Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
1.RESEARCH
Demographic transition
Changing value
International students
Home, familiar place
Transition of Long distance communication
A missing sense of communication tools
2.DESIGN INSPIRATIONS
Cultural ritual in terms of direction
Facing each other
4. CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LIST OF FIGURES
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
1.RESEARCH
Demographic transition
Changing value
International students
Home, familiar place
Transition of Long distance communication
A missing sense of communication tools
2.DESIGN INSPIRATIONS
Cultural ritual in terms of direction
Facing each other
4. CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
LIST OF FIGURES
ABSTRACT
The historic structure of a family unit is changing. One major change is that people that once lived in a large family environment have broken away to live alone. This phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent in contemporary society, as greater numbers of people than ever are living on their own, and this number is on the rise.
By virtue of popularization of the Internet, people have tools such as email, MSN and Skype to instantly communicate with each other regardless of distance. It is possible to say that the different locations that people are tending to live is not as important any more for some people to communicate.
There is a design opportunity with these means of long distance communication tools. Although people living away from their family and hometowns are physically located in a new place, there is still a strong emotional connection to where they used to live previously. This thesis focuses on the emotional connections of people who live apart from their home country, family and familiar environment.
The main interest of this thesis is to investigate how the design of a long distance communication tool can create a new, richer, emotional connection for a person living apart from their family and hometown. The design means of creating this connection is to emphasise the cardinal direction from a person to family and places that they feel nostalgic and homesick.
The historic structure of a family unit is changing. One major change is that people that once lived in a large family environment have broken away to live alone. This phenomenon has become increasingly prevalent in contemporary society, as greater numbers of people than ever are living on their own, and this number is on the rise.
By virtue of popularization of the Internet, people have tools such as email, MSN and Skype to instantly communicate with each other regardless of distance. It is possible to say that the different locations that people are tending to live is not as important any more for some people to communicate.
There is a design opportunity with these means of long distance communication tools. Although people living away from their family and hometowns are physically located in a new place, there is still a strong emotional connection to where they used to live previously. This thesis focuses on the emotional connections of people who live apart from their home country, family and familiar environment.
The main interest of this thesis is to investigate how the design of a long distance communication tool can create a new, richer, emotional connection for a person living apart from their family and hometown. The design means of creating this connection is to emphasise the cardinal direction from a person to family and places that they feel nostalgic and homesick.
INTRODUCTION
In today`s times there are more people than ever living apart from their families and hometowns. With the advent of current technology such as the internet, there are more means than ever to maintain communication.
But being an international student and living away from my family and home, I have come to realise that there is something that is missing from current means of long distance communication tools. I believe that although it is quite easy to maintain communication between people living far distances, sometimes it is the emotional connection that is missing between me and the feelings that I get from being connected to the people and the places that i grew up in.
This thesis will explore how the design of a new long distance communication tool can express this emotional connection between people living apart from their family and hometown.
The main areas of research that this thesis will explore are transitions of long distance communication tools, what is missing in communication tools today, demographic transitions between people and place, the value that has changed for the family unit and living apart, psychological needs of people living away from home, the international student and their increased feelings of homesickness and nostalgia, belonging to a place, and what design opportunities can be presented from cultural and social precedents
In today`s times there are more people than ever living apart from their families and hometowns. With the advent of current technology such as the internet, there are more means than ever to maintain communication.
But being an international student and living away from my family and home, I have come to realise that there is something that is missing from current means of long distance communication tools. I believe that although it is quite easy to maintain communication between people living far distances, sometimes it is the emotional connection that is missing between me and the feelings that I get from being connected to the people and the places that i grew up in.
This thesis will explore how the design of a new long distance communication tool can express this emotional connection between people living apart from their family and hometown.
The main areas of research that this thesis will explore are transitions of long distance communication tools, what is missing in communication tools today, demographic transitions between people and place, the value that has changed for the family unit and living apart, psychological needs of people living away from home, the international student and their increased feelings of homesickness and nostalgia, belonging to a place, and what design opportunities can be presented from cultural and social precedents
1. Research
Demographic transition
Living apart from family members and familiar environments is becoming more and more a global phenomenon (www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/, 2,01. 09). This phenomenon is quite common to many of us, as most of us will live in several places during our lives, possibly more than once, whether temporarily or permanently. Historically, voluntary and forced migration is one of the most reoccuring themes, which did not lose its momentum with the passing of time. On the contrary, in the twentieth century it has increasingly become serious issue which faces many problems all over the world.
