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Sticks project in Finnish-Japanese seminar 10.9.13
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Reminiscence stick: enriching interaction
Ageing as a positive phenomenon – enriching interaction!
10.9.2013 Lahti Ski Museum
Satu Pekkarinen [email protected] Lappeenranta University of Technology, Lahti School of Innovation
Päivi Kuosmanen [email protected] University of Helsinki, Palmenia Centre for Continuing Education
Sticks – an R&D project conducted in Lahti Region, Finland
A joint project by University of Helsinki ,
Palmenia Centre for Continuing Education
and Lappeenranta University of
Technology, Lahti School of Innovation
2010-2014
Based on simple and inexpensive
technology – USB sticks
Two stick concepts are being developed:
mStick = a reminiscence stick (memory and recollection stick)
hStick = a health stick
Funding:
European Regional Development Fund and the
municipalities of Lahti Region
• The reminiscence stick (mStick) is a biographical memory store,
where personal documents, like photographs, texts, audio and
video clips, material related to hobbies are stored in a digital form,
organised and visualised in the way the person wishes.
• It may function as a collective memory store consisting of material
about a certain theme or generation.
• To be used for personal recreation, interaction between
generations, in care work, in activity centres, for introducing
information society to elderly people in a personally
meaningful way, etc.
• Displayed with the help of computer (data projector), TV,
digital photo frame…
mStick
• A human being is a biographical creature,
whose memory never disappears
completely – let alone memories.
• Background theories: narrative
gerontology (Ruth and Kenyon 1996;
Kenyon et al. 2001), reminiscense
research (e.g. Gibson 2011), life review
(Butler 1963)
The background philosophy of the mStick
Development of the structure and contents of
the mStick with Living Lab techniques
• The users are active participants
(not only testers of ready-made
products) in the innovation process
• The piloting started from ”the
empty stick” → the work methods
and contents were created
individually based on the needs of
each group/ user
Community College Wellamo
Highly educated immigrants: Digital life stories, translated
diplomas, basic health information, an information
package and essential web links about Finland
Lahden lähimmäispalvelu, (non-profit association)
Independently living ageing people including photographs and written stories in a digital form
A local Alzheimer Society
Collectively compiled structure (visualized in the form of
an interface) for a personal mStick for people with early
stages of dementia
Harjula Settlement Association
Customers of senior homes, including photographs and
oral stories.
Senior Activity Centre, Sysmä
Customers of the activity centre, including written life
stories, photographs, audio clips, other personal
documents
The Onni Well-being Centre
A collective mStick about the history and activities of a
handicraft group: photographs, video clips, audio clips
Activity Centre for seniors, Orimattila
A collective activity mStick about the theme:
“holidays”: photographs, oral stories in a digital form
Avainsäätiö, A non-profit association
Persons with communication problems, done with the help
of “a communication carpet”, including information about
the person’s interests and means of communication.
Lahti Deacony Foundation
A personal mStick for customers of senior residential
services: digital life stories, photographs, oral and
written stories, a semi-structured form about personal
biographical information.
A collective activity stick: thematic movies, song lyrics,
proverbs, rules of games.
The Mäntsälä Adult Education Centre
An mStick course for older people with basic IT-skills
Activity Centre for seniors, Iitti
A collective activity mStick about the theme: “from
sheep to wool, from wool to sweater”: photographs
and oral stories in a digital form
Students as Stick Tailors
together with seniors and near relatives
Care workers/Group leaders as Stick Tailors
together with seniors or immigrants
Active seniors making their personal sticks
independently
A Stick Course arranged by a third sector
educational organisation
aimed at active seniors
’Sticks’ Project
Different ways of making the sticks
In our home village with friends.
The fence that you see behind us was typical for
our village.
Photographs with narratives
Getting married
Toimi and I got married at
Niemisen Linna (a
community house). Now
the place is owned by local
sports associations. Our
wedding waltz was called
”Metsäkukkia”.
