Georgiana Murariu

Georgiana Murariu

Public dissemination officer and research assistant on the ASSA project and an advocate for anthropology!

Location London

Activity

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Michael Wellin
    The fine line between care and surveillance

    Thanks, Michael! It's great to hear your perspective on this. What made you change your mind?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Vinaya Vaishampayan
    Practical exercise

    Thanks, Vinaya! Where are you based, if I can ask? The type of information being shared on WhatsApp in your region sounds really interesting - who was sending the information about the beds available, do you know? It sounds like a piece of information a health professional would be familiar with (rather than 'patients').

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Michael Wellin
    Practical exercise

    Thanks, Michael! Really interesting. So in the case of a life-altering medical intervention like an organ transplant, it seems that an 'official', custom-made telephone app for monitoring the condition, is something that is needed to ensure a constant flow of communication between doctor and patient. Is the 2nd person someone who volunteers in a first aid...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Maria Mendonca
    Practical exercise

    Thanks Maria! What were you surprised by? The variety of sources that came up?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Winnet Dyke
    Practical exercise

    Thanks, Winnet! So do the steps register differently when outside? Is that because when moving outside the house, people take longer steps or something to that effect? Or a temperature issue? (could be, iPhones are notoriously sensitive to cold/hot weather!).

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Annabel Dundas
    Practical exercise

    That is true - once you know the terminology you are searching for, I find that more specific, targeted, and official resources tend to come up. What is interesting is also what happens when we don't know what we don't know, i.e. when googling a set of symptoms, or a set of vague terms for a condition.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Annette Bowden
    Practical exercise

    Is WhatsApp not very frequently used in Australia? I hadn't considered the Australian market when thinking about the app!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Anne Lüneburg
    Practical exercise

    That's interesting to know! I guess your results will be highly targeted and customised based on your location (or whether you're searching in incognito mode), previous history and google searches, as well as cookies.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Carola Salazar Norambuena
    Practical exercise

    @WinnetDyke I suppose it isn't always an easy process!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Michael Wellin
    Summary of Week 3

    Thanks, Michael! I believe 'Ageing with Smartphones in Ireland' has more around the topic of how people might communicate in ways beyond using the smartphone, although of course there will always be an emphasis on the use of devices to extend and complement certain activities as well as to communicate around them (as many research participants do). You can...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to 燕琳 罗
    Summary of Week 3

    @WinnetDyke Great to hear!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Annette Bowden
    Conclusions to the course

    Thanks Annette!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Maryrose D'Angelo
    Conclusions to the course

    Thanks Mayrose!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Therese Grace
    Conclusions to the course

    Thanks Therese!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Maria Mendonca
    Conclusions to the course

    Thanks for the detailed feedback, Maria. Really great to hear you'll be incorporating elements of the course into the material you teach. So good to hear it's helped you think about structuring a comparative project like this as well as helping with approaches for the next academic year.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Fajana Oluwafunke
    Conclusions to the course

    Thanks for taking part!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Judith M
    Conclusions to the course

    Thank you for your positive feedback, Judith!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Annette Bowden
    Thank you and goodbye!

    Thanks Annette!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    Thank you and goodbye!

    Great to hear, thanks!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Anne Lüneburg
    Thank you and goodbye!

    Happy to hear this - glad you enjoyed!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Maria Mendonca
    Thank you and goodbye!

    Thank you Maria!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Fajana Oluwafunke
    Thank you and goodbye!

    Thank you Fajana!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to David Girling
    Thank you and goodbye!

    Thank you!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Vinaya Vaishampayan
    Thank you and goodbye!

    This is great, Vinaya, thank you!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    Visual conversation and care in Japan

    @WinnetDyke That's a good way of putting it!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    Short videos and health care practices in urban China

    @WinnetDyke Understood! I am glad this step has shed some light on the benefits and drawbacks of the practice. I hope it works out for your community and that both patients and healthcare professionals get some benefit from it.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Vinaya Vaishampayan
    Introduction and what to expect

    @ThamizoliP Sounds interesting! What is the farmers' project?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
    Thank you and goodbye!