In some industrialised countries, rapid urbanization plays a great role in this shift of demographic change: as hundreds of millions of young workers leave their families and hometowns for better work opportunities in cities (www.cohre.org, 15,03,09)
What is important in these findings is to explore the ramifications in what these demographic changes have on the psychological well being of the people moving away from their families and hometowns.
Demographic transition
Living apart from family members and familiar environments is becoming more and more a global phenomenon (www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/, 2,01. 09). This phenomenon is quite common to many of us, as most of us will live in several places during our lives, possibly more than once, whether temporarily or permanently. Historically, voluntary and forced migration is one of the most reoccuring themes, which did not lose its momentum with the passing of time. On the contrary, in the twentieth century it has increasingly become serious issue which faces many problems all over the world.
In some industrialised countries, rapid urbanization plays a great role in this shift of demographic change: as hundreds of millions of young workers leave their families and hometowns for better work opportunities in cities (www.cohre.org, 15,03,09)
What is important in these findings is to explore the ramifications in what these demographic changes have on the psychological well being of the people moving away from their families and hometowns.
Changing values
One thing that can be understood from these findings is that it is often a choice for people to move away from their families and hometowns. This is especially the case among young people in developed countries (www.s1ngletown.org,15.01.09). These choices are often guided by the current day values promoted in educational opportunities, employment trends, social policies, technological innovations, media representations, and new ideas about human rights or personal entitlements (ibid).
These changed values have promoted individual rights along with less regulation of the private lives of individuals by the larger community. Diversity is valued, in living arrangements and in family forms (ibid).
On top of this, when people are asked where they would like to live at the end of their life, for some, staying with their children and family is not desired: their priority is to maintain independence, and there is a significant preference for remaining in their own homes (ibid).
This being said, the human need for attachment to other people and places is widely referenced in the psychological field (http://drvanecke.com/publications, 12.05.09). Attachment theory involves the emotional connection between people to people and people to places from cradle to grave. Psychologist Dr. van Ecke states in the paper Immigration from an Attachment Perspective, that there is the possibility for long term implications in relation to the immigration experience. These implications may include increased vulnerability to attachment trauma. A major inhibitor associated with attachment trauma for immigrants is to reinforce the immigrants need for social support, as well as, the reinforcement of a sense of belonging to both their new and old environments (ibid).
What these findings suggest in the design of a long distance communication tool is that there could be a design insight in how a tool can reinforce a sense of belonging and emotional attachment to both the place of current abode as well as the origin of a distant hometown.
One thing that can be understood from these findings is that it is often a choice for people to move away from their families and hometowns. This is especially the case among young people in developed countries (www.s1ngletown.org,15.01.09). These choices are often guided by the current day values promoted in educational opportunities, employment trends, social policies, technological innovations, media representations, and new ideas about human rights or personal entitlements (ibid).
These changed values have promoted individual rights along with less regulation of the private lives of individuals by the larger community. Diversity is valued, in living arrangements and in family forms (ibid).
On top of this, when people are asked where they would like to live at the end of their life, for some, staying with their children and family is not desired: their priority is to maintain independence, and there is a significant preference for remaining in their own homes (ibid).
This being said, the human need for attachment to other people and places is widely referenced in the psychological field (http://drvanecke.com/publications, 12.05.09). Attachment theory involves the emotional connection between people to people and people to places from cradle to grave. Psychologist Dr. van Ecke states in the paper Immigration from an Attachment Perspective, that there is the possibility for long term implications in relation to the immigration experience. These implications may include increased vulnerability to attachment trauma. A major inhibitor associated with attachment trauma for immigrants is to reinforce the immigrants need for social support, as well as, the reinforcement of a sense of belonging to both their new and old environments (ibid).
What these findings suggest in the design of a long distance communication tool is that there could be a design insight in how a tool can reinforce a sense of belonging and emotional attachment to both the place of current abode as well as the origin of a distant hometown.
International students
The issue of immigrant attachment is widely recognised among many immigrants from different nationalities and age groups (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.66). What is interesting in these findings is that there is an increased amount of research in the effects of immigration from the international student perspective (ibid).
Nowadays, well over a million young people per year go abroad to study at a foreign university. The experience of studying in a foreign country, however, leaves a powerful impression on young people that may last all their lives. For most the experience is very enriching, but for a few the experience is negative and they sometimes recall loneliness, homesickness and nostalgia (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.36).
For many people who choose to study in a different culture, it can be quite a heavy experience that propagates a nervous-feeling caused by being in a less familiar environment, away from the support network of the home culture (ibid).
When people experience or live in new environment and new culture, it seems that most of them will suffer culture shock to some extent, which is always thought of as being unpleasant and stressful (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.17).
