Kendra Besanger
Kendra held the role of the Communications Advisor for ACT between 2014 and 2019. She worked to amplify ACT’s work by creating opportunities to share network research with other researchers and the general public.
She also helped 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.
Generativity in older people: Later life as a time of development
The Communication Networks & Social Change Research Group (CN&SC) and Aging2.0 in Barcelona is pleased to invite you to an open lecture offered by Prof. Feliciano Villar, member of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Barcelona and coordinator of the Research in Gerontology Group (GIG). The talk will take place at IN3 at the Open University of Catalonia in Castelldefels on October 14. The public talk is co-sponsored by ACT and will coincide with the first day of the annual ACT meeting, also to be held at IN3. For more information about the talk, including abstract and bio, please consult the website.
My Experience at GUSEGG 2016: Transformation, Transgression and Trust
In the Aging, Communication and Technology seminar (Ageing with Technology: “Digitally Ageing/Digital Ageism”), professors Dr. Kim Sawchuk, Dr. Line Grenier and Dr. Stephen Katz led my classmates and I through interdisciplinary approach which considers the “art of ageing” in connection to computer-mediated communications and networked societies.
Extended deadline: Music, Ageing, Technology Symposium (Joensuu, Finland, May 11-13 2016)
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/
Barbara Crow
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
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
Daniel Blanche-T.
Daniel is a young researcher greatly interested in the social sciences and follower of the humanities and life sciences. He has conducted research on media communication, political mobilization, work environments, and well-being of older populations, embracing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Daniel has also contributed to research on social movements, political participation, ICTs and statistical data.
BA in Communication, MA in Sociology, and MA in Socio-Demography, Daniel is currently a PhD candidate in Social Sciences at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. His dissertation aims to examine the potential effects of work environments on the well-being of older workers in European countries, a topic situated in times of an increasing concern with active ageing in ageing societies.
As an affiliated student of ACT, Daniel works as a research assistant at the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), under the direction of Dr. Mireia Fernández-Ardèvol. He participates in the working group on Statistical Data, and has been Student Advisor in the Student Advisory Board.
Eugène 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