In human-centered design (HCD), designers are responsible for the results of the experiences they create. However, only a few methods exist for considering people’s needs and values. Therefore, designers need assistance in promoting ethical considerations during the design process to assess the consequences and resulting user experiences of their choices before implementing them. We believe HCD methods should actively involve users throughout the research and design stages, thus directly integrating their actual requirements, values, and psychological needs into the design results. Therefore, ethical design advocates the responsible design of digital products and services. This tutorial will teach a guided method that can be applied directly to the human-centered design process and help practitioners integrate psychological needs and values into the design of digital technological products. For this session, we will apply the method to the context of online privacy and co-design a new human-centered alternative for cookie banner.
Electronic health records (EHR) are continuously evolving to better meet user needs, but the process is complicated by healthcare professionals and patients often disagreeing on priority areas of development. While this may be due to differences between professional and personal experiences, little is known whether specialist healthcare knowledge also affects user needs when using EHRs as patients. To investigate this, we analysed the responses of patient users in Sweden from the NORDeHEALTH 2022 Patient Survey. In the survey, respondents indicated whether they had healthcare education, and rated how useful various EHR information types and functions are. Average ratings were comparable between the two user groups, but significant differences were observed for information types and functions. Those without healthcare education rated the ability to point out errors as most useful, while those with healthcare education — the ability to contribute health information. The findings suggest healthcare education can influence users’ EHR preferences.
Makerspaces offer individuals the opportunity to bring ideas to life, access specialised tools and machinery, and join a community, thus potentially enhancing psychological needs for competence and relatedness. However, these benefits may not be equally accessible across all genders, as makerspaces are often dominated by young, educated men. To explore this, we conducted an online survey with 102 makerspace users and 259 non-users. The survey included questions on psychological concepts and open-ended questions aimed at identifying factors that prevent or encourage makers from using makerspaces. Our findings reveal that while the openness in makerspaces enhances need fulfillment for females, it has the opposite effect on males, a phenomenon we discuss in the context of social identification. Additionally, we found that the atmosphere of a makerspace influences its usage across all genders. We conclude with recommendations for designing makerspaces for all genders, emphasising the importance of aligning the space’s offering with its users’ needs, fostering an open atmosphere, and promoting an inclusive makerspace landscape.
Today many children encounter Internet of Things (IoT) devices and systems of connected products in their daily contexts and activities such as learning, play, and helping in the household. When designing computational systems that children can understand and use, making sense of a child’s perspective of system behaviors is a challenge for HCI practitioners and researchers, particularly when targeting an informal, undirected learning experience. To build design knowledge on how children approach and make sense of novel interactive system concepts, we have designed and implemented a system of ten connected components, which was deployed at a local Maker Faire. This case study reports on design requirements, data design process, observations from and reflections on the deployment with respect to the young visitors’ interactions with the implemented system behaviors. We conclude with a discussion of insights and future possibilities.
Given the challenges of food insecurity and the environmental, social, and economic impacts of conventional food systems, the development of community food systems has emerged as an important research area in the field of Sustainable Human-Computer Interaction (SHCI). In this paper, we present findings from a systematic review of 48 peer-reviewed articles that examine the impact of digital technologies on sustainable food practices across different lifecycle stages of community food systems. Our comprehensive review outlines the distribution of research emphases on food production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management. This critical analysis not only highlights existing technology support, but also identifies research gaps and suggests opportunities for future SHCI research. By addressing these themes, we aim to contribute to a more holistic approach in SHCI studies and advocate for the development of inclusive digital technologies that connect various lifecycle stages to promote sustainability in community food systems.
Given the disproportionate impact of human activity on the Earth's ecosystem, the planet is undergoing alarming changes. In this paper, we present seven technology concepts created by Master's students that address this imbalance by advocating for nonhuman interests, such as tree representatives in parliaments, or a technological bat fighting for biodiversity with seed bombs. We analyzed the concepts and found three main categories: (1) allowing interspecies relations, (2) allowing intraspecies relations, or (3) allowing no relations. Moreover, we identified one main paradox for each concept, such as “preserving interdependent beings by separating them” and “conserving ‘the wild’ by taming it.” These seven paradoxes represent two underlying challenges: (1) to overcome the human perspective, and (2) to practice relational thinking. By discussing the limits, ambiguities, and tensions of designing for nonhumans, the paper contributes to a growing body of research in HCI that designs for more-than-human in the context of sustainability.
The use of social robots is gaining importance in various sectors, especially in public institutions, to counteract labor shortages. This article explores the impact of assigning different social roles (Entertainer, Caretaker, and Service Provider) to robots in public libraries on users’ expectations regarding personality, emotional expression, communication style, and design features. Participants took part in an online survey (N=85) and expressed their expectations regarding the personality and design of the robots. The research questions aim to uncover the influence of social roles on user expectations and preferences. The results indicate that users indeed have varied expectations depending on the robot’s social role, affecting perceived personality traits, emotional expression, and communication style. The study also addresses users’ expectations regarding design features such as movement patterns, voice, and eye color. The exploration of these complex interactions between robo-personalities, user expectations, and design provides valuable insights for the field of Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). The research contributes to the limited literature on the design of social robots for public spaces, emphasizing the importance of aligning robot personalities with user expectations to enhance acceptance and user satisfaction.
Existing research shows that LGBTQ+ people with uteruses (PwU) experience poorer quality of reproductive and sexual healthcare (SRH) compared to cisgender individuals. We explored how the design of technology can support the experiences of LGBTQ+ PwU when seeking SRH in the UK. We undertook two