489 research outputs found
Include 2011 : The role of inclusive design in making social innovation happen.
Get PDFInclude is the biennial conference held at the RCA and hosted by the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. The event is directed by Jo-Anne Bichard and attracts an international delegation
Connecting Couples in Long-Distance Relationships : Towards Unconventional Computer-Mediated Emotional Communication Systems
Get PDFThe number of couples who find themselves in a long-distance relationship (LDR) is increasing for a wide range of reasons, such as overseas employment, academic pursuits, military duty, and similar circumstances. With the myriad of communication channels enabled by the low cost and ubiquity of computer-mediated communication technologies, couples in LDRs are able to stay in touch with each other around the globe. However, recent studies have revealed that the mainstream communication tools are inadequate to support the full spectrum of communication needed in intimate relationships. Emotional communication is one of the fundamental needs in close relationships, as it forms an important part of intimacy. This dissertation argues that there is a gap between what is known about LDR couplesâ needs in research and what has been implemented for them in practice. The aim of this work is to bridge this gap by mediating emotional communication through unconventional user interfaces that use interaction solutions outside of the scope of their conventional use, with a particular focus on couples who sustain a committed LDR.
Here, taking research through design as a core approach, a variety of qualitative methods were employed to seek answers to the research questions. This dissertation includes eight case studies, each of which is dedicated to answering its corresponding research question(s). Study I presents a systematic literature review which explored the current state of the art and identified the design opportunities. Study II introduces a series of co-design activities with five couples in LDRs to reveal the needs and challenges of users in an LDR. Studies III and IV propose two functional prototypes for unconventional communication systems to connect couples in LDRs. Study V showcases 12 design concepts of wearables created by the participants to support their own LDR. Study VI describes how four low-resolution prototypes created for mediating LDRs by the participants in the workshop would be used in real-world contexts. Studies VII and VIII each present a novel design tool to be used as a scaffold when designing communication systems for supporting LDRs: specifically, a conceptual design framework and a card-based design toolkit.
This dissertation contributes new knowledge to the field of human-computer interaction through design interventions. It showcases a spectrum of practices which can be seen as a first step towards mediating emotional communication for couples in LDRs using unconventional communication systems. The findings comprise theoretical and empirical insightsâderived from the eight case studies in which the author identified design opportunities and design considerationsârelating to how couples in LDRs can be better supported by unconventional computer-mediated emotional communication systems
An overview of the most relevant literature on coding and computational thinking with emphasis on the relevant issues for teachers
Get PDFTracking the con in con-sent: Reflections on the hyper-aesthetics of sex in consent culture
Get PDFIn their recent book, Investigative Aesthetics: Conflicts and Commons in the Politics of Truth, Matthew Fuller and Eyal claim that âhyper-aesthetic images are not part of a symbolic regime of representation, but actual traces and residues of material relations and of mediatic structures assembled to elicit themâ (2021, p.81). This paper mobilises this claim to better understand the fields of power that are operating through the ascent of consent culture. From a cultural perspective, enthusiastic consent clearly relays a range of feminist lineages. For instance, consent effectuates a postfeminist sensibility, while it complicates the illusory power of self-determined femininity. Current models also impute sexual agency in normatively gendered terms and fashion conservative politics of sexuality, among other shortcomings, as discussed by Katherine Angel (2021), Joseph Fischel (2019), Laura Kipniss (2017), and more. To further understand the implications of the current formations of consent, this paper considers our cultural fascination with the âcon,â suggested by a recent spate of programmes and films such as Fyre (2019), Tinder Swindler (2022), Inventing Anna (2022), Hustlers (2019), and The Hustle (2019), in relation to âconsent,â not as a âsymbolic regime of representation,â but as indexes of a hyper-aesthetics of sexâthe production of images that are actual traces and residues of material relations. In so doing, this paper takes heed from the sociological observation, made in the US, that everyday conceptions of consent foreground that which consent should defend against againstâdeceit (Sommers 2020)
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