A Participatory Design Framework For Customisable Assistive Technology

High product costs and device abandonment negatively affect people with disabilities who require Assistive Technology (AT), and poor product design is a root cause. The purpose of this research is to develop and demonstrate a participatory design framework for customisable AT, which addresses the need for low-cost assistive products that satisfy a broad range of consumers’ needs. This framework addresses two main gaps in the literature. First, user involvement in the design process of medical and rehabilitative products helps create products that are more effective but, although methods to involve users exist, there are currently scant techniques to translate the research data into design solution concepts. Second, adaptive mass customisation offers a way to reduce a product’s cost by making it useful to more people and adaptable to a user’s changing needs. Although the creation of one-off, tailored AT devices is discussed in the literature, there are no methods to support the development of customisable or adaptable AT. Two-phases of participatory design research are described in the thesis, and make up the body of the design framework. First, a Delphi study is used to facilitate AT professionals working with individuals with disabilities in reaching a consensus on important design issues relating to a specific type of AT. An adapted morphological matrix is then presented as a novel way of applying the results of a Delphi study to concept generation. The second phase facilitates the involvement of AT users with disabilities in a series of participatory design workshops to create a final product design and prototype. The research approach was exploratory and Assistive Technology Computer Input Devices (ATCIDs) were employed as a sample technology domain to develop and substantiate the framework. Three key contributions resulted from this work; a wide range of problems and design issues related to ATCIDs; a method for using touch panel technology as a customisable ATCID; and, most pertinent due to its transferability, a participatory design framework for customisable AT with recommendations for participatory design practice involving individuals with diverse disabilities

Promoting Environmental Sustainability By Fostering a Culture of Material Ethics

Creating a culture of ‘material ethics’ can help engineers and product designers in the quest to achieve environmental sustainability. By framing this particular issue and focusing attention on it, Engineering and Product Design educators can help establish a shared language to undergird students’ conceptualizations of the natural world and instil a healthy sense of interdependency and responsibility. Overall, this paper explores the idea of ‘material ethics’ and presents arguments and applications for building such a culture at the tertiary level. As design educators, the authors of this paper aim to provide a broad and useful overview of environmental issues relevant to Engineering and Product Design Education (EPDE). They examine the role of the university in general and of EPDE programmes in particular in working toward environmental sustainability. They identify ways to integrate environmental topics into university activities and curricula, and they cite a variety of sources to back their arguments. They note that, today, digital environments inform many students’ perceptions as strongly as physical environments. Students’ understandings of the natural environment are now weak due to factors that include digital immersion. In response, the authors urge educators to prompt students’ exploration of issues of environment and materiality. They provide examples to serve as points of reference and inspiration. By helping students recognize moral imperatives, such as achieving environmental sustainability, and helping them assess and implement ‘best practices’ into their design processes, teachers can help shift the prevailing paradigm and prepare students to tackle society’s most pressing environmental issues

Aligning Aims in Innovation Management: a Participatory Approach to Defining Mission and Vision Statements

The problem of ensuring management and employees have clearly defined goals to work towards is one which has engaged management practitioners for some time. It is a challenge which engages organisations across industry sectors and business types (Prahalad 1999; O’Gorman 1999). This article describes the development of a framework for the identification of guiding goals for organisations using the principles of participatory design. The framework described involves internal and external stakeholders in the development of mission and vision statements. A pilot study using the initial stages of this framework was implemented with academic staff of an undergraduate academic programme in a Dublin higher education college. The need to foster an innovative culture among the multiple stakeholder groups involved in any academic programme make it an appropriate setting to pilot this activity. In the study, the initial phases of the framework were implemented and draft mission and vision statements were generated. The process of generating these statements is described and generic recommendations made for the implementation of this process in other settings

Perspectives on Designing for a Sustainable Future; Products for the Developed and Developing Worlds

The aim of a sustainable product solution is to fulfil a user need while creating a net positive sustainable impact - environmentally, socially and economically [1]. The concept of sustainability can be complex for a product design student to come to terms with, since the creation of new physical products consumes the Earth’s scarce natural resources [2]. So, should we ideally have no new products in the future? More likely, we should hope to have more sustainably aware product designers, working for companies that need to - due to regulations or consumer preferences - produce and provide more sustainable product solutions. Technological University Dublin’s BSc Product Design uses two project-based-learning classes as part of one module to guide students through the concepts of sustainability. One project focuses on design for behaviour change [3] in the developed world. Students identify a current behaviour that has a negative environmental impact and work to develop a design intervention that facilitates and encourages a “better” behaviour. A second project focuses on design for an underprivileged or marginalised population. Students engage with Engineers Without Borders and design products aiming to solve a problem for a poorly served community in a certain context. Students complete the module by reflecting on their understanding of sustainability and how it relates to their own identity as a designer. This paper shares the outcomes of the process and provides a pedagogical approach for helping students to delve deeper into the complex and contentious area where product design and sustainability intersect

Returning Individual Research Results from Digital Phenotyping in Psychiatry

Psychiatry is rapidly adopting digital phenotyping and artificial intelligence/machine learning tools to study mental illness based on tracking participants’ locations, online activity, phone and text message usage, heart rate, sleep, physical activity, and more. Existing ethical frameworks for return of individual research results (IRRs) are inadequate to guide researchers for when, if, and how to return this unprecedented number of potentially sensitive results about each participant’s real-world behavior. To address this gap, we convened an interdisciplinary expert working group, supported by a National Institute of Mental Health grant. Building on established guidelines and the emerging norm of returning results in participant-centered research, we present a novel framework specific to the ethical, legal, and social implications of returning IRRs in digital phenotyping research. Our framework offers researchers, clinicians, and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) urgently needed guidance, and the principles developed here in the context of psychiatry will be readily adaptable to other therapeutic areas

