Are we really that different from each other? The difficulties of focusing on similarities in cross-cultural research.

In this article we argue that there are 2 dominant underlying themes in discussions of strategies for dealing with diversity—similarity and difference. When we are dealing with social groups, a number of basic psychological processes, as well as popular media and research-based narratives, make it easier to highlight difference rather than similarity. This difference-based approach in research is inherently divisive, but the training that we receive as researchers in the field of psychology has taken us down this path. As a first step, we propose that researchers working in the area of cultural diversity should start making explicit attempts to highlight similarities between groups, even if such similarities are only based on the absence of observed statistical differences. Moreover, if we are going to be serious about demonstrating similarity between groups and certain types of universals in behavior, we should start embracing new approaches to data analyses and consider using statistical procedures that test for equivalence. We illustrate these new techniques using our own data. Finally, we argue that shifting our primary focus from difference to similarity is a worthwhile direction to pursue for successfully managing diversity in multicultural societies.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC

Chromosomal mapping of murine c-fes and c-src genes

The murine homologs of two viral oncogenes associated with tyrosine-specific kinase activity have been assigned to different loci in the mouse genome. The segregation of restriction site polymorphisms, as detected by probes that are specific for endogenous c-fes and c-src sequences, was followed in the DNA of recombinant inbred strains. The c-fes gene was mapped to the proximal portion of chromosome 7, very close to the Gpi-1 locus, whereas c-src was linked to the Psp locus on the distal half of chromosome 2

Religious norms, norm conflict, and religious identification

The present research sought to understand how religious identification is associated with normative practices and with norm conflict (the perception that people within the religious group are not all enacting the same standards or rules for behaviour). Using a multi-faith sample (N=400) we replicate positive associations of religious identification with engaging in normative practices such as prayer, and the associations of both identification and normative practices with stronger well-being. Religious norm conflict was associated with lower identification and lower well-being, however. Three coping strategies were examined: 1) engaging in normative ritual practices was protective of identification and well-being; 2) affirming that the conflict occurs on less important (vs core) religious norms was associated with higher well-being, but not with identification; and 3) challenging the religious norm was associated with lower well-being, but did not alter religious identification

Metaphors we design by: The use of metaphors in product design

Imagine a coffee maker that subtly references the serving gesture of a butler or a car that explicitly mimics the sleek and streamlined form of a jet plane. Such metaphors are frequently used by designers as a means to render the values and meanings they want to assign to a product into a physical form. By their nature, metaphors build meaningful relationships between two distinct entities, which urge us to see things in a new light. For this reason, designers resort to metaphors to exhibit original and aesthetic solutions to design problems. Still, so far the use of metaphors has not taken up the importance in design academia as it did in design practice. In this thesis, it was aimed to propose a structured means to incorporate metaphor in design research by investigating a product metaphor’s characteristics and the peculiar type of thought process that generates it. Through four empirical studies conducted with designers, we gradually built a framework that accounts for the processes underlying product metaphor generation and examine the success of the decisions taken in this process. On the basis of the results, we also formulated a set of practical recommendations to designers, which they may use as an inspiration for creating good metaphors.Industrial DesignIndustrial Design Engineerin

Designing Human-Agent Collaborations: Commitment, responsiveness, and support

With the advancements in AI, agents (i.e., smart products, robots, software agents) are increasingly capable of working closely together with humans in a variety of ways while benefiting from each other. These human-agent collaborations have gained growing attention in the HCI community; however, the field lacks clear guidelines on how to design the agents' behaviors in collaborations. In this paper, the qualities that are relevant for designers to create robust and pleasant human-agent collaborations were investigated. Bratman's Shared Cooperative Activity framework was used to identify the core characteristics of collaborations and survey the most important issues in the design of human-agent collaborations, namely code-of-conduct, task delegation, autonomy and control, intelligibility, common ground, offering help and requesting help. The aim of this work is to add structure to this growing and important facet of HCI research and operationalize the concept of human-agent collaboration with concrete design considerations.Human Information Communication Desig

Designing Human-Agent Collaborations: Commitment, responsiveness, and support

With the advancements in AI, agents (i.e., smart products, robots, software agents) are increasingly capable of working closely together with humans in a variety of ways while benefiting from each other. These human-agent collaborations have gained growing attention in the HCI community; however, the field lacks clear guidelines on how to design the agents' behaviors in collaborations. In this paper, the qualities that are relevant for designers to create robust and pleasant human-agent collaborations were investigated. Bratman's Shared Cooperative Activity framework was used to identify the core characteristics of collaborations and survey the most important issues in the design of human-agent collaborations, namely code-of-conduct, task delegation, autonomy and control, intelligibility, common ground, offering help and requesting help. The aim of this work is to add structure to this growing and important facet of HCI research and operationalize the concept of human-agent collaboration with concrete design considerations.</p

Near future cities of things: Addressing dilemmas through design fiction

The smart city infrastructure will soon start to include smart agents, i.e., agentic things, which co-exist and co-perform with human citizens. This near-future scenario explores the flexible types of collaborations and relationships between the human and nonhuman citizens. Drawing on current technology forecasts and AI/robotics literature, we created five fictional concepts for reflecting on themes we deem important for such collaborations: responsibility, delegation, relationship, priority, and adaptation. The promises, challenges and threats of these themes are discussed in this paper, together with the new questions that were opened up through the use of design fiction as a method