Behind the scene of KOOSU Journey of making a platform that honours our loved one’s memory
Y A-P I NG S H E N
In grateful memory of my grandfather, David Shen (1918-2016)
Contents Abstract I Gratitudes II Chapter One
Introduction 1
Chapter Two
Understanding
2-1 How people grieve by honoring the memory of the deceased loved ones
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2-2 How might we collect, maintain and explore our loved one’s stories?
21 2-3 Concept 25
Chapter Three
Meeting the Needs 3-1 User Stories 29 3-2 Journey Map
32
3-3 Inspirations
34
3-4 Design Goals
41
Chapter Four
Design
4-1 User Flow 4-2 Information Architecture 4-3 Wireframes 4-4 Visuals 4-5 Preliminary Design 4-6 Discussion 4-7 Refined design 4-8 Result
45 50 52 59 62 66 70 77
Chapter Three
Conclusion 5-1 Potential implications 5-2 Limitations 5-3 Future Work
80 82 84
References 86 Appendices 89 Appendix A: The Messages from my dad 90 Appendix B: The video of my grandpa’s life 93 Appendix C: Interview transcripts 94
Abstract When a loved one died, it is often difficult for us to accept the fact that the person will no longer stay with us. In this document, I will go into the journey I have been through grieving for my grandfather and how I took comfort in the stories he left us. Through the journey, understanding of other people and review of literature, a gap is found where I propose the design of “Koosu”, a mobile platform that makes use of social network to let us collect, archive, curate, discuss and explore our loved one’s stories. I hope with this platform, we can easily honor our loved one’s presence and be offered evidence of how that person enriched us and our world.
I
Gratitudes This is the longest essay I have ever written! I would not have made it to this point without those people who supported me along the way. It started off with my tutor, Willkie, who had strong belief on these 14 kids from Master of Interaction Design that they are able to complete their projects following the design process and write ten thousand words out of it in 4 months, and yet spent a lot of time proofreading each document. I am indebted to all my friends who are always there for me when I need some advices, company and user data. A sincere thanks to Astha for always using her action to show me how to be kind and caring. Thanks to Sahil for being my free BBQ buddy and bringing in those intelligent discussion on our future career, and to Trinessa for sharing her grandfather’s story and food with me. The librarians, Romany and Diana, had given us an informative session on the resources we can use from the library which gave me peace of mind at the start of my writing. The free BBQ at Monash made life worth living and gave me motivation to come to class when I didn’t feel like waking up at 8am. Finally, I want to dedicate this document to my parents, who let me lurk for 25 years to build up the insights to do this project.
II
Chapter One
Introduction
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I will never forget the day when my grandpa passed away on 8th of February 2016. It was in a hospital in Taiwan when he breathed his last with only one of my cousins by his side. I was walking back to my Melbourne home from work when I saw the short but powerful message in our family chat group, “Come, ever yone! Grandpa is dying!�. My mind went blank immediately because he looked fine in the photos taken the day before when they were celebrating Chinese 2
“your grandpa just passed away. I’m sorry.”
New Year. The only thing I could do was to call my mom. When I got through, I could hear her cry, trying to speak a word but in vain, and she passed the phone to my uncle who unwillingly announced the heartbreaking news to me. The message was cruel yet straight-to-thepoint, “Ya-Ping, your grandpa just passed away. I’m sorry.”
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I had never felt that lonely before. Everyone who would understand my pain, including my parents, brothers a nd cousins were as busy dealing with their grieves, not to mention we were not even i n t he sa me c ou nt r y - I w a s totally on my own. It only took me two days to accept the fact and adjust to my normal life routine. However, I have been constantly gnawed by guilt about not being able to know him better when he was still there. And I also had a frightening thought that without the photos of him on my phone and his writing on the red envelope he gave, it’s like he had never existed.
I have been constantly gnawed by guilt about not being able to know him better when he was still there.
When I thought I just had to get over it all by myself, my dad sent me a long message about the great life of my grandfather which gave me tremendous comfort (see Appendix A.1 for the message from my father). It was the story I had never known, and I was glad to be able to hold on more evidence of his existence. I then volunteered to take charge of my grandpa’s memorial video and it gave me the opportunity to investigate more of his life stories (Figure 1). And I realized the more I dug into my grandfather’s life, the more I realised how little I knew about him. “The grandpa you know is only about the second half of his life, however, the most phenomenal part was at the first half,” said my father when I asked him more about the story of his father (see Appendix A.2).
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“The grandpa you know is only about the second half of his life, however, the most phenomenal part was at the first half,”
Figure 1 “The life of David Shen”. Screenshots of the animated video I made for my grandfather’s memorial service (see Appendix B).
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I hope everyone who had come across with him at the different stage of his life can get together and write the story he or she remembers.
It is a shame that I don’t remember most of my grandfather’s stories that he told me when I was little, but thankfully, my father has those memories vividly stuck in his mind and is keen to pass them down. K nowing that there are a lot of unknown to discover, I had never been so excited and hopeful since we lost him because it made me realized my grandfather now exists in a different form, and as long as his story continues to be told, he will always stay with us. There is so much I need to learn about him. I want to know where he grew up, who he had a crush on when he was at school, what his job was like, or just a ny other details that can help me picture how his life was. If it’s possible, I hope ever yone who had come across with him at the different stage of his life can get together and write the story he or she remembers.
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So, I started this project to fulfill this dream and also help someone else who may have the same needs. This document is about the journey of me trying to answer the following question:
How might we create something that helps us collect, maintain and explore the stories of our loved ones as best as we can, no matter where we are?
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8
Chapter Two
Understanding
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10
2-1
How people grieve by honoring the memory of the deceased loved ones T
he research question was set by my assumption that honouring the loved one’s memory is a positive activity for the mourners. First, I looked at how people grieve to see whether the idea of honouring the memory is an important element in human’s behaviour for grieving.