For international students, it seems that most of them will suffer from problems such as language difficulties, financial problems, adjusting to a new educational system, homesickness, adjusting to social customs and norms, and for some students, racial discrimination (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.63).
The culture shock hypothesis or concept implies that the experience of visiting or living in a new culture is an unpleasant surprise or shock, partly because it is unexpected, and partly because it may lead to a negative evaluation of oneself (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.18)
Alexander et al. (1981) describes the plight of the international student as being isolated from the host culture and having lost social anchorage in the home culture.
To alleviate some of this pressure, many international students use long distance communication tools to maintain contact with people from their home. What is interesting in these findings is that although statistics are unclear regarding the exact ages of people using communication tools such as Skype due to animosity, the larger population of users are predicted to be from younger generations. This hypothesis is somewhat expected as the two main demographic factors that contribute to internet usage is age and education (http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/Press_Release/press_detail.html, 10.05.2009)
What this can suggest in the design process of a long distance communication device is that it could be designed around the internet and therefore assessable to many younger people living abroad.
The average distance within the UK for homesick students to travel was 364 miles on average for those who reported homesick, and 203 miles for those who reported no homesickness effects.
(Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.1
The issue of immigrant attachment is widely recognised among many immigrants from different nationalities and age groups (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.66). What is interesting in these findings is that there is an increased amount of research in the effects of immigration from the international student perspective (ibid).
Nowadays, well over a million young people per year go abroad to study at a foreign university. The experience of studying in a foreign country, however, leaves a powerful impression on young people that may last all their lives. For most the experience is very enriching, but for a few the experience is negative and they sometimes recall loneliness, homesickness and nostalgia (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.36).
For many people who choose to study in a different culture, it can be quite a heavy experience that propagates a nervous-feeling caused by being in a less familiar environment, away from the support network of the home culture (ibid).
When people experience or live in new environment and new culture, it seems that most of them will suffer culture shock to some extent, which is always thought of as being unpleasant and stressful (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.17).
For international students, it seems that most of them will suffer from problems such as language difficulties, financial problems, adjusting to a new educational system, homesickness, adjusting to social customs and norms, and for some students, racial discrimination (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.63).
The culture shock hypothesis or concept implies that the experience of visiting or living in a new culture is an unpleasant surprise or shock, partly because it is unexpected, and partly because it may lead to a negative evaluation of oneself (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.18)
Alexander et al. (1981) describes the plight of the international student as being isolated from the host culture and having lost social anchorage in the home culture.
To alleviate some of this pressure, many international students use long distance communication tools to maintain contact with people from their home. What is interesting in these findings is that although statistics are unclear regarding the exact ages of people using communication tools such as Skype due to animosity, the larger population of users are predicted to be from younger generations. This hypothesis is somewhat expected as the two main demographic factors that contribute to internet usage is age and education (http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/Press_Release/press_detail.html, 10.05.2009)
What this can suggest in the design process of a long distance communication device is that it could be designed around the internet and therefore assessable to many younger people living abroad.
The average distance within the UK for homesick students to travel was 364 miles on average for those who reported homesick, and 203 miles for those who reported no homesickness effects.
(Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.1
Home, familiar place
Another important finding in relation to international students studying abroad is that homesickness and nostalgia is near the top of the list of their feelings of complaints from being away from their homes (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.43).
Nostalgia is defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary (2005) as; a sentimental yearning or longing for bygone days. And characterized by ruminative thoughts about the home and the desire to go back to the familiar environment. Scientifically, the condition was first described by Hofer (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.35) in Basel in 1685. Meanwhile, religiously nostalgia has been historically referenced in the Bible at Psalm 13 7: "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, yeah wept when we remembered Zion" (ibid).
On the other hand, Homesickness, is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner`s Dictionary (2007) as; the sadness that arrives from being away from home. Where the notion of home is not simply a shelter but the place that you were born and grew, where your memories are stored emotionally, there are people who you spend your life together and are replaceable or exchangeable (Kron 2007, p.55).
Psychologists Dijkstra and Hendrix (1983) define homesickness as; a human state of being, characterized by a depressed mood, physical complains and a ruminative thinking about the familiar environment and/or familiar people.
One factor that contributes to the amount of homesickness experienced by people is the amount of geographical distance from home they have travelled (Fisher 1990, p.56) The greater the distance involved, the worse the homesickness effects were found to be (ibid).
Other physical and psychological ramifications of homesickness and nostalgia include a complex reaction with characteristic accompanying emotional, somatic, and behavioral elements and cognitions which show obsessive thoughts, rumination, idealization, stomach troubles, lack of appetite, and sleeplessness (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.105).
