Designing Work and IT Systems : A Participatory Process that Supports Usability and Sustainability

Since the use of computers and IT systems has become an essential part of many people’s daily work, the quality of IT systems’ is becoming more important for efficient, healthy and sustainable work. It has often been argued that the full potential of a new, supportive IT system seldom is achieved, because – despite implementation of the new system - outdated work procedures are still being preserved. We can also see an increase in occupational health problems that are related to the use of poorly designed IT systems. This thesis addresses the questions of how to create a process for developing a sustainable, IT- supported work for the future and how to provide a solid foundation for the development of IT systems. What underlying perspectives should be applied and how can such a process be carried out in practice? Utilizing an action research approach inspired by participatory design methods, a user-centred seminar process called the Vision Seminar Process (VSP) has been developed to address these questions. Observations are presented from three cases in which the VSP has contributed to the organizations’ development and during which the Vision Seminar Process itself continued to evolve. The process provides a framework where practitioners and designers cooperate in the design of both sustainable work and usable IT systems. It is of central importance that a reflective in-depth analysis of users’ work practices is carried out, that their entire work situation and organization is questioned and discussed, and that the design process is carried out with a focus on healthy and sustainable work. Underlying perspectives that advocate a focus on a future work are essential for the successful implementation of the process, in that IT should be the engine that drives the development of work and creates the conditions for a healthy, sustainable work

Exhibit Art

Uppsala har önskat ett hus till konstmuseet i mer än 90 år. Idag ligger konstmuseet i Uppsala slott. Den nya föreslagna platsen är Kv Hugin, där livsmedelsverket idag ligger. Platsen är central belägen invid Fyrisån. I projektet undersökt olika arkitektoniska kvalitéer för rum att visa konst. Och framför allt ljus. Finns det en framtid för konst i naturligt ljus och konsten skyddas med moderna UV-filters, eller är det artificiellt ljus som gäller? Förhoppningarna var att designa ett hus med ett vackert naturligt ljus att visa konst i. Men de senaste årens tekniska utveckling av nya ljuskällor samt att de flesta utställningar av konst sker i artificiellt ljus gjorde att jag bestämde mig för att rita ett hus som visar konst i artificiellt ljus. Därför är utställningssalarna under marken.Uppsala has been requesting an art museum for more than 90 years. Today, Uppsala konstmuseum is housed in Uppsala slott (Uppsala castle). A new site for a dedicated home for the museum would be Kv. Hugin, located in the center of Uppsala, near the beautiful Fyris river. This project explores what architectural qualities are needed for the exhibition of art, especially focusing on light. Does the future lie in the use of natural light and modern filters, or in artificial light? The ambition with the project was to design a building that shows art in sunlight, but the resent technical development with light sources and that most art is exhibit in artificial lights. I decided to create a building that manifest that way to exhibit art. Put it underground

Designing Work and IT Systems : A Participatory Process that Supports Usability and Sustainability

Since the use of computers and IT systems has become an essential part of many people’s daily work, the quality of IT systems’ is becoming more important for efficient, healthy and sustainable work. It has often been argued that the full potential of a new, supportive IT system seldom is achieved, because – despite implementation of the new system - outdated work procedures are still being preserved. We can also see an increase in occupational health problems that are related to the use of poorly designed IT systems. This thesis addresses the questions of how to create a process for developing a sustainable, IT- supported work for the future and how to provide a solid foundation for the development of IT systems. What underlying perspectives should be applied and how can such a process be carried out in practice? Utilizing an action research approach inspired by participatory design methods, a user-centred seminar process called the Vision Seminar Process (VSP) has been developed to address these questions. Observations are presented from three cases in which the VSP has contributed to the organizations’ development and during which the Vision Seminar Process itself continued to evolve. The process provides a framework where practitioners and designers cooperate in the design of both sustainable work and usable IT systems. It is of central importance that a reflective in-depth analysis of users’ work practices is carried out, that their entire work situation and organization is questioned and discussed, and that the design process is carried out with a focus on healthy and sustainable work. Underlying perspectives that advocate a focus on a future work are essential for the successful implementation of the process, in that IT should be the engine that drives the development of work and creates the conditions for a healthy, sustainable work

Development of Liquid-based Separation Techniques using Tailored Surfaces for Analysis of Biological Samples

