Story of Use: Analysis of Film Narratives to Inform the Design of Object Interactions

Not only is using a product an experience, it is an interaction and it is narrative in nature. This work in progress paper describes the narrative theory background for this statement, in particular schemata theory and the concepts of agency, tellability and narrativity, then describes methods that are being used in the project to analyse film narratives and apply these to the design of tellable physical products

The 'Foce' monumental cemetery in Sanremo: mirror of the city as outstanding tourist destination during the Belle Epoque (1880-1915)

The monumental cemetery of Sanremo, was founded in 1838 and now counts about 2000 graves, one third of which belongs to foreigners, evidences of the city as outstanding tourist destination. The city with a good climate was also choosen for the recovery from the disease of chest by many people, even by Maria Alessandrovna, Csarina of Russia. Many important people came to Sanremo from all over the world and sometimes here passed by and were buried: people like the painter Edward Lear, the anatomist Arthur Hill Hassal, Lady Caroline Giffard Phillipson, Prussian nobles, a good number of Russian aristocrats, and many others..

The Ta-Da Series: A Technique for Generating Surprising Designs Based on Opposites and Gut Reactions

Chapter in an edited collection, originally presented at the 5th international Design and Emotion Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden

The Ta-Da Series: presentation of a technique and its use in generating a series of surprising designs

Surprise is an emotion that is used very explicitly in personal interactions and in narrative media, yet it is not used in the same way within design. This case study presents a technique devised and used to apply the results of theoretical research on surprise to the creation of a series of surprising objects. The designs in this series are very different in the way they function, yet they are derived from the same technique, based on cultural expectations, gut reactions and pleasant surprise. To begin with, the design process involved studying what is expected of objects, and identifying what the main characteristics of a specific category of objects are. What do we expect when we approach a lamp? And in particular, are there any signs which we can use to reinforce these expectations? The second step is to find the opposite of those characteristics and turn them into design concepts. In this case a lamp needs to make light in order to be a lamp, so its main connotation cannot be opposed. But there are other connotations that are not necessarily intrinsic in lamps but which we all tend to associate with lamps, and those are connotations and those are connotations about breakable materials and fragility. The design therefore plays with these expectations by creating a lamp that at first sight has some connotations of a typology of lamp that is both common and extremely breakable; in this way it reinforces the feeling of fragility. But the lamp itself is made of rubber, so if it fell it wouldn’t break but bounce. In addition to this, the technique uses inbuilt gut reactions and fears to reinforce the surprising effect. The lamp only turns on when it is placed on the edge of the table; in this way the lamp will always be in a precarious position, not only reinforcing the feeling of instability, but playing with the user’s gut reactions: though the owner knows that the lamp will not break, it is hard to shed the ingrained reaction of wanting to move it to the middle of the table. By using these gut reactions, the lamp creates a playful sense of suspense, and pleasant surprise when one discovers, or remembers, that the lamp is made of rubber and it is meant to fall. This same technique is applied to three designs, the On-Edge Lamp, the (Un-) Stable Stool and the Impolite Coffee Tables. These three designs will be presented and the differences and similarities between the designs will be outlined

Cinematic Narratives of Product Interaction Experiences: Methods for Cross-Media Fertilisation of the Design Process

This paper outlines the initial phases of a practice-based PhD research project; it outlines methods that will be used to analyse the role of objects within cinematic narratives and how these narrative roles could be translated into methods for designing products to enrich the experience of using the products. The starting point for this project is the hypothesis that any interaction between a user and an object will be remembered and interpreted in a user's mind as a form of narrative. This project therefore tries to harness narrative structures and devices from other media to inform the design of products that can specifically cater to these narrative qualities inherent in the way we experience products. This paper outlines methods for opening up the dialogue about these cross-media narrative comparisons, to assist in generating design work which focuses on the narrative qualities of product experience

