Computing and Information Systems - Research Publications

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Author: Allison, Fraser × Author: Nansen, Bjorn × Start date: 2017 × Type: Journal Article ×

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    Representing alkaline hydrolysis: a material-semiotic analysis of an alternative to burial and cremation
    Arnold, M ; Kohn, T ; Nansen, B ; Allison, F (Taylor and Francis Group, 2024)
    Alkaline hydrolysis can lay claim to being a resource-efficient, effective, economical and environmentally sound method of final body disposition, relative to burial and cremation. On technical grounds it may have much to recommend it, however, like many other technical innovations, its take-up is hindered by the fact that it lacks a clear position in the public imagination. For this position to take shape, an understanding of just what it is and what it offers is required by proponents in the funeral industry who advise the bereaved, as well as by the material representations of the alkaline hydrolysis technologies themselves. In this article, we describe and analyse four extant alternative material and discursive forms of alkaline hydrolysis and how they variously occupy the fraught space where morality, death and marketing converge. Currently, each of the four forms of alkaline hydrolysis struggle to represent themselves in a public narrative that conveys their different ontologies and their competitive advantage, relative to burial and cremation, and this paper describes some key rhetorical and technical aspects of these struggles.
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    Reimagining memorial spaces through digital technologies: A typology of CemTech
    Allison, F ; Nansen, B ; Gibbs, M ; Arnold, M ; Holleran, S ; Kohn, T (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2023-11-01)
    Digital technologies are creating new ways for visitors to engage with cemeteries. This article presents research into the development of digital cemetery technologies, or cemtech, to understand how they are reimagining memorial spaces. Through a systematic review of examples of cemtech in online records, academic literature, patents, and trade publications, we developed a typology of cemtech according to four characteristics: application type, technical components, target users, and development status. Analysis of the application types resulted in five higher-level themes of functionality or operation-Wayfinding, Narrativizing, Presencing, Emplacing, and Repurposing-which we discuss. This typology and thematic analysis help to identify and understand the development of cemetery technology design trajectories and how they reimagine possibilities for cemetery use and experience.