Den utsträckta TV:n - Ett exempel ur praktiken

Sammanfattning: The aim of this licentiate thesis is twofold: 1) to describe old people’s interest in and prospects of using the television for something other than traditional TV viewing, and 2) to describe the nonlinearities in the design process in which this research was performed. A concept called The Extended TV was developed and tested (by old people, their relatives and care workers) in a new nursing home in the process of moving in, hiring employees, making final adjustments on the premises and in the technology. A total of thirty old people, between 60 and 100 years old, were included in the process which was carried out between June 2006 and February 2007. A pivotal background factor was that the initial resistance to the technology itself was low when it came to such a frequently used product as the television set. This proved to also be the case in this study when it came to TVs with flat screens (installed in all rooms and entirely independent of this project). The functions in The Extended TV included both personal ones and ones in common with other residents. The common functions consisted of an internal TV channel and two media centres with the necessary equipment to view common internal productions, other programmes of general interest and material that relatives supplied. The personal function dealt with communication based on one individual’s photo album presented on her own TV. The function and usage of The Extended TV were developed in and through an interweaving of visions, expertise, relationships, responsibilities and logistical prerequisites. The results deal with the interface, the people themselves in action (the old people, their relatives, the staff, IT consultants, technology providers, myself and many others), our tools and the scope of our action. What undoubtedly took the most time was the nonlinear design process. It was complex and by no means followed the initial plans. This is indeed more the rule than the exception in situated human design processes, but is documented all too seldom. I hope that the lessons from the usage of The Extended TV will contribute to innovative ideas concerning old people’s TV viewing.