How grandchildren grieve for their grandparents While I find comfort in looking through my grandpa’s photos and learning more about his life, others may not be the same. I started the research on dealing with the death of a grandparent. The authors of the articles described their own journey as an adult grandchild who had lost a beloved grandparent. Although they had different personal experiences and approaches to grief, at the end of their journey, they 11
accepted the fact that the people we lost will never be gone as long as we keep them in our heart - as what Kaplun (2016) concluded, “honour your loved one’s memory by remembering them always.” I had conducted casual interviews with friends who have lost at least one of their grandparents. However, I f ou nd t h a t f or t ho s e w ho s e g ra ndpa rents died a long t ime ago or lived far away, honouring their memory is not a significant activity for them. “I think I’ll just keep them in my mind,” said Julie, a 24-year-old young professional in Taiwan whose both grandparents died long time ago. She had never talked with her grandpa. As for her grandma, the best memory between them was when her grandma lent her 80 bucks during their family gambling game (see Appendix C for the transcribed conversation). Everyone has a different relationship with their grandparents, hence I should also acknowledge the fact that the need of honouring the grandparent’s memory may differ a lot between each grandchild based on their own experience.
“honour your loved one’s memory by remembering them always.”
Figure 2 Mapping out what people do to honor their grandparent’s memory. 12
When I asked my friends about the story of their deceased grandparents, while most of them could easily list a few of their childhood memories of them, nobody mentioned the stories happened “before” them (see Appendix C). “The only image in my mind of my grandpa is an old person who seldom moved since he had been suffering a stroke, as far as I can remember, “said Julie on recalling the memory of her grandpa. Since most grandchildren were only involved in the last quarter of our grandparents’ life, we tend to think of them as old people instead of people with a rich history and background. So, the role of other family members, especially our parents, are important in passing on the grandparents’ stories.
we tend to think of them as old people instead of people with a rich history and background.
As a third generation who had missed the best years of my grandfather, the way I grieve for him is to learn more about his history, and most of them were provided by my father.
How my dad grieves by passing down the stories The impetus to my project has a lot to do with my dad’s writing on my grandfather’s life. While it was written for me, in doing so, it has helped him with his own grief. Since my father’s mother, my biological grandmother, passed away when he was young, my father became the one who knows best about the first half of my grandfather’s life. Even after one year of my grandfather’s death, my dad still tells me stories of him from time to time. The stories he told were and I was always fascinated by the passion, generosity, loyalty and courage my grandfather equipped in that postwar context.
How people grieve by honoring the memory of the deceased loved ones
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The story of the objects A few months ago, my dad sent me a picture (Fig ure 3) of my grandfather’s artifacts in an old suitcase. Although there’s nothing valuable since my grandfather was a poor vetera n who took not h i ng but a l l h is f a m i ly members to f lee from China to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War, the story behind each object is priceless. When I asked my dad what the black wallet at the top left corner was all about, he told me that my grandfather had been using it for more than 10 years until he died even though it had holes in it, then he brought up the story of my grandfather’s poor but fulf illing life and how the people he met along the way meant for him (see Appendix A.2 for my father’s message about the objects). T hose ordina r y objects of my grandfather not only contain the memory of him but also provide context of what he was like when he was using them. And by going through those items, my father can take comfort in the fact that his father had lived a f ull and rich life. Similarly, parents have the need to save or capture special memories from their children’s life, 14
By going through those items, my father can take comfort in the fact that his father had lived a full and rich life.
and the physical objects make up a majority of the archive that a parent retains (Stevens et al. 2003). Although we often imagine that photos are the primary bulk of family collections, while they mean nothing from outsiders, these items can be potentially the most mportant to parents. The researchers also indicated that though highly valued, without a
detailed record of why an object was saved, the entire a rchive becomes a vast unwritten story and unknown to those outside of the events themselves. Thus, the inclusion of physical objects is an important part of honouring the loved one’s memory.
Figure 3 A suitcase of stuff left by my grandfather. Photograph: my father.
How people grieve by honoring the memory of the deceased loved ones
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The story of the place and time When my father was telling the stories back in the days, having not l ived dur i ng t he 1950s, I h a d t o r e l y o n v i s u a l s f r om documentary footage and period dramas as a backdrop for these stories. Luckily, from the internet, I managed to f ind a collection of photos taken by a former US service man when he served in Taiwan from 1957 to 1958 (Jones 2012). He had captured images of everyday lives, from normal street scenes (Figure 4-1) to school kids lining up (Figure 4-2) and people paddling in a lake (Figure 4-3) – clearly, they were not the photos that would gain him any “like” if Instagram existed. I then showed the album to my father to see if these ordinary photos resonated with him. Surprisingly, they did. The typical street scene of Taipei in 1957 (Figure 4-1) is reminisced of the good old days when my grandfather used to drive him a r ou nd w it h h is gover n ment assigned jeep. “There were not many cars on the street, mainly military vehicles. And if we came across a mi l ita r y t r uck, t hey would sa lute to my f at her by flashing the headlight,” my father described how proud he was being the son of a prestigious colonel (see Appendix A.3 for my father’s 16
response a f ter he saw t hose photos). Being able to relate a personal
Almost every photo in that collection of Taipei street view in the late 1950’s has something to link with my father’s childhood memory. stor y to a cer ta in place a nd time, these photos are no longer just the generic street scenes of 1957 Ta ipei a ny mor e but invaluable assets that allow the appropriation and visualization of my grandfather’s existence. They contain the stor y of my grandfather at that particular place and time. And by looking at t hem, I c a n v isua l ise my g ra nd f at her d r iv i ng on t hat street with my dad, watching my father and uncles lining up outside that school, and paddling on that lake with his family.
Figure 4-1 Chung Shan North Road of Taipei in 1957. Photograph: Tom Jones.
