Losing metrics … finding heart

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-192
Author(s):  
Julia K. Day
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Research Team ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Narrative Methods ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
Do So

Purpose This paper aims to provide an example of ways in which research plans may shift and how the research team dealt with necessary changes as they unfolded; within this context, the authors encourage the use of qualitative and narrative methods prior to and during the design process to better understand the population for which they are designing. Second, the stories from this case study illustrate the importance of understanding the overall context in design solutions, understanding the value of working with residents during the design process and using design as a tool for advocacy and empathy. Design/methodology/approach Initially, a traditional mixed method approach was developed to study the feasibility of tiny homes in homeless populations. Responding to unforeseen circumstances, the research team shifted to more appropriate narrative research methods, capturing a profile of the community. The paper shares narrative accounts from the tiny home village residents. Findings Overall, the stories from the Portland visit illustrate the importance of social impact and the understanding of the overall context in design. This study also advocates the use of qualitative interview and narrative methods in design research, especially when used to better understand the “houseless” or other special populations. Research limitations/implications There were limitations to the research that likely affected the outcomes and the results. The most apparent limitation was the unanticipated shift in methodology that occurred during the research study, which is also arguably one of the best strengths. Also, because of the qualitative nature of this research, the results are not generalizable to a broader context and only valuable or applicable to special cases. Practical implications The true human condition of displaced people is often misrepresented in the minds of those who are unaffected. Designers are uniquely qualified to help solve seemingly unsolvable problems but must do so with caution. Social implications For those taking on the challenge of designing for disadvantaged communities, this paper reveals that design research is more than just a problem to solve through habitable boxes. This study brings to light several social, economic and design complications that may arise in this vein of research. Originality/value This research methodology was unexpectedly altered when unforeseen events necessitated a shift in the research plan. This process revealed that sensitive social issues can be difficult to navigate and must be treated with utmost respect and flexibility. Issues such as affordable housing, homelessness and sustainability are all examples of wicked problems, which designers are uniquely qualified to help solve but must do so with caution and a true understanding of context. Many lessons were learned through this process.

Sensor e-textiles: person centered co-design for people with late stage dementia

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Treadaway ◽  
Gail Kenning
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Sensory Properties ◽  
Content Type ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Grounded Practical Theory ◽  
The Moment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present design research investigating the development of sensory textiles with embedded electronics to support the wellbeing of people with late stage dementia in residential care. Design/methodology/approach – The research presented is qualitative and uses a mixed method approach informed by grounded practical theory and positive design methodologies. It uses an inclusive and participatory co-design process involving people with dementia and their families with an interdisciplinary team of experts. Findings – Both the co-design process and the artefacts developed have been beneficial in supporting wellbeing. The textile artefacts have been found to soothe, distract and comfort people with dementia. They have also been shown to facilitate in the moment conversational bridges between family members and carers with persons with dementia. Research limitations/implications – The findings are based on a small cohort of participants, observational reports and descriptive accounts from family members and carers. Practical implications – The paper proposes ways in which simple hand-crafted textiles can be used beneficially to support the wellbeing of people with late stage dementia. It provides examples of how technology can be used to personalise and extend the sensory properties of the artefacts created. Social implications – It promotes an inclusive co-design methodology involving care professionals, carers and people with dementia with designers and technologists. Originality/value – The paper describes new ways of extending sensory properties of textiles through the integration of technology.

scholarly journals Participatory design of healthcare technology with children

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27
Author(s):  
Tara Sims
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Upper Limb ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Upper Limb Prostheses ◽  
Sociocultural Approach ◽  
Design Skills

Purpose There are many frameworks and methods for involving children in design research. Human-Computer Interaction provides rich methods for involving children when designing technologies. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines various approaches to involving children in design, considering whether users view children as study objects or active participants. Findings The BRIDGE method is a sociocultural approach to product design that views children as active participants, enabling them to contribute to the design process as competent and resourceful partners. An example is provided, in which BRIDGE was successfully applied to developing upper limb prostheses with children. Originality/value Approaching design in this way can provide children with opportunities to develop social, academic and design skills and to develop autonomy.

Frontiers for Networks for Social Impact

2021 ◽  
pp. 217-232
Author(s):  
Michelle Shumate ◽  
Katherine R. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Network Design ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Changing Environment ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Science Approach ◽  
Do So

The final chapter synthesizes arguments from the book. We offer a systems approach that integrates the configuration and processes approaches, addressing the possible network designs needed for success and how the system must adapt to a changing environment. We do so by unpacking the axioms that underly our approach, integrating material from the rest of the book. We draw several implications for research and practice. We advocate a solution-science approach to the study of social impact networks. We argue that researchers need to test interventions to improve networks’ social impact and communicate the results widely. We contend that both funders and network instigators should pay attention to the nature of social issues (i.e., simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic) when writing requests for proposals and selecting a network design. The match between the type of social problem and the network design is critical to achieving social impact. We end the chapter with optimism and urgency. Not only do we think networks can be impactful if designed and managed well, but we also believe they must be impactful to address the most challenging issues of our time.

