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Scientific Article details

Title Knowledge-making on "ageing in a smart city' as socio-material power dynamics of participatory action research
ID_Doc 37230
Authors Suopajärvi, T
Title Knowledge-making on "ageing in a smart city' as socio-material power dynamics of participatory action research
Year 2017
Published Action Research, 15.0, 4
DOI 10.1177/1476750316655385
Abstract This article investigates participatory action research workshops from the perspective of feminist new materialism by asking, how we came to know ageing in the smart city of Oulu in northern Finland through collaborative workshops which aimed to include seniors into public service design. The most meaningful socio-material components in this knowledge-making are argued to be the shifts in social power relations, particular spatial and material practices, and the participant assemblage. These components intra-act transferring our understanding on ageing: ageing becomes a creative state where the seniors are included in the problem-solving instead of being citizens to be looked after, and thus being merely a socio-economic problem. The power dynamics are essential in participatory action research, therefore, the accountability of all agents should be carefully analysed to understand the impacts of epistemology both in design and social change.
Author Keywords Participatory action research; feminist new materialism; ethnography; cultural anthropology; ageing; smart city
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000417647000004
WoS Category Management; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Research Area Business & Economics; Social Sciences - Other Topics
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