Figure 4-2 School kids lining up at school for some reason. Photograph: Tom Jones.
Figure 4-3 Left: People paddling on the lake of Bitan in 1957. Photograph: Tom Jones. Right: The boats had now been replaced by the paddle boats. Photograph: Joanh (Joanh 2015).
How people grieve by honoring the memory of the deceased loved ones
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Other approaches to honoring our loved ones’ memory In addition to talking about the loved one’s story within the family, people have found various ways to commemorate their loved ones using existing technologies. The following examples show how people use social media or, if they have skills, even develop a game to grieve for their loved ones.
Public mourning on the deceased’s Facebook account Grieving used to be private and p er son a l, somet i mes e ven t o the extent that some parents do not display their grief to their own children, who then pick up the message that grief is tricky and taboo ( Walter 1999). Now, w ith the per vasiveness of the advanced mobile technology and the ease with which people can generate their own stories and feelings about the deceased; and these can be shared on Facebook by a range of people who may or may not know the deceased (Pennington 2013) (Figure 5-1). T his is neither good nor bad. People grieve in different ways, while some find comfort sharing their feelings a nd connect ing w it h ot her mou r ner s, it m ay add distress to those already in deep pain (Walter 2014). Had my grandfather been a Facebook user and shared most of his life stories on it, my sense of loss might not be as strong since most of his legacies could till be accessible
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after his passing. A lthough he was awa re that he was coming close to the end of his life ( he had left behind a short autobiography and an unfinished will ), using Facebook to document his life would never be his option. The concept of using Facebook to share personal stories to a wider audience instantly (Figure 5-2) is different from personal expectation and experience of honoring someone’s memor y. To me, it should be humble, personal and slow. However, this kind of pervasive digital social media allow connections between the mourners and let them communicate with each other, hence it creates new possibi l it ies for t he ongoi ng creation of the person’s online
memoi r ( Wa lter 2014). W hi le one of my expectations to this project is to make people who had relationship with the person get together and write the story he or she remembers, to achieve this, I should consider making use of the power of the social network.
Figure 5-1 People commenting on Stephen Hawking’s page after he passed away. Screenshot: Stephen Hawking’s official Facebook page (Facebook 2018).
Figure 5-2 Facebook is all about sharing instant stories and feelings. “ W h a t ’s o n y o ur mind?”. Screenshot of Facebook homepage (Facebook 2018).
How people grieve by honoring the memory of the deceased loved ones
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Letting others immerse in the person’s story “That Dragon, Cancer” is an immersive, narrative videogame that retells the developer’s son’s 4-year fight against cancer. Using a mix of first-person and third-person perspective, it invites players to immerse in this personal memoir (Numinous Games 2016).
“This is where we go to remember our son Joel, up through here along this path. We want to show you who he was, and how his life changed us. Can we walk here together for a while?” I t h i n k i t w o u l d n’ t b e m o r e meaningf ul and soul-soothing than making our loved one’s life into a piece of a r t work. I ca n relate to the developer’s state of mind when he created this game since, to share my grandfather’s tales and comfort myself, I had turned my grandfather’s life into an animated video (see Appendix B), and the more I devoted into the work, the less I felt about the loss. 20
However, not everyone has the skills to make a video or game. If the best way of grieving someone you love is about taking some time to revisit and document the person’s memory and invite ot her s t o w a l k t h r oug h t he journey, the challenge for me is now clear: to make this happen more easily.
Figure 6 Screenshots of the game “That Dragon, Cancer”.
2-2
How might we collect, maintain and explore our loved one’s stories?
A
lthough everyone grieves differently (Schut 1999), according to my understanding of my friends, my father and myself on losing the loved ones, and the inspirations from the other grieving approaches, I can conclude that holding on to the memory of the deceased and talking about it is helpful in the process of grieving for some. Heace, to answer the question “How might we collect, maintain and explore our loved ones’ stories, no matter where we are?”, I propose the following key components that should be included in this project:
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A platform for people to co-edit their loved ones’ stories For the grandchildren, there is a need to explore more of the story of their grandparents. While there are also people like my father, who grieves by telling stories. To meet both needs, there should be a platform that can elevate this to a more meaningful exchange. A platform can be designed to allow the sharings of personal stories about the deceased, and since everyone has different experiences, as more stories are added, the “portrait“ of that person becomes more complete.
A digital platform that transcends space and time Without the internet, I would have dealt with my grief alone. Hence, if all my grandfather’s stories can be digitized, they can be accessed anywhere, anytime. Placing memories in the cloud is also more reliable than a physical storage, since they are less prone to destruction and natural calamities.
Providing the opportunity to express the feelings Everyone grieves in different ways. For example, introverts tend to grieve at home alone while the extroverts prefer to seek support outside of the house (Lloyd 2017), conflicts may arise if these two different user groups are put together. However, with the internet, introverts can post online from the safety of their home, and extroverts have a much wider audience. Since for the bereaved, the expressing of feelings is highly encouraged in the process of grieving (Schonfeld and Demaria 2016, Dennis 2012), the platform should provide the opportunity for both introverts and extroverts to express their feelings with ease.
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Finding the missing pieces When I discovered the photos of Taiwan in 1957 on the Internet, they were nothing to me until my father linked them with my grandfather. Those photos are the essential pieces that shape his life, and the more pieces I can find, the clearer his image is. This is when a digital platform becomes useful. While Facebook helps people connect with the friends they know, similarly, by making use of the social media, the platform the potential to help us connect with the missing pieces related to our loved ones. It may even help us fulfill the wishes of the deceased. In my grandfather’s autobiography, he had mentioned that when he went back to China 50 years after he fled to Taiwan, he tried to look for his mother’s resting place but it was in vain. This had been one of his biggest regrets. I hope with the pervasiveness of the digital social network, that one day, I can retrace those long-lost connections.
