Evocative computing – creating meaningful lasting experiences in connecting with the past

We present an approach – evocative computing – that demonstrates how ‘at hand’ technologies can be ‘picked up’ and used by people to create meaningful and lasting experiences, through connecting and interacting with the past. The approach is instantiated here through a suite of interactive technologies configured for an indoor-outdoor setting that enables groups to explore, discover and research the history and background of a public cemetery. We report on a two-part study where different groups visited the cemetery and interacted with the digital tools and resources. During their activities serendipitous uses of the technology led to connections being made between personal memo-ries and ongoing activities. Furthermore, these experiences were found to be long-lasting; a follow-up study, one year later, showed them to be highly memorable, and in some cases leading participants to take up new directions in their work. We discuss the value of evocative computing for enriching user experiences and engagement with heritage practices

A Network of One’s Own: Struggles to Domesticate the Internet

This thesis is a design research practice-led inquiry into the domesticated Internet. It first seeks to complicate simplistic corporate and academic visions by naming some of the struggles it encounters – not least to assert a private home and network of one's own. It is argued that a century of domestic technologies has emphasised invisibility, ubiquity, and automation in ways that obscure a network of exploited people and finite resources. Furthermore, these technological ambitions are met through machine surveillance, in ways newly enabled by the domesticated Internet, that threaten the privacy of the home. In response, this thesis seeks some practical ways to design alternatives that assert a network of one's own and makes the work it implicates visible. The methodological approach is broadly Research Through Design supplemented by a practice described as designerly hacking through which hidden technical potential is revealed and given meaning. Two empirical studies are described that together make an account of the technical possibility and social reality of the networked home: an autobiographical technical exploration of the author's home and network with the making of hacks and Research Products privately and in public; and a cultural probe engagement with six rented households surfacing contemporary accounts of the domesticated Internet and in particular the challenges and opportunities of wireless networking. Together this yields a series of technical and social insights for design and two forms are offered to communicate these: a framework for understanding change in the networked home (The Stuff of Home) and a set of 30 design patterns for a network of one's own; each invites different analyses. The conclusion then draws together the multiple threads developed through this thesis and offers some reflection on the complexity of doing contemporary technical design work

Redesigning design for culture change: theory in the Anthropocene

Design is low on theory of transformation, which becomes problematic as the practices and outputs of design need to contribute to a culture of planetary adaptation for sustainability. In fact, design itself needs to be (re)designed to enact culture change. To make these shifts, design research can learn from cultural theory that positions culture as evolving and performative. Adopting these ideas helps to reveal the designed-therefore-designable nature of the world, which is a necessary prelude to mobilizing publics. The paper concludes with participatory collaborative thought experiments, influenced by cultural theory, that offer directions for changing design

Voicing values: Laying foundations for ageing people to participate in design

© 2016 ACM. This paper discusses Participatory Design workshops that sought to enable ageing people to articulate their core values in relation to their experiences of ageing. Our motivations were to better understand how ageing people decide whether or not to adopt and use particular technologies, and to gain insights into the kinds of technologies that might support their aspirations as they age. We contribute to current understandings of ageing people's values, including a range of values that were most important to our participants, insights into how these values are expressed and experienced in everyday lives, the interrelatedness of values in action, and how the three social dimensions of self, friends and family, as well as community influence the expression of values. The workshops demonstrated how engaged ageing people are with others and the broader communities they inhabit. We reflect on the processes, methods and tools that were useful when supporting people to voice their values and how this approach can support the participation of ageing people in design