Gail Kenning | University of Technology Sydney (original) (raw)
Papers by Gail Kenning
Dementia, 2021
The Visit, an immersive participatory artwork (viewed on a screen or virtual reality headset), wa... more The Visit, an immersive participatory artwork (viewed on a screen or virtual reality headset), was produced as part of a research programme investigating the subjective experience of dementia and the relational dynamic between people with dementia and others. It invites viewers to engage with a digital human character, ‘Viv’, as she shares her experiences of living with dementia. The experiences that Viv recounts are based on verbatim accounts from in-depth interviews with four women living with dementia. The artwork was designed with the combined aim of generating insights into the lived experience of dementia and establishing conditions under which viewers might cultivate empathy for the character portrayed. Viewers engaging with Viv were invited to complete pre- and post-engagement measures of state empathy alongside an assessment of emotional distance. State empathy was significantly greater after engaging with The Visit, and correspondingly, there was a significant decrease in ...
International Journal of Qualitative Methods
This paper discusses the use of pre-engagement as a method to introduce EmbodiMap, a Virtual Real... more This paper discusses the use of pre-engagement as a method to introduce EmbodiMap, a Virtual Reality (VR) tool to a group of South Sudanese refugees in Sydney, Australia. The aim of the pre-engagment is to understand how currently available support for the mental and emotional wellbeing of the refugee population can be further supported through psychosocial engagements using purposefully developed tools. The EmbodiMap tool and experience, developed by the felt Experience and Empathy Lab (fEEL) at UNSW Sydney, is a creative approach that potentially offers a transformative experience as participants virtually reach into their bodies and draw or register their immediate or persisting feelings, sensations and emotions. As an arts-based approach, EmbodiMap provides an innovative alternative to approaches that rely heavily on words, thus helping amplify the participants’ self-expression. Pre-engagement is used as a psychosocial engagement method, allowing for a small group of participant...
2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)
The Visit is an interactive real-time Virtual Reality experience, developed from a ground-breakin... more The Visit is an interactive real-time Virtual Reality experience, developed from a ground-breaking research project conducted by artists and psychologists working with women living with dementia. Visitors are invited to sit with Viv, a life-sized, realistic animated character whose dialogue is created largely from verbatim interviews, drawing us into a world of perceptual uncertainty, while at the same time confounding stereotypes and confronting fears about dementia. The character is sensitive to the motions of the viewer, she is aware of the presence in her home by making eye-contact and directly addressing the visitor. The characterisation has scientific validity but also the qualities of a rich, emotion-driven film narrative. The point of the work is to draw the viewer into the emotional/perceptual world of Viv. Like the women who co-created her, Viv experiences various dementia-related symptoms, including hallucinations and confabulation, but she is also insightful and reflective. Viv is living a life and coming to terms with a neurological change. Year: 2019, Format: Screen/VR (Oculus Quest), Running Time: 14 min, Language: English.
Dementia Lab 2021: Supporting Ability Through Design, 2021
In diesem Artikel berichten wir von zwei Gruppen, in denen Menschen mit Gedachtnisverlust infolge... more In diesem Artikel berichten wir von zwei Gruppen, in denen Menschen mit Gedachtnisverlust infolge einer fortschreitenden Demenz eingeladen wurden, einen Film anzusehen, der von den Erfahrungen einer Frau mit Hirnlasion und Amnesie handelte. Zugang zu den Personen, die alle zuhause leben, erhielten wir uber Tagespflegeeinrichtungen; in einer Gruppe nahmen zusatzlich informelle Betreuer/innen teil. Nach der Prasentation wurde mit jeder Person eine visuelle Matrix erstellt, ein gruppenbasiertes Verfahren zur Erhebung emotionaler Assoziationen infolge asthetischer Stimuli, um das gemeinsame Erinnern zu fordern. Wir nahmen an, dass aus dem assoziativen Charakter der visuellen Matrix ein sinnvolles Engagement der Teilnehmenden mit Demenz resultieren wurde. Im Beitrag diskutieren wir die Teilhabe- und Selbstreflexionsprozesse, die durch die genutzte Methodik mit Blick auf soziale Fertigkeiten erleichtert wurden, auch bezogen auf Unterschiede zwischen beiden Gruppen, die (Nicht-) Anwesenhei...