Creating a memorial portrait There will be a “soul sketch” that describes the person in summary. A soul sketch is used and presented by the speaker of the memorial service. It is generated by interviewing people who knew the person well, and it should describe dimensions of a person gleaned from conversations with several people, each of whom has a different experience. Thus the speaker who presents a soul sketch can describe the person’s relationships from a more objective perspective (York 2000). By co-creating the loved one’s story with the platform, it should eventually draw a soul sketch of the person and give people the opportunity to honor several dimensions of relationship.
How might we collect, maintain and explore our loved one’s stories?
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Knowing and archiving for the living This platform is not only for honouring the memory of the deceased. While losing my grandfather was the reason why I set out on the journey of preserving his legacy, it would also be ideal if the person is still living. He or she can then provide us with the f irst-hand experience and evidence of their stories. It may also be a great family activity when the children interviewing their parents about the stories that have been buried deep in their minds since they became parents. Besides, being alive means, we will keep generating new stories. This kind of platform may show us how our lives are shaped by the little events and thus remind us to live our lives to the fullest.
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2-3
Concept
A
ccording to the key components I proposed, the solution will be a mobile application that allows users to share their loved ones’ stories and invite others to do so.
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Three main screens for the application. Left to right: Portrait , Timeline, Collection.
The application should have a portrait screen that draws the person’s stories from dif ferent dimensions of relationship, hence it will provide users a glimpse of what he or she was like (York 2000). And to see how the person’s life prog ressed, there should be a screen that displays the events and stories in timeline. For the purpose of collecting the stories through the objects and context (see page 14-17 for the significant stories behind my grandfather’s items and the street scenes in 1957), user should be able to capture them and attach respective stories.
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Users can see the collection of the person, it can be the people he loved or the keepsakes.
Chapter Three
Meeting the Needs
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3-1
User Stories W
ith the understanding on how people think and behave while dealing with grief, I constructed three personas under the following scenario:
6 months af ter Marie’s grandfather, David Shen, passed away, Marie found a tool that can preserve a loved one’s memory.
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Marie Shen 25-year-old Taiwanese studying in US Psyche: a curious soul / enjoys ever y moment / family-oriented
Marie was studying overseas while David passed away. She is keen in f inding ways to preserve David’s legacy and she is glad that her dad can pass the stories down.
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Attitudes toward technology: a lways keeps her sel f updated to new technology / YouTube addicted / not active on social media Needs: learning more about her grandfather / making her grandfather proud of her in the heaven / contributing to her family
Andrew Shen – Marie’s dad 70-year-old Taiwanese retired Psyche: everything can be valuable with meanings / “Cross the bridge when coming to it!”
Andrew is the oldest son of Dav id. He looks up to his father a lot and has a clear memory of him. He thinks his father was a significant figure who should be remembered by every descendent.
Attitudes toward technology: takes a lot of photos with his mobile / recently started to connect with his old friends on Facebook since Marie created an account for him Needs: passing the story of his family down to his kids and grandkids / making something as tribute to his father / knowing what Marie thinks about David
Willy Shen – Marie’s cousin 30-year-old Taiwanese office worker Psyche: likes to be under the spotlight / living a planned life
Wi l ly was rea l ly closed to David since he was brought up b y h i m. He t h i n k s he should take time organizing the memory with David, but he’s been busy dealing with his career and new-born son.
Attitudes toward technology: post something on Facebook on a daily basis / a lways looks for Wi-Fi / plays mobile games on his free time Needs: sharing his relationship with his grandfather with his Facebook followers / having a balance between career and family
User Stories
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Figure 7 The journey map of Marie and Andrew dealing with the death of David.
3-2
Journey Map T
he journey map of the two main users, Marie and Marie’s dad, was created to further explore the required experience in each step. The journey starts before David passed away.
Experience required When David is still living
The accepting phase: After David passed away for more than 6 months
•
•
documenting David’s stories
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connecting with people who know David
recording stories told by David
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creating a biography of David
The “remembering him always” phase: After David passed away for more than 1 year •
sharing the stories
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celebrating his life on special days
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keep exploring new stories
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3-3
Inspirations T
o make a platform that meets the needs of the users along their journey of honoring their loved one’s memor y, I f irst sought inspirations from other existing platforms. In particular, I looked at the ways they guide users to add stories, present stories, and explore new stories.
Biography The traditional way to tell the story of a person’s life How it inspires me: •
A p e r s on’s l i f e c a n b e categorized by time and theme (Figure 7-2)
•
The experience of “reading the person’s story”
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Figure 7-2 The contents of a biography includes timeline events and the stories categorized by topics (Wick 2011).
Figure 7-1 The biography of an American journalist who was the most trusted reporter in Europe during WWII (Wick 2011). Inspirations
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Google Arts & Culture Exhibiting the stories and history of a historical figure How it inspires me: •
Elements: big portrait, name, b i r t h , p e r s o n s u m m a r y, highlights, timeline of photos and quote. The combination of them successfully presents the highlights of the person’s life (Figure 8-1)
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I nter ac t i ve t i mel i ne t h at shows photos at the time selected by the user (Figure 8-2)
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It e xcludes t he stor ies that have no photos - How might we curate the stories elegantly even without the well shot photograph?
Figure 8-1 One of the features of this website is for users to explore the historical figures. The page for each historical figure provides users a snapshot of the person with his or her portrait and a life summary, followed by the featured events and stories organized by the themes, time and popularity (Google Cultural Institute n.d.).
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Google Keep Adding and curating your notes nicely whether it has images or not How it inspires me: •
Easi ly f i nd t he note by browsing through the cards with title, part of the content a nd image if it’s attached (Figure 9-1)
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The cards are in dif ferent sizes which ma ximizes the amount of notes use can see in one screen (Figure 9-1)
Figure 9-1 The home page curates all the notes (Google LLC 2013).
