Older people’s appropriation of computers and the Internet

This thesis looks at how older people integrate computers and the Internet into their everyday lives and make these technologies their own as part of their broader experience of ageing. The thesis starts by considering the limits of current ‘deficit-driven’ models of accessible design used in relation to older people and highlights a need to develop new approaches which can accommodate the adaptive and ‘positive’ capacities that emerge with advanced age. The approach subsequently developed provides a consideration of older people’s situated and subjective experiences in relation to computer and Internet engagement as part of their adaptations to ageing. Qualitative and ethnographic data in the form of participant observations, contextual interviews and video-based observations are all used to examine the ways in which older users identify computers and the Internet as relevant and construct meaningful uses for them over time. Four case studies are used to explore the contextual and subjective determinants of these emerging psycho-socio-technical relationships over time and in different contexts. Through grounded analysis patterns are established in the data which outline persistent qualities of these emerging relationships in relation to ageing. A psycho-socio-technical process known as ‘appropriation’ is used to frame these adaptive relationships as they develop over time. In contrast to existing models of accessibility this analysis shows computer and Internet appropriation to be driven primarily by positive adaptations to ageing rather than its deficits. Six ‘core themes of relevance’ are identified across the studies (social contact; acquiring knowledge; supporting independence; intergenerational connection; reminiscence and life review and creativity) which represent age-relevant motivations that can be used as the basis for accessible designs promoting appropriation. In addition appropriation is outlined as a cumulative developmental process with distinct phases over time. This provides a structure for supporting older people’s appropriation of computers and the Internet whilst maintaining an emphasis on well-being. Finally this thesis contributes to understandings of contemporary ageing, offering insights into the potential for computers and the Internet to change the ageing experience in developed societies

"The Hangout was Serious Business:" Exploring Literacies and Learning in an Online Sims Fan Fiction Community

abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the literacy practices members of an online fan community engage in to participate in the space and to question what learning happens through that participation. This dissertation is the product of a two-year virtual ethnographic study of The Sims Writers' Hangout (SWH), a discussion forum website established by fans of The Sims to support members' interests in creating and sharing Sims fan fiction. Affinity space theory informs an understanding of SWH's organization, and a definition of literacies as situated, social practices also frames the study. Data were collected following a discourse-centered online ethnographic approach, which guided systematic observation and interactions with eight key informants. The data corpus includes hundreds of pages of discussion forum posts, member profiles, moderator-created norming texts, numerous digital, multimodal Sims fan fiction texts, virtual interview responses from informants, field notes, and additional virtual artifacts, such as informants' websites and Flickr® photostreams. Study results are presented within three separate manuscripts prepared for publication and presentation, each exploring different lines of inquiry related to SWH. Chapter 3 focuses on tensions visible in the forum discussions to argue for an expansion of affinity space theory that accounts for the “hanging out” members do in the space. Chapter 4 analyzes one informant's literacy practices using a Design perspective. This analysis reveals the collaborative nature of Sims fan fiction literacies. The final manuscript (Chapter 5) offers an analysis of SWH pedagogy using Bernstein's pedagogic device concept. Data illustrate how pedagogic discourse in this online, informal learning space aligns with and challenges Bernstein's theory. Finally, Chapter 6 offers conclusions about how these three analyses expand our understanding of adolescent literacies and 21st century learning. This chapter also contains implications for theory and practice, recommendations for future research, and reflections on lessons learned.Dissertation/ThesisPh.D. Curriculum and Instruction 201

Proceedings of the 4th international conference on disability, virtual reality and associated technologies (ICDVRAT 2002)

The proceedings of the conferenc

Analyzing Digital Literacy Demands, Practices, and Discourses within a Library Computer Programming Club for Children