The idea of nostalgic feelings can prove to be a design opportunity as current means of long distant communication devices do not address this emotional connection to distant people and places. This new design could also address the geographical distance between people and their old homes in an aim to psychologically create a sense of linkage between the two.
Another important finding in relation to international students studying abroad is that homesickness and nostalgia is near the top of the list of their feelings of complaints from being away from their homes (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.43).
Nostalgia is defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary (2005) as; a sentimental yearning or longing for bygone days. And characterized by ruminative thoughts about the home and the desire to go back to the familiar environment. Scientifically, the condition was first described by Hofer (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.35) in Basel in 1685. Meanwhile, religiously nostalgia has been historically referenced in the Bible at Psalm 13 7: "By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, yeah wept when we remembered Zion" (ibid).
On the other hand, Homesickness, is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner`s Dictionary (2007) as; the sadness that arrives from being away from home. Where the notion of home is not simply a shelter but the place that you were born and grew, where your memories are stored emotionally, there are people who you spend your life together and are replaceable or exchangeable (Kron 2007, p.55).
Psychologists Dijkstra and Hendrix (1983) define homesickness as; a human state of being, characterized by a depressed mood, physical complains and a ruminative thinking about the familiar environment and/or familiar people.
One factor that contributes to the amount of homesickness experienced by people is the amount of geographical distance from home they have travelled (Fisher 1990, p.56) The greater the distance involved, the worse the homesickness effects were found to be (ibid).
Other physical and psychological ramifications of homesickness and nostalgia include a complex reaction with characteristic accompanying emotional, somatic, and behavioral elements and cognitions which show obsessive thoughts, rumination, idealization, stomach troubles, lack of appetite, and sleeplessness (Tilburg & Vingerhoets, 2005, p.105).
The idea of nostalgic feelings can prove to be a design opportunity as current means of long distant communication devices do not address this emotional connection to distant people and places. This new design could also address the geographical distance between people and their old homes in an aim to psychologically create a sense of linkage between the two.
Transition of Long distance communication
What kind of communication tools are being used in long distance communication for people who live apart?
In the last 50 years there has been numerous ways in which people have changed how they communicate over greater distances ; the Internet is most certainly one of them.
Traditionally, face-to-face interaction in the local community was the basis for communication. Yet, today face-to-face meetings are no longer the primary way to communicate between people as one can use a landline telephone or any number of the computer mediated tools such as email, MSN, website phone and Skype.
In recent years, the world has seen an explosion in the growth of information and communication technologies, and particularly mobile communications. Where the mobile became the dominant technology for voice communication (www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-long-distance.html, 14, 12, 08).
Indeed, the mobile phone has moved beyond being a mere technological object to become a key "social object" present in every aspect of our daily lives. Informal communication between friends and family is crucial to personal relationships. We are enthusiastic about e-mail and the mobile phone with its benefits in long distance contact with our relatives. Another common medium today is videoconferencing (commonly referred to as Skype) is also used between people separated geographically. What this suggests is that tools can be designed to provide greater emotional support than phone and e-mail for people staying away from their families
What kind of communication tools are being used in long distance communication for people who live apart?
In the last 50 years there has been numerous ways in which people have changed how they communicate over greater distances ; the Internet is most certainly one of them.
Traditionally, face-to-face interaction in the local community was the basis for communication. Yet, today face-to-face meetings are no longer the primary way to communicate between people as one can use a landline telephone or any number of the computer mediated tools such as email, MSN, website phone and Skype.
In recent years, the world has seen an explosion in the growth of information and communication technologies, and particularly mobile communications. Where the mobile became the dominant technology for voice communication (www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-long-distance.html, 14, 12, 08).
Indeed, the mobile phone has moved beyond being a mere technological object to become a key "social object" present in every aspect of our daily lives. Informal communication between friends and family is crucial to personal relationships. We are enthusiastic about e-mail and the mobile phone with its benefits in long distance contact with our relatives. Another common medium today is videoconferencing (commonly referred to as Skype) is also used between people separated geographically. What this suggests is that tools can be designed to provide greater emotional support than phone and e-mail for people staying away from their families
A missing sense of communication tools
In an inspiring conversation regarding long distance communication with a Korean student studying in The Netherlands. This student recounted a conversation that she had with her father over phone on the day of Korean new years. In the conversation her father asked her to bow from the Netherlands towards her parents located in Korea (it is a tradition of new year’s ritual in Korea).