    That's good to hear, thanks very much!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to 燕琳 罗
    Thank you and goodbye!

    You're welcome! Glad you liked the course.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Deana S
    Thank you and goodbye!

    Thank you Deanna! Glad you enjoyed it!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Misty Kupka
    Conclusions to the course

    Thanks Misty, it does seem like WhatsApp is not a dominant app in the USA at the moment, with people using iMessage/FB messenger and other apps more. And then of course, there is the privacy side of things - I don't see WhatsApp being adopted 'officially' in clinical settings in Europe either, though some consumer companies (such as internet providers or pet...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to 燕琳 罗
    Summary of Week 3

    Thank you!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Deana S
    Practical exercise

    Yes, it has improved the way it ranks results lately. Do you think it is a good idea for Google to 'decide' what is reputable in terms of results?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Carola Salazar Norambuena
    Practical exercise

    That's really interesting - why do you think that is? Having to download yet another app being considered a hassle? Lack of trust? Lack of knowledge re: using apps? Something else? How does that change their experience of using the smartphone vs. yours?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Linda W
    A discussion of the negative impact of smartphones on health and wellbeing

    Thanks for sharing this Linda! Yes, visual diagrams of various conditions, especially without warning, can be frightening. In what way do you mean privacy can be an illusion?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Anne Lüneburg
    A discussion of the negative impact of smartphones on health and wellbeing

    Thanks for sharing this, Anne! How would you go about checking its credentials?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Misty Kupka
    A discussion of the negative impact of smartphones on health and wellbeing

    Thanks for sharing this!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Carola Salazar Norambuena
    A discussion of the negative impact of smartphones on health and wellbeing

    Thanks for sharing this!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    Short videos and health care practices in urban China

    Thanks Karen, I don't think it was widespread practice in the UK, potentially due to legal reasons, except where staff maybe exercised their discretion and helped. I think the care system in the UK has been under so much strain that potentially making these WhatsApp videos and sending them to relatives would make care home managers think that it might create...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Anne Lüneburg
    Accessing health services through smartphones

    @AnneLüneburg Thanks, Anne! It is true that several high-profile incidents have happened on Zoom, things like trolling and targeted harassment, but I believe they have stepped up their security recently. I completely understand your perspective and having to download a whole app to attend a meeting is cumbersome, for sure. Users should be met where they are -...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    'Smart-from-below'

    Both links should have been fixed now.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    Visual conversation and care in Japan

    Good point, I think with the rapidly shifting online landscape, emoji and sticker use evolves very rapidly. A younger person once told me that I use emojis like an old person, and I'm 31!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Deana S
    Accessing health services through smartphones

    Great point, I suppose the vaccine booking system was designed to be as seamless as possible and get as many people booking as possible, so the idea that other tests require consultations or booking routine appointments with the GP means more hurdles. Even so, creating a 'booking' journey online is pretty complex but it seems that the UK govt has been...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Anne Lüneburg
    Accessing health services through smartphones

    Thanks Anne, sounds like it is fairly context-dependent then. Do you mean that you don't trust Zoom in general or when it comes to healthcare situations? But then once you were doing the follow-ups, you found them to be okay?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    'Smart-from-below'

    Let us know if you are able to access it that way!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    'Smart-from-below'

    Hi Karen, thanks for letting us know! It seems to be working for me, but I will leave a couple of different links to it in this comment, in case you are able to access/download it. So you can try this one: http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/assa/learning-from-whatsapp-best-practices-for-health-ebook/. Alternatively, try this address, which takes you...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Deana S
    Your use of mHealth

    That's certainly true, Deana. I suppose it depends on what is driving the obsession, too. Is it a desire to maintain control over the body? Or some other anxiety?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Maria Mendonca
    Your use of mHealth