Social Sciences
Through a psychosocial lens, informed by relational psychoanalysis, this article discusses the de... more Through a psychosocial lens, informed by relational psychoanalysis, this article discusses the design, delivery, and impact of The Big Anxiety’s 2022 festival in Warwick, Queensland—an arts-based program that engages with lived experiences of trauma, distress, and suicide, and in this case with the devastating impact of youth suicide, disproportionately affecting First Nations communities. It describes the festival’s methods of creative engagement, examining how these create conditions for the transformation of trauma and for experiences of growth.
This paper describes research investigating the design and development of new kinds of sensory te... more This paper describes research investigating the design and development of new kinds of sensory textiles to be used to support the subjective wellbeing (SWB) of persons with dementia (PwD). An international collaborative research project is presented in which participatory and inclusive design methods have been used, informed by the expertise and experience of a variety of stakeholders including carers, occupational therapists, PwD and
Social Sciences
The many changes that occur in the lives of older people put them at an increased risk of being s... more The many changes that occur in the lives of older people put them at an increased risk of being socially isolated and lonely. Intergenerational programs for older adults and young children can potentially address this shortfall, because of the perceived benefit from generations interacting. This study explores whether there is an appetite in the community for intergenerational programs for community dwelling older adults. An online survey was distributed via social media, research team networks, and snowballing recruitment with access provided via QR code or hyperlink. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with potential participants of a pilot intergenerational program planned for the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia in 2020. The interviews were thematically analyzed. Over 250 people completed the survey, and 21 interviews took place with older adults (10) and parents of young children (11). The data showed that participants were all in favor of intergenerational programs,...
Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
DRS2016: Future-Focused Thinking
Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Frontiers in Public Health
Smartphone technologies can support older adults in their daily lives as they age in place at hom... more Smartphone technologies can support older adults in their daily lives as they age in place at home. However, they may struggle to use these technologies which impacts acceptance, adoption, and sustainable use. Peer to peer community learning has the potential to support older adults to learn using (smartphone) technologies. This paper studies such a learning community approach and how it can support older adults to learn using and adopt the smartphone application GoLivePhone. This technology assists older adults in their daily living by supporting them through fall detection and activity tracking. In particular, the interface of this application can evolve and adapt as older adults become more knowledgeable during the use process or as their abilities change. This paper shows a field study with seven older adults learning and using the GoLivePhone technology through a living lab approach. These older adults participated in this research in a technology learning community that was se...
Proceedings of the 2019 on Designing Interactive Systems Conference
Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Engaging in participatory research in HCI raises numerous ethical complexities such as consent, r... more Engaging in participatory research in HCI raises numerous ethical complexities such as consent, researcher relationships, and participant compensation. Doing HCI work in the area of dementia amplifies these issues, and researchers in this area are modelling ethical stances to ensure researcher-participant relationships focus on meaningful engagement and care. This paper presents an insight into the kinds of ethical foci required when doing design research with people living with dementia and their carers. We interviewed 22 HCI researchers with experience working in dementia care contexts. Our qualitative analysis outlines subsequent lessons-learned, such as recognition of the participants, self-care, research impact, and subjectivity in ethical review boards. Furthermore, we found the complexity of navigating both "everyday" and more formal, institutional ethics in dementia research has implications beyond the context of working with people with dementia and outline key considerations for ethical practices in socially orientated HCI research.
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Music and familiar everyday sounds can be meaningful for people with dementia by providing benefi... more Music and familiar everyday sounds can be meaningful for people with dementia by providing benefits such as evoking memories and emotions or prompting social interactions with caregivers or relatives. Motivated by this potential, researchers and designers are investigating how to leverage these beneficial effects of sound in care environments through audio-based technology. However, there is a gap in the knowledge of how audio-based technology can be successfully implemented within everyday care practice. In this paper, we present the outcome of three participatory workshops with 18 professional caregivers to explore how audio-based technology can add value to existing care processes and activities in residential dementia care. During the participatory workshops, professional caregivers (1) mapped existing care activities; (2) linked findings in research with practice, and (3) designed scenarios for the Vita sound cushion. Care professionals indicate how audio-based technology can s...
