Living Digitally

Our physical, social and digital lives are all becoming increasingly complex, but also interwoven with one another. Emanating from the same individual, they yet have synchronous and asynchronous aspects

Digital Ownership across Lifespans

As technology adoption continues to increase across the lifespan, the question of what happens to the resulting digital content at the end of life is increasingly topical. We are embracing opportunities to create and share digital content that has personal significance: photos, emails, blogs, videos and more. This content is superseding the boxes of memory-laden letters and photos which were previously stored in our homes. Digital content has the advantage that it can be created, accessed and shared anywhere, at any time. However, unlike boxes of letters and photos, digital content cannot easily be inherited when its creator dies – especially if it is stored in online accounts. Facilities for users to nominate an inheritor for their digital content are largely absent, and (with few exceptions) lack support in law. Inheritors struggle to identify and access online accounts and their content. Internet Service Providers usually refuse to give inheritors access to the deceased’s account details, as terms of service commonly stipulate that accounts are non-transferrable. Processes of bequest and inheritance are further clouded because digital and physical death are very rarely simultaneous. Users may linger on in a virtual world indefinitely after physical death. If inheritors gain access to digital content, they are repurposing it. New levels of personalisation are being introduced into funerals and memorial services, as digital content is used to evoke the life of the deceased. Online memorial sites provide opportunities for shared grieving and the maintenance of continuing bonds with the dead. Yet if they lack appropriate moderation, these sites may generate further distress when insensitive posts cannot be removed by those most deeply affected by bereavement. This chapter explores the issues surrounding ownership of digital content across multiple lifespans, and the ways in which digital content lives on after its creator dies. We first consider what it means to exist in the digital age, before describing the digital assets which people may own, and the challenges which they face in bequeathing and inheriting them

PINs, passwords and human memory

Wendy Moncur and Dr Grégory Leplâtre provide an introduction to some of the problems relating to memory and the ability of the human to recall passwords

Opportunities for Computational Creativity in a Therapeutic Context

The question of why and for whom we build creative systems is becoming increasingly relevant. We argue that one potential application area is in therapeutic fields. We investigate the reminiscence practices of 13 bereaved participants; exploring possessions used to support reminiscence; interactions with them, and participants' receptiveness to computational creativity (CC) being used to support them. We use our findings to identify 10 provisional design recommendations for CC in a bereavement context

Sonic Flock; Crowdsourcing, Exhibiting and Gifting Interactive Textile Birds for Wellbeing

This paper outlines the crowdsourcing, display and gifting of a “Sonic Flock” of interactive textile birds in the Outer Hebrides. The research explores how the Sonic Flock can enhance wellbeing, social connection and facilitate conversation within and between dementia-friendly communities (DFC). A range of themes - including bringing the outside in, birds and textile making were identified through conversations with care home residents, staff and families of those living in care homes in the Outer Hebrides. These themes were fed into the Sonic Flock project. Knitted and sewn birds were crowdsourced from makers throughout the UK. The resulting Sonic Flock; over 80 birds, were displayed in An Lanntair as part of Cuimhne (‘memory’ in Gaelic) exhibition. Some of the textile birds were designed and developed to play bird songs when touched. After the exhibition, the birds were gifted to island residents living in care homes throughout Lewis, Harris and Uist. They acted as social objects and conversation starters, building relationships between the researcher, staff, residents and wider DFC

An evidence synthesis of strategies, enablers and barriers for keeping secrets online regarding the procurement and supply of illicit drugs

This systematic review attempts to understand how people keep secrets online, and in particular how people use the internet when engaging in covert behaviours and activities regarding the procurement and supply of illicit drugs. With the Internet and social media being part of everyday life for most people in western and non-western countries, there are ever-growing opportunities for individuals to engage in covert behaviours and activities online that may be considered illegal or unethical. A search strategy using Medical Subject Headings terms and relevant key words was developed. A comprehensive literature search of published and unpublished studies in electronic databases was conducted. Additional studies were identified from reference lists of previous studies and (systematic) reviews that had similar objectives as this search, and were included if they fulfilled our in-clusion criteria. Two researchers independently screened abstracts and full-texts for study eligibility and evaluated the quality of included studies. Disagreements were resolved by a consensus procedure. The systematic review includes 33 qualitative studies and one cross-sectional study, published between 2006 and 2018. Five covert behaviours were identified: the use of communication channels; anonymity; visibility reduction; limited posts in public; following forum rules and recommendations. The same technologies that provide individuals with easy access to information, such as social networking sites and forums, digital devices, digital tools and services, also increase the prevalence of inaccurate information, loss of privacy, identity theft and disinhibited communication. This review takes a rigorous interdisciplinary approach to synthesising knowledge on the strategies adopted by people in keeping secrets online. Whilst the focus is on the procurement and supply ofillicit drugs, this knowledge is transferrable to a range of contexts where people keep secrets online. It has particular significance for those who design online/social media applications, and for law enforcement and security agencies

Spomenik: resurrecting voices in the woods

Spomenik (‘monument) is a digital memorial architecture that transposes in time otherwise hidden cultural memories of atrocity. Spomenik was designed as a simple digital audio guide, embedded in a remote rural location (Kočevski Rog, Slovenia), and working without the infrastructure normally present at national memorial sites. By resurrecting voices and cultural narratives of the deceased, positing them back in to the landscape through digital means, Spomenik opens a dialogue about the events of the past, in relation to networks of the living, exploring the role of voice and agency, as serviced through design in the act of memorialization. We contribute a detailed case study of a design-led inquiry about digital memorialization and digital preservation of cultural heritage, and a reflective account about the nature of legacy and the extent to which it is (and perhaps should be) necessarily bound to networks of collective memory, mediated through designed cultural tools

Digital Decoupling and Disentangling:Towards Design for Romantic Break Up

\u3cp\u3eRomantic relationships are often facilitated through digital technologies, such as social networking sites and communication services. They are also facilitated through 'digital possessions', such as messages sent to mobile devices and photos shared through social media. When individuals break up, digitally disconnecting can be facilitated by using those digital technologies and managing or curating these digital possessions. This research explores the break up stories of 13 individuals aged between 18 and 52. The aim of this work is to inform the design of systems focused on supporting individuals to decouple and disentangle digitally in the wake of a break up. Four areas of interest emerged from the data: communication, using digital possessions, managing digital possessions, and experiences of technology. Opportunities for design were identified in decoupling and disentangling, and designing around guilt. Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).\u3c/p\u3