Scenario-based design of a digital reminiscing system for older adults
Open Access
- Author:
- Thiry, Elizabeth Ann
- Graduate Program:
- Information Sciences and Technology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 22, 2013
- Committee Members:
- Mary Beth Rosson, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
John Millar Carroll, Committee Member
Erika S Poole, Committee Member
Matthew Samuel Kaplan, Committee Member
Siân Lindley, Committee Member - Keywords:
- design guidelines
artifacts
memory
legacy
reminiscing
older adults - Abstract:
- Reminiscing – “the act or process of recalling the past (Butler, 1963, p. 66)” – is a core activity for any society. Research shows that the desire and tradition for reminiscing can be traced back to early civilizations where the elders of the community were responsible to know and share the history of their community (Butler, 1995; Cruikshank, 1990). However times have changed and the oral tradition of reminiscing has faded into an occasional telling of stories that are heard on special occasions. This points to a clear need for more opportunities to reminisce, and concepts from the field of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) may help to re-enliven the customs of reminiscing about one’s personal or shared histories. For example many sites allow individuals to share photos (Flickr, Facebook, Photobucket), movies (YouTube), and small details of their daily lives (Facebook, Twitter). However, none of these systems were developed specifically for the support of reminiscence activities, nor do any of them cater to this type of sharing. Previous research has explored systems that allow children and elders to develop oral histories (J. B. Ellis & Bruckman, 2001); that enable community members to construct an online community history (Carroll, Convertino, Farooq, & Rosson, 2011; Carroll, et al., 2009); and that support creation of biographies on DVDs to assist elders with declining memories (K. L. Smith, Crete-Nishihata, Damianakis, Baecker, & Marziali, 2009). However there is still relatively little known about whether and how older adults might want to reminisce in a digital environment, particularly in an era when Web 2.0 has greatly expanded options for content generation and authoring. It is in this context that this study looks at means for digital reminiscing. This research is motivated by two complementary research elements: an interest in the human-computer interaction (HCI) needs and preferences for old adult individuals, and a design research interest in digital tools for reminiscing. To address the unique needs and preferences of this population, I followed a scenario-based design approach to analyze design requirements, develop design themes and corresponding prototypes; throughout I used claims analysis to evaluate the hypothetical impacts of key themes in the scenarios (Carroll, 2000, 2002).