memory
· Age, technology and music education
· Well-being, age, and music
· Other themes from all fields of music research

Organisers invite potential participants to submit  proposals for oral presentations (maximum length 20 minutes), panel sessions, and poster presentations. Proposals can be strictly or indirectly related to the theme of the symposium. It is also possible to propose presentations that are entirely outside the theme. Presentations can be given in Finnish, Swedish or English.

Abstracts for the symposium should be submitted by February 29, 2016 using the online submission system. All accepted abstracts will be announced on March 21, 2016.

The online submission system and the web page of the symposium can be found at http://joensuusymposium2016.blogspot.fi/ 

Kim Sawchuk

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Kim Sawchuk

Kim Sawchuk, Principal Investigator of the ACT team,  is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Concordia University, Concordia University Research Chair in Mobile Media Studies and the Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies- Faculty of Arts and Science. Sawchuk has been writing on age, ageing and its cultural impact since 1996. She is most well-known for her research on “seniors and cell phones” conducted with Dr Barbara Crow of York University as well her research-creation work in Critical Disability Studies. Sawchuk is a co-founder of the Mobile Media Lab (York-Concordia) located in Concordia’s Department of Communication Studies. She has just completed a six-year term as the editor of the Canadian Journal of Communications (www.cjc-online.ca) and she is the co-editor of Wi: journal of mobile media (www.wi-not.ca). In addition to her academic research, in 1996 Sawchuk co-founded of StudioXX,  a feminist research and media arts centre in Montréal.


Constance Lafontaine

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Constance Lafontaine is the Associate Director of ACT and works with the Director to manage the project from Concordia University. As part of her work with ACT, Constance develops and leads participatory action research and research creation projects with Montreal-based partners. She also explores the intersections of animality and human and non-human ageing, including probing multi-species temporalities. Constance is also completing a PhD in Communication Studies at Concordia University, where she focuses on the intersections between discourses of global warming and contemporary animal spectacles, focussing on polar bear displays in Canada. She has completed undergraduate degrees in Communication and Political Science and a Master of Arts in Communication at the University of Ottawa.


Kendra Besanger

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Kendra is the Communications Advisor for ACT. She works to amplify ACT’s work by creating opportunities to share network research with other researchers and the general public.

She also helps organize and facilitate community-based research initiatives and participatory learning opportunities. She’s been a key organizing member of ENoLL, Age 3.0 (2016, 2017), and various other intergenerational workshops and ACT events.

During the summer of 2014, Kendra worked as a research consultant for the Mediated Street Spaces project where she helped establish creative methods for thinking about accessibility and inclusivity of older adults in public space.

Kendra has a master’s degree (Media Studies) from Concordia University. She has previously taught communication and writing courses at McGill University and has worked in both municipal government and non-profit sectors.

Barbara Crow

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Dr. Crow was appointed Dean of Arts and Science (Queen’s University) in July 2017. She is responsible for overseeing the overall operations of the Faculty of Arts and Science, including developing and supporting the Faculty’s long- and short-term goals, policies, fundraising efforts, strategic initiatives and academic priorities.  Dr. Crow provides leadership to the Associate Deans and Senior Leadership Team of Arts and Science while guiding the Faculty’s growth and development. Reporting to the Provost, the Dean ensures that initiatives within the Faculty of Arts and Science are in alignment with the university’s strategic goals and objectives.

Dr. Crow’s research interests lie in the areas of feminism, aging, and technology, the ways in which they intersect, and specifically the various impacts of digital technology.  In addition to her research, Dr. Crow is a co-founder of the Mobile Media Lab and of Wi: A journal of Mobile Media.  She is also currently a co-principal investigator on the ACT Project (Ageing, Communication, and Technologies).  Learn more about  Dr. Crow’s research here.

Prior to joining Queen’s, Dr. Crow was the Associate Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies at York University. She holds a BAH in Political Science and Women’s Studies, and an MA and PhD in sociology.


Fannie Valois-Nadeau

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Fannie Valois Nadeau

Dr. Fannie Valois-Nadeau is a postdoctoral researcher co-supervised by Professor Kim Sawchuk at Concordia University and Professor Samantha King at Queen’s University. Her postdoctoral research explores the articulations between active ageing discourses, the culture of philanthropy and “retromarketing” practices within the Canadiens Alumni Association. Her work is part of a critical reflection about ageing in public and the political context of ageing in Quebec. Her research interests are situated in cultural studies, memory studies, ageing studies and sport studies. She is currently student rep for the ACT network.

