‘Probing with the prototype’: using a prototype e-participation platform as a digital cultural probe to investigate youth engagement with the environment

This study describes how we used a prototype e-participation plat-form as a digital cultural probe to investigate youth motivation and engagement strategies. This is a novel way of considering digital cultural probes which can contribute to the better creation of e-participation platforms. This probe has been conducted as part of the research project STEP which aims at creating an e-participation platform to engage young European Citizens in environmental decision making. Our probe technique has given an insight into the environ-mental issues concerning young people across Europe as well as possible strat-egies for encouraging participation. How the e-participation platform can be utilised to support youth engagement through opportunities for social interac-tion and leadership is discussed. This study leads to a better understanding of how young people can co-operate with each other to provide collective intelli-gence and how this knowledge could contribute to effective e-participation of young people.

The millennial mum: technology use by new mothers

Becoming a mother presents a woman with new challenges and a need to access new sources of information. This work considers the increase in the use of online parenting support as the first group of millennials become parents. Initial results from a survey comparing the use of technology pre and post the experience of childbirth is presented. The survey reveals that mothers are likely to increase the time they spend online and are strongly motivated by seeking social contact. The paper concludes by considering the implications of this survey for healthcare professionals wishing to give information and support through online media and suggests how HCI professionals can become involved in this work.