Experimenting the role of UX design in the definition of gender-sensitive service design policies

The environmental and social sustainability objectives indicated in the 2030 agenda require the development of services for urban contexts capable of responding to the diversified primary needs of different segments of the population. International studies on gender issues show that understanding the specific needs of women, their behaviors and their expectations can provide indications for creating more equitable and inclusive services. The article reports the significant results obtained using UX Design techniques and tools for gender-oriented service design. University researchers, students and women's associations partnered in order to carry out this activity and gather indications on the specific female points of view capable of guiding the development of better services and inspiring decision makers and service providers. The research also demonstrates the potential of applying the UX Design approach in the investigation of the gender perspective and in dialogue with nonprofit associations interested in social innovation

Understanding the Complexity of the Multicultural Design Work Team

L'articolo presenta i risultati di una ricerca basata sull'applicazione dell'activity theory allo studio sperimentale dei processi di relazione e collaborazione nei gruppi multiculturali di progetto

The Strength of Olistic Design for Organisation, between effectiveness and disruption

Design refers today to many different aspects, such as product, interior, communication, brand, service and so on. It is possible to provide a coherent perception of a whole environment, designing all the aspects so that they can communicate coherent values and univocal interpretation. This is possible by making the design driven by principles starting from metaphoric models of the mission of a company, translating them into perceptual aspect involving both static elements (layouts, interior design, logo, etc.) and dynamic (interaction protocols, services processes, processes, and so on). Beside the evident advantages of such an approach, problems can arise from conflictual points of view between the company (intended as a unique organism with specific mission and values) and the employees (requiring personal satisfaction, not necessarily coherent with the mission of the organization). The paper describes real experiences exemplifying what indicated, and presents: i) a quick description of the design approach able to design coherent solutions for different artifacts/ services (values identification, required emotions specification, metaphors supporting them, perceptual aspects supporting the metaphors, design of any aspect); ii) the description of a similar approach followed in designing some department in a relevant hospital; iii) the positive effect of the approach evaluated by the positive reactions of patients and nurse; iv) the opposition of the doctors, feeling themselves as interpreted less relevant for the therapies effectiveness; v) the corrective actions taken in order to avoid a disruptive effect of the cohesion between doctors (as more relevant actors of the services) and the rest of the environment. The paper describes the experience, and points out the differences between the design of artifacts for external customers (e.g., cars, white goods, etc,) and the design of environments in which customers and “producers” share the same space and processes, and suggests, for these cases, approaches going beyond User Centered Design.3reservedmixedGALLI, FRANCESCO; MAIOCCHI, MARCO MARIA; PILLAN, MARGHERITAGalli, Francesco; Maiocchi, MARCO MARIA; Pillan, Margherit

Effect of Feed Restriction on the Behaviour and Welfare of Broiler Chickens

Under intensive rearing conditions, the welfare of broiler chickens may be at risk depending on genotype and sex, due to their different growth rates. The practice of quantitative feed restriction may also impact on welfare. This study aimed to evaluate behaviour and corticosterone content in plasma and faeces at different ages using 896 one-day-old chicks housed in 32 pens, allocated to 8 groups, i.e., 2 genotypes (standard vs. high breast yield) 7 2 sex 7 2 feeding plans (ad libitum vs. restricted, AL vs. FR). The feeding system affected the percentage of standing (9.84% vs. 11.7% in AL vs. FR; p 64 0.001), feeding (7.51% vs. 8.17%; p 64 0.01) and sitting/lying (67.0% vs. 64.1%; p 64 0.001), and the faeces corticosterone content (12.2 vs. 13.6 ng/g in AL vs. FR; p 64 0.10). Sex affected the percentage of pecking other chickens, standing and comfort behaviours. Changes in behaviour were recorded between high and standard breast yield genotypes with faeces corticosterone which tended to be higher in the former (p 64 0.10). Significant interactions between the main factors and age were observed. Major changes in behaviour were due to feed restriction, which stimulated activity during restriction

Factors affecting space use by laying hens in a cage-free aviary system: effect of nest lighting at pullet housing and of curtain nest color during laying

At 17 wk of age, 1,800 Lohman brown hens were housed in 8 pens of an experimental aviary system, specifically set up for the purposes of the present study, and kept until 26 wk without or with nest lighting (lights inside the nest 1.5 h before the lighting of the installation) for training in the nest use. Then, at 27 wk, 4 combinations of nest curtains were adopted to evaluate the effects on hens’ distribution, that is, nests with red (RR) or yellow (YY) curtains at all tiers; nests with red and yellow curtains at the first and second tier, respectively (RY); or nests with yellow and red curtains at the first and second tier, respectively (YR). The use of enlightened compared to dark nests at housing increased the oviposition rate (P < 0.001) and decreased the rate of broken (P < 0.001) and dirty eggs (P < 0.05) from 27 to 45 wk, while increasing the rate of eggs laid inside the nests (P < 0.001). The presence of yellow nest curtains increased the rate of hens on the floor in pens YY and YR compared to pens RR and RY (35.3 and 35.5% vs. 34.1 and 33.3%, respectively; P = 0.05) and the rate of floor eggs in pens YR (2.23% vs. 1.63 and 1.65% in pens RR and RY; P < 0.05). In pens RY, a higher rate of eggs was always found on the second tier compared to the first one with the most inhomogeneous distribution compared to pens RR, YY, and YR (+10.8 vs. +3.4, +1.9, and +4.6 percentage points of eggs laid on the second tier compared to the first one, respectively). In conclusion, nest lighting at housing trained hens to the use of nests while improving egg production in terms of quantity and quality. The use of yellow curtains on nests moved hens between the different levels of the aviary but this was not associated with an increased nest use for laying

A misura d'uomo. Esperienze di design antropocentrico per la comunicazione.

L'intervento affronta il tema del design antropocentrico e la molteplicita' degli ambiti di applicazione. Illustra una strategia di ricerca che e' stata applicata su diversi versanti del design della comunicazione

Comunicazione a misura d'uomo

Il testo presenta i risultati di otto attivita' di ricerca sviluppate da autori diversi in collaborazione con la curatrice del testo, nel corso degli anni 2008-2010. Queste attivita' di ricerca appartengono al dominio del Design della Comunicazione e condividono un approccio progettuale di tipo User Centred