Undesigning Culture. A brief reflection on design as ethical practice

This essay furthers the understanding of design as ethical practice.\ud Based on a perspective on the relationship between humans and technology as a\ud material-discursive practice, an argument is developed in which the meaning and\ud matter of a technology is not perceived as the effect of use only. Matter and\ud meaning emerge in each iteration in the design process of a technology. A design\ud strategy is presented in which ethics becomes an integral part of the design\ud process

In/Visible Bodies. On patients and privacy in a networked world

In the networked world, privacy and visibility become entangled in new and unexpected ways. This article uses the concept of networked visibility to explore the entanglement of technology and the visibility of patient bodies. Based\ud on semi-structured interviews with patients active in social media, this paper describes how multiple patient bodies are produced in the negotiations between the need for privacy and the need for social interaction. Information technology is actively involved in these negotiations: patients use technology to make their bodies both visible and invisible. At the same time technology collects data on these patients, which can be used for undesired commercial and surveillance\ud purposes. The notion of visibility by design may infuse design efforts that enable online privacy, supporting patients in the multiple ways they want to be visible and invisible online

Design for the contact zone. Knowledge management software and the structures of indigenous knowledges

This article examines the design of digital indigenous knowledge archives. In a discussion of the distinction between indigenous knowledge and western science, a decentred perspective is developed, in which the relationship between different local knowledges is explored. The particular characteristics of indigenous knowledges raise questions about if and how these knowledges can be managed. The role of technology in managing indigenous knowledges is explored with examples from fieldwork in India and Kenya and from web-based databases and digital archives. The concept of contact zone is introduced to explore the space in which different knowledges meet and are performed, such as indigenous knowledge and the technoscientific knowledge of the database. Design for the contact zone, this article proposes, is an intra-active and adaptive process for in creating databases that are meaningful for indigenous knowers. The meta-design approach is introduced as a methodology, which may provide indigenous knowers tools for self-representation and self-organisation through design

New cation-exchange membranes for hyperfiltration processes

A new route for the preparation of cation exchange membranes from polystyrene-polyisoprene-polystyrene (SIS) block copolymers has been studied, using N-chlorosulfonyl isocyanate. At temperatures of 0° to 20°C, N-chlorosulfonyl isocyanate reacts readily with the olefin group in polyisoprenes, resulting in a β-lactam-N-sulfonyl chloride group. Films of this product can be cast which are hydrolyzed afterwards with aqueous ammonia at room temperature to give a membrane with ionic sulfonate and neutral carbamoyl groups. Homogeneous membranes are prepared with an SIS block copolymer as starting material and with mole ratios of N-chlorosulfonyl isocyanate/isoprene between 15% and 45%. In hyperfiltration experiments at 40 atmospheres, both NaCl and Na2SO4 are rejected up to 82%, while fluxes of 0.25 to 0.30 cm3/cm2·hr are obtained. From permeation and hyperfiltration experiments, it is concluded that the weight fraction of membrane water has a large influence on the flux. The water content in the membrane during the hyperfiltration process is primarily determined by the applied pressure, the type of salt, and its concentration

Mobile phone-based healthcare delivery in a Sami area: Reflections on technology and culture\ud

This paper analyses the redesign of psychiatric services for children and\ud adolescents in a Sami area in the county of Finnmark in Norway. The project\ud included the introduction of a new technology in support of a decentralized model\ud for healthcare service delivery. We focus specifically on the role of culture in the\ud development and implementation of a mobile phone application during the pilot\ud phase of the project. In our analysis we draw on information infrastructure theory.\ud We are in particular interested in the concept of generativity and critically assess\ud its role of in the analysis of technology in a culturally diverse context

The Measurement of Overeducation and Undereducation: Self-Report vs. Job Analyst Method

This paper investigates the criterium validity of two different methods to determine the required educational level of an occupation. The selfreport method consists of asking employees directly what the required level of education for the job is. On the other hand, in the job-analyst method the determining of the required level of education for a particular job takes place by experts. Our analysis shows that, in essence, both methods measure the same concept (number of years of required education). However, they differ significantly with regard to the standard points, i.e. the points on the scale at which there is overeducation and undereducation. The analysis shows that the job-analyst method systematically overestimates the level of overeducation. There are no indications that the level of overeducation is underestimated in the self-report method.labour market entry;

How much does education matter and why?

This article explores the total (measured and unmeasured) effect of education on different socio-economic outcomes. The analysis shows that the usual regression models typically underestimate the effects of education. The effects of education are decomposed into three sources of variation: courses of study, schools and student composition. Schools do not seem to have a large impact. A significant part of the effect of education stems from differential selection of students into courses of study. However, there is a notable difference between social and economic rewards. Apart from level of education, selectivity and specificity of the course of study turn out to affect the labor market outcomeslabour market entry and occupational careers;