Merging Creative Design and CAD Learning Activities in a Product Design Programme

Traditional learning and teaching methods for creativity differ from those used in a scientific context. Although the creative process can benefit from a certain level of prescription and structural constraint - with time allocated to research, problem definition, conceptualisation and idea development - flexibility and fluidity are necessary for creative innovation. In contrast, the more linear and rigid pedagogies associated with science and engineering education facilitate efficient learning of subjects such as those based on software packages, manufacturing and materials theory or mechanics. This paper describes the development of a project which aims to establish constructive links between the learning outcomes of a creativity-based module and a virtual modelling module. An action research approach was taken to develop links between the learning activities and outcomes in each module. A timeline is also presented with specific reference to the stage at which the engineering brief is given to the students and the two disciplines are merged. Through this exploratory case-study, a framework for the synthesis of creative and scientific product design modules is demonstrated. In addition, generic recommendations for the development of cross-disciplinary project briefs in product design education are provided

Crucial Design Issues for Special Access Technology

Introduction: Electronic Assistive Technology (EAT) aims to empower individuals with disabilities by reducing the environmental and societal barriers they encounter. Power wheelchairs aid mobility, communication aids allow for more efficient conversation, environmental controls permit greater autonomy, and personal computers provide access to information, social networking and educational activities. In order to control EAT, a computer input device is necessary. Mice and keyboards are typically used but in certain cases, Special Access Technology (SAT) is required. SAT refers to adapted and alternative computer input devices that are utilised when mainstream software and hardware are not suitable. Examples are switches, joysticks and screen-scanning software. Unfortunately, high costs can hinder access to many types of assistive technology (AT), including SAT, and even when this is overcome, device abandonment can occur. Abandonment has been linked to inappropriate product design leading to devices that are difficult to use, fail during use, and have poor aesthetics resulting in the user feeling stigmatised. This research proposes and explores ways of improving the design process of AT. It focuses on user participation and ties in the theory of mass customisation as a tool for increasing market size and improving the adaptability of AT. Method: This paper describes the first of two phases which compose a framework for the participatory design of customisable AT. The practical development of a SAT hardware device scaffolds the research process. This initial phase involves professionals working with AT users who have disabilities and employs a Delphi study to establish consensus on important design issues relating to a specific type of AT, in this case SAT. An adapted morphological matrix is also described and shows how the results of the Delphi study can be practically applied during the concept generation phase of the product design process. Findings: A panel of 14 professionals participated in the Delphi study, with 64% (n=9) working in the Republic of Ireland, and 36% (n=5) in Northern Ireland. Occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech & language therapists, AT trainers and engineers took part. The process resulted in consensus on; 1) prevalent parts of SAT that malfunction, 2) primary reasons for SAT malfunction, 3) characteristics of a client which are associated with SAT selection, 4) client needs regarding SAT use and training, 5) desirable traits of SAT, and 6) clinicians’ frustrations with SAT. Conclusion: The study reveals a wide range of problems related to SAT and also highlights the complexities of finding the right type of SAT for a particular individual. Each list of design issues resulting from the six questions provides different insights and drives the concept generation phase. The study demonstrates that a structured approach aids in the efficient generation and application of expert users’ knowledge during the design process of customisable AT

Crucial Design Issues for Special Access Technology; a Delphi Study

Purpose: To develop and demonstrate a method to involve professional users of assistive technology (AT) in the development process of customisable products. Employing the ideas of user participation and mass customisation, this research addresses the need for reduced product costs and optimised product flexibility. Method: An adaptable six-question Delphi study was developed to establish consensus among AT professionals on design issues relating to a specified AT domain requiring innovation. The study is demonstrated for the special access technology (SAT) domain. A modified morphological matrix structures the application of the study results to the product design process. Results: Fourteen professionals from the Republic of Ireland and the UK participated. Consensus was reached on prevalent parts of SAT that malfunction, primary reasons for SAT malfunction, characteristics of clients associated with SAT selection, client needs regarding SAT use and training, desirable traits of SAT and clinicians’ frustrations with SAT. Conclusion: The study revealed a range of problems related to SAT, highlighting the complexities of successful SAT adoption. The questions led to differentiated insights and enabled design solution conceptualisation from various perspectives. The approach was found to help facilitate efficient generation and application of professional users’ knowledge during the design process of customisable AT

Framework for development of physician competencies in genomic medicine: report of the Competencies Working Group of the Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Physician Education in Genomics.

Completion of the Human Genome Project, in conjunction with dramatic reductions in the cost of DNA sequencing and advances in translational research, is gradually ushering genomic discoveries and technologies into the practice of medicine. The rapid pace of these advances is opening up a gap between the knowledge available about the clinical relevance of genomic information and the ability of clinicians to include such information in their medical practices. This educational gap threatens to be rate limiting to the clinical adoption of genomics in medicine. Solutions will require not only a better understanding of the clinical implications of genetic discoveries but also training in genomics at all levels of professional development, including for individuals in formal training and others who long ago completed such training. The National Human Genome Research Institute has convened the Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Physician Education in Genomics (ISCC) to develop and share best practices in the use of genomics in medicine. The ISCC has developed a framework for development of genomics practice competencies that may serve as a starting point for formulation of competencies for physicians in various medical disciplines