Re-thinking public library spaces with diversity and essential roles

Abstract. After the Internet was developed, public libraries started providing opportunities for many kinds of activities in addition to their traditional services, such as console games, making something in maker space, free Internet connection, and so on. Public library spaces have become more diverse to facilitate this change, and people can use them as free spaces. While this is an excellent way to increase the number of patrons, it seems that the share of people reading books is decreasing among the visitors. As libraries become more convenient and many people use them as free spaces, user interest in library materials is fading away, and thousands of materials have become just decoration. My diploma thesis aims to reorganize public library spaces to promote the essential roles of a library along with the embraced diverse new functions of the public library. Today, when the public library becomes freely used for a broader array of uses than simply reading and borrowing books, we need to rethink the spaces connecting patrons and literature because just placing books on rows of shelves in the library is no longer enough to make anyone read them. In the first part, I refer to current public library designs, concepts, and trends after the Internet has been commonized. I also discuss the future prospection of public libraries through a literature review to consider new public library designs. Secondly, I provide a brief review of design methodology, which approaches the interior and urban aspects to consider the optimal balance between diverse functions and essential roles. In the end, I show the new public library design in Fukushima City as an example of applying the methodology of my design approach. Through this diploma thesis, I suggest a design approach from both interior and urban perspectives as one of the ways to rethink the library space and attempt to see how it creates architecture in the actual site

Journey mapping from a crew's perspective: Understanding rail experiences

Technological developments present diverse opportunities to modernise services for the rail industry. Systems can be implemented to improve passengers’ experiences, but these may also affect the experiences of crew working on board trains. This first-of-a-kind research extends the concept of customer journey mapping as a design tool to understand the experiences of train crew. To produce these crew journey maps, interviews and user observation methods were adopted (N = 22). Results show that two main negative touchpoints for the crew occur at the platform-train interface and during revenue protection activities. This paper presents an innovative methodological contribution around journey mapping to better understand rail experiences, but revolving around the crew rather than the expected consumer experience. We conclude this paper proposing requirements for technological systems and indicate opportunities for the design of systems to generate human-centred improvements for the working practices and experiences of train crew

Towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in the Internet of Things (IoT): Opportunities and Challenges

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), possessing the capacity to comprehend, learn, and execute tasks with human cognitive abilities, engenders significant anticipation and intrigue across scientific, commercial, and societal arenas. This fascination extends particularly to the Internet of Things (IoT), a landscape characterized by the interconnection of countless devices, sensors, and systems, collectively gathering and sharing data to enable intelligent decision-making and automation. This research embarks on an exploration of the opportunities and challenges towards achieving AGI in the context of the IoT. Specifically, it starts by outlining the fundamental principles of IoT and the critical role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in IoT systems. Subsequently, it delves into AGI fundamentals, culminating in the formulation of a conceptual framework for AGI's seamless integration within IoT. The application spectrum for AGI-infused IoT is broad, encompassing domains ranging from smart grids, residential environments, manufacturing, and transportation to environmental monitoring, agriculture, healthcare, and education. However, adapting AGI to resource-constrained IoT settings necessitates dedicated research efforts. Furthermore, the paper addresses constraints imposed by limited computing resources, intricacies associated with large-scale IoT communication, as well as the critical concerns pertaining to security and privacy