Photographs with narratives
Digital photo frame
Conducting the research
• Action research and user-driven approach: The mStick concept has been piloted
among groups of elderly in the Lahti region in Finland
•11 small scale pilots in different environments
• Qualitative data collected: group interviews and other meetings (33 end-users, 29
workers/students/teachers), learning diaries, participatory observation:
photographs and memos
• An explorative approach: a process of co-creation of the innovative concept, and
collective knowledge creation from different perspectives.
• Assessment of the roles, functions, impacts and usability of the sticks on the
elderly users, their near relatives, care personnel and care organizations
Impacts of the mStick…
…on prevention and engagement
• Offers meaningful contents to life, feeling of coherence, social contacts,
increasing appreciation
• The simple process of selecting the photographs with an elderly person, to be
stored on the stick may serve as a memory exercise in itself:
”I noticed her anguish when she
didn’t remember who the man was in
the picture […] but after we had
circulated the same photo series
four times, I guess, she remembered
– ”Hey, it is Pentti, wonderful, it’s
Pentti!”
(a student who made an mStick with a
customer with a memory disease)
…on enhancement and satisfaction
• The potential of mStick in self-expression and utilizing the resources that
elderly people possess
• Looking back to childhood memories has brought joy to life after widowing and
relieved feeling of loneliness.
• Appreciation: “It is so wonderful that the life and work history of mine have
been noticed in this way and I feel that they are appreciated. This is like an
award for my life work!” (a customer, an mStick pilot)
• Activity: “Also my children have noticed
that now this grandpa has got some new
power.” (a customer, an mStick pilot)
• The process of making the mStick has
helped to build a feeling of coherence in
life
Impacts of the mStick…
• Empowerment of older people
• A meaningful way to prevent older people from
being left aside from the information society:
“I have noticed that the fear towards technology
has already turned to curiosity.” (a service consultant in senior residential services)
“I hadn’t seen such a stick before. Well, that
was… that was a miracle.” (a customer, an mStick pilot)
• Building a bridge between generations:
greetings to next generation.
…on enhancement and satisfaction
Impacts of the mStick…
…on care work
Impacts of the mStick…
• Gives a broader picture of customers’
background and preferences → helps to avoid
misunderstanding, especially with persons with
memory or communication problems
”This gives a completely different perception
from the one I had about the customer earlier.”
• Helps to meet the customer as a whole human
being:
”But if the customer has a face and a past, she
or he is a person and can be regarded in the
right way.”
• Connecting reminiscence to every-day
life practices and care practices
• Enables new kind of collaboration with
near relatives
• A new kind of work method for activity
centers; new ideas
• Increases meaningfulness and
appreciation of care work?
• Change of caring culture, a biographical approach in the care work (not only
health history, but life as a whole) -> recognizing the ’face’ (Levinas 1996) of
another human being
• Getting to know the customer more deeply – not as extra work, but as an
internal part of basic care
Impacts of the mStick…
…on care work
“In this way we get to know something very essential about the
resident. The life history is very important. It is related to the
autonomy of the person, which is an essential part of the care work.” (a service manager)
From sheep to wool, from wool to sweater
The mStick may act as a new kind of tool for care workers
organizing reminiscence sessions and other joint
programmes.
Things to ponder on
• Suitable times and places for making the mStick, and laboriousness of
making the mStick, especially with people with memory diseases
• To a certain extent also challenges related to technology as well as
structuring and ways of presenting the material to be included on the mStick
• Who has the right to use and keep the mStick when the owner dies?
• How to store the mStick?
• Working on the process of parting (students)
• Can knowledge of the customer’s past/ background also be stigmatizing
from the point of view of care work? Sometimes it might be good to start
”from scratch”.
The mStick as a frugal innovation
The innovation is in the idea:
based on simple and
inexpensive technology –
ordinary USB sticks
Sticks are also understandable
and rich in semiotic sense. They
can, e.g., be designed and
personalised.
For more information:
http://www.tikutus.fi [email protected] & [email protected]
And in conclusion: Hilja’s life
Thank you!
