Prince, Heather (2017) Text messaging as a near synchronous method in adventure. In: 6th International Adventure Conference: Climates of Change, Rethinking the Outdoor Experience, 30 January - 2 February 2018, Segovia, Spain. (Unpublished)
Downloaded from: http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3582/
Usage of any items from the University of Cumbria’s institutional repository ‘Insight’ must conform to the following fair usage guidelines.
Any item and its associated metadata held in the University of Cumbria’s institutional repository Insight (unless stated otherwise on the metadata record) may be copied, displayed or performed, and stored in line with the JISC fair dealing guidelines (available here) for educational and not-for-profit activities
provided that
• the authors, title and full bibliographic details of the item are cited clearly when any part of the work is referred to verbally or in the written form
• a hyperlink/URL to the original Insight record of that item is included in any citations of the work
• the content is not changed in any way
• all files required for usage of the item are kept together with the main item file.
You may not
• sell any part of an item
• refer to any part of an item without citation
• amend any item or contextualise it in a way that will impugn the creator’s reputation
• remove or alter the copyright statement on an item.
The full policy can be found here.
Alternatively contact the University of Cumbria Repository Editor by emailing [email protected].
Text messaging as a near synchronous method in
adventure
Heather Prince, Associate Professor
Half way up Mt Ventoux weather is really bad but we have put the tent up.
Could you check the weather forecast to see what it is like in the next few days and this evening?
10:32
First climb – Mont Ventoux (1911 m)
“Of all the great mountains in the annals of cycling, Mont Ventoux reigns
supreme …it has a unique presence that makes any and every ascent a
magnificent experience.” (Henderson, 2013, p.150)
“Constantly presented
in the cycling press as one of the most dreaded climbs in the sport
…” (Spinney, 2006, p.710)
They have closed the mountain and they won’t let us up. People in cars are coming back
down saying that we are not allowed to go.
10:52
10.43
Heaviest rain this pm &
rain 2night becoming lighter then dry & sunny Tues am onwds.Wind now SSW 40 but 25kmh pm today then 30 kmh NW Tues becoming light by Wed am. Suggest u sit it out in tent if safe until tmrrw morning or retreat to valley tonight.
It seems to be a bad weather blip. Take care.
Still have tent up but looking out now there is blue sky and the rain has stopped.
11:30
I think that occluded front might have gone over sooner than
predicted. I suggest you wait ten minutes to see if road is open, then go.
11:35
Thanks P. Now enjoying pizza in Sault.
Really good descent after we reached the top.
16:30
Text messages identifying key moments from dual perspectives to derive meaning.
Cont ext
• Cycle t our ing expedit ion: Orange via Sout her n Fr ench Alps t o Valence
• 900 km , 17 high m ount ain passes in 13 days
• Tw o br ot her s, 17 & 20 year s
• Par ent - r esear cher ( r et r ospect ive)
Data
Text m essages ( SMS) : near synchr onous
‘Connect ed pr esence’ ( Licoppe, 2004)
Use of t ext m essages for r esear ch in healt h- r elat ed cont ext s, not for r esear ch int o r em ot e suppor t in advent ur e.
• necessar ily per t inent and focused
• ‘upended’ m obilit ies
Supplem ent ar y m obile conver sat ions:
• int eract ionist appr oach ( dialogic) for advice, infor m at ion and r eassurance.
Met hodological challenges
Co- const r uct ion of m eaning t hr ough t he int er pr et at ion of t ext ual infor m at ion and of lived exper iences.
Advant ages of delayed r esponse in advent ur e sit uat ions?
• Mobilit ies paradigm ( t ransient advent ur e set t ings)
• Phenom enological and et hnographic ( including aut oet hnographic appr oach)
• Not her m eneut ic phenom enology
Et hical quest ions
• Par ent - r esear cher
• - fam ilial r elat ionship, bias, pow er ( ?)
• - r et r ospect ive use of dat a
Advant ages
• - r eliable dat a, cr it ical insight s int o dialogic int eract ion, r eflexivit y
• - nat uralist ic fluency
Appr oved by Univer sit y Et hics Panel
Debate about text messaging as a method …
Text m essaging
- Not ‘place- based’ im m er sion ( Mer r im an, 2014)
- Not per for m at ive or par t icipat ive in t he act ive sense
- Quest ionable ‘em bodim ent ’. Resear cher is dist ant fr om advent ur e
- Necessar ily focused and lim it ed, alt hough t his m ight be seen as advant ageous in advent ur e sit uat ions ( non-
int r usive?)
- Over t aken by social m edia? Range of m edia beyond w or ds, m or e holist ic pict ur e of lived exper ience?
- I nit iat ed by young people
- Cheap
- Recept ion m or e w idespr ead t han int er net & focused, alt hough m ediat ed, infor m at ion channel
Outcomes
I ncr easing aut onom y
‘Transit ion’ st age
Tit le
• Text m essage, video of rain st orm .
‘Rit e of
passage’( van Gennep [ 1909]
1960; Lar son &
Lloyd, 2012)
Reflections
Son 1: “ St op t he par ent w or r ying” but adm it t ed cont act
was ver y useful for w eat her infor m at ion and advice on w ild boar s;
Son 2: Appr eciat ed suppor t w hilst j our neying. I m m ediacy of r esponse not so im por t ant .
Which par t y appr eciat ed level of int eract ive suppor t m or e?
Depends on degr ee of advent ur e and level of com pet ence of par t icipant s; exper ience and under st anding of older
adult .
Par t icipant s becam e m or e confident as j our ney
pr ogr essed in confr ont ing and rat ionalising unfam iliar social, cult ural and psychologically challenging
sit uat ions.
Following year, cycle tour Barcelona, Spain – Bristol, UK, via Pyrenees.
References
van Gennep, A. [ 1909] 1960. The r it es of passage. ( Trans. M.B. Vizedom and G.L. Caffee. Repr., Chicago,I L: Univer sit y of Chicago Pr ess.
Hender son, P. ( 2013) Cy cling in t he Fr ench Alps. Milnt hor pe: Cicer one Pr ess.
Lar son, S.& Lloyd. M. ( 2012) . Risk t ak ing and r it es of passage. Reclaim ing Childr en and Yout h 20 ( 4) , 37–40.
Licoppe, C. ( 2004) . “ Connect ed” pr esence: The em er gence of a new r eper t oir e for m anaging social r elat ionships in a changing com m unicat ion t echnoscape.
Env ir onm ent and Planning D: Societ y and Space, 22, 135- 156.
Mer r im an, P. ( 2014) . Ret hink ing m obile m et hods. Mobilit ies 9( 2) ,167–187.
Pr ince, H.E. ( 2017) . Tex t m essaging as a near sy nchr onous m et hod of r em ot e suppor t in out door advent ur ous set t ings. Applied Mobilit ies. Doi:
10.1080/ 23800127.2017.1347028. Published online 25 July 2017.
Spinney, J. ( 2006) . A place of sense: A k inaest het ic et hnography of cyclist s on Mount Vent oux . Env ir onm ent and Planning D: Societ y and Space 24 ( 5) , 709–
732.