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Start adding a note in 2 steps: open the app and tap “Take a note...” at the bottom (Figure 9-1)
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The importance of a note: Title > content > supplementar y materials including images, drawing recording and tick boxes (Figure 9-2)
Figure 9-2 While adding a note on Keep.
Inspirations
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Wikipedia An encyclopedia that anyone can edit How it inspires me: •
Ever yone can contribute to the information; however, it needs the other experienced editor to review before it gets published
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Flexibility in adding elements in editor mode: heading, paragraph, quote, link, citation, media, gallery, map and more (Figure 10-2). However, it is not mobile friendly.
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T he personal details section clearly presents the person’s b i o g r a ph i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n (Figure 10-3)
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T he ability to categorize the life events (Figure 10-4)
• W hen adding media, users can directly use those from its own database by typing in keywords (Figure 10-5)
Figure 10-2 It provides incredibly flexible element choices for users to edit content, including paragraph, section, quote, link, citation, media, map and even chemical formula (Wikipedia n.d.). 38
Figure 10-1 Screenshot of Nelson Mandela’s Wiki page (Wikipedia contributors n.d.). What I love about Wikipedia is that it lets anybody contribute to the knowledge it shares and even add hyperlinks on the content which lead to more information. Since it is all about sharing knowledge, however, I found the amount of the information presented on a single page is to be overwhelming, and the lack of dynamics makes the user experience tedious. Figure 10-3 If the Wiki page is about a celebrity, most of them will provide the personal details in the box to the right.
Figure 10-5 While adding an image, users can directly search for images on the wiki database without uploading from their own desktop (Wikipedia n.d.).
Figure 10-4 The person’s life events are organized by the contributors to different sections. Inspirations
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Instagram Adding stories by images anywhere and discovering other stories using #hashtags How it inspires me: •
B y h a s ht a g i n g t he st or y, users can f ind other stories with the same hashtag which might lead to some surprising discoveries
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dding stor y in t wo steps: A open the app and press the “+” button Figure 11 The explore feature on Instagram that discover other stories by hashtags (Instagram 2012).
Mum Memory Book Guiding users to write down their precious moments How it inspires me: •
Figure 12 What the pages look like in the Mum Memory Book (kikki.K 2017). 40
It g uides the users to f ill out the book w ith a ll the precious moments by asking them question
3-4
Design Goals W
ith the collation of insights,I am able to set up the design goals for this project. Since the challenge is about honoring a person’s memory, I will focus on how the stories are to be collected, curated and discovered by users.
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On collecting the stories Co-creating the stories with other people who know different aspects of the person
Flexibility in adding a story
Adding stories anywhere, anytime
When it comes to archiving memor y for the family, parents are confronted w it h a of media such as v ideos, tapes, objects and a r t work (Stevens et al. 2003), so the users should be able to add media as f lex ibly as the W i k ip e d i a e d it or (see page 38).
If all of a sudden, my father brought up his childhood story at the dining table, I can quickly start recording at a click of a button. In other words, the pl at f or m w i l l be mobile friendly.
Provide opportunities for users to express their feelings and what the person meant for them To honor severa l dimensions of relat ionsh ip a nd help users get better acquainted w it h t he person, seeing him or her through dif ferent eyes (York 2000).
On curating the stories Using timeline to exhibit the history of that person To show users the prog ress of the person’s life.
Highlighting the main events that shaped who he or she was T he ma in events are the events that tr ig ger rema rks about how the person dealt with life challenges that demonstrate the person’s personal streng ths a nd q u a l i t i e s ( Yo r k 2000).
Providing a summary of the person T o o f f e r a g l i mpse i nto t he complex it ies of t he r e l at ionsh ip in his/her life. It might be presented with music, h ig h l ig ht stor ies and images.
On exploring the stories Discovering the missing pieces by linking the story to relevant resources
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Connecting with the missing people who took part in the person’s life
A collection of everything that had ever mattered in the person’s life, such as people, places, objects and events To give more c onte x t on wh at the person was like.
Chapter Four
Design
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4-1
User Flow A
fter coming up the concept and being inspired by other products, I developed the processes of how the users will interact with the platform. Two scenarios were created in which the three users, Marie, her father and cousin, might use the app. The users will interact with the platform differently based on their background, psyche and needs. And since they have different attitudes towards technology, each of them starts the flow at different time (see page 28 & 29 for personas).
Scenario 1 Marie, Andrew and Willy use the app to honour David’s memory.
Scenario 2 After using the app for David, Marie wants to do the same thing on her dad, Andrew.
Marie
Andrew
Willy
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Scenario 1 Marie, Andrew and Willy use the app to honour David’s memory.
opens site
browses examples
signs up
signs up
adds stories & saves
answers Maire’s question
opens the link
closes site
asks Andrew for information
sents Andrew the link
creates David’s profile
uploads stories & materials
sends link to Willy for photos
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opens the link
closes site
signs up
uploads photos
adds to homescreen & close site
replies to the comment
browses the site
gets notification & open site
gets notification & open site
reads stories & leaves comment
writes more stories
closes site
invites others to write more stories
closes site
opens the link
gets notification & open site
browses the site
closes site
reads stories & leaves comment
uploads some memories
shares to Facebook
User Flow 47
Scenario 2 After using the app for David, Marie wants to do the same thing on her dad, Andrew.
opens site
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answers Maire’s question
brings up some other stories
looks for significant objects & captures them
asks Andrew for details
records the stories
asks for more material
creates Andrew’s profile
creates a timeline of Andrew’s life
uploads the photos she has
closes site
contributes & comments
checks out his stories
sends the photos & stories to Marie
opens site
saves them
invites Andrew to edit
opens site
uploads the stories of Andrew
closes site
gets notification & open site
closes site
gets notification & open site
reads stories & comments
closes site
User Flow 49
4-2
Information Architecture A
fter understanding how the users will interact with the platform, I created the information architecture for the application which could help me figure out how the information, in this case, the stories be shared, cataloged and presented. There will be four key screens that catalog the stories in different ways: “Summary”, “Journey”, “Collection” and “Activity”. When the user adds a story through “Add story”, the story will be added to each screen depending on the user’s input, for example, the story will be shown on the “Journey - Timeline” according to the date user has entered, and the same story will be added to “Collection” if the user has specified a content to be added to a certain collection.