Airbnb – exploring triple bottom line impacts on community

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney W. Caldicott ◽  
Tania von der Heidt ◽  
Pascal Scherrer ◽  
Sabine Muschter ◽  
Antonia Canosa
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Triple Bottom Line ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Time Planning

Purpose This paper aims to purposely place community and its stakeholders at the forefront of an investigation of positive and negative social, economic and environmental impacts of the sharing economy in the specific context of Airbnb by drawing upon the triple bottom line (TBL) framework of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative enquiry through a “scoping approach” with the search of relevant electronic databases identified a range of conceptual and empirical studies in the period from 2008 to 2018 informing a profile focussed on the triple bottom line impacts. Findings The criteria limited search yielded 23 focal articles, which investigated or discussed Airbnb impacts on local communities. Analysis of these articles informed a three-pillar tabulation of positive and negative impacts, which are presented against four key stakeholder groupings. Research limitations/implications The study is exploratory, and further research, especially confirmatory research, is recommended. Practical implications The study’s value extends to praxis. Guided by findings, real-time planning and policy-making are already underway within the authors’ community. Additionally, an extension project, as requested by the community, is now investigating direct traditional accommodation provider impacts. Social implications Understanding of the social issues concerning Airbnb and indeed, the wider sharing economy, is broadened through identified need for further social impact research. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to apply a “scoping approach” to holistically illuminate the positive and negative impacts of Airbnb at the micro-level in each of the three domains of sustainability. The research methodology is shown to be effective, with positive community impact, and will easily adapt to other destinations grappling with policy decisions.

Lean Startup for social impact

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Semcow ◽  
Jenny Knowles Morrison
Keyword(s):  
Research Team ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Lean Startup

Purpose This paper aims to explore an adaptation of the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-CorpsTM) program, which uses the Lean Startup methodology to help STEM scientists commercialize their research. The adaptation, known as I-Corps for Social Impact (I-Corps SI), extends the for-profit canonical model to include mixed revenue and non-profit business models, to help researchers generate social impact. Design/methodology/approach A research team of policy and non-profit experts observed and adapted a canonical I-Corps process, then interviewed academics who are scaling and sustaining socially impactful solutions from their research, including past I-Corps participants, to validate research team learning. Findings The paper describes limitations of the I-Corps model and modifications required to enhance social impact. Practical implications While the field of social entrepreneurship has grown rapidly over the past few decades, social scientists have lagged behind in translating evidence-based research into solutions that can be scaled and sustained to achieve social impact. The paper presents an evidence-based case for a pedagogical tool to close this gap. Originality/value A focus on validated learning and business model development supports a paradigm shift within the social sciences, which can help spur greater social innovation from evidence-based research.

scholarly journals What professionals consider when designing a modular service architecture?

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 748-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manda Broekhuis ◽  
Marjolein van Offenbeek ◽  
Monique Eissens-van der Laan
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Modular Design ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Architecture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Core ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Wide Range

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how functional and appropriateness arguments influence the adoption of modularity principles during the design of a professional service architecture. Design/methodology/approach Action design research was conducted to examine the design process of a modular service architecture for specialised elderly care by a multi-professional group. Data collection methods included, partly participatory, observations of the interactions between professionals during the design process, interviews and document analysis. Data analysis focussed on the emerging design choices and the arguments underlying them. Findings A wide range of both functional and appropriateness considerations were enlisted during the design process. The three core modularity principles were adapted to varying degrees. In terms of the design outcome, the interdependencies between the modularity principles necessitated two trade-offs in the modular design. A third trade-off occurred between modularity and the need for professional inference where services were characterised by uncertainty. Appropriateness was achieved through the professionals reframing and translating the abstract modularity concept to reconcile the concept’s functionality with their professional norms, values and established practices. Originality/value The study adds to service modularity theory by formulating three trade-offs that are required in translating the core modularity principles into a functional set of design choices for a multi-professional service environment. Moreover, the inherent intertwinedness of the core modularity principles in professional services requires an iterative design process. Finally, the authors saw that the ambiguity present in the service modularity concept can be used to develop a design that is deemed appropriate by professionals.