    It sounds like your use of health apps is pretty similar to mine! I also have a lot of them that I don't use. I find that if I don't immediately integrate an app into my daily routine, I almost become blind to it, as it were. YouTube videos have been a real asset during the extended lockdowns around the world.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Therese Grace
    Your use of mHealth

    Thanks, Therese! Do you mean that you have not had good experiences with doctors or other healthcare professionals? If so, are you saying that has encouraged you to manage your health 'independently' more?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Molly G
    Practical exercise

    @WinnetDyke Thanks for sharing! So there was an element of one-to-one teaching that not everyone may have access to. Interesting that people took it as being unsociable, I suppose from their perspective, all they see is the 'seen' blue tick and having mastered the app, they may not necessarily think of it as difficult to use at first.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Annabel Dundas
    Teaching smartphone use

    @JudithM All very true!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Deana S
    How older people get younger

    That certainly chimes with a lot of the team's research - this age between middle- and old-age, though it depends on the fieldsite. The term 'renaissance stage' is great!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Deana S
    What do smartphones do for older people?

    That is certainly true - the findings refer to the population the team studied, which may be 'a community in the neighbourhood of NoLo, Milan', or 'a ukulele group in Cuan, Ireland' - sometimes they might say 'in Ireland' or 'in Italy' as shorthand, but the findings certainly don't apply to the whole of the country. Having said that, we can say that at least...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Xinyue Shen
    The socio-political importance of technology in China

    Thanks for the positive comment! Yes, there is definitely a social-political aspect to smartphone use!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Anne Lüneburg
    How smartphones change families

    @LindaW Thanks for your comment Linda! That is interesting that you felt you had to use the app (do you mean Google Maps? or 'Find my Friends'?) due to discussions with your family - was it because you were reluctant to use it but it helped you keep in touch with them more efficiently? (No idea if this is correct - just asking!)

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to 燕琳 罗
    Community uses of smartphones

    From what I understand, WeChat does help people communicate but its functionality goes way beyond that, with utility payment and other functions built in. Is that right?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Carola Salazar Norambuena
    Crafting retirement

    Also interesting that you have come across sources that contradict the sandwich generation concept - could you expand on that? I suppose the sandwich generation won't hold true for all fieldsites/regions/communities, as it's embedded in what can be quite specific socio-historical and perhaps also political context.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Carola Salazar Norambuena
    Crafting retirement

    Thanks, Carola! Your point about pensions is echoed in Alfonso's research - he worked with Peruvian migrants in Santiago and found that they had not accumulated enough of a pension pot to think about retiring (even though some had come to Chile decades ago). I am sure this is compounded by the new pension reforms. Alfonso's written a blog about it here, if...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Anne Lüneburg
    Teaching smartphone use

    I think a lot of people would be relieved to hear that despite claims to intuitiveness, there are actually a lot of not especially user-friendly icons and functions built into these devices! Expanding the scope and sample of how manufacturers do user research might help with some of the problems, though user testing can't uncover everything.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Ana Sofia Arango
    The academic study of smartphones

    Thanks Ana, precisely the point the ASSA team has been making - the phone is more than just a device we use.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Paula C
    What is a smartphone?

    Yes, that is a good point - increased adoption of the devices after their price went down is also an important factor

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Paula C
    What is anthropology?

    Thanks Paula! Were there low rates of uptake of the app among the Portuguese population? What do you think would have made the population trust the app more?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Paula C
    Welcome to the course!

