RTST Trend Report: lead theme Contextualisation

Specht, M., Börner, D., Tabuenca, B., Ternier, S., De Vries, F., Kalz, M., Drachsler, H., & Schmitz, B. (2012). RTST Trend Report: lead theme Contextualisation. Deliverable 1.7 of STELLAR network of excellence. Heerlen, The Netherlands.In summary this trend-scouting report highlights different design dimensions of contextualizing learning. On the one hand designing educational context: the components and constituents of the educational setting, which also have to be orchestrated in an instructional design or the process of orchestration (Luckin, 2010, Specht, 2009) on the other hand bridging and linking learning contexts for seamless learning support: Wong et al. define design dimensions of seamless learning experiences and which gaps they identify and what challenges must be tackled to create seamless learning experiences (Wong, 2011).STELLAR Network of Excellence, Grant 23191

All in the Family: Exploring Design Personas of Systems for Remote Communication with Preschoolers

Although there have been recent advances in remote communication technologies that foster connectedness and intimacy over a distance, systems designed for communicating with preliterate preschoolers—a desired use case—are not yet prevalent, nor are there clear guidelines for their design. We conducted a mixed-methods study to characterize the current practices, goals, and needs of people who wish to use remote communication systems with young children. We present quantitative and qualitative findings on the motivations for communicating, the habits, activities, and patterns that have been established, and the barriers and concerns faced. We synthesized these findings into four design personas that describe the desired functionality and requirements of systems to support remote communication with preschoolers. For each persona, we systematically evaluated 60 research-based systems based on the extent to which each persona’s requirements were covered, demonstrating that none of the personas were greatly satisfied with the available tools

Design and semantics of form and movement (DeSForM 2006)

Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM) grew from applied research exploring emerging design methods and practices to support new generation product and interface design. The products and interfaces are concerned with: the context of ubiquitous computing and ambient technologies and the need for greater empathy in the pre-programmed behaviour of the ‘machines’ that populate our lives. Such explorative research in the CfDR has been led by Young, supported by Kyffin, Visiting Professor from Philips Design and sponsored by Philips Design over a period of four years (research funding £87k). DeSForM1 was the first of a series of three conferences that enable the presentation and debate of international work within this field: • 1st European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM1), Baltic, Gateshead, 2005, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 2nd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM2), Evoluon, Eindhoven, 2006, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. • 3rd European conference on Design and Semantics of Form and Movement (DeSForM3), New Design School Building, Newcastle, 2007, Feijs L., Kyffin S. & Young R.A. eds. Philips sponsorship of practice-based enquiry led to research by three teams of research students over three years and on-going sponsorship of research through the Northumbria University Design and Innovation Laboratory (nuDIL). Young has been invited on the steering panel of the UK Thinking Digital Conference concerning the latest developments in digital and media technologies. Informed by this research is the work of PhD student Yukie Nakano who examines new technologies in relation to eco-design textiles

What helps or inspires busy moms while grocery shopping?

The purpose of this master thesis is to understand how busy moms experience their grocery shopping trips and the in-store environment. In gaining this knowledge, we aim at being able to suggest ways to improve the grocery shopping experience of busy moms; and present insights that can help food retailers in targeting this consumer group in-store. Methodology: We use an iterative approach, and work with photo elicitation interviews. We let our respondents capture their experiences in photographs, which then aid in recalling their memories in follow up interviews. Theoretical perspective: We base our theoretical perspective on environmental psychology where we use the original M-R model, and include personal and situational variables suggested by Bäckström and Johansson (2006); where the latter variable includes the views by Turley and Milliman (2000). We combine the theoretical perspectives to understand the effects on consumer minds (viewed as a black-box) and relate it to resulting response of the grocery shopping experience. Empirical data: The study comprised the views of 9 busy moms whom could visit 4 different grocery retailers. Further, we use literature from the fields of in-store marketing, atmospherics and consumer behavior. Conclusion: From the views of our 9 respondents, we have identified some of busy mom’s grocery shopping dilemmas and can suggest some improvements to stores to make future store visits more positive and satisfactory