Development and improvement of analytical techniques are vital in analytical chemistry research. This thesis describes the development and use of tailored surfaces for bioanalytical applications. In sample preparation, solid phase extraction is often used and the development of a protocol for extraction on a molecular imprinted polymer (MISPE) directly from plasma sample is presented. Molecular imprinted polymers (MIP) offer selective sorbents for the imprinted analyte. MISPE has mainly been used in organic phase but in this thesis the development of a protocol for direct extraction of the analyte form an aqueous phase is described. For analysis of complex samples a separation step is often needed. The growing interest in analysis of biological samples and analysis of the human proteome and potential biomarkers has increased the interest in developing new separation techniques. Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has evolved into an important technique for use in analysis of body fluids. In this thesis a novel polyamine coating named PolyE 323 tailored for minimizing the adsorption of basic proteins to the surface is introduced. A straightforward coating protocol, with four simple rinsing steps, was developed. The coating was highly reproducible and useable over a wide pH range. Successful protein separations on PolyE-323-coated capillaries coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) were demonstrated. The coated capillaries were also used in studies of protein content of aqueous humor samples from cataract patients as a complement to capillary liquid chromatography. In the studies presented the protein content of aqueous humor samples from two clinical groups was compared. By using capillary liquid separation techniques coupled to matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and MS/MS in combination with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) the identity and relative concentrations of proteins in the samples were evaluated. Earlier studies of the proteins in these kinds of samples have mainly been done with techniques using immunological detection where the proteins of interest were chosen in advance. In this thesis it was shown that liquid-based separation techniques are a good complement and by using the mass spectrometry approach presented the protein content of the samples could be evaluated without bias

Vindarnas spel

Utgångspunkten i min kulturskola var en nervös elev. Eleven har kanske inte gjort sin läxa. Ljus genom trädkronor brukar ha en lugnande inverkan på många människor. Fasadens speciella utformning med rörliga plattor är tänkt att filtrera ljuset på ett sätt som liknar trädkronornas utanför huset. Ljuset ska distrahera och lugna den som sitter i foajén och nervöst väntar på sin lektion.En trappa som både går inne och ute. Där kan man kanske sitta och prata med sina kamrater i väntan på lektionen en solig dag. Trappan ska också göra parken mer tillgänglig. Byggnadens program innehåller fem mindre och två större ensemblerum. Ensemblerummen ställer stora krav på akustiken. Det finns dock en del skillnader på vilka akustiska egenskaper som rummen behöver ha för olika instrument. Om man har en sånglektion vill man gärna ha en liten efterklang som man hör sig själv och inte sjunger sig hes pga brist med respons från rummet. Har man istället slagverkslektion behöver rummet vara mer dämpande och då framför allt för att inte skada hörseln på både eleven och läraren. Det är även mindre skillnader på sträng- och blåsinstrument. För att klara dessa skilda krav på rummen, så är det utrustade med akustik dämpande lösa skivor som sätts upp på väggarna. Eftersom tinnitus är ökande problem bland unga och redan är ett stort problem hos musiker har rummen också dämpande skivor på hjul för att minska exponeringen av starka ljud för både elever och lärare. För att stimulera elevernas koncentration och för att undvika störande ljus och reflexer saknar ensemblerummen fönster. I byggnaden finns också en lokal för dansundervisning med speglar och barréstång. Vidare en lokal för teaterföreställningar och uppträdanden.The starting point of my school project was a nervous student. The student may not have done their homework. Light through tree crowns tend to have a calming effect on people. The special design of the façade with movable plates is meant to filter the light in a manner similar to the tree canopy outside the house. The light will distract and calm the person sitting in the foyer and nervously waiting for their class.On the outside a staircase connects the train station and the park. The staircase is mirrored on inside building. The building program includes five smaller and two larger ensemble rooms. Ensemble rooms places great demands on the acoustics. However, there are some differences in the acoustic properties of the rooms must be for different instruments. If you have a singing lesson would you like to have a little reverb so you can hears yourself and does not scream yourself hoarse due to a lack of response from the room. Have you instead percussion lessons need the room to be more absorbing and above all not to damage the hearing of both the student and the teacher. There are also minor differences in the string and wind instruments. To meet these diverse demands on the rooms, it is equipped with acoustic dampening loose discs that are set up on the walls. Because tinnitus is increasing problem among young people and already a major problem among musicians, rooms feature cushioning discs on the wheels to reduce exposure to loud sounds for both students and teachers. The rooms’ lack of windows is to optimize the acoustics and to avoid distracting glare. The building has a dance studio and a black box theatre

Mobile Home Health Care - a Case Study

We present a case study of an application for supporting home health care practitioners in their work. Groups of practitioners have been interviewed as well as representatives for the sales organization. Below the application is presented as well as work practices before and after the introduction of the system and perceived benefits of the system