Companion Publication of the 2019 on Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2019 Companion - DIS '19 Companion
Dementia, 2021
The Visit, an immersive participatory artwork (viewed on a screen or virtual reality headset), wa... more The Visit, an immersive participatory artwork (viewed on a screen or virtual reality headset), was produced as part of a research programme investigating the subjective experience of dementia and the relational dynamic between people with dementia and others. It invites viewers to engage with a digital human character, ‘Viv’, as she shares her experiences of living with dementia. The experiences that Viv recounts are based on verbatim accounts from in-depth interviews with four women living with dementia. The artwork was designed with the combined aim of generating insights into the lived experience of dementia and establishing conditions under which viewers might cultivate empathy for the character portrayed. Viewers engaging with Viv were invited to complete pre- and post-engagement measures of state empathy alongside an assessment of emotional distance. State empathy was significantly greater after engaging with The Visit, and correspondingly, there was a significant decrease in ...
International Journal of Qualitative Methods
This paper discusses the use of pre-engagement as a method to introduce EmbodiMap, a Virtual Real... more This paper discusses the use of pre-engagement as a method to introduce EmbodiMap, a Virtual Reality (VR) tool to a group of South Sudanese refugees in Sydney, Australia. The aim of the pre-engagment is to understand how currently available support for the mental and emotional wellbeing of the refugee population can be further supported through psychosocial engagements using purposefully developed tools. The EmbodiMap tool and experience, developed by the felt Experience and Empathy Lab (fEEL) at UNSW Sydney, is a creative approach that potentially offers a transformative experience as participants virtually reach into their bodies and draw or register their immediate or persisting feelings, sensations and emotions. As an arts-based approach, EmbodiMap provides an innovative alternative to approaches that rely heavily on words, thus helping amplify the participants’ self-expression. Pre-engagement is used as a psychosocial engagement method, allowing for a small group of participant...
2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)
The Visit is an interactive real-time Virtual Reality experience, developed from a ground-breakin... more The Visit is an interactive real-time Virtual Reality experience, developed from a ground-breaking research project conducted by artists and psychologists working with women living with dementia. Visitors are invited to sit with Viv, a life-sized, realistic animated character whose dialogue is created largely from verbatim interviews, drawing us into a world of perceptual uncertainty, while at the same time confounding stereotypes and confronting fears about dementia. The character is sensitive to the motions of the viewer, she is aware of the presence in her home by making eye-contact and directly addressing the visitor. The characterisation has scientific validity but also the qualities of a rich, emotion-driven film narrative. The point of the work is to draw the viewer into the emotional/perceptual world of Viv. Like the women who co-created her, Viv experiences various dementia-related symptoms, including hallucinations and confabulation, but she is also insightful and reflective. Viv is living a life and coming to terms with a neurological change. Year: 2019, Format: Screen/VR (Oculus Quest), Running Time: 14 min, Language: English.
Dementia Lab 2021: Supporting Ability Through Design, 2021
In diesem Artikel berichten wir von zwei Gruppen, in denen Menschen mit Gedachtnisverlust infolge... more In diesem Artikel berichten wir von zwei Gruppen, in denen Menschen mit Gedachtnisverlust infolge einer fortschreitenden Demenz eingeladen wurden, einen Film anzusehen, der von den Erfahrungen einer Frau mit Hirnlasion und Amnesie handelte. Zugang zu den Personen, die alle zuhause leben, erhielten wir uber Tagespflegeeinrichtungen; in einer Gruppe nahmen zusatzlich informelle Betreuer/innen teil. Nach der Prasentation wurde mit jeder Person eine visuelle Matrix erstellt, ein gruppenbasiertes Verfahren zur Erhebung emotionaler Assoziationen infolge asthetischer Stimuli, um das gemeinsame Erinnern zu fordern. Wir nahmen an, dass aus dem assoziativen Charakter der visuellen Matrix ein sinnvolles Engagement der Teilnehmenden mit Demenz resultieren wurde. Im Beitrag diskutieren wir die Teilhabe- und Selbstreflexionsprozesse, die durch die genutzte Methodik mit Blick auf soziale Fertigkeiten erleichtert wurden, auch bezogen auf Unterschiede zwischen beiden Gruppen, die (Nicht-) Anwesenhei...