After a MA and a BA in Sociology at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Dr. Fannie Valois-Nadeau has completed her PhD in the Joint Program in Communication at Université de Montréal (UdM). Under the supervision of Dr. Line Grenier, her doctoral dissertation explores the centennial anniversary of the Montreal Canadien hockey team and proposes a communicational approach to “doing memory”. This project has brought into light the valorization of intergenerational relations in the Montreal Canadien discourse and produces a critical reflection on its commodification and its political implication.

As a research assistant, Fannie Valois-Nadeau participated the collaborative ethnography regarding the musical contest “Étoile des Aînés” directed by Dr. Line Grenier. The article “‘Vous êtes tous des gagnants.’ ‘Étoile des aînés’ et le vieillissement réussi au Québec” is the first to have come out of this collaboration.

In addition to her participation in the ACT network, she is also member of the Lab Culture Populaire Connaissance Critique (CPCC) and of the King research group.

Contact : fannie_valois_nadeau@hotmail.com


CV

Eugène Loos

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Dr. Eugene Loos

Prof. dr. Eugène Loos (born in 1963 in Herwijnen, the Netherlands) is a Professor of Old and New Media in an Ageing Society in the Department of Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam. He is also a Senior Lecturer of Communication, Policy and Management Studies at the Utrecht School of Governance (USG), Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He is a member of the Dutch research schools ASCoR (Amsterdam School of Communication Research) and the Netherlands Institute of Government (NIG). As a linguist, he has conducted research and written several books, book chapters and journal articles in the field of organizational (intercultural) organization and the use of new media.

Currently he investigates the (ir)relevance of age for: (1) senior citizens’ digital information search behaviour, (2) their identification with images, (3) the impact of visual and textual signs in digital health information on their cognition and affection, (4) the use of digital (sport) games for their physical, mental and social wellbeing, and (5) intergenerational digital gaming for their societal inclusion.

He is an international expert on inclusive website design and encouraging online participation in the face of a range of physical and life stage challenges. His extensive contribution to the field of accessible (digital) information delivery for senior citizens include Generational Use of New Media (published by Ashgate August 2012, co-edited by Haddon and Mante-Meijer),New Media Technologies and User Empowerment (Peter Lang 2011, co-edited by Pierson and Mante-Meijer) and The Social Dynamics of Information and Communication Technology (Ashgate 2008, co-edited by Haddon and Mante-Meijer).He also published several chapters and other refereed (inter)national publications.

In July 2017 he launched the Intergenerational Gaming Platform. More information about this Platform and the bi-annual IGP Newsletter? Please send an email to: e.f.loos@uu.nl

Catherine Middleton

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Catherine Middleton, B. A. (Queen’s), MBA ( Bond University, Australia), Ph. D. (York). Dr. Middleton held a Canada Research Chair in Communication Technologies in the Information Society from 2007 – 2017. In 2017-2018 she is a MITACS Canadian Science Policy at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC, Canada’s communications regulator). She was named to the inaugural cohort of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in 2014. Her research focuses on digital inclusion, identifying and assessing policies and practices that enable people to get access to the communications technologies that are central to everyday life. She is also interested in how Canadians use (or don’t use) the Internet and mobile devices, and in understanding ways to advance individuals’ capacities to use communications technologies to engage in society.

Dr. Middleton’s research has been funded by SSHRC, Infrastructure Canada, Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society, Statistics Canada and Ryerson University. Her research projects have investigated the use of ubiquitous communication technologies in organizations, the development of next generation broadband networks (including Australia’s National Broadband Network), competition in the Canadian broadband market, and Canadians’ Internet use. She was the Principal Investigator for the Community Wireless Infrastructure Research Project, is a member of the Public WiFi in Australia research team and is the Co-Investigator on the Canadian Spectrum Policy Research Project.

Dr. Middleton was a “Big Thinking” speaker in 2010, offering insights to Canadian parliamentarians about what is needed to develop a digital society for all Canadians and gave testimony to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology Study of Broadband and Internet Access Across Canada in 2013. Her 2016 Big Thinking lecture, delivered to the Royal Society of Canada, addressed the challenges of digital inclusion in Canada.