Conference Agenda

ABSTRACT:

This article explores interactions on professional social media like Slack and Teams and their consequences of use in educational and professional settings and further how they shape designers’ understanding of the concept of knowledge and in extension democratic processes. The main object of this study is how communication functions, rather than its content. We emphasize how such communication functioning informs service design practices. To investigate these mechanisms, we use theories from communication in sports, play, and games, as well as conversation- and systems theory. The effects of the conversations on professional media are discussed in relation to knowing and democratic mechanisms and change. Finally, we suggest aspects to consider when planning, facilitating, and analyzing communication in design processes in relation to democracy.

The increasing demand for individualised and adaptive prosthetic solutions required to cater for the ever-evolving amputee needs emphasises the importance of intelligent, human-centred Product-Service Systems (PSS) that help amputees throughout their prosthesis life cycle. This paper therefore contributes a novel framework for the human-centred design of smart prostheses, developed to improve the management of prosthesis product development while catering for evolving amputee needs. Our ongoing research interactions with prosthetists (the device designers) and other healthcare professionals, such as physiotherapists, have revealed that this PSS framework also functions as an educational tool, enabling the exploration of 'what if' scenarios that support learning and professional development for complex prosthesis design and aftercare challenges. Our PSS framework, adProLiSS, is based on an AI-driven ontological model of consequences arising by the prosthesis meeting different life cycle stakeholders (e.g. amputees, prosthetists, physios, service technicians). This model provides valuable information feedback to support design and re-design decision making, from initial prosthesis design to long-term aftercare.

Public services should be available and accessible to all citizens, yet marginalized categories such as Disabled and vulnerable people are not always considered during the design process and are often faced with challenges and barriers.

Through a living lab, this research provides a didactical framework to foster empathy and to design innovative smart assistive technologies for Disabled people to support their interaction with public services, overcoming barriers and empowering them. [1]

The inequitable allocation of resources in public services demands a rebalance in the attention economy[2], where marginalized groups rarely receive much of it [3]. On the other hand, assistive technologies are mainly individual devices that might not be accessible to everyone, for lack of economic resources or availability. With this didactic framework, participants will learn to design devices to cater to these necessities.

The research explores Human-centered design to bring innovation in Inclusive design, by drawing on social sciences and computer science. Qualitative methods, such as ethnographic tools and embodied methods, were used to analyse public services and empathise with Disabled people. Conversely, the data was systematised through quantitative analysis.

It is common to have post-graduate programs that focus on sustainability. The most common lens to looking at sustainability is through a life cycle assessment (LCA) perspective and assessing the impact of the use of different materials and manufacturing processes in the overall footprint of products, or the broader ESG approach where environmental, social and governance are intertwined. Engineering programs tend to focus on a rather more technical approach of life cycle assessment. Because of the details necessary for an LCA, the analyses are based on existing products, where all the information on materials and manufacturing is readily available. The Master of Science in Technology and Design in Sustainable Product Design (MTD-SPD) at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) encompasses a course on Design for Sustainability where the usual aspects related to LCA are dealt with. However, two important aspects of product design with a significant impact on the environment are seldom considered: product architecture and product assembly. The MTD-SPD focuses on these aspects as well, to bring a fresh perspective into the discussion about sustainable development, deeply rooted in engineering.