Theoretical Approaches and Key Concepts in Medical Anthropology

The theoretical views and ideas offered in the following pages – which are quite long in order to offer a through explanation of the vast and diverse medical and anthropological literature we have available – regard specific concepts and paradigms that will be useful in order to create a solid framework for the ethnographic material we have gathered

Why "should we"? A well-grounded argument for refugee acceptance and integration

L'attuale e inedito arrivo nell'UE di migranti e richiedenti asilo in fuga da paesi devastati dalla guerra ha creato un intenso dibattito sull'obbligo e l'opportunità di accettarli e integrarli nelle nostre società. Tra preoccupazioni umanitarie e convenienza politica, e al di là della retorica dei media, è possibile argomentare a favore dell'accettazione e dell'integrazione sulla base di un solido processo di analisi e valutazione dei dati. Questo articolo si propone di presentare e discutere le evidenze provenienti da ricerche che suggeriscono che dovremmo sostenere l'accettazione e l'integrazione dei rifugiati nell'Unione europea, nel suo complesso, e in Italia in particolare. Dopo aver descritto i principali eventi recenti riguardanti la crisi migratoria dell'UE, vengono esaminate una serie di questioni chiave: le dimensioni reali dei flussi, la minaccia alla sicurezza, gli obblighi derivanti dal diritto internazionale, il rapporto costi-benefici e, infine, l'importanza educativa della diversità culturaleThe current unprecedented influx of migrants and asylum seekers fleeing from war-torn countries into the EU has created an intense debate on the obligation and opportunity to accept and integrate them in our societies. Between humanitarian concerns and political convenience, and beyond the rhetoric of the media, it is possible to argue in favour of acceptance and integration based on a sound process of data analysis and assessment. This article aims to present and discuss evidence from research that suggests we should support acceptance and integration of refugees in the EU, as a whole, and in Italy specifically. After describing the main recent events concerning the EU migration crisis, a number of key issues are investigated: the real dimensions of the influx, the security threat, the obligations deriving from international law, the cost-benefit ratio and, finally, the educational importance of cultural diversity

Investigating the role of histone deacetylase HDAC4 in long-term memory formation : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Genetics at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand

Listed in 2017 Dean's List of Exceptional ThesesEpigenetic mechanisms are emerging as master regulators of cognitive abilities such as learning and memory. It has been previously shown that the histone deacetylase HDAC4 plays a critical role in memory formation in both mammals and insects although the specific mechanisms through which it acts have not yet been elucidated. HDAC4 undergoes nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and, in neurons, it is largely cytoplasmic implying it may play both nuclear and non-nuclear functions. To identify upstream regulators and downstream targets of HDAC4, a genetic interaction screen was performed in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, a powerful model system to study the genetic mechanisms of neurological disease. Twenty-nine genes were found to interact with HDAC4 suggesting they are part of the same molecular pathway. Functional network analysis revealed that many of the genes could be grouped into three biological categories comprising transcriptional factors, SUMOylation machinery enzymes and cytoskeletal regulators/interactors. Within the latter, Ankyrin2 was selected for further analysis as it is implicated in synaptic stability and in human intellectual disability. In addition HDAC4 harbours a conserved ankyrin binding domain. Immunohistochemical analyses showed widespread distribution of Ankyrin2 throughout the adult brain and coincident distribution with HDAC4 was observed in the axons of the mushroom body, a key structure for memory formation in flies. Both HDAC4 and Ankyrin2 were also found to regulate mushroom body development. RNAi-mediated depletion of Ankyrin2 in the adult brain impaired long-term memory in the courtship suppression assay, a model of associative memory and preliminary evidence of a physical association between HDAC4 and Ankyrin2 was also demonstrated. The genes identified in the screen provide new avenues for investigation of the mechanisms through which HDAC4 regulates memory formation and preliminary analyses suggest that interaction with the cytoskeletal adaptor Ankyrin2 may involve remodelling of the actin/spectrin cytoskeleton, phenomenon that underlies memory related processes like synaptic plasticity and neuronal excitability