    Welcome back!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Wei Natsume
    Practical exercise

    Thanks Wei! This is similar to some of the examples our researchers encountered - families setting up care protocols to ensure that family members of theirs are OK while still enabling them to have some independence. I can see why for someone who is not used to a phone, a piece of paper with contacts written on it might make them feel safe.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Molly G
    Practical exercise

    Thanks for sharing, Molly. Do you know whether this person would like to learn how to do more with her smartphone? It's interesting that she has mobile data that she saves but not access to Wi-Fi, could access to wi-fi be gained when she goes out/to public places? Thinking about this, knowing that this person is on the receiving end but cannot/does not know...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
    Practical exercise

    Thanks for the positive feedback, Joanne!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Annabel Dundas
    Smartphones and the digital divide around age

    What a great outcome for your dad and your family!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Annabel Dundas
    Community uses of smartphones

    Sounds similar to something called NextDoor, which is an app in the US and UK where you verify your address using your phone's GPS, then get put into a neighbourhood group where you can share similar things as well as posting about lost items/pets/recent crime and other announcements. A savings group is quite different - often these are found when people may...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Annabel Dundas
    Teaching smartphone use

    Thanks, Annabel, I agree, it would be great for courses like these to exist on a wider scale, in the UK at least, I think the major problem would be funding. While there are initiatives and programmes to help people who are digitally excluded, they do not always have the time and resources necessary to teach the 'how tos' of phones, why things work the way...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Maria Mendonca
    Traditional ageing and nonnas

    Hi Maria, thanks very much for bringing this to our attention - the reading was in fact meant to be chapter 2 of the book focusing on Ireland (Pauline Garvey, Daniel Miler) and chapter 2 of the book focusing on Italy (by Shireen Walton) as these two chapters in these books focus specifically on ageing in those fieldsites, how categories of ageing are changing,...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Fajana Oluwafunke
    The wider context

    That sounds similar to a lot of the team members' findings! Thanks for sharing!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to David Girling
    The academic study of smartphones

    Glad you are finding it useful David!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to karen m
    What are your assumptions about ageing today?

    Completely agree about some of the negative language and 'marketing' associated with getting older. Many older people don't want to be associated with this imagery anymore, including in ASSA's fieldsites. Pauline Garvey, who did her research in Thornhill, Dublin, has written about this on our blog:...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Wei Natsume
    What are your assumptions about ageing today?

    it definitely felt that way - many research participants in multiple fieldsites said they felt young and if someone does not experience any physical or cognitive frailties, older age feels more like a continuity of youth rather than a strict rupture. It is when frailties come in that things change.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Therese Grace
    What are your assumptions about ageing today?

    That is very true, thanks for sharing Therese! I believe some of the ASSA team members met quite a few people who felt 'young' even though they might be regarded as older - things like being able to finally pursue hobbies one had never been able to pursue before certainly helped bring about that feeling of youth.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Ying-Tzu Chou
    Overview of the ASSA Project

    Thanks Ying-Tzu! There will be more on the topic in Week 3, and Marilia Duque has also written a manual for how 'best practice protocols' could be applied to WhatsApp use for health. The manual is based on her 16-month ethnography in Brazil and her observations of how the app was used in clinical settings. You can find/download it here:...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Violeta Rodriguez
    Overview of the ASSA Project

    Thank you for sharing this Violeta, really interesting! Network and infrastructure are big factors that can and do affect smartphone use and habits, absolutely. As is the way the devices are acquired - in some of our fieldsites, it was normal for older people to have inherited devices from family members and there were places where it was less common for them...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Xinyue Shen
    Overview of the ASSA Project

    @XinyueShen That makes sense. So the more they are exposed to the possibilities that the phone may offer, the more they may want one themselves but otherwise they may not feel they are particularly lacking if they haven't been around one long enough to get some benefit from it.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Xinyue Shen
    Traditional ageing and nonnas

    Thanks for sharing, Xinyue! What do you think determines whether someone will be a 'cool' grandma/grandpa?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Therese Grace
    Introduction to Week 2

    Thanks for sharing this Therese! I wondered - why do you think it is that pen and paper seems more 'tangible'/safer? After all, paper forms can just as easily be misplaced, and digital data also tends to be 'stored' somewhere. Not saying one answer is right or wrong - just curious!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Judith M
    The 'transportal home'

    That's a lovely example of the Transportal Home in real life!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Zoe Metcalfe-Smith
    The 'transportal home'

    Thanks for sharing this Zoe, it sounds similar to the 'cleaning'/'tidying' analogy mentioned in relation to the smartphone - people 'tidying'/cleaning their contacts, deleting photos every month to keep things clean on their phone, etc.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Molly G
    The 'transportal home'

    Thanks for sharing! Does the 'transportal home' analogy resonate with you in that sense?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Michael Wellin
    Screen ecology and social ecology

    You're quite right, thanks for sharing!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Molly G
    Summing up Week 1

    Great to hear this!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Jo-Ann Giovannoni
    What is a smartphone?

