Challenge: Which differences in expatriates’ integration can be observed, after the use of a publicly available social media network, providing media content about Danish culture?
- Timeline: 8th Semester, 2020
- Type/Setting: School Project
- Team: Anila Khaliq, Gry Egelund Pedersen, Simon Bak Kjærulff, Tummas Jóhan Sigvardsen
- Supervisor: Julie Torpegaard
- My role: Idea generation, Mobile app development and 3D rendering.
- Tools: AndroidSDK, JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA, Adobe Photoshop, SolidWorks
- Skills: Problem Scope, Brainstorming, App Development (Android), 3D rendering
Abstract
Expatriates have a strenuous experience, when trying to integrate into Danish society, partly due to the estrangement Danes have toward foreigners. For expatriates to integrate smoothly, there is a need for a transparent cultural experience. Our solution is AALBOX, which is a two-part social media network, consisting of an app and a physical installation that supports expatriates in their integration process in the country. AALBOX is populated with crowd-sourced content from locals, who will provide tacit knowledge about topics such as history, culture, and norms in the form of social media network posts. The concept is to be evaluated with expatriates as well as locals to explore whether it creates differences in the integration process of expatriates and how the local population responds to it.
Research Question
Due to Danes’ estrangement towards foreign cultures, there is a need for a transparent cultural experience for expatriates in order to achieve a perceived feeling of integration and acknowledgment. Thus, we present the following research questions for this paper:
- RQ1: Which differences in expatriates’ integration can be observed, after the use of a publicly available social media network, providing media content about Danish culture?
- RQ2: How would the local population respond to a public social media network integrated into the environment of the city?
In this paper, we aim to make the Danish culture and traditions more transparent through an integrated social media network intended for expatriates, as well as the locals in the city of Aalborg, Denmark. We assume that a transparency of Danish culture and traditions, can make it easier for expatriates to integrate in Denmark and be a part of the society, and thereby have a greater motivation to reside in the country. We present AALBOX, that aims to publicize the local information of the area through user-generated content such as activities, cultural phenomena, norms, and history. The concept provides a solution, which consists of a physical installation to incentivize city exploration and a smartphone application element for convenient access.
Solution