Title Story Media Add Story
Date/Place Labels Add to... Resources
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Summary Add / Edit personal details
Personal Details Highlights
Timeline Journey Map
People
Story
Objects Collection Add/Remove collection Sort by: date, popularity...
Historical Events Labels
Pending
?
Activity Notifications
Discoveries Reviews
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4-3
Wireframes
Exploring different interactions on adding a story.
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Summary - Home page
Wireframes
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Journey
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Commenting & Contributing
Wireframes
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Adding a story
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Collection
Wireframes
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Activity
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4-4
Visuals Mood Since this platform is about documenting stories from the past, I think it should have a vintage look. Also, while using the platform, I hope to give users an experience of writing or reading an old story book.
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UI inspiration
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Style Font / colors / icons
Visuals
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4-5
Preliminary Design Home screen - Summary
The SUMMARY screen shows the personal details and the person’s highlights in one page. The users need to scroll down to see the highlights part.
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Journey
The stories with time specified are all listed on the JOURNEY screen chronologically. The width of each card (story prview) depends on ow many stories occupy the time frame in which they are placed. If it has more than 2 cards in the same row, the third card should be shown partially to imply that it is horizontally scrollable. I’ll need to specify the rules for the sizing.
Once a card is tapped, it will expand to show its full content. A complete s tor y includes title, par agr aphs (from different contributors), media (images or videos), time and place, contributors, feedback functions, relavant labels and external resources. Preliminary Design
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Once the “Add button“ on the navagation bar is tapped, it will directly lead users to the WRITING screen where they can create a new story and include all the relavant information. It features the “Not sure“ function with which users can add stories even though they only know part of it. For example, they might know about what happend in that event without knowing when it was. They can hence request others to complete the information. The COLLECTION screen shows the collections users created. It’s like the playlists in a music app.
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The ACTIVITY screen shows the pending stories (the stories
Preliminary Design
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4-6
Discussion
Feedback from others 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Wants to add images from the internet Prefers to see all the categories in the collection screen Wants to add different sections e.g. Love Life, Education‌ What is the difference between story and collection? Text too small (when I view it with mobile) Add music (inspired by the memorial service) Be able to customize the theme Distinguish between contributing and commenting How will users log in? How will it guide users when they use it for the first time? 10. Enrich the storytelling experience 11. Reminder for special dates 12. Accessibility for the older users
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Discussion 67
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Trying new color scheme
W hen I appl ied a d i f ferent color scheme in the attempt to make it look less dull, while the new colors have a more refreshing feeling, I found that the experience of reading a story book was lost. Hence, for the ref ined design, I will tr y to enhance that experience by adding more details on top of the original style.
A more specified color scheme.
Discussion 69
4-7
Refined design
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Refined design
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Refined design
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Refined design
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4-8
Result
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Chapter Five
Conclusion
“I want to know that I was accepted and loved for who I was, appreciated for what I gave, and remembered through their own ways of living and being.� (York, 2000)
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5-1
Potential implications For family archiving I expect Koosu will be mostly used by families to collectively create and pass on their family memories. As Jones (2017) noted, it is the shared, ongoing narrative that a family builds to create a sense of shared identity and connection among current, previous, and future generations. I hope this platform can connect family across time and distance. There is also a downside for looking too closely to a person’s past, that is, we might discover some secrets that were never known by some of the family members. If all the family’s memories become transparent, it is possible that the children find the elders to be not as perfect as what they thought they are (see Appendix C for my interview with Eva who was told the dark past of her grandparent). However, I agree with what York (2000) said regarding remembering our loved ones, “Individual human beings deserve to be remembered for who they are, not who we wish they had been or who they were some of the time.”
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A teaching tool to help children learn about grief When a loved one dies, adults often wish to protect children from their emotions. However, failure to recognize and deal with the problems may lead to a very unhappy and unfulfilled childhood (Deluca 1996). The research has also indicated that children aged from 5 become more curious about death, and more aware of other people’s response, while adolescents grieve like adults, but have powerful emotions which may have a considerable effect on them. I think the application might be a handy tool to teach children between 5 and 12 the concept of the permanent loss of a loved one, and how that person can live in our heart forever if we constantly honour his or her existence.
For the loved ones with dementia While I have not looked into the area of dementia, it is known that people living with dementia may not remember what happened 45 minutes ago, but they can clearly recall their lives 45 years earlier. And since remembering the past is often a soothing and affirming activity (McCarthy 2011), this application can be used as a tool to help the loved one remember and talk about the good old days, thus improve the quality of the relationship.
Potential implications
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5-2
Limitations What if the person we grieve is quite young? While this project was started with my experience on grieving my grandfather, I have assumed that the person we are honouring had lived a long life, hence had left a lot of stories for us to continue telling. But what if the person is too young to leave a certain number of stories? The needs and scenario will change dramatically when the deceased is younger than the grievers, for example, when parents grieve for the loss of their children. So, further study needs to be done if I want the platform to be used across different relationship.
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What is the best way to present a person’s life? The basis of the design for Koosu is taken reference directly from the structure of a biography that often presents a person’s life chronologically in written form. I have not yet explored other ways to display our loved one’s stories. It can be a piece of music, a VR experience or even an AI assistant. However, as long as reading remains a popular and positive activity for human beings, I think writing will still be the main method to archive the stories.