What was surprising and also inspiring is that this Korean student actually did not know the direction of her home in Korea from the Netherlands. After this conversation, I asked several people who live away from their country (each of them were from a different country in Europe or Asia). A common finding was that most students could not indicate which direction their home or country was located. What was even more interesting was that when I indicated which direction their country was located in relation to the Netherlands, for all the students it brought a positive emotional affect.
This latter finding made me question the emotional capabilities of the technology of communication tools such as the phone and Skype. You can experience voice (sound) and even face to face interaction (sight) through a computer screen. However, there is no experience in recognising how far (distance) or in what cardinal direction you are from the person/people you are talking to.
An important design insight that is inspired from these findings is that current long distance communication tools are missing some experiential qualities such as direction and distance that can also bring an emotional affect to people living away from their family and hometown. What this can also suggest is that if a person requires a sentimental reassurance that they are emotionally connected to a desired place or person then a long distance communication tool can facilitate this experience without the need for direct communication between people to people.
In an inspiring conversation regarding long distance communication with a Korean student studying in The Netherlands. This student recounted a conversation that she had with her father over phone on the day of Korean new years. In the conversation her father asked her to bow from the Netherlands towards her parents located in Korea (it is a tradition of new year’s ritual in Korea).
What was surprising and also inspiring is that this Korean student actually did not know the direction of her home in Korea from the Netherlands. After this conversation, I asked several people who live away from their country (each of them were from a different country in Europe or Asia). A common finding was that most students could not indicate which direction their home or country was located. What was even more interesting was that when I indicated which direction their country was located in relation to the Netherlands, for all the students it brought a positive emotional affect.
This latter finding made me question the emotional capabilities of the technology of communication tools such as the phone and Skype. You can experience voice (sound) and even face to face interaction (sight) through a computer screen. However, there is no experience in recognising how far (distance) or in what cardinal direction you are from the person/people you are talking to.
An important design insight that is inspired from these findings is that current long distance communication tools are missing some experiential qualities such as direction and distance that can also bring an emotional affect to people living away from their family and hometown. What this can also suggest is that if a person requires a sentimental reassurance that they are emotionally connected to a desired place or person then a long distance communication tool can facilitate this experience without the need for direct communication between people to people.
2. Design inspirations
Cultural ritual in terms of direction
Another interesting design insight can be related to the religious ritual of praying. Like the social custom of bowing the cultural ritual of praying, (i.e. the Muslim tradition) also relates to a specific directional gesture (www.whyislam.org, 05.05.09).
The Muslim prayer ritual, which is over 1400 years old, is repeated five times a day toward Mecca by hundreds of millions of people all round the world. Carrying it out is not only highly spiritual, but connects each Muslim to all others around the world.(ibid)
When it is time to pray, Muslims need to be located in the direction of Mecca. In the case of being away from a Mosque in a new location, Muslims always carry on them a Mecca direction telling compass that is called qibla compass (sometimes also called qibla indicator). This compass helps such Muslims who are not available to visit Mecca to know the direction of Mecca at prayer times (ibid)
The concept of the Mecca direction telling compass is an interesting precedent for the design task at hand. As a contemporary form the Mecca compass could be translated into a long distance communication tool that indicates the direction of a desired location to feel a sense of connection between a place and a person living away.
Cultural ritual in terms of direction
Another interesting design insight can be related to the religious ritual of praying. Like the social custom of bowing the cultural ritual of praying, (i.e. the Muslim tradition) also relates to a specific directional gesture (www.whyislam.org, 05.05.09).
The Muslim prayer ritual, which is over 1400 years old, is repeated five times a day toward Mecca by hundreds of millions of people all round the world. Carrying it out is not only highly spiritual, but connects each Muslim to all others around the world.(ibid)
When it is time to pray, Muslims need to be located in the direction of Mecca. In the case of being away from a Mosque in a new location, Muslims always carry on them a Mecca direction telling compass that is called qibla compass (sometimes also called qibla indicator). This compass helps such Muslims who are not available to visit Mecca to know the direction of Mecca at prayer times (ibid)
The concept of the Mecca direction telling compass is an interesting precedent for the design task at hand. As a contemporary form the Mecca compass could be translated into a long distance communication tool that indicates the direction of a desired location to feel a sense of connection between a place and a person living away.
Facing each other
Communication in a certain direction in terms of social customs and interactions have long history in many cultures, such as the bowing custom (www.zcla.org/custom.php, 13.05.09).
Although even in contemporary times, facing each other to talk is usually considered fundamentally important for interpersonal communication and respect, such a way of physical communication is not available in telecommunication that provides voice and sight, but no sense of feeling physically connected in the cardinal sense.
