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Technology in the Community: a Millennium Reflection
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Technological development was one of the key characteristics of the last century, and today's older people have experienced fundamental and unprecedented changes in their lifestyles as a result of technological innovation.

Technology in the Community: a Millennium Reflection sought to record ordinary people's memories of the advent of complex technology into their lives and to give voice to reflections on the impact these changes have had.

The project was developed in collaboration with McCarthy and Stone (Developments) plc and co-funded by Bournemouth University and Racal Electronics.

Project outline

  • Residents of 5 McCarthy & Stone retirement developments in the South of England volunteered to contribute memories and reflections
  • Year 12 students (aged 16-17) from schools local to the developments were trained in oral history interview techniques and principles
  • Interviews were conducted on a 1:1 or 2:1 basis
  • Students transcribed or summarised the interviews
  • Thematic or individual presentations were prepared for publication on the website

Technical details

Funding limitations meant that the majority of the interviews were conducted using standard analogue cassettes and table top recording equipment. Sound bites incorporated into the presentations were were recorded on mini disc using a Sony MZ R55 mini disc recorder and transferred to the web authoring program using the computer's default sound recorder software.

Click here to visit the project presentation