Social Sciences
Through a psychosocial lens, informed by relational psychoanalysis, this article discusses the de... more Through a psychosocial lens, informed by relational psychoanalysis, this article discusses the design, delivery, and impact of The Big Anxiety’s 2022 festival in Warwick, Queensland—an arts-based program that engages with lived experiences of trauma, distress, and suicide, and in this case with the devastating impact of youth suicide, disproportionately affecting First Nations communities. It describes the festival’s methods of creative engagement, examining how these create conditions for the transformation of trauma and for experiences of growth.
This paper describes research investigating the design and development of new kinds of sensory te... more This paper describes research investigating the design and development of new kinds of sensory textiles to be used to support the subjective wellbeing (SWB) of persons with dementia (PwD). An international collaborative research project is presented in which participatory and inclusive design methods have been used, informed by the expertise and experience of a variety of stakeholders including carers, occupational therapists, PwD and
Social Sciences
The many changes that occur in the lives of older people put them at an increased risk of being s... more The many changes that occur in the lives of older people put them at an increased risk of being socially isolated and lonely. Intergenerational programs for older adults and young children can potentially address this shortfall, because of the perceived benefit from generations interacting. This study explores whether there is an appetite in the community for intergenerational programs for community dwelling older adults. An online survey was distributed via social media, research team networks, and snowballing recruitment with access provided via QR code or hyperlink. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with potential participants of a pilot intergenerational program planned for the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia in 2020. The interviews were thematically analyzed. Over 250 people completed the survey, and 21 interviews took place with older adults (10) and parents of young children (11). The data showed that participants were all in favor of intergenerational programs,...
Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
DRS2016: Future-Focused Thinking
Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Frontiers in Public Health
Smartphone technologies can support older adults in their daily lives as they age in place at hom... more Smartphone technologies can support older adults in their daily lives as they age in place at home. However, they may struggle to use these technologies which impacts acceptance, adoption, and sustainable use. Peer to peer community learning has the potential to support older adults to learn using (smartphone) technologies. This paper studies such a learning community approach and how it can support older adults to learn using and adopt the smartphone application GoLivePhone. This technology assists older adults in their daily living by supporting them through fall detection and activity tracking. In particular, the interface of this application can evolve and adapt as older adults become more knowledgeable during the use process or as their abilities change. This paper shows a field study with seven older adults learning and using the GoLivePhone technology through a living lab approach. These older adults participated in this research in a technology learning community that was se...
Proceedings of the 2019 on Designing Interactive Systems Conference
Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Engaging in participatory research in HCI raises numerous ethical complexities such as consent, r... more Engaging in participatory research in HCI raises numerous ethical complexities such as consent, researcher relationships, and participant compensation. Doing HCI work in the area of dementia amplifies these issues, and researchers in this area are modelling ethical stances to ensure researcher-participant relationships focus on meaningful engagement and care. This paper presents an insight into the kinds of ethical foci required when doing design research with people living with dementia and their carers. We interviewed 22 HCI researchers with experience working in dementia care contexts. Our qualitative analysis outlines subsequent lessons-learned, such as recognition of the participants, self-care, research impact, and subjectivity in ethical review boards. Furthermore, we found the complexity of navigating both "everyday" and more formal, institutional ethics in dementia research has implications beyond the context of working with people with dementia and outline key considerations for ethical practices in socially orientated HCI research.
Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Music and familiar everyday sounds can be meaningful for people with dementia by providing benefi... more Music and familiar everyday sounds can be meaningful for people with dementia by providing benefits such as evoking memories and emotions or prompting social interactions with caregivers or relatives. Motivated by this potential, researchers and designers are investigating how to leverage these beneficial effects of sound in care environments through audio-based technology. However, there is a gap in the knowledge of how audio-based technology can be successfully implemented within everyday care practice. In this paper, we present the outcome of three participatory workshops with 18 professional caregivers to explore how audio-based technology can add value to existing care processes and activities in residential dementia care. During the participatory workshops, professional caregivers (1) mapped existing care activities; (2) linked findings in research with practice, and (3) designed scenarios for the Vita sound cushion. Care professionals indicate how audio-based technology can s...
Companion Publication of the 2019 on Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2019 Companion - DIS '19 Companion