Tweens and their in-betweens: Giving voice to young people when exploring emerging information practices associated with smart devices

Anderson, TD

Tweens and their in-betweens: Giving voice to young people when exploring emerging information practices associated with smart devices

Anderson, TD

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Information Research, 2013, 18 (1)
Issue Date:: 2013-03-27

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Anderson, TD	en_US
dc.date.issued	2013-03-27	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Information Research, 2013, 18 (1)	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/23952
dc.description.abstract	Introduction. Rising access to and use of mobile devices by children and young people makes it critical to study real-life contexts of their emerging information practices. In sharing lessons learnt from an Australian project actively involving children as partners in research exploring their mobile phone usage, this paper discusses why adopting value-sensitive participatory approaches can help meet some of the challenges faced when trying to understand (and regulate) the mediated engagements of young people. Method. As part of the project 1,389 young people from Years 6 and 9 were surveyed from within schools in one state. Following the survey, focus groups were conducted with survey participants. A research advisory group was also chosen from this population. Findings. As smart devices continue to find their way into the classrooms and curriculum, the school library will have to adapt and respond to the intertwining practices of social and academic, information and communication in order to stay relevant. Riskand intertwinglingare presented as two prevailing concepts that might inform future investigations into the information practices of young people in the dynamic contexts of their mobile mediated ecologies. Conclusions. The participatory research methods used in the project can provide rich contextual understanding of the everyday, everywhere presence of mobile technologies in young lives needed to devise effective strategies for dealing with mobile or smart phone use in and out of the classroom and supports efforts to give young people a greater voice in the decisions affecting their engagements mobile technologies.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Information Research	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Information & Library Sciences	en_US
dc.title	Tweens and their in-betweens: Giving voice to young people when exploring emerging information practices associated with smart devices	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	1	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	18	en_US
utslib.for	0807 Library and Information Studies	en_US
utslib.for	0806 Information Systems	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CPCE - Centre for Creative Practices and the Cultural Economy
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	1	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	18	en_US

Abstract:

Introduction. Rising access to and use of mobile devices by children and young people makes it critical to study real-life contexts of their emerging information practices. In sharing lessons learnt from an Australian project actively involving children as partners in research exploring their mobile phone usage, this paper discusses why adopting value-sensitive participatory approaches can help meet some of the challenges faced when trying to understand (and regulate) the mediated engagements of young people. Method. As part of the project 1,389 young people from Years 6 and 9 were surveyed from within schools in one state. Following the survey, focus groups were conducted with survey participants. A research advisory group was also chosen from this population. Findings. As smart devices continue to find their way into the classrooms and curriculum, the school library will have to adapt and respond to the intertwining practices of social and academic, information and communication in order to stay relevant. Riskand intertwinglingare presented as two prevailing concepts that might inform future investigations into the information practices of young people in the dynamic contexts of their mobile mediated ecologies. Conclusions. The participatory research methods used in the project can provide rich contextual understanding of the everyday, everywhere presence of mobile technologies in young lives needed to devise effective strategies for dealing with mobile or smart phone use in and out of the classroom and supports efforts to give young people a greater voice in the decisions affecting their engagements mobile technologies.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/23952