Connecting with Millennials: Using Tag Clouds to Build a Folksonomy from Key Home Economics Documents

Abstract

Coinciding with the celebration of the centennial of the International Federation for Home Economics (IFHE) in 2008 and the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences in 2009, several celebratory events have taken place and a number of artifacts produced. These serve as a permanent legacy and historical account of the attainment of the centennial. In this study, selected artifacts are analyzed and presented using a contemporary tool that connects specifically with the multiliteracy capabilities of the emerging generation in schools, tertiary institutions and new entrants in the workforce—the Millennials—who are the future generation of home economists. Through the use of tag clouds evidence of the emergence of a folksonomy of terms associated with the field is apparent, featuring words such as: profession, social, life, and future.