Browsing by Author "Vonk, Lisa"

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Connected older citizens : ageing in place and digitally mediated care in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Media Studies at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa, Massey University Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand
(Massey University, 2025-05-07) Vonk, Lisa
Amidst discussions of Aotearoa New Zealand’s ageing population, how to care for growing numbers of older people is a considered a preeminent social and political issue. Digital technologies are imagined to be a particularly desirable solution in contexts where social values of independence intersect with the neoliberal state’s desire to reduce the amount of money spent on medical and social care. There is a substantial market for gerontechnologies (technologies specifically designed for older people) aiming to capitalise on the ‘silver tsunami’. Yet, digital technologies such as smart phones, exercise watches and laptops are widely accessible in Aotearoa New Zealand. They are increasingly used by older people to maintain social connectedness, coordinate practical support, and manage health. The purpose of this research was to explore how this digitally mediated care functions for community-dwelling older people. Taking an innovative theoretical-methodological approach, I combined actor-network theory with political economy theory. This enabled me to robustly examine sociotechnical care networks, paying attention both to the role of technologies in producing care as well as analysing who benefits from older people’s engagements with technology for care. The research draws on interviews with sixteen community dwelling older people, marketing materials of technologies used by those interviewed, the interface of an exchange platform and a patient portal used by some of those interviewed, as well as government documents. This data was analysed using network mapping, thematic analysis, and interface analysis. I ultimately demonstrate that digitally mediated care practices enact a ‘connected older citizen’. Through digitally mediated care practices, older people adjust (and are adjusted) to a culture of connectivity. Digitally mediated care involves new forms of labour. Social connection is framed as a core social value. I argue that digitally mediated self-care redefines independence in terms of the ability to use digital technologies to manage connections to reduce visible dependence on others. Notably, I show the imagined benefits of digitally mediated care are often not realised in practice due to limitations of technologies used in care (such as patient portals). Significantly, the priorities and needs of older people are not often at the forefront of digitally mediated care.
Will Liam save us? : an analysis of Apple's zero-waste goals and waste networks associated with the MacBook : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2018) Vonk, Lisa
As popular awareness of global environmental crises rises, the circular economy model is increasingly heralded as a means to address the environmental impact of traditional extractive economies. Technology provider Apple has been among high-profile corporations quick to adopt a circular model, announcing their plans to both end mining and become zero-waste. In this thesis, I analyse Apple’s zero-waste plans using my own notebook as a case study. A discourse analysis of the company’s 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report reveals that the zero-waste approach is (at least in part) a marketing strategy. It works to increase Apple’s power and consumer base. The zero-waste strategy is presented as distinct from their social responsibility, echoing the way that waste is conceptualised within the circular economy. Both Apple’s zero-waste plan and the circular economy rely heavily on technological innovation to offer solutions to waste. Waste is understood as something distinct from, and entirely controllable by, human intention. Individual case studies of my notebooks aluminium casing and hard disk drive demonstrate that vast waste networks of human and nonhuman actors enable Apple to function as they do, and are in fact integral to any economy organised around the pursuit of profit. Within this context, attempts to circumvent the worst harms associated with the extraction, production, consumption, and disposal contexts of ICT equipment will end up reinscribing or reinforcing wasteful practices. Through an auto-ethnographic description of dealing with the notebooks possibly failing battery, I argue that understanding ourselves as separate from waste networks (as zero-waste discourses encourage us to do) similarly forecloses the possibility of disrupting the most negative impacts of waste. Repair tentatively emerges as one way of destabilising the power of large corporations that benefit from capital such as Apple. Ultimately, the case studies presented here raise serious doubts about both Apple’s zero-waste strategy and the circular economy in general.