I think it would be possible for long distance communication to enrich the quality of connection by applying the same gestural sense of cardinal direction as seen in the bowing custom
Communication in a certain direction in terms of social customs and interactions have long history in many cultures, such as the bowing custom (www.zcla.org/custom.php, 13.05.09).
Although even in contemporary times, facing each other to talk is usually considered fundamentally important for interpersonal communication and respect, such a way of physical communication is not available in telecommunication that provides voice and sight, but no sense of feeling physically connected in the cardinal sense.
I think it would be possible for long distance communication to enrich the quality of connection by applying the same gestural sense of cardinal direction as seen in the bowing custom
3. Conclusion
Despite the demographic transformations that have swept the world which include the constant changing of residential addresses to abroad, people will always feel attached to their old environment, family, and home country.
An important finding is that although people are choosing to relocate their lives abroad for numerous reasons, the need for maintaining a sense of attachment and belonging to the people and places that they have come from are fundamentally important for the wellbeing of the movers.
The design of a new long distance communication tool can help support and enrich the needs of attachment and belonging between people who stay away from their familiar environments. This can be achieved by communicating a sense of emotional connection between person and person or person and place through the design.
The design of this tool could address people such as international students that are typically feeling the effects of homesickness and nostalgia to more serious degrees than other immigrants.
The design can be supported by the internet in a way that it can address the many young people living and studying abroad that are typically using the internet for their education purposes.
The design should address the notion that the longer the geographical distances that are travelled to live in foreign countries usually implies a higher risk of homesickness or nostalgia. Where in relation to this geographical distance, the design could accentuate the specific location the direction in which the origin country is located. This communicated information could trigger an emotion connection between the person and their family or hometown.
This particular finding is supported by the idea that current long distance communication tools are missing some experiential qualities such as cardinal direction and distance that can also bring an emotional affect to people. This idea is supported by the findings in the several conversations I had with international students living abroad.
In a design that can physically gesture towards the direction of people or places that you feel nostalgic or homesick for, it is my belief that a new type of long distance communication tool could bring more value to people experiencing the pains of living apart from their families and homes in a subtly reminding way. This can be especially applicable for international students like me, but also applicable to anyone that desires to be reminded of feeling attached and belonging to their family or distant hometown.
Despite the demographic transformations that have swept the world which include the constant changing of residential addresses to abroad, people will always feel attached to their old environment, family, and home country.
An important finding is that although people are choosing to relocate their lives abroad for numerous reasons, the need for maintaining a sense of attachment and belonging to the people and places that they have come from are fundamentally important for the wellbeing of the movers.
The design of a new long distance communication tool can help support and enrich the needs of attachment and belonging between people who stay away from their familiar environments. This can be achieved by communicating a sense of emotional connection between person and person or person and place through the design.
The design of this tool could address people such as international students that are typically feeling the effects of homesickness and nostalgia to more serious degrees than other immigrants.
The design can be supported by the internet in a way that it can address the many young people living and studying abroad that are typically using the internet for their education purposes.
The design should address the notion that the longer the geographical distances that are travelled to live in foreign countries usually implies a higher risk of homesickness or nostalgia. Where in relation to this geographical distance, the design could accentuate the specific location the direction in which the origin country is located. This communicated information could trigger an emotion connection between the person and their family or hometown.
This particular finding is supported by the idea that current long distance communication tools are missing some experiential qualities such as cardinal direction and distance that can also bring an emotional affect to people. This idea is supported by the findings in the several conversations I had with international students living abroad.