Limited research on the grieving process Although I initiated this project due to my own grieving experience, more focus was put on archiving the deceased memory instead of getting over the grief. The theory and practice of grieving was not discussed much in depth in this project; thus, while honouring the memory of the loved ones is helpful in the grieving process for some people, it is not suggested to use Koosu as a clinical healing tool for grievers.
How long will it take before we find the first missing piece? Since all the contents on the platform will be generated by users, the platform is highly dependent on the number of users and the amount of contributions made by them.
Limitations
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5-3
Future Work Collective memory According to Wertsh’s research (2002), collective remembering is a process of the nature of memory, and it provides an ongoing collective engagement and interpretation of the past. Since it is expected that the application will be mostly used to archive the memory within family, in addition to honoring the memory of the individual, there should be a function that connects the family members and archive the family memory collectively. Moreover, I can also explore the collective memory in different forms of group, such as friends and office mates.
Story told beyond language barriers Even with a translator, I find it hard to share the stories of my grandfather to my friends who do not speak Mandarin. Most of the stories told were from long time ago and there were few corresponding English terms to describe them. While the society is getting multicultural, the stories on Koosu should be also accessible by people across different cultures.
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I will continue to work on Koosu until it can finally be used to honor my grandfather’s memory. Although I know that there is no fully getting over a loved one’s death, I can still feel a part of him through the stories he left us. To conclude this project, let me leave a quote which I think perfectly describes the essence of remembering our loved ones:
“My grandfather has remained with me since that day, along with an acknowledgement of the soul, a stronger belief in the human spirit, and further faith that love, which transcends death, can drive out any burden of darkness that threatens to consume our well-being.” (Reynolds 2017).
Future Work
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References Articles & books Dennis, Michael Robert. 2012. “Do Grief Self-Help Books Convey Contemporary Perspectives on Grieving?” Death Studies 36 (5):393- 418. doi: 10.1080/07481187.2011.553326. Hatch, Tyler. 2014. “On Losing A Grandparent When You’re An Adult.” ThoughtCatalog.com, accessed March 3, 2018. . https://thoughtcatalog. com/tyler-hatch/2014/05/on-losing-a-grandparent-when-youre-an- adult/. Jones, Jasmine. 2017. Crafting a Narrative Inheritance: An HCI Design Framework for Family Memory. edited by Mark Steven Ackerman, Catherine C. Marshall, Mark W. Newman, Sile O’Modhrain and Sun Young Park: ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. Kaplun, Jeannette. 2016. “WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT GRIEF AFTER THE LOSS OF MY GRANDMOTHER.” babble.com, accessed March 18. https://www.babble.com/parenting/what-i-learned-about-grief-after- the-loss-of-my-grandmother/. Lloyd, Caroline. 2017. Grief Demystified An Introduction. Edited by ProQuest. London: London : Jessica Kingsley Publishers. McCarthy, Bernie. 2011. Hearing the person with dementia : person-centred approaches to communication for families and caregivers. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Pennington, Natalie. 2013. “You Don’t De-Friend the Dead: An Analysis of Grief Communication by College Students through Facebook Profiles.” Death Studies 37 (7):617-635. doi: 10.1080/07481187.2012.673536. Reynolds, James. 2017. “What My Grandfather’s Death Taught Me About Life.” GoodMenProject.com, accessed May 1. https://goodmenproject. com/featured-content/grandfathers-death-taught-life-kvnw/. Schonfeld, David J., and Thomas Demaria. 2016. “Supporting the Grieving Child and Family.” Pediatrics 138 (3). doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-2147. Schut, Margaret Stroebe Henk. 1999. “THE DUAL PROCESS MODEL OF COPING WITH BEREAVEMENT: RATIONALE AND DESCRIPTION.” Death Studies 23 (3):197-224. doi: 10.1080/074811899201046. 86
Stevens, Molly M., Gregory D. Abowd, Khai N. Truong, and Florian Vollmer. 2003. “Getting into the Living Memory Box: Family archives & holistic design.” Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 7 (3):210-216. doi: 10.1007/s00779-003-0220-4. Walter, Tony. 1999. On bereavement : the culture of grief. Buckingham, UK:
Open University Press. Walter, Tony. 2014. “New mourners, old mourners: online memorial culture as a chapter in the history of mourning.” New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia:1-15. doi:10.1080/13614568.2014.983 555. Wertsch, James V. 2002. Voices of collective remembering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wick, Steve. 2011. The long night: William L. Shirer and fall of the Third Reich. New York: Palgrae Macmillan. York, Sarah. 2000. Remembering well : rituals for celebrating life and mourning death. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Images, websites & apps Facebook. 2018. Facebook home page, Vers. 172.0.0.66.93. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.facebook.com/. —. 2018. “Stephen Hawking’s page.” Facebook. Accessed April 30, 2018. https:// www.facebook.com/stephenhawking/. Google Cultural Institute. n.d. “Nelson Mandela.” Google Arts & Culture. Accessed May 11, 2018. https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/ m05g7q. Google LLC. 2013. “Google Keep - notes and lists.” Google Play, Vers. 4.1.171.14.40. Accessed May 6, 2018. https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=com.google.android.keep. Guillaume, Kenny. 2018. “Marie’s Room.” Steam. https://store.steampowered. com/app/648390/Maries_Room/. Instagram. 2012. “Instagram.” Google Play, Vers. 44.0.0.9.93. Accessed May 6, 2018. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.instagram. android. Joanh. 2015. “A hungry girl’s guide to taipei.” Blogger. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://hungryintaipei.blogspot.com.au/2015/04/exploretaipeitai wanese-i-strongly_20.html. Jones, Tom. 2012. “1957-58 Taiwan.” Google Album Archive. 22 September. Accessed April 20, 2018. https://get.google.com/albumar 87
hive/111055233896870587615/albumAF1QipNKqC0g08kthwoyrSdvx Fc_kDEz_F35Vlpfj7K2?authKey=CKjPvpGUytqXSA. kikki.K. 2017. Mum Memory Book: Mother’s Day. Numinous Games. 2016. “That Dragon, Cancer.” Steam. https://store.steam powered.com/app/419460/That_Dragon_Cancer/. Wikipedia contributors. n.d. “Nelson Mandela.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed May 1, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index. php?title=Nelson_Mandela&oldid=839860778. Wikipedia. n.d. “User:Ni647pei/sandbox.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Accessed May 1, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Us er:Ni647pei/sandbox&action=edit&redlink=1&preload=Template%3AUs er+sandbox%2Fpreload.
