Workshop: Realising the potential of octo/nonagenarians

The Communication Networks & Social Change Research Group (CN&SC) is pleased to organize a workshop offered by Dr. Jane Vincent, Guest Teacher in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Visiting Fellow in the Digital World Research Centre, University Surrey.

Title: Realising the potential of octo/nonagenarians: Understanding media and communications issues.

Abstract: The number of octo and nonagenarians is increasing. Many live independently and without dementia or Alzheimers but are lonely, isolated and excluded from society. Despite the span of 40+ years elderly, old and very old are often viewed as a single cohort within media and communications research and there are few studies of this ‘very old’ age group: research more typically includes respondents aged 60-75years with occasional older participants. This workshop will explore gaps in research about the everyday lives and wellbeing of this very old age group with a view to framing new research proposals that will deliver a greater understanding of media and communications issues that impact their lives. The workshop outcome will report to the European COST Action IS1402 that aims to challenge the practice of ageism and allow older people to realize their full potential.

Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Time: 15:30 – 17:30 CET
Place: Room -1A, IN3-UOC, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 5 (Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia, B3 building), Castelldefels
Language: English

The workshop will be broadcasted via live video streaming. If you are following the workshop via streaming, you can send your questions to the lecturer via Twitter using the hashtag #ageismIN3 If you are attending the workshop in person, please confirm assistance to Daniel Blanche: dblanchet(at)uoc.edu

Short bio: Dr. Jane Vincent has published widely on the topic of the social practices of information and communication technology users and her academic career since 2001 builds on over two decades of senior industry involvement in the design, development and implementation of digital mobile communications in Europe. Her Doctorate from University of Surrey Department of Sociology is on emotions and mobile phones and was awarded in 2011. She was a member of the Net Children Go Mobile and EU Kids Online projects and is an active participant in European COST Networks researching students’ use of digital and paper technologies for reading and writing, and ageism in media. Joint Editor of: Electronic Emotions – the mediation of emotion via information and communications technology (Peter Lang 2009), ‘Participation in Broadband Society’ series (Peter Lang 2010 – 2012); Migration, Diaspora, and Information Technology in Global Societies (Routledge 2013); Social Robots from a Human Perspective (Routledge 2016) and Smartphone Culture (Routledge forthcoming).

This workshop is an activity of the Communication Networks & Social Change Research Group (CN&SC) of the IN3-UOC. Dr. Jane Vincent’s visit at the IN3 is supported by the the STSM program of the COST Action IS1402 on Ageism.

Image by Tom Magliery under a CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.