In a design that can physically gesture towards the direction of people or places that you feel nostalgic or homesick for, it is my belief that a new type of long distance communication tool could bring more value to people experiencing the pains of living apart from their families and homes in a subtly reminding way. This can be especially applicable for international students like me, but also applicable to anyone that desires to be reminded of feeling attached and belonging to their family or distant hometown.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
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-Gurney, A (2004) COMPASS a story of exploration and innovation, W.W Norton & Company, United
States of America
-Hofstede, G (1991) Cultures and Organizations, Harper Collins Publishers, United Kingdom
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-Moggridge, B (2007) Designing interactions, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of
America
-Miranda A.L van Tilburg and Ad j.j.M Vingerhoets (1997) Psychological Aspects of Geographical Move,
Amsterdam Academic Archive, The Netherland
-Nomachi, K, A (1997) Mecca, Shueisha, Japan
-National Geographic Society (May 2008) National Geographic Magazine, United States of America
-The Concise Oxford Dictionary (2005) Edited by Catherine Soanes, Angus Stevenson, Oxford Press, United Kingdom
-The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (2007) Edited by Hornby, A, Seventhed. Oxford Press, United Kingdom
WEB
-Droog and KesselsKramer (2008) S1NGLETOWN
http://www.s1ngletown.org/
-The History of Long Distance ñ A Communications Revolutionî (Matt Jacks, 2008)
http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-long-distance.html
-Qibla: Find direction of Kaaba in Macca
http://www.qibla.com.br/
-Zen Center of Los Angels
www.zcla.org/custom404.php (13.5.09)
-The Impact of Globaliztion on Local Communities
www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/1/9/6/8/p19680_index.html
STATISTICS
-Australian Bureau of Statistics
http://www.abs.gov.au/
-Euromonitor International
http://www.euromonitor.com/
-The National Statistics Center (NSTAC)
http://www.nstac.go.jp/
-UK Statistics Authority
http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/
BOOKS
-Ad!dict Creative Lab (2008) AD!DICT # 29, Belgium
-Bendavid, V, L(2003) FAMILIE, National Geographic Society, Washington, D, C
-Boym, S (2001) The future of Nostalgia , A Menber of the Perseus Books Group, united States of America
-Dijkstre and Hendrix (1983) Cited in Miranda A.L van Tilburg and Ad j.j.M Vingerhoets (1997) Psychological Aspects of Geographical Move, Amsterdam Academic Archive, The Netherlands
-Gurney, A (2004) COMPASS a story of exploration and innovation, W.W Norton & Company, United
States of America
-Hofstede, G (1991) Cultures and Organizations, Harper Collins Publishers, United Kingdom
-Kron, J (2007) Home-Psych: The Social Psychology of Home, Scientific Press, New York
-Lunde, P (2004) ISLAM, Dorling Kindersley, United Kingdom
-Moggridge, B (2007) Designing interactions, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States of
America
-Miranda A.L van Tilburg and Ad j.j.M Vingerhoets (1997) Psychological Aspects of Geographical Move,
Amsterdam Academic Archive, The Netherland
-Nomachi, K, A (1997) Mecca, Shueisha, Japan
-National Geographic Society (May 2008) National Geographic Magazine, United States of America
-The Concise Oxford Dictionary (2005) Edited by Catherine Soanes, Angus Stevenson, Oxford Press, United Kingdom
-The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (2007) Edited by Hornby, A, Seventhed. Oxford Press, United Kingdom
WEB
-Droog and KesselsKramer (2008) S1NGLETOWN
http://www.s1ngletown.org/
-The History of Long Distance ñ A Communications Revolutionî (Matt Jacks, 2008)
http://www.thehistoryof.net/history-of-long-distance.html
-Qibla: Find direction of Kaaba in Macca
http://www.qibla.com.br/
-Zen Center of Los Angels
www.zcla.org/custom404.php (13.5.09)
-The Impact of Globaliztion on Local Communities
www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/1/9/6/8/p19680_index.html
STATISTICS
-Australian Bureau of Statistics
http://www.abs.gov.au/
-Euromonitor International
http://www.euromonitor.com/
-The National Statistics Center (NSTAC)
http://www.nstac.go.jp/
-UK Statistics Authority
http://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/
List of Figures
1-A young woman points out her home on the world map
www.flickr.com/photos/tara-tea/3037955269/
2-Mount Fuji in Clear Weather
www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/ukiyoe/hokusai.html
3-Netherlands, North Holland, Zaanse Schans, windmills, 1998
www.gettyimages.com/
4-A young woman in Beijing,
National Geographic Magazine May 2008 p108
5-China, Guangdong Province, family around small stove at home
www.gettyimages.com/
6-China, Shanghai, young woman sitting in home
www.gettyimages.com/
7-International students
Photograph by Author
8-NEW YORK, VS 1954 Paul Zahl
FAMILIE, p39
9-Chappe semaphore on the roof of the Louvre, Paris (1795), Smithsonian Institution Libraries
