284,392 research outputs found
Remembering today tomorrow: exploring the human-centred design of digital mementos
This paper describes two-part research exploring the context for and human-centred design of ‘digital mementos’, as an example of technology for reflection on personal experience(in this case, autobiographical memories). Field studies into families’ use of physical and digital objects for remembering provided a rich understanding of associated user needs and human values, and suggested properties for
‘digital mementos’ such as being ‘not like work’, discoverable and fun. In a subsequent design study, artefacts were devised to express these features and develop the understanding of needs and values further via discussion with groups of potential ‘users’. ‘Critical artefacts’(the products of Critical Design)were used to enable participants to envisage broader possibilities for social practices and applications of technology in the context of personal remembering, and thus to engage in the design of novel devices and systems relevant to their lives.
Reflection was a common theme in the work, being what the digital mementos were designed to afford and the mechanism by which the design activity progressed. Ideas for digital mementos formed the output of this research and expressed the designer’s and researcher’s understanding of participants’ practices and needs, and the human values that underlie them and, in doing so, suggest devices and systems that go beyond usability to support a broader conception of human activity
The learning process in intercultural collaboration: evidence from the eChina-UK Programme
The eChina-UK Programme was established in 2002 and originally comprised a small
number of projects in which British and Chinese teams worked collaboratively to develop
and pilot e-learning materials in the field of education. Phase 1 of the Programme
spanned the period 2003 to 2005 and produced a number of practical outputs (Spencer-
Oatey 2007). Three follow-on projects were funded in Phase 2, which started in October
2005, and these included research reflecting on issues of pedagogy as well as the
creation of further teaching and learning materials. These projects ran until 2007 and, in
December of that year, Phase 3 of the Programme was put in place to capture insights
from the experiences of all of the completed projects. The goal of Phase 3, therefore, was
to draw out the learning from Phases 1 and 2 of the eChina-UK Programme with respect
to the management of intercultural aspects of international education projects.
In addition to the learning to be gained from the eChina-UK projects, the Phase 3 work
included new research both into data generated in Phases 1 and 2 and into other sources
of knowledge relating to intercultural effectiveness. The focus was on situating the learning
from the eChina-UK projects into a wider intellectual context. The intention was to
maximise the understanding of the intercultural management of international education
projects and enable the production of resources for those engaged in current and future
projects of this kind (Reid et al. 2009).
This paper presents findings from one strand of the research carried out during Phase 3 of
the eChina-UK Programme. The objective of this strand was to draw on data from eChina-
UK and related studies in order to produce theoretical and practical insights into the nature
of intercultural collaboration as a learning process. The focus on learning was primarily
determined by the realisation (from analysis of the eChina-UK data and other studies of
intercultural collaboration) that building intercultural competencies required significant
attention to individual and group learning. Any practical recommendations and resources
developed in Phase 3 of the programme would therefore need to pay attention to how
participants managed their learning during an international partnership. Similarly, we
might usefully be able to demonstrate how those planning such collaborations could
benefit from embedding good learning practices from the outset of their work.
The purpose of this paper is to summarise and analyse the findings from the empirical
work carried out within this strand of Phase 3 research. I have set out elsewhere the
theoretical background to this research and specifically to the development of the learning
process model utilised here (Reid 2009a). That model will constitute part of the material
available to researchers, managers and other practitioners through the Global People
Resource Bank (www.globalpeople.org.uk) developed in Phase 3 of the eChina-UK
Programme. None of this work would have been possible without the sustained support
and co-operation of our colleagues in the various eChina-UK projects and at our funding
body, the Higher Education Funding Council for England
The Global People toolbook: managing the life cycle of intercultural partnerships
This Toolbook has been designed for those who are planning and running international projects and who feel a need for guidance. It has its origins in a major educational project, the eChina-UK Programme, that created new collaborations between UK and Chinese Higher Education Institutions around the development of e-learning materials. The rich intercultural learning that emerged from that programme prompted the development of a new and evidence-based set of resources for other individuals and institutions undertaking international collaborative projects. Although the main focus of the work is on intercultural effectiveness in international contexts, we believe that many of the resources have a more general value and are useful for those planning collaboration in any situation
of diversity – national, regional, sectoral or institutional
Data, Data Everywhere, and Still Too Hard to Link: Insights from User Interactions with Diabetes Apps
For those with chronic conditions, such as Type 1 diabetes, smartphone apps offer the promise of an affordable, convenient, and personalized disease management tool. How- ever, despite significant academic research and commercial development in this area, diabetes apps still show low adoption rates and underwhelming clinical outcomes. Through user-interaction sessions with 16 people with Type 1 diabetes, we provide evidence that commonly used interfaces for diabetes self-management apps, while providing certain benefits, can fail to explicitly address the cognitive and emotional requirements of users. From analysis of these sessions with eight such user interface designs, we report on user requirements, as well as interface benefits, limitations, and then discuss the implications of these findings. Finally, with the goal of improving these apps, we identify 3 questions for designers, and review for each in turn: current shortcomings, relevant approaches, exposed challenges, and potential solutions
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