Mark My Words 2.2

After three years of study and three years of work I have officially left the University of Leeds to pursue an MPhil/PhD at the University of Sheffield. (Yes, by the end I will have studied at all three White Rose universities given I’m also studying for an MA at the University of York.) As I continue to move from being an undergraduate in a science-related discipline to a postgraduate in an arts-related discipline I look forward to reading in their Department of Sociological Studies and working with my supervisors Dr. Bridgette Wessels and Prof. Gail Mountain (ScHARR). I will be funded by the “Promoting Independence through Personalised INteractive technologies” project which is an inter-disciplinary research collaboration spanning health research, engineering, computer science and sociology. (Which is interesting to be in particular as I’ve studied, at least in bits, all four.)

My (provisional) thesis title is:

What makes an assistive technology in the home invaluable or alternatively abandoned?

As this was for a scholarship here’s an extended description (not provided by me):

This project will address the ways in which assistive technologies are introduced, learned and accepted by users in their homes and everyday lives. There is little knowledge about the ways in which assistive technologies are taken up in domestic everyday life by users with health and social care needs and little known about the value of personalisation of assistive technology. The study will involve research with the network’s user group to explore how people learn to personalise their assistive technologies in the context of their everyday lives.

The study will address:

• the spaces in the home in which the technology needs to be fitted into existing structures and furnishings; 
• the social relations of the older person or disabled person – i.e. who supports them, and in what way, who are the informal as well as formal carers and how do these people interact and structure their support; 
• the specific daily routines of health care, which includes considering how people cope with new technologies and routines, and 
• the details of how people learn to personalise their assistive technology. 

The methodological approach will be qualitative and will use observation and interview methods. Methods will include observation in the home of everyday routines, observation of the introduction of assistive technologies and the process of take up, appropriation, or rejection within the social relations of the household and care support system. Observation will also be undertaken of the way in which people learn to personalise their technology including details of learning processes. Interviews will be conducted with users, family carers and professional health care workers to explore the experiences of learning and using assistive technologies.

For anyone who knows me (and my interests) this should (and is) a great project for me and I’m really looking forward to getting started. I’ve already picked up some tips on thesis authoring and so should be well-equipped to start in the coming weeks. No doubt there’ll be many opportunities to share my progress and ask for opinions and guidance as I explore the project further.