The project "App-solute News" examines the effects of digitalization on the everyday action of reading newspapers and deals with the transition from analog (print medium) to digital (e-paper and app). The project aims to investigate which narratives in inter-generational encounters arise during this transformation process and to what extent these can be used for inter-generational digitization skills in companies in a sustainable and profitable way. The images of age inherent in these narratives are the subject of Literary and Cultural Studies, Media Studies, Narrative-Ethical and Linguistic as well as Pedagogical and Economic analyses. Within this study, it will be shown how different age groups learn with and about each other and how they deal with the digitization of print media. Furthermore, it will be analysed which manifold representations arise in the perception of these age groups when people are about to enter the working world or have already retired. As a consequence of the investigations, a method in the field of lifelong learning will be developed which both scientifically and artistically-creatively understands the socially relevant transformative power of digitization as an opportunity and thus helps to reduce the fear of the digitalization of everyday life.
The approach of the study is divided into three steps:
1. Digital Storytelling: This is a innovative pedagogical-narrative method that can be used to promote diversity and reduce fears through images and stories. Within the framework of accompanied intergenerational workshops on the topic, students and seniors at the Karl-Franzens-University learn the scientific-pedagogical skills necessary for these productions. Finally, "Digital Stories" are to be created, which will serve as a basis for the investigation of digitization-related images of old age and which will serve as a basis for the planned research.
More information about Digital Storytelling can be found here or under "Digital Stories" in the top left corner.
2. Scientific processing: The "Digital Stories" will be further investigated by researchers of the interdisciplinary Age and Care Research Group Graz, under the direction of Assoz.-Prof. Dr. Ulla Kriebernegg. From cultural and literary, sociological, media, ethical-narrative, pedagogical and linguistic perspectives, the images of age and digitalization prevailing in the interviews will be investigated. An accompanying economic analysis under the direction of Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Margareta Kreimer (Institute of Economics) takes a closer look at the economic accompanying and subsequent developments. The investigation of intergenerational narratives serves to relate challenges and opportunities at the interface between analogue and digital with the digitization-related images of age contained in the narratives. The aim is to find suitable methods to accompany an anxiety-free change and thereby facilitate the transition to digitized everyday life for everyone.
3. Development of a model guideline for companies: As a third step, a teaching and learning method in the field of change management will be developed, which enables the sustainable usability of the gained knowledge. Adapted to the everyday life of companies in the field of digitization, the low-threshold, institution-independent accessibility of appropriate learning content according to individual needs and requirements is particularly important. The heterogeneity of elderly population strata is taken into account as well as the breaking up of the binary concepts of "old" and "young". This method is to be made available as a model guideline for qualification seminars for companies after the end of the project in order to implement the research results in a sustainable way in terms of economic efficiency.