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Appendices
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Appendix A
The Messages from my dad The story of my grandpa’s life received right after my grandpa passed away
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The story of the objects inside my grandpa’s suitcase
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The story of 1957-58 Taiwan
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Appendix B
The video of my grandpa’s life Full video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbGrnmDQahI
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Appendix C
Interview transcripts 10 th September 2016 with Julie (by phone)
(J=Julie, aged 24, female; I=interviewer) I: As far as I know, both of the grandparents from your father’s side had passed away. Can you describe what you remember about them? J: Since they lived quite far away, I only visited them twice a year, but they were always happy to see us. The only image of my grandpa is an old person who seldom moved since he had been suffering a stroke, as far as I can remember. As for my grandma, I remember she lent me 80 bucks during our new-year gambling. I think that’s my best memory of her.
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I: (Laughed) So…what do you think about your relationship with them? J: I didn’t talk much with them. One of the reasons was I didn’t speak Taiwanese. I’d never talked with my grandpa…. I still remember going to temple with my grandma since she was once a temple host. I: Wow! That’s cool. J: I was such a “cool” grandchild. I wasn’t as interesting and talkative as other younger cousins. But I really liked my grandma. I was so sad when she passed away… (She talked about the grandparents form her mother’s side)
4 th April 2018 with Julie (by message) (J=Julie, aged 24, female; I=interviewer) I: Is there a box of your grandparent’s stuff in your house that was placed in memory of them? J: No, there’s no such a box at home. After my grandparents passed away, my father and his brothers took care of everything. But my dad did place some photos of them in the house. I think most of us just keep them in our minds. I: What about the stuf f left by your grandparents? Where are they now? J: I think my pa rents had ha ndled everything of them. I don’t know about where those stuff are since I was only in high school when they passed away. I: Are you afraid of forgetting them? J: I don’t think so. I think I’ll just keep 95
them in my mind. Plus, my childhood memory of my grandparents is still vivid because it is really unique. I: Wow. What about their memory before they became grandparents? Do you want to learn more about what they did, where the go and who the meet at their early life? J: Hmmm… Not to me. Since they lived in Yilan, I didn’t see them a lot. That’s why I’m not really closed with them. Besides, my father didn’t talk mush about them when I asked.
30th March 2018 with Eva (face-to-face) (E=Eva, aged 28, female; I=interviewer) I: Has any of your grandparents passed away? E: My grandma, my mother’s mom. She died when I was about 20. I: Can you describe what you experienced when she passed away? Was it hard for you? E: Well, I didn’t really feel any strong emotion since she had been hospitalized for a while, so I guess I was quite prepared... I still felt sad, of course. I: Oh… E: However, I felt sad mostly for my mom – I mean… that’s her mother who passed away! And I could tell it had been hard for her to move on. I: Did your mom tell you something about your grandma? E: Actually, she did tell me something… It was the secret she had kept in her mind for most of her life. I always thought my grandparents are perfect people since they really treated us well… But my mom once told me everything she had been through in her childhood. And it was dark… Her parents did something really bad to her and I couldn’t believe they would do such things as they were so kind to me. And… 96
yeah…I can’t tell anyone. I: Oh wow… It seems like every family has its own problem. (started sharing my family’s story) Like you, I always thought those adults, my parents and my grandparents were perfect. But when I grew old enough to comprehend the complexity of human’s behaviour, my parents started to tell me something from the other side, including their fear, their difficulties and their parents’ problems. They are human beings like us, after all…. E: Ha ha… yeah… (We started to talk more about our family’s dark stories) I: So, are you interested in digging more into your grandparents’ stories? E: Not really. Even though I don’t know very much about their early life and I believe there must be a lot for me to discover, I’m not that passionate like you. I wasn’t really closed with them, you know, I had only met them within five times, I think. I: Well, if there’s a platform that helps you collect, curate and even explore their stories, would you like to use them? E: Hmm… maybe not on my grandparents… But I really want to use such thing for my mom! She’s… a cool mom. I’ve heard some of her crazy stories when she was young, and I want to know more. It’d be great if I there’s a way to keep and organize those stories. I: Yeah, I agree. I also want to use it for my dad, too. So, if such platform exists, how will you use it for your mom? E: I think I might need some guidance. Like those journals which ask you a lot of question like “What made you laugh today?” to help you recall what you did. I really like those kinds of notebooks. Let me show you… (rushed to her room to get her journals) (Eva showed me three notebooks)
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I: (Browsing the pages) Wow… They ask some good questions! E: You see, I really had followed them. (pointed at one page) But sometimes I skipped because I was lazy. (laughed) I: Can I take some pictures? They are really helpful! E: Of course! (holding the books for me) Oh! And this one… (handed the “memory book” to me) I actually bought it for my mom as a Mother’s Day present. It also asks you questions so that I’d know what to write. I: (read out some of the questions in the memory book) Do you know your mom’s favourite food? E: Hmm… (laughed) I don’t know! I don’t really know if I’m able to complete it…
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