Ecodesign : the sourcebook

352 p. ; 21 cm

Socializing Value Creation Through Practices of Making Clothing Differently: A Case Study of a Makershop With Diverse Locals

To counter the unsustainability of the current mainstream fashion system, an increasing number of designers are activating practices of social making aimed at empowering people through shared learning experiences. Within this context, the collaborative network Mode Uncut initiated Make Yourself…, a project focused on socializing value creation through making clothing differently. This article presents the project which took place in BITZ Unibz FabLab in Bolzano (Italy), as a case of social making of clothing in a “makershop” (i.e., a makerspace combined with a pop-up shop where diverse locals make clothes using discarded textiles and second-hand garments). Through this participatory action research project, it emerged that the process of bringing together diverse locals in a makerspace can help generating different clothing concepts, and that these concepts can bring about different value propositions for local clothes production. As an outcome of the project, a framework for socializing value creation was corroborated and enriched; the framework is conceived for other designers to use and generate value for individuals, communities, societies, the environment and local economies. In conclusion, this article discusses how social making contributes to shaping alternative exchange economies of fashion.Peer reviewe

Action-centred design to find opportunities in times of multiple crises : Designing a toolkit from a participatory conference

The global crisis around the COVID-19 pandemic raises questions about our societal conditions while amplifying the challenges of our existing multiple crises to wider questions of sustainability. Such crises, which are both threat and opportunity, have been highlighted for 50 years within the design domain which has re-orientated towards ideas of ecological, social and economic transition and transformation. Against this background, a 7-year old conference series, presciently called By Design or By Disaster, had to convert to an online format during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. Applying eco-social and participatory design principles the participants of the conference, Beyond Crisis, co-created 21 parallel workshops tasked with the aim of each generating three actions on diverse topics reflecting the interests of the participants. Live reports and synthesis of the actions generated a broad mapping of the situation to help build a spirit and momentum for social-ecological transformation through design. Subsequent analysis of the content of the workshops and actions led to the development of a prototype opensource toolkit, the Toolkit for Designing Actions in Times of Multiple Crisis, that facilitates the creation of action plans with multiple actors. This toolkit for action-centred design has the potential to help diverse actors deal with multiple crises while simultaneously helping reconfigure our societal and human to other-than-human relations by materialising preferable rather than probable or possible futures

Empirical investigation of the impact of using co-design methods when generating proposals for sustainable travel solutions

This paper presents an empirical comparison of idea generation within the context of reducing the number of single occupancy car journeys to and from a UK university campus. Separate co-design and consultative groups were matched with respect to 1) creativity when problem solving, 2) normal commuting mode and 3) intention to adopt sustainable behaviours. The co-design group generated a significantly greater number of innovative ideas than the consultative group (using an email based methodology); however this was due to the greater number of total ideas (rather than the higher proportion of innovative ideas) generated by this group. The co-design group was able to think more systemically about potential solutions and generate proposals that were not either linked to their own commute mode, or aligned with any one specific mode of transport. The findings suggest that co-design offers benefits as a process for idea generation within the sustainable travel context as it promotes idea generation and a more holistic perspective on the problem and potential solutions

Prospective observational cohort study on grading the severity of postoperative complications in global surgery research

Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally