My boy builds coffins. Future memories of your loved ones

The research is focus on the concept of storytelling associated with product design, trying to investigate new ways of designing and a possible future scenario related to the concept of death. MY BOY BUILDS COFFINS is a gravestone made using a combination of cremation’s ashes and resin. It is composed by a series of holes in which the user can stitch a text, in order to remember the loved one. The stitching need of a particular yarn produced in Switzerland using some parts of human body. Project also provides another version which uses LED lights instead of the yarn. The LEDs - thanks to an inductive coupling - will light when It will be posed in the hole. The gravestone can be placed where you want, as if it would create a little altar staff at home. In this way, there is a real connection between the user and the dearly departed

(Re)envisioning the contribution of design to the sustainable transition of healthcare systems

The health emergency has challenged our health systems, stressing the weakest points but also revealing the strengths to be harnessed. Among these, the concern for the environmental, social and economic aspects of health systems – gathered under the heading of sustainable healthcare – has suffered a temporary setback but will certainly experience strong growth in the post-pandemic era. During 2018 and 2019, a collaborative foresight process on the future of sustainable healthcare was conducted with over 150 healthcare stakeholders. This paper starts from the strategies that emerged from the collaborative foresight to re-read them in light of the impacts of COVID-19 on health systems. A systematic literature review mapped the effects of the pandemic on the sustainable development of health systems and, therefore, on the defined strategies. Hence, the paper defines the connections with design disciplines and the possible contribution of designers in the development of sustainable healthcare in the post-pandemic era

From Autonomy to Accountability: Envisioning AI’s Legal Personhood

This paper critically examines the concept of granting legal personhood to artificial intelligence (AI) systems, addressing the challenges and implications within the context of evolving legal and societal frameworks. It navigates through the historical understanding of personhood, the ethical considerations posed by advanced AI capabilities, and the philosophical underpinnings of AI’s potential roles and responsibilities in society. By proposing a hypothetical scenario where AI is recognized with specific legal attributes, the study highlights the need for dynamic legal frameworks, international collaboration, and ethical AI development to ensure laws remain relevant and effective. The conclusion advocates for a multidisciplinary approach to crafting adaptable legal structures that acknowledge AI’s unique contributions to society while safeguarding human dignity and societal welfare, urging forward-looking policies that balance technological innovation with ethical and legal integrity

Systemic indicators for agricultural and rural communities in developing countries

Community indicators have been of special interest of international scholars. They are vital for community development as their role in monitoring of community development, and managing and preserving a community’s wellbeing. Community indicators provide information that reflects what the community cares most about - its values. Thus, each community needs to ‘own’ its indicators to orientate it towards what is of most value, and to help it on the way to achieving sustainable outcomes. There have been a great deal of work on community indicators for urban areas in developed countries, but there have been relatively few studies in relation to rural communities, particularly in developing economies. Life in rural communities in developing countries reflects many special challenges that characterise the complexity of rural systems. The communities need their own indicators to reflect their reality, and these community indicators require a holistic and integrated approach that can capture community wellbeing comprehensively. This thesis presents and explores the development of a participatory systems-based framework for identifying community indicators in rural areas in developing countries and principles for applying this framework effectively in these areas. The framework is developed by using the abductive and participatory action research process, underpinned by the principles of complexity, complex living systems and sustainability, and informed by Wells and Mclean’s One Way Forward model (2013) and Meadows’s levels of system Leverage Points (1999). This approach aims to address the difficulties that have challenged scholars in developing appropriate indicators for these communities, and then explore practical facilitation of the choosing and effective use of the indicators. The participatory systems-based framework for identifying community indicators is an iterative sharing, co-learning and refining engagement cycle. It enables the communities to appreciate and adapt to the emergent properties of complex community system, which simply reflect the way our world functions. This is a practical, systemic framework to help communities to identify influential, lead indicators that assist the communities to track what is unfolding in the process of development, and make sound decisions - seen as experiments- directed towards sustainability. Moreover, it enables the active and effective engagement of all community members, regardless of status and level of wealth, to share, collaborate and co-learn from ‘experiments’ that build a culture of ownership, self-management and self-development. On the basis of the findings in relation to this framework’s application in two rural communities in Vietnam (research sites), it might also provide support for sustainable development in organisations and urban communities.Thesis (Ph.D.) (Research by Publication) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 201

A list of websites and reading materials on strategy & complexity

The list has been developed based on a broad interpretation of the subject of ‘strategy & complexity’. Resources will therefore more, or less directly relate to ‘being strategic in the face of complexity’. Many of the articles and reports referred to in the attached bibliography can be accessed and downloaded from the internet. Most books can be found at amazon.com where you will often find a number of book reviews and summaries as well. Sometimes, reading the reviews will suffice and will give you the essence of the contents of the book after which you do not need to buy it. If the book looks interesting enough, buying options are easy

Data Visualization Collection. How graphical representation can inspect and communicate sustainability through systemic design.

Big data are totally changing the business rules, the society, as well as the perception of ourself. The need of a big data oriented culture is becoming essential for everything that has an informative asset. Furthermore, technological innovation offers products and features unique that can help to convey values and meanings, for the purpose of communication based on increasingly strong interaction between people. In a world where everything is consumed in a short time, it is important to turn information as visual as possible, making simple what is complex. The visualization becomes a medium for increasing cognitive perception of the beholder, easing reasoning and storing of the information represented, showing patterns and relationships, known or not, maybe not easily visible without the aid of a visual representation of information

Wearable Computing for Health and Fitness: Exploring the Relationship between Data and Human Behaviour

Health and fitness wearable technology has recently advanced, making it easier for an individual to monitor their behaviours. Previously self generated data interacts with the user to motivate positive behaviour change, but issues arise when relating this to long term mention of wearable devices. Previous studies within this area are discussed. We also consider a new approach where data is used to support instead of motivate, through monitoring and logging to encourage reflection. Based on issues highlighted, we then make recommendations on the direction in which future work could be most beneficial