Design for Social Sustainability in Digital Fabrication for Development in the Global South

Context: The demand for humanitarian and development aid has risen to an unprecedented level. With an urgent need for new solutions, the aid sector has started turning to digital fabrication (3D printing, laser cutting and computer numerical control (CNC) milling). Collectively, these initiatives are referred to as Digital Fabrication for Development (DF4D). It is commonly believed that DF4D can support more low-cost, appropriate and localised forms of production in the Global South. Problem: Despite rhetoric about the transformative potential of DF4D, there is concern that technology projects in the aid sector have historically failed to create lasting impact. It is put forward that social sustainability is currently lacking and that this is limiting the success of DF4D. Despite recognition that social sustainability is the foundation for sustainable development, it is a challenging concept that is often neglected in mainstream sustainability research. In addition, the role of design in promoting social sustainability has not been well understood. Until this problem is addressed, it is believed that DF4D will not succeed in creating the social impact it desires. Research aim: To investigate how design can promote social sustainability in DF4D. Methodology: This thesis follows a pragmatic research paradigm. First, an exploratory study is conducted with fourteen case studies to validate that social sustainability is currently lacking in DF4D. Building on these findings, the main study is conducted with three case studies: a 3D printed otoscope in Nepal; a digitally fabricated prosthesis in India; and, a digital fabricated suction pump machine in Kenya. The main study diverges in two directions, with the first part focusing on an analytical approach and the second part taking a critical systems approach. In the analytical approach, thematic coding of case study data is used to identify the key principles of Design for Social Sustainability in DF4D. In the critical systems approach, Actor-Network Theory is used to investigate the networks of DF4D projects. Results: The analytical approach results in a normative framework to support Design for Social Sustainability in DF4D. It offers practical guidelines that are relevant in project planning and evaluation. The framework highlights the need for radical, systems-focused solutions. It reveals that design can trigger social sustainability at product, process and paradigm levels. The critical systems approach explores an interpretative version of Design for Social Sustainability. It supports the development of an initial toolkit that allows actors to collaboratively map their own networks during ongoing projects. Network analysis of the case studies clarifies the linkage between participation and Design for Social Sustainability. Reciprocity is highlighted as a key network metric that reveals (in)equitable relationships. The results of the analytical and critical systems approaches are compared to identify their complementary insights. It is put forward that Design for Social Sustainability in DF4D demands several shifts in practice from: products to capabilities; exogenous to endogenous development; passive to active actors; quick fixes to open-ended solutions; and, one-off projects to scalable interventions. It is argued that Design for Social Sustainability also has the potential to shape sustainability transitions beyond the project level. Theoretical implications: Synthesis of fragmented knowledge on Design for Social Sustainability and identification of its key principles in the DF4D context. Practical implications: The development of a practical framework and an initial toolkit that can support practitioners in DF4D to develop more socially sustainable solutions. Methodological implications: Explanation of how and why analytical and critical systems approaches can provide complementary insights for exploring complex phenomena.This research was supported by the EPSRC Doctoral Training Programme, grant number EP/L504920/

Creating and Capturing Sustainable Value for Additive Manufacturing

This research has explored the business model and sustainable value in the context of additive manufacturing (AM). In terms of the sustainable value of AM business models, it indicates that the AM business models not only generate monetary revenue through selling machines, materials, and other products but also create value for the environment and society via using environmental- friendly materials, recycling, reusing, achieving resource efficiency and improving social wellbeing. However, sustainable value is surprisingly overlooked in incumbent AM companies, and the profitable business models are yet to be identified. The research revealed that AM companies typically still set a one-dimensional profit maximization goal without considering the consequences for the broader social and ecological contexts. Most AM companies do not know how to maximize the sustainable value of AM technologies through business model innovation which creates a significant knowledge gap for the industry. The research seeks to address the central question: how can AM companies develop business models to create and capture sustainable value? The purpose of this research is to help AM companies identify opportunities to create and capture sustainable value outcomes. One objective of the research is to contribute to knowledge about business models and sustainability concepts. Another objective is to contribute to practice and offer the frameworks that can facilitate strategic planning and sustainable business model development. The research adopts a qualitative approach and involves six case studies and two focus groups, representing seven sectors and companies from three countries with 43 participants in total at the exploratory stage and descriptive stage, respectively. The research has generated empirical insights, theoretical models, and practical frameworks that help AM scholars and practitioners better understand AM business models as well as create and capture sustainable value. The research has filled the literature gap and met the industrial need and made contributions to both academic knowledge and industrial practice.Cambridge International Scholarship/China Scholarship Counci

The creative engineering education imperative for twenty-First century living

Engineering and design in the twentieth century were conventionally taught from opposite ends of an educational spectrum. Engineering education built certainty on a strong foundation of fundamental knowledge, with students engaging with applications only once those fundamentals were ingrained. Design, in contrast, involved challenging certainty, with divergent thinking, experience mapping, problem framing and exploratory research. Over the last twenty years, elements of creativity and design process education have progressed into the majority of engineering curricula, but change is still slow. Yet, meanwhile, the pace of technological change impacting engineering futures and has been rapid. Arguably, the ability to be open and responsive to radical changes in thinking will become increasingly vital for engineering educators and practitioners with the unknowns of rapid change, both technical and social. For future engineering professionals to be able to be responsive to each wave of disruptive technology, engineering educators will have to re-invigorate their efforts in the adoption of pedagogy that supports creativity and innovation in order to keep pace. In addition, engineering graduates need to be educated not only in how to respond creatively to new technologies but in retaining the human-centred focus of development in an environment where rapid technological change has the possibility of fracturing or supporting human centred and community development. This paper proposes a return to education aimed at producing holistic engineers who integrate social aspirations and technological innovation into their work, as in the nineteenth century, to safeguard human development in the digital era of the twenty-first

