Developing an Index of Care for museum use

IMPORTANT: to gain access to the four ‘Steps’ of the Index of Care, as well as to the electronic feedback form for this project, you must be logged in as a registered user. This is essential for protecting website security.

The Index of Care is a tool specifically designed for bioarchaeologists researching disability and care, and some elements may be either confusing or irrelevant when the Index is applied by those outside this field.

The ‘Museum Index of Care Project’ is a part of a wider ‘User-friendly Index of Care Project’ investigating whether there is an audience for a more user-friendly version of the Index – a version (or more likely multiple versions) developed for application by non-bioarchaeologists interested in exploring experience of disability and care in the past. (See ‘User-Friendly Project’ tab at the top of this page)

Museum staff working with human remains make up one group of people potentially falling into this category. An information sheet (second button on the left) briefly outlines some ideas for possible Index of Care applications in a museum context, but we need the views of people working in, or with, museums to know if we have actually identified an area in which a (modified) Index might be of assistance, or if there is no call for an Index – user-friendly or otherwise – in this sphere. Although the information sheet focuses on the possible role of the Index in interpreting human remains on public display, we are interested in identifying potential uses across all relevant areas of museum policy and practice. (The poster at the bottom of this page provides a more detailed overview of the four Steps of the Index of Care and the algorithms which drive these than was possible in the information sheet - click on a thumbnail to download).

Please  log in and scroll through the Index, consider whether it might be useful in the museum context and, if so, whether it needs modification for this purpose – and then tell us what you think. If this is your first visit to the Index of Care website,  register as a new user and enter the name of a ‘test subject’ when prompted. Once logged in, ‘The Index’ tab will appear on the bar at the top of the screen (giving access to the Index instrument) and the electronic feedback form will be activated.

We are in the preliminary stage of this project, and we welcome all the feedback you can give us – not only on the points we’ve identified in the feedback form, but on all those we’ve inevitably missed. All feedback provided will be kept strictly confidential.

The electronic feedback form is intended to make it quicker and easier for you to send us your views, but if you’d prefer to provide feedback in a less structured format, or if you have any questions you’d like addressed before filling in the feedback form, please contact Lorna Tilley at lorna.tilley@alumni.anu.edu.au and/or the project team as a whole at indexofcare@gmail.com.

User-friendly Index of Care Museum Project Team members: Alyson Caine (Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, USA); Ihuixaya Tapia (California State University, Monterey Bay, USA); Christopher Canzonieri (Basin Research Associates, San Leandro, California, USA); Roberto Sáez (Independent Researcher, Madrid, Spain); Tony Cameron (IT Support, Canberra, Australia); and Lorna Tilley (Independent Researcher, Canberra, Australia)

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