There’s something in your eye: ethical implications of augmented visual field devices

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 214-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marty J. Wolf ◽  
Frances S. Grodzinsky ◽  
Keith W. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Visual Field ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Benefit ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Personal Privacy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to explore the ethical and social impact of augmented visual field devices (AVFDs), identifying issues that AVFDs share with existing devices and suggesting new ethical and social issues that arise with the adoption of AVFDs. Design/methodology/approach This essay incorporates both a philosophical and an ethical analysis approach. It is based on Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, philosophical notions of transparency and presence and human values including psychological well-being, physical well-being, privacy, deception, informed consent, ownership and property and trust. Findings The paper concludes that the interactions among developers, users and non-users via AVFDs have implications for autonomy. It also identifies issues of ownership that arise because of the blending of physical and virtual space and important ways that these devices impact, identity and trust. Practical implications Developers ought to take time to design and implement an easy-to-use informed consent system with these devices. There is a strong need for consent protocols among developers, users and non-users of AVFDs. Social implications There is a social benefit to users sharing what is visible on their devices with those who are in close physical proximity, but this introduces tension between notions of personal privacy and the establishment and maintenance of social norms. Originality/value There is new analysis of how AVFDs impact individual identity and the attendant ties to notions of ownership of the space between an object and someone’s eyes and control over perception.

A neuroscientific perspective of a mixed-use lifestyle center

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 1487-1502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Scott Rosenbaum ◽  
German Contreras Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Cognitive Responses ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Impact Theory ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
The Social ◽  
Lifestyle Centers

Purpose This paper aims to explore consumers’ cognitive responses to the presence of other people in a planned lifestyle center. The featured lifestyle center contains shopping, lodging, dining and retail options in an open-air setting full of natural elements. This work helps explain the affinity of consumers to lifestyle centers and shows marketing researchers and practitioners how to use neuroscience hardware and software in service design research. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on social impact theory to show how the social presence of others in a lifestyle center influences six different cognitive responses. The authors evaluate consumers’ cognitive responses by using the Emotiv EPOC+ headset to obtain electroencephalogram recordings. To interpret these recordings, they use EmotivPro software, which provides readings on six emotional states, including excitement, interest, stress, engagement, attention and relaxation. Findings The data obtained from mall shoppers reveal that the presence of other people in a lifestyle center evokes high levels of interest and excitement and encourages relaxation. Research limitations/implications The paper shows marketers how to use neural data to obtain insights into consumers’ cognitive responses to stimuli by using Emotiv headsets and software. Practical implications The results show the importance of social elements in encouraging customers to approach and spend time in lifestyle centers. Originality/value The paper is one of the first to explore consumers’ responses to strangers in shared settings using neuroscience.

Analysing human activity development through (work)spaces in a human-centered design project for commercial airline pilots

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwige Quillerou ◽  
Sébastien Boulnois
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Work Organisation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Airline Pilots ◽  
Analysis And Design ◽  
Commercial Airline ◽  
Space Conditions

Purpose The purpose of this paper conducts a co-design framework, thanks to different kinds of interviews with expert pilots in different space contexts for each stage of the technical development of the system. Design/methodology/approach To speak about the question of “spaces” and especially spaces in the design process, this paper is focussed on the transdisciplinary design research for commercial airline pilots. This design research combined a “Human-Centred Design” approach (Boy, 2015) with an occupational psychology, including a “Clinic of Activity” perspective (Kloëtzer et al., 2016). It integrates experts within the research process to design a new technological tool for indicating weather conditions in flight (Boulnois, 2018). Findings This study explains how the crossed self-confrontation interview under special space conditions allows dialogue to take place between the designers and the pilots for imagining the future workplace by using an emergent workspace. Practical implications The physical, psychological and social “space” conditions were worked on throughout the design process – including during the work analysis and design testing phases – and were revisited. Originality/value In this way, the occupational psychologist organised the framework for dialogue about the present situation and future workspaces, to anticipate changes in work organisation, enhance inter-professional collaboration and, finally, increase health and safety benefits for pilots, and potentially other workers, at the same time.

scholarly journals An integrated approach for building sustainable Islamic social finance ecosystems

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-266
Author(s):  
Ahmed Tahiri Jouti
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Initiatives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Social Causes

Purpose Bringing more impact seems to be a real issue for social initiatives and organizations requiring the adoption of new approaches. The paper aims to define an integrated approach for building, maintaining and upgrading Islamic social finance and sustainable ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a conceptual framework based on case studies and literature review describing the methodology and the necessary steps to build sustainable ecosystems. Findings The paper shows the impact of building social finance ecosystems on tackling social issues. It emphasizes the idea that solving social issues is everybody’s business – from governments to businesses – and that those initiatives require sufficient Sharīʿah-compliant funding to achieve sustainability goals. Research limitations/implications The paper does not focus on the Islamic world experiences in building ecosystems serving social causes. Practical implications The paper gives an overview on how collaboration between the different social oriented organisations can enhance the social impact of the different initiatives. The aim is to ensure adequate financing to all the ecosystem components during the whole lifecycle. Social implications The suggested approach of building sustainable ecosystems can serve as a way to assess the existing social initiatives and practices to find relevant combinations targeting more impact. Originality/value In the social sphere, the idea of building ecosystems has been explored in different ways but never in a way that gathers all the components including finance providers, coordinators and the different types of initiatives. The paper adapts the ecosystem concept to the Islamic finance specificities.

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