Intercultural Communication in Agriculture Libraries: A Case Study in Ethiopia

International development and assistance programs have been running for many years. Yet there is a significant a gap in comparative studies of intercultural communication in academic libraries between Africa and North America. There is also a gap in understanding intercultural communication in terms of library management, library staff training, and cross-cultural knowledge transfer. This research aims to fill the gaps. Based on internal document review, workplace survey, and a series of observation and reflection during the case studies in Ethiopia, the research project focuses on the different culture in library staffing and management, library service culture, the use of technology, and the adoption of politics and instruction guides. The discussion and recommendations focus on how to enhance communication and knowledge transfer when there are various difficulties in infrastructure and cultural differences in library operations across continents

A 4D printing communication framework for designers and engineers

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London“Communication is an essential part of any design process.” (Clarkson and Eckert) [1]. The rapid emergence and growth of 4D printing technology are expected to impact the technology's development significantly. Due to the high level of interest shown by the research and manufacturing sectors, the technology is expected to jump in its development rapidly. Since 4D Printing technology is still in the early stage, it is also required to focus on advancements in the progress of emerging needs for development in various areas such as application, design, materials, etc. This thesis investigates the communication barriers between designers and engineers in communicating the 4D Printing design process, which has revealed there are only ambiguous ways of communicating without standardization, which led to misinterpretation in the communication of the 4D Printing design process. This thesis aims to develop a concept of design representations that can be used to communicate the 4D Printing design process. The study proposed a communication framework for a communication tool to aid the communication barriers between designers and engineers in the 4D Printing design process to optimize the effectiveness of the 4D Printing technology through the design process. The 4D Printing communication framework has been developed from idea generation through a series of iterative stages to bridge the communication gaps. The communication framework aimed to guide how to constructively design representation symbols for effectively communicating in the 4D Printing design process. With the standardization of communication tools, the designer and engineer could fluently refine and connect their approach design ideas and maximize the potential of 4D Printing technology

Exaptive innovation in constraint-based environments: lessons from COVID-19 crisis

Purpose – This paper explores how exaptive innovation process might be considered a useful innovation model in constraint-based environments. Through an in-depth case study, it illustrates clearly the antecedents of exaptation processes, which are particularly relevant in rapidly changing environments requiring new solutions under time and resource constraints. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopt a single case study approach that is particularly suitable in case of an inductive research design, which is required because of the novelty of the topic. The research is inspired by the use of the snorkeling mask EASYBREATH, commercialized by the giant Decathlon, as a medical device, a respirator to treat patients affected by coronavirus in Italy. The authors organized the evidence according to a novel taxonomy grounded in the literature. Findings – The case study stimulates reflections on the existence of some antecedents to the exaptive innovation process in constraint-based environments: (1) the availability of specific actors in the innovation process; (2) the creation of platforms of interaction between people with different competences, nurtured by collective bottom-up financing systems; (3) the role of the community of makers, in particular, and of the 4th industrial revolution, in general, for creating enabling technologies; (4) multidisciplinary individual background of key actors in the innovation process is crucial to ensure the exaptive path to be in place. Research limitations/implications – This work has some limitations, due to the choice of limiting the analysis to a single case, nevertheless, it offers a first glance on a new technological trajectory available in constraint-based environments. Originality/value – The case study results underline the importance of new digital collaboration platforms as knowledge multipliers, and illuminate on the potential of the fourth manufacturing revolution, which, through new technologies, creates opportunities for distributed forms of innovation that cross long distances

Working Performatively with Interactive 3D Printing: An artistic practice utilising interactive programming for computational manufacturing and livecoding

This thesis explores the liminal space where personal computational art and design practices and mass-manufacturing technologies intersect. It focuses on what it could look and feel like to be a computationally-augmented, creative practitioner working with 3D printing in a more programmatic, interactive way. The major research contribution is the introduction of a future-looking practice of Interactive 3D Printing (I3DP).I3DP is articulated using the Cognitive Dimensions of Notations in terms of associated user activities and design trade-offs. Another contribution is the design, development, and analysis of a working I3DP system called LivePrinter. LivePrinter is evaluated through a series of qualitiative user studies and a personal computational art practice, including livecoding performances and 3D form-making

Do-It-Yourself Empowerment as Experienced by Novice Makers with Disabilities

Recent HCI research has highlighted the potential afforded by maker technologies for supporting new forms of DIY Assistive Technology (DIY-AT) for people with disabilities. Furthermore, the popular discourse surrounding both the maker movement and disability is one of democratisation and empowerment. Despite this, critics argue that maker movement membership lacks diversity and that within DIY-AT, it is seldom the people with disabilities who are creating such designs. We conducted a qualitative study that explored how people with disabilities experience the empowering potential of making. We analysed online videos by makers with disabilities and conducted fieldwork at two makerspaces. These informed the design of DIY-Abilities, a series of workshops for people with disabilities in which participants could learn different maker technologies and complete their own maker project. Through analysis of participants’ narratives we contribute a new perspective on the specific social and material capacities of accessible maker initiatives