With all my senses : restorative environments through holistic sensory impressions

Growing awareness of psychological health problems is resulting in various research areas exploring new approaches to fostering personal resources. Restorative Environments Theory (RET) has shown that mundane natural environments support personal resources. Although other restorative environments may exist besides mundane natural environments, their systematic examination is still lacking. In the real world, users experience environments through all their senses. However, most of the recovery research focuses on investigation of single sensory impressions. Thus, concrete insights into how various ambient qualities of an environment may affect users perception are still needed. The main aim of this doctoral thesis is to enhance the existing theoretical framework of restorative environments and to give an overview of research while pointing out where more research is needed. Further, the thesis includes identification of restorative environments and their specific ambient qualities. Based on the explored environments, the present research will point out psychological pathways to obtain recommendations for the design of restorative environments. The first research project was an explorative study to identify restorative places and their ambient qualities. In accordance with restoration research, participants described natural outdoor environments which they sought for recovery. In addition, they described indoor environments. Depending on the type of depletion and the environmental setting, specific environments and ambient qualities were evaluated as more important for the restorative potential of the place than others. This explorative research supports theory building and enables creation of restorative environments through holistic sensory impressions. Finally, strengths, limitations and practical implications for designing and improving restorative environments are discussed. The second research project takes up the findings of the first project by simulating sensory-enriched break environments. Based on the impact of holistic sensory impressions, this project is one of the first to reveal the impact of the recovery process of simulated environments on personal resources through congruent sensory impressions. Analyses confirmed that sensory-enriched environments were perceived as more pleasant and more restorative than less enriched environments, which in turn facilitated the recovery of personal resources. The results point out the relevance of holistic sensory impressions to fostering recovery. Implications and limitations of sensory enrichment in break environments are discussed. To broaden generalizability, the third research project comprises three field experiments investigating recovery during break interventions which offered virtual restorative environments with differing degrees of immersion and different types of environments. Building on previous research (Grimshaw, 2014), the third project posited that a higher degree of immersion in the simulated environment increases perceived realism, which becomes apparent in higher positive perceptions and recovery outcomes. Moreover, environments with different degrees of stimulation were anticipated to evoke distinct successful recovery. Previous research had mainly focused on calming environments for recovery. Additionally, this project also tested whether stimulating environments promote recovery outcomes. Results mainly confirmed the proposed hypotheses. The relevance of immersion and the impact of different types of natural environments on recovery are discussed. Overall, the current research emphasizes the impact of holistic sensory impressions in enhancing positive perceptions of the environment and, consequently, various recovery outcomes. The conducted studies uncover the psychological pathway from the processes of sensory perception to environmental recovery perception, followed by recovery outcomes. Beside these theoretical insights, the current research delivers concrete recommendations for designing restorative (virtual) environments in the workplace.Das wachsende Bewusstsein für psychische Gesundheitsprobleme führt dazu, dass verschiedene Forschungsbereiche neue Ansätze zur Förderung persönlicher