    Sorry about this Jo-Ann, I'll take a look at why this is and try to fix it!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to David Girling
    What is a smartphone?

    Thanks for sharing this David, it sounds really interesting - many of the ASSA researchers also found that WhatsApp was one of the most trusted messaging apps even among those who did not particularly do much on their smartphone outside of WhatsApp messaging. Do you think your mother might benefit from initiatives and services that are delivered on WhatsApp,...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Xinyue Shen
    Overview of the ASSA Project

    Thanks for sharing this! Do you find that old people are keen on mastering the device precisely so they can access these services?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Alejandra Llamas Altamirano
    Welcome to the course!

    That sounds fascinating! Do let us know what you have found in these comment sections, if you can!

    Hope you enjoy the course! Don't forget there is also a Live Twitter Chat happening today under the hashtag #FLAnthroPhones, from 2 pm London time!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to David Girling
    Welcome to the course!

    That's great to hear! Hope you enjoy the course! Don't forget there is also a Live Twitter Chat happening today under the hashtag #FLAnthroPhones, from 2 pm London time!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Zoe Metcalfe-Smith
    Introduction and what to expect

    That's great to hear! Hope you enjoy the course! Don't forget there is also a Live Twitter Chat happening today under the hashtag #FLAnthroPhones, from 2 pm London time!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Saumya Sharma
    Overview of the ASSA Project

    @SaumyaSharma Thanks for sharing! I like the term 'unxiety' - it seems very apt for describing how a lot of people feel right now! About the ethnography - many people I know also used digital tech to conduct remote ethnographic research during the first lockdowns in 2020. I don't know if you've seen Daniel Miller's video on conducting ethnography during social...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Therese Grace
    What is a smartphone?

    @WeiNatsume Thanks for coming back to me, Wei! I used to work in user research and can completely see what you mean - many organisations in the UK are in the process of coming round to design thinking and utilising it more widely across their organisation, but it is a longer-term process. I have seen positive changes here in the UK though, particularly in...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Igor Holanda
    Screen ecology and social ecology

    Thanks for sharing Igor! Sounds really interesting - is there a particular COVID-related reason why it might be recommended to leave one's phone at home if going out?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to [Learner left FutureLearn]
    Screen ecology and social ecology

    Thanks for sharing! Do you mean a grandson who communicated with his/her grandparents via devices?

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Therese Grace
    The smartphone as object

    Thank you for sharing this Therese! Some of the team members taught practical smartphone use classes in their fieldsites. Alfonso Otaegui, who did research in Santiago, also had some observations about users who had trouble immediately distinguishing between a 'tap' and a 'long press' on the smartphone - the difference between the two actions is not...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Wei Natsume
    The smartphone as object

    Thanks for sharing! It seems that the smartphone in this case would be very much a functional tool.

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Nadia Nava
    The wider context

    Thanks for sharing! That is a very good point about the contradictions that can occur between what is said about a topic and what people actually do in their everyday life when it comes to said topic. One of the findings of the project is that the way we talk about smartphones has become a way of discussing various moral and social concerns people have about...

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Carol Chadwick
    The wider context

    Thanks for sharing this Carol!

  • Georgiana Murariu replied to Judith M
    The wider context

    Thanks for sharing! This was echoed by some of the other research participants in this project - while they appreciated its ability to bring them closer to friends and relatives, the time-wasting aspect was seen as negative or even anxiety-inducing.