ACM » interviews

‘It’s my choice’

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:09:15 +0000

Mobile telephony is the most widespread information and communication technology (ITC) and follows the same trend that other ICT: those who show typically slower rates of adoption are older individuals. It is relevant, therefore, to explore the motivations and reasons for non-adopting and adopting mobile telephony among seniors.

For doing this, I focus on two cities: Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) and Los Angeles (CA, USA). In Catalonia, up to 95% of the average population are mobile users, while among seniors the figure drops to82% (age 65-74; Idescat, 2011). In the USA, the percentage of mobile users is85% for the average population and 68% for seniors between 66 and 74 (Zickuhr,2011). In a context of such a widespread of the technology, those who opt out often need to justify their decision because they face social pressures for being reachable
in the same way others are by mobile phones.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted in2010 and 2011 on both mobile users and non-users. Within this non-probabilistic sample, a majority of individuals were mobile users, with 11 individuals out of73 being non users the moment of the interview.

Among non-users, some had never got a cell phone while others gave it up at a certain point. The goal of this analysis is not to put forward recommendations for increasing mobile subscription among older people, but to understand personal choices regarding this specific technology. I approach this analysis by taking into account that, nowadays, not having a cell phone in the two studied cities might mean taking a firm stance on the issue.

References
Idescat (2011): ICT equipment and use in homes 2011. Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat). http://www.idescat.cat/pub/?id=ticll11&lang=en (05/05/2012).
Zickuhr, K. (2011): Generations and their gadgets 2011, Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Generations-and-gadgets.aspx (02/04/2012).

Researcher:
Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol with Lidia Arroyo Prieto and Daniel Blanche Tarragó

‘Extraordinary Lives’

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:01:02 +0000

Living, working and ageing in Malaysia

It is projected that there will be a growth of 694 million or 223 percent growth of older adults, worldwide, between 1970 and 2025, with 80 percent of the elderly living in developing countries (WHO, 2002). While ageing is often viewed as a burden to nations, senior citizens have contributed and often continue to contribute to its ‘wealth’. Older adults – particularly those living in developing nations– have invaluable life stories and experiences of what it means to age, many of them untold. Extraordinary Lives addresses the absence of the voices of seniors from public discourse and counters the myth of the unified ageing subject. Based on a series of short interviews with Malaysian seniors from all walks of life, the project captures many ways that they experience living, working, ageing and technologies in Malaysia. Through the use of vignettes, a glimpse of the ageing population in a multi-racial and diverse culture, like Malaysia, is given. The Extraordinary Lives project critically and creatively explores the potential of multimedia forms to depict the extraordinary diversity within the so-called ordinary lives of Malaysian seniors. Unique to the project is “the senior’s grid”, a template for incorporating photography, audio and video into an interactive format. From the kaleidoscopic intersection of many voices, a collective tale emerges from a combination of distinct narrative fragments. Rather than presenting single unified image of the ageing Malaysian subject, the many dimensions – and contradictions- of what it means to actively age in this context is presented to the viewers.

References:

World Health Organization. “Active Ageing: A Policy Framework.” Internet:

http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/active/en/index.html, 2002 [15th June 2008]

Researcher: Chui Yin Wong

Nostalgia

admin — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:25:36 +0000

Nostalgia – by Guillaume Dubois
Music mash-ups have the capacity to revive sounds from the past by giving them a new twist. In this kind of practice where the old meets the new (or becomes new), how does the selection of music occur? If many artists chose certain tunes with the intention of provoking stark contrasts, what does happen when the process of selecting tracks is not entirely under the control of the artist? And when the sound material originates from a certain era, does a mash-up have the potential to cross the boundaries of generations and alter its meaning?
The Nostalgia project attempts to address these questions. The idea is to digitally “mess around” with songs that connote nostalgia of teenage life, chosen by people ranging from the age of fifty seven to eighty three year old, in order to create mash-ups that speaks to a younger audience; some kind of dismantled music heritage to be discovered and shared by new listeners. After a total of twenty nine people interviewed, the project has given birth to a slow-pace mash up titled Twilight Glow. http://soundcloud.com/guillaumedubois/twilight-glow