Ressourcen erforschen. Die Erholungstheorie (engl. Restorative Environments Theory, RET) hat gezeigt, dass gewöhnliche, natürliche Umgebungen persönliche Ressourcen stärken. Obwohl andere erholsame Umgebungen neben natürlichen Umgebungen existieren, fehlt bislang ihre systematische Untersuchung. In der realen Welt erleben Nutzer Umgebungen mit allen Sinnen. Der Schwerpunkt der Erholungsforschung liegt jedoch auf der Untersuchung einzelner Sinneseindrücke. Konkrete Einsichten darüber, wie verschiedene Umgebungsqualitäten einer Umgebung die Wahrnehmung der Nutzer beeinflussen können, sind daher weiterhin erforderlich. Das Hauptziel dieser Dissertation ist es, den bestehenden theoretischen Rahmen für erholsame Umgebungen zu verbessern und einen Überblick über die Forschung zu geben, sowie auf Forschungslücken hinzuweisen. Weiterhin beinhaltet die Arbeit die Identifizierung von erholsamen Umgebungen und deren spezifischer Umgebungsqualitäten. Basierend auf den erforschten Umgebungen wird die vorliegende Forschung auf psychologische Prozesse eingehen, um daraus Empfehlungen für die Gestaltung von erholsamen Umgebungen ableiten zu können. Das erste Forschungsprojekt war eine explorative Studie zur Identifizierung von erholsamen Orten und ihrer Umgebungsqualitäten. In Übereinstimmung mit der Erholungsforschung beschrieben die Teilnehmer natürliche Außen-Umgebungen, die sie zur Erholung suchten. Darüber hinaus beschrieben sie Innenräume. In Abhängigkeit von der Art der Erschöpfung und der Umgebung wurden spezifische Umgebungen und Umgebungsqualitäten als wichtiger für das Erholungspotential der Umgebung bewertet als andere. Diese explorative Forschung unterstützt die Theoriebildung und ermöglicht die Generierung von erholsamen Umgebungen durch ganzheitliche sensorische Eindrücke. Abschließend werden Stärken, Grenzen und praktische Implikationen für die Gestaltung und Verbesserung erholsamer Umgebungen diskutiert. Das zweite Forschungsprojekt greift die Ergebnisse des ersten Projekts auf und simuliert sensorisch angereicherte Pausenumgebungen. Basierend auf den Auswirkungen ganzheitlicher Sinneseindrücke ist dieses Projekt eines der ersten, das die Auswirkungen des Erholungsprozesses von simulierten Umgebungen auf persönliche Ressourcen durch kongruente, sensorische Eindrücke aufzeigt. Die Ergebnisse bestätigten, dass sensorisch angereicherte Umgebungen als angenehmer und erholsamer empfunden wurden als weniger angereicherte Umgebungen, was wiederum die Regeneration persönlicher Ressourcen erleichterte. Die Ergebnisse weisen auf die Relevanz ganzheitlicher Sinneseindrücke für die Erholung hin. Implikationen und Grenzen der sensorischen Anreicherung in Pausenumgebungen werden diskutiert. Um die Generalisierbarkeit zu erhöhen, umfasst das dritte Forschungsprojekt drei Feldexperimente, welche die Erholung bei Pauseninterventionen untersuchen, die virtuelle, erholsame Umgebungen mit unterschiedlichen Immersionsgraden und verschiedenen Arten von Umgebungen bieten. Aufbauend auf früheren Untersuchungen (Grimshaw, 2014) postulierte das dritte Projekt, dass ein höherer Immersionsgrad in die simulierte Umgebung den wahrgenommenen Realitätsgrad erhöht, was in einem Anstieg positiver Wahrnehmungen und einer Steigerung der Erholung sichtbar wird. Außerdem wurde erwartet, dass Umgebungen mit unterschiedlichen Stimulationsgraden verschiedene Erholungseffekte hervorrufen. Frühere Forschungsarbeiten hatten sich hauptsächlich auf beruhigende Umgebungen für die Erholung konzentriert. Darüber hinaus hat dieses Projekt getestet, ob stimulierende Umgebungen Erholungseffekte fördern. Die Ergebnisse bestätigten überwiegend die vorgeschlagenen Hypothesen. Die Bedeutung der Immersion und der Einfluss verschiedener Arten natürlicher Umgebungen auf die Erholung werden diskutiert. Insgesamt wird in der aktuellen Forschung der Einfluss ganzheitlicher Sinneseindrücke auf die positive Wahrnehmung der Umgebung und damit auf verschiedene Erholungseffekte betont. Die durchgeführten Studien zeigen den psychologischen Weg von den Prozessen der Sinneswahrnehmung zur Erholungs-Wahrnehmung der Umgebung, bis hin zu Erholungseffekten auf. Neben diesen theoretischen Erkenntnissen liefert die aktuelle Forschung konkrete Empfehlungen zur Gestaltung erholsamer (virtueller) Umgebungen am Arbeitsplatz