[Themaintainers] Consumer well-being + Refurbishment Services

Mon Sep 30 10:35:07 EDT 2019

Really appreciated this part of Ishi's email: "but that may take alot more
work and supplies" -- in my opinion, one of the best things about shared
repair spaces or other ways of doing repair is the availability of supplies.

I'll give an example -- I bought a lovely wool sweater from a thrift store.
It was very cheap because it had a hole in the elbow. I'm a
seamstress/crafter so I decided I would attempt to darn it. Previous
attempts at darning had ... not... gone well. I'd always been using the
wrong materials, etc. But this was a *nice* sweater and I actually had a
well-paying job. So I went out and bought a matching skein of wool thread.
I used my own yarn needle. I bought a leather patch to cover the darn and
prevent further wear.

These weren't more expensive than a nice wool sweater would be new, but
they were the right materials and they definitely cost money. After
finishing it, I learned from a friend about other ways to get smaller
amounts of wool yarn for darns like this. Knowing what to get was a combo
of having a common problem, having the financial wherewithal to fix the
thing nicely, and having years of skills built up which made the problem
itself only one which required time to execute.

There were points in my life where I didn't have the financial wherewithal
to feel that I could spend maybe $20 on repair supplies when $20 would buy
a much more cheaply-made new sweater! Or I might've gotten it fixed using
the supplies I had on hand, but not in a way that was aesthetically
coherent enough that I felt comfortable wearing it to work (particularly
with the paradoxical way in which I am more secure in my job and at a
higher rank and now feel more comfortable being a bit weird/offbeat at
work).

Communal supplies, shared spaces, etc., seem so important to me because it
levels a playing field and allows for skill sharing in cases where we'd
really like to repair, but either can't do in a way that enables reasonable
use (e.g. can I wear it to work and not be embarrassed?) or don't have the
particular skills but can share other skills.

