3,574 research outputs found
Mobile heritage practices. Implications for scholarly research, user experience design, and evaluation methods using mobile apps.
Mobile heritage apps have become one of the most popular means for audience
engagement and curation of museum collections and heritage contexts. This
raises practical and ethical questions for both researchers and practitioners, such
as: what kind of audience engagement can be built using mobile apps? what are
the current approaches? how can audience engagement with these experience
be evaluated? how can those experiences be made more resilient, and in turn
sustainable? In this thesis I explore experience design scholarships together with
personal professional insights to analyse digital heritage practices with a view to
accelerating thinking about and critique of mobile apps in particular. As a result,
the chapters that follow here look at the evolution of digital heritage practices,
examining the cultural, societal, and technological contexts in which mobile
heritage apps are developed by the creative media industry, the academic
institutions, and how these forces are shaping the user experience design
methods. Drawing from studies in digital (critical) heritage, Human-Computer
Interaction (HCI), and design thinking, this thesis provides a critical analysis of
the development and use of mobile practices for the heritage. Furthermore,
through an empirical and embedded approach to research, the thesis also
presents auto-ethnographic case studies in order to show evidence that mobile
experiences conceptualised by more organic design approaches, can result in
more resilient and sustainable heritage practices. By doing so, this thesis
encourages a renewed understanding of the pivotal role of these practices in the
broader sociocultural, political and environmental changes.AHRC REAC
THE IMPACT OF HUMAN-CENTRIC LIGHTING PARAMETERS ON OLDER ADULT’S PERCEPTION, AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
Population aging is a prominent demographic challenge. Older adults face increased risks of sleep dysfunctions, depression, and cognitive impairments due to physical, biological, and psychological factors associated with aging. These behavioral issues elevate safety risks at home, which necessitates the transition to assisted living facilities. Extensive research highlights the influence of healthcare environmental design, particularly related to architectural lighting impacts on residents' well-being and quality of life. To optimize older adults' health and well-being, it is essential to consider both the visual and non-visual effects of architectural lighting. Visual impacts include parameters related to task performance and visual acuity, while non-visual impacts may include outcomes such as circadian rhythm regulation, sleep quality, mood enhancement, and cognitive performance, thereby emphasizing the importance of implementing a holistic conceptual approach to human-centric lighting in indoor environments.While existing gerontology studies have primarily focused on light-level attributes, such as radiant flux, illuminance, and equivalent melanopic lux, there has been limited exploration of spectral and spatial pattern parameters in indoor lighting. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the impact of both quantitative and qualitative aspects of lighting design, including spatial layout characteristics such as uniformity, direction, centrality, and spectral attributes like correlated color temperature (CCT), on the visual perception, preference, mood, cognitive performance, and overall well-being of older adults in assisted living facilities. The study employed a multi-method approach across three main research phases. In phase I, a Q-sort survey involving 60 participants assessed the impact of diverse spatial light patterns on visual perception and preference. In phase II, a within-subject design evaluated the cognitive performance of 32 older adults in similar lighting scenarios within real and virtual environments. Lastly, in phase III, the study examined the relationship between spatial and spectral light patterns and cognitive performance through virtual reality testing with 32 participants.
Results revealed significant effects of different spatial light patterns on older adults' environmental impressions, including visual preference, stress levels, and cognitive performance. Uniform and indirect lighting were preferred, with no substantial differences between peripheral and central spatial arrangements of light layers. Non-uniform lighting induced a relaxed impression, while uniform lighting heightened perceived stress. Furthermore, the study demonstrated the suitability of virtual reality environments (VR) for assessing cognitive performance and subjective perception. The findings underscore the substantial influence of spatial and spectral light patterns on the cognitive performance of older adults in assisted living facilities. This research contributes to the understanding of the visual and non-visual effects of human-centric lighting on the well-being of older adults. By considering spatial and spectral light attributes, designers can enhance cognitive function, reduce impairments, and cultivate healthier and more efficient living environments
Displacement and the Humanities: Manifestos from the Ancient to the Present
This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordThis is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787) (available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities/special_issues/Manifestos Ancient Present)This volume brings together the work of practitioners, communities, artists and other researchers from multiple disciplines. Seeking to provoke a discourse around displacement within and beyond the field of Humanities, it positions historical cases and debates, some reaching into the ancient past, within diverse geo-chronological contexts and current world urgencies. In adopting an innovative dialogic structure, between practitioners on the ground - from architects and urban planners to artists - and academics working across subject areas, the volume is a proposition to: remap priorities for current research agendas; open up disciplines, critically analysing their approaches; address the socio-political responsibilities that we have as scholars and practitioners; and provide an alternative site of discourse for contemporary concerns about displacement. Ultimately, this volume aims to provoke future work and collaborations - hence, manifestos - not only in the historical and literary fields, but wider research concerned with human mobility and the challenges confronting people who are out of place of rights, protection and belonging
Proceedings of the 10th International congress on architectural technology (ICAT 2024): architectural technology transformation.