www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/underwater-web/uw-optic-02.htm
10-A homing pigeon
www.pigeoncote.com/homing/homing.html
11-Telegraph key in America in 1838
www.antiqbuyer.com/tele.html
12-A Penfold Hexagonal postbox,
www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1224228
13-Telephone for operator-assisted phone service
Designing interactions p386
14-Alexander Graham Bell speaking into a prototype telephone, The Early Office Museum
www.officemuseum.com/
15-Man and woman using telephones
1910 postcard
16--Old phone
www.iphonepicture.org/p/other/oldphone.html
17--Steve Jobs and Bill Atkinson, holding a Mac, in 1983
Designing interactions p100
18-Nokia 5110
www.nokiausa.com/
Designing interactions p75
20-E-mail icon
Scanted by Author
21-Google homepage June 2005
Designing interactions p470
22-Skype logo
Photograph by Author
23-A picture of iPhone
www.apple.com/iphone/
24-A woman using Skype
Photograph by Author
25-Old Map of the World from the 1500's
www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/maps/old-map-world.html
26-South Pointing Chariot Model, British Science Museum in London
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
27-Model of Model Si Nan of Han Dynasty a south-indicating ladle or sinanin China
chinese-dynasties.org/han-dynasty.html
28-A 9th century astrolabe in Iraq
ISLAM p94
29-Qibla Indicator in Iran, Bakken Library and Museum
www.thebakken.org/artifacts/qibla.html
30-Persian 'qibla' indicator
www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/cultures/astronomical_instruments
31-Google earth 2008
Photograph by Author
32-Qibla compass
www.islamicgoodsdirect.co.uk/
33-Qiblah phone (model:LG-F7100)
www.lge.com/us/index.jsp
34-GPS satellite, NASA
www.navcen.uscg.gov/ftp/gps/ggeninfo/gps-iif.tif
35-Automotive navigation system
www.autonavigationsystems.net/products.html
36-Prayer compass
www.casio.com/home/
37-Qibla finder
appbeacon.com/apps/003608/qibla-finder
38--A picture of performance of prayer at sunset
Mecca p99
39-A picture of mihrab (in the center) of a mosque
Mecca p111
40-Two man bowing each other
waystosayhello.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/the-many-degrees-of-bowing/
1-A young woman points out her home on the world map
www.flickr.com/photos/tara-tea/3037955269/
2-Mount Fuji in Clear Weather
www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/ukiyoe/hokusai.html
3-Netherlands, North Holland, Zaanse Schans, windmills, 1998
www.gettyimages.com/
4-A young woman in Beijing,
National Geographic Magazine May 2008 p108
5-China, Guangdong Province, family around small stove at home
www.gettyimages.com/
6-China, Shanghai, young woman sitting in home
www.gettyimages.com/
7-International students
Photograph by Author
8-NEW YORK, VS 1954 Paul Zahl
FAMILIE, p39
9-Chappe semaphore on the roof of the Louvre, Paris (1795), Smithsonian Institution Libraries
www.sil.si.edu/exhibitions/underwater-web/uw-optic-02.htm
10-A homing pigeon
www.pigeoncote.com/homing/homing.html
11-Telegraph key in America in 1838
www.antiqbuyer.com/tele.html
12-A Penfold Hexagonal postbox,
www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1224228
13-Telephone for operator-assisted phone service
Designing interactions p386
14-Alexander Graham Bell speaking into a prototype telephone, The Early Office Museum
www.officemuseum.com/
15-Man and woman using telephones
1910 postcard
16--Old phone
www.iphonepicture.org/p/other/oldphone.html
17--Steve Jobs and Bill Atkinson, holding a Mac, in 1983
Designing interactions p100
18-Nokia 5110
www.nokiausa.com/
Designing interactions p75
20-E-mail icon
Scanted by Author
21-Google homepage June 2005
Designing interactions p470
22-Skype logo
Photograph by Author
23-A picture of iPhone
www.apple.com/iphone/
24-A woman using Skype
Photograph by Author
25-Old Map of the World from the 1500's
www.sonofthesouth.net/revolutionary-war/maps/old-map-world.html
26-South Pointing Chariot Model, British Science Museum in London
www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/
27-Model of Model Si Nan of Han Dynasty a south-indicating ladle or sinanin China
chinese-dynasties.org/han-dynasty.html
28-A 9th century astrolabe in Iraq
ISLAM p94
29-Qibla Indicator in Iran, Bakken Library and Museum
www.thebakken.org/artifacts/qibla.html
30-Persian 'qibla' indicator
www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/cultures/astronomical_instruments
31-Google earth 2008
Photograph by Author
32-Qibla compass
www.islamicgoodsdirect.co.uk/
33-Qiblah phone (model:LG-F7100)
www.lge.com/us/index.jsp
34-GPS satellite, NASA
www.navcen.uscg.gov/ftp/gps/ggeninfo/gps-iif.tif
35-Automotive navigation system
www.autonavigationsystems.net/products.html
36-Prayer compass
www.casio.com/home/
37-Qibla finder
appbeacon.com/apps/003608/qibla-finder
38--A picture of performance of prayer at sunset
Mecca p99
39-A picture of mihrab (in the center) of a mosque
Mecca p111
40-Two man bowing each other
waystosayhello.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/the-many-degrees-of-bowing/
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