Ruth

Date: Mon, 30 Sep 2019 09:36:19 -0400
> From: Ishi Crew <mediaentropy at gmail.com>
> To: Julia Durgee <juliadurgee at gmail.com>
> Cc: jeffrey durgee <jeffreydurgee at gmail.com>,   Carole Turley
>         <carole.turley at gmail.com>, themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> Subject: Re: [Themaintainers] Consumer well-being + Refurbishment
>         Services
> Message-ID:
>         <CACQCUwch7zMOtKpjT6x=5paOMipj=
> 9AQyh5--Rv5kkUiWMRVGw at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> This is an interesting post (as are ones from last month on liberalism,
> coherence and peer production) but I have not been following this list
> recently due to information overload (and stress) (and this takes a toll on
> maintaining my physical environment, physical and mental health) .  I
> wonder if I should go to that conference (since its an hour metro ride or
> 2-3  hour walk away,  or should I save the 100$ if I were to go for 1 day,
> or more for the entire conference since I have a budget constraint ).
>
>  I'd go to see if there are study or research opportunities--I'm sort of
> working on a semi-mathematical project on resource and task allocation,
> suggested by an informal environmental/global climate change study  and
> research group  (which could be called 'citizen science' or 'participatory
> action research').  (There are many related approaches to this problem ,
> mostly using advanced calculus or computer algorithms--I'm trying to do a
> simple formalism.)  .
>       (I've done a bit of both academic research (in theoretical biology),
> and also maintenance (ie physical labor on home repair ) but am not really
> suited to either full time (the choices have been either get a PhD and do
> full time computer modeling--if you can get tenure, or else full time
> roofing, carpentry, plumbing , etc. Theoretical biology deals with issues
> like how ecosystems maintain stability---or don't---and how flora and fauna
> allocate resources in an ecosystem--basically same kind of issue studied by
> economists for society. )
>
> Doing full time work at either of those things I found had limited 'hedonic
> and eudaimonic value' for me (the model was either become a professor and
> hire people to do maintenance while you do research, or else work in
> maintenance for a professor.  Many people in environment I grew up in did a
> mix of academic and maintenance work. ).
>
> Some of us just 'fall through the cracks'  --some say this is because we
> are clumsy, incompetent, or undisciplined; others say this is because
> society is poorly maintained---has alot of cracks in the infrastructure
> (and 'superstructure' as Marx might have called it --the set of ideas or
> values that 'hold society together').   (In area I live they are
> continually repairing roads, sidewalks, electricity infrastructure, and
> more --and people fall on streets around here at times due to cracks in the
> road. I used to take guitar lessons across from Gaullaudet at CU---and i
> broke a guitar i recently bought due to some uneven ground --and spent some
> time trying to repair it, but that may take alot  more work and supplies
> than I did , so I bought another one--save that for another time if I get
> around to it).  Persona with disabilities (or special abilities) often fall
> through the cracks.
>    (There's a classic song called 'things done changed', with the line 'i
> can't maintain'    --some local youth made a mural with that lyric in a
> local park---when it was refurbished.  That park used to be loaded with
> trash and could be a dangerous place to walk through--now its sort of fixed
> up , though the demographic has sort of changed.)
>
> On Mon, Sep 30, 2019 at 5:13 AM Julia Durgee <juliadurgee at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > *Hello, Maintainers,*
> >
> > Professor Jeffrey Durgee
> > <https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WlwBCTkAAAAJ&hl=en>,
> published
> > this 2018, qualitative research paper on *emotional benefits* of
> *refurbishing
> > one's possessions:*
> >
> > 1) Enhances sense of self and well-being
> > 2) Strengthens connections to family members and fellow fans/consumers
> > 3) Increases appreciation for Refurbisher/Service Provider
> >
> > This article will provide warm fuzzies.
> > I hope you enjoy the upcoming Maintainers 3 conference.
> >
> > Thank you,
> > ~Julia Durgee (proud daughter)
> >
> > [image: image.png]
> >  Abstract
> > Purpose
> >
> > The purpose of this paper is to explore how services might impact a
> > general consumer sense of everyday well-being or life satisfaction.
> > Design/methodology/approach
> >
> > It was decided to focus on the existential benefits of refurbishing
> > services and see how they might impact owner sense of self and overall
> life
> > satisfaction. A qualitative study was fielded which consisted of analyses
> > of website testimonials of customers of refurbishing services for
> products
> > such as pianos, watches, boats, bicycles and other durables. Also
> analyzed
> > were results from one-on-one qualitative interviews of customers of
> > refurbishing services and selected refurbishers of similar products.
> > Findings
> >
> > The study suggests that refurbish services provide a mix of hedonic and
> > eudaimonic benefits. They provide an enhanced sense of self and general
> > well-being insofar, as the newly restored item connects owners to loved
> > ones, to other collectors or fans and to their own personal life
> histories.
> > It also connects them to the refurbishers and their ?magic?. Insofar as
> > refurbishers invite customer involvement in the process, they co-create
> how
> > the process will proceed, so customers feel a special involvement and
> gain
> > an understanding of the workings of the item and how to best use it.
> > Practical implications
> >
> > Refurbishing services might offer, like all the new internet-mediated
> > sharing services, a more sustainable alternative to the buy-and-dispose
> > consumption behaviors found in most world economies.
> > Originality value
> >
> > This paper provides insights into the lives of products after purchase
> and
> > the roles of relevant service providers. It also provides examples of how
> > service providers in general might deepen and facilitate customers?
> > feelings about themselves and their daily lives. It shows how service
> > providers can enhance customer hedonic and eudaimonic appreciation of
> > provider knowledge, skills and efforts.
> >
> >
> >
> > (Thanks to Professor Carole Turley
> > <https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/person/carole-voulgaris/> for telling me
> > about the Maintainers' cool mission.)
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Themaintainers mailing list
> > Themaintainers at lists.stevens.edu
> > https://lists.stevens.edu/mailman/listinfo/themaintainers
> >
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