The profession of architectural technology is influential in the transformation of the built environment regionally, nationally, and internationally. The congress provides a platform for industry, educators, researchers, and the next generation of built environment students and professionals to showcase where their influence is transforming the built environment through novel ideas, businesses, leadership, innovation, digital transformation, research and development, and sustainable forward-thinking technological and construction assembly design
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Experiences and contributions of people living with dementia to the social life of everyday places
This chapter focusses on work programme 4 of the Neighbourhoods study entitled ‘Neighbourhoods: Our People, Our Places’ (N:OPOP). We used a creative mix of qualitative methods, including network mapping, mobile interviews, and home tours with people living with dementia and their care partners in England, Scotland, and Sweden. We focused explicitly on the subjective meaning of neighbourhoods for people living with dementia with a view to understand how people could be better supported to live in community settings. Neighbourhoods matter to people with dementia because of the type of support they can offer, and this chapter presents insights into how and why this might be the case. Neighbourhoods can enable people living with dementia to develop and sustain connections, maintain a sense of belonging, and contribute to the diversity and inclusivity of local places. Neighbourhoods are not simply fixed locations within which activities happen but are an amalgamation of connections to people and other places over time, understood and experienced in the context of other locations and times. Drawing on our published work (Ward et al., 2021 a, b, c) , this chapter considers how people living with dementia are not passive observers of neighbourhood life but, instead, engage in the social rhythms of neighbourhoods and, with support, actively shape them as neighbourhoods of choice, though with such choices are often restrained by contexts and circumstances. The chapter is presented as follows. First, we provide a brief overview of some of allied research that has explored the importance of neighbourhoods spaces as sites for social interaction for people living with dementia.. Next, it outlines the ways in which we gathered and analysed our data. It then presents three interconnected ‘snapshots’ of our findings exploring: i) neighbourhoods as assemblages of connections; ii) neighbourhoods as real and symbolic sites of support; and iii) understanding neighbourhoods and change in the context of living with dementia. The chapter then outlines how our findings might influence thinking about: neighbourhoods as relational places; how neighbourhoods might contribute to social health; and how people living with dementia can, with support, engage in neighbourhoods of choice. Collectively, these themes point to the relevance of understanding the ‘lived neighbourhood’ for people living with dementia
The role of learning theory in multimodal learning analytics
This study presents the outcomes of a semi-systematic
literature review on the role of learning theory in multimodal learning analytics (MMLA) research. Based on
previous systematic literature reviews in MMLA and
an additional new search, 35MMLA works were identified that use theory. The results show that MMLA
studies do not always discuss their findings within
an established theoretical framework. Most of the
theory-driven MMLA studies are positioned in the
cognitive and affective domains, and the three most
frequently used theories are embodied cognition,
cognitive load theory and control–value theory of
achievement emotions. Often, the theories are only
used to inform the study design, but there is a relationship between the most frequently used theories
and the data modalities used to operationalize those
theories. Although studies such as these are rare, the
findings indicate that MMLA affordances can, indeed,
lead to theoretical contributions to learning sciences.
In this work, we discuss methods of accelerating
theory-driven MMLA research and how this acceleration can extend or even create new theoretical
knowledge
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Public Space: The Critical Connection in a Sometimes Lonely City
Loneliness is a critical yet often overlooked social issue with significant mental and physical health implications. The increasing prevalence of loneliness in recent decades, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, underscores the significance of public space as a critical platform for social connection. While extant research on loneliness and interventions to address the crisis laid the groundwork for understanding the state of the issue, gaps in current knowledge persist. In particular, there is a lack of consistent methods for measuring loneliness on a large scale, empirical evidence to support the link between loneliness and specific features of the built environment, and proof of efficacy of existing interventions at a local level.
This study examines the extent to which public space features relate to visitors' social connections and loneliness levels. Four pedestrian plazas and four community gardens in New York City are selected as case studies, focusing on neighborhoods with relatively greater racial diversity and lower median household income. Data are gathered from multiple sources, including observational data on the public life and documentation of physical features of all eight sites, a field survey that engaged over 180 visitor respondents, and interviews with 15 public space managers and designers.
By investigating a diverse set of public spaces in New York City, this study provides evidence linking governance and public space design to the quality of social interactions and levels of loneliness among visitors. Seven key findings related to public space governance structure, programming, stewardship, openness, physical features, locality, and seasonality are outlined in the study. Insights gained from this study provide considerations for different stakeholders, including public space planners and designers, researchers, and city governments. By understanding and optimizing the influence of public spaces, conducting further research into effective strategies, and forming a coalition of efforts to address loneliness, cities can design for connection and pave the way toward better physical, psychological, and social outcomes for all
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