abstract: Among researchers, educators, and other stakeholders in literacy education, there has been a growing emphasis on developing literacy pedagogies that are more responsive to the ways young people experience literacy in their everyday lives, which often make use of digital media and other technologies for exchanging meaning. This dissertation project sought to explore the nature of these digital-age literacies in the context of children learning through and about new technologies. Conducting a year-long, multimethod observational study of an out-of-school library-based program designed to engage students in self-directed learning around the domain of computer programming, this project was framed around an analysis of digital-age literacies in design, discourse, and practice. To address each of these areas, the project developed a methodology grounded in interpretive, naturalistic, and participant-observation methodologies in collaboration with a local library Code Club in a metropolitan area of the Southwestern U.S between September 2016 and December 2017. Participants in the project included a total of 47 students aged 8-14, 3 librarians, and 3 parents. Data sources for the project included (1) artifactual data, such as the designed interfaces of the online platforms students regularly engaged with, (2) observational data such as protocol-based field notes taken during and after each Code Club meeting, and (3) interview data, collected during qualitative interviews with students, parents, and library facilitators outside the program. These data sources were analyzed through a multi-method interpretive framework, including the multimodal analysis of digital artifacts, qualitative coding, and discourse analysis. The findings of the project illustrate the multidimensional nature of digital-age literacy experiences as they are rendered “on the screen” at the content level, “behind the screen” at the procedural level, and “beyond the screen” at the contextual level. The project contributes to the literature on literacy education by taking an multi-method, interdisciplinary approach to expand analytical perspectives on digital media and literacy in a digital age, while also providing an empirical account of this approach in a community-embedded context of implementation.Dissertation/ThesisDoctoral Dissertation Learning, Literacies and Technologies 201

Human-Computer Interaction

In this book the reader will find a collection of 31 papers presenting different facets of Human Computer Interaction, the result of research projects and experiments as well as new approaches to design user interfaces. The book is organized according to the following main topics in a sequential order: new interaction paradigms, multimodality, usability studies on several interaction mechanisms, human factors, universal design and development methodologies and tools

Vuforia v1.5 SDK: Analysis and evaluation of capabilities

This thesis goes into the augmented reality world and, being more specific in Vuforia uses, searching as an achievement the analysis of its characteristics. The first objective of this thesis is make a short explanation of what is understood by augmented reality and the actual different varieties of AR applications, and then the SDK’s features and its architecture and elements. In other hand, to understand the basis of the detection process realized by the Vuforia’s library is important to explain the approach to the considerations of image recognition, because it is the way in which Vuforia recognizes the different patterns. Another objective has been the exposition of the possible fields of applications using this library and a brief of the main steps to create an implementation always using Unity3D, due to Vuforia is only a SDK not an IDE. The reason to choose this way is due to the facilities that are provided by Unity3D when creating the application itself, because it already has implemented all necessary to access the hardware of the smartphone, as well as those that control the Vuforia’s elements. In other way, the Vuforia’s version used during the thesis has been the 1.5, but two months ago Qualcomm was launched the new 2.0 version, that it is not intended to form part of this study, although some of the most significant new capabilities are explained. Finally, the last and perhaps the most important objective have been the test and the results, where they have used three different smartphones to compare the values. Following this methodology has been possible to conclude which part of the results are due to the features and capabilities of the different smartphones and which part depends only of the Vuforia’s library.Català: Aquest projecte s’endinsa al món de la realitat augmentada, més concretament a l’anàlisi de les característiques y funcionalitats del SDK Vuforia. En primer objectiu serà posar en perspectiva el que s’entén per realitat augmentada i de les variants existents avui dia d’aplicacions que fan ús de la RA. A continuació es mencionen les característiques d’aquest SDK, la seva arquitectura i els seus elements. En aquesta part també s’han tingut en compte les consideracions de reconeixement d’imatge, ja que es la manera en la qual Vuforia realitza el reconeixement dels diferents patrons. El següent pas es tractar d’exposar els possibles camps d’aplicació d’aquesta llibreria, i una breu explicació dels principals passos per crear una aplicació sota Unity3D, tenint en compte sempre que Vuforia es només un SDK i no un IDE. La raó per escollir aquest entorn es degut a les ventatges que ofereix Unity3D a l’hora de crear l’aplicació, degut a que ja disposa de tot el necessari per accedir tant al hardware del propi dispositiu mòbil com a els propis elements que integren Vuforia. D’altra banda, la versió de Vuforia utilitzada durant el projecte ha sigut la 1.5, encara que fa poc més de dos mesos Qualcomm va alliberar la nova versió 2.0, la qual no forma part dels objectius d’aquest projecte, encara que una part de les noves funcionalitats més significatives s’exposen breument. Finalment, es conclourà amb els tests i resultats obtinguts. Per realitzar totes aquestes proves s’han utilitzat tres terminals diferents per poder comparar valors. A més, utilitzant aquest mètode, ha sigut possible concloure quina part dels resultats obtinguts es deuen a les característiques i capacitats dels diferents terminals i quina part depèn exclusivament de la pròpia llibreria Vuforia