Paper short abstract:

Telecare is advocated as a promising solution to meet the increased pressure on community care services. In this paper, I argue that the concepts of scrips and domestication can be valuable ways of analysing the Social alarm in use.

Paper long abstract:

There are an increased pressure on community care services, due to increased living expectancies and changes in policies. Technology innovations are heavily promoted as a promising solutions providing active ageing, independent living, cost reduction etc. The one big established telecare for older people in western societies are the Social alarm, provided to older frail people living at home. The alarm is a widely diffused telecare integrated in heterogeneous network of human and nonhuman actors aiming to support "aging safely in place".

This paper explores the Social alarm through ethnographic research. I will be drawing on preliminary empirical results from my PhD-project in two municipalities in Norway. I argue that the concepts of scrips and domestication can be valuable ways of analysing this well-established technology in use.

Technologies are scripted (Akrich, 1992). I argue that the scripts in established technologies tend to be unarticulated. When the aim and purpose are blurry, the users both negotiate alternative agreements for how and when to use the alarm, and hesitate to use the alarm when in need of fear that the reason are not legitimate.

This leading to insecurity but also unleashing possible individual interpretation, tinkering and negotiations of alternative practices. In this way, the technology is both leashed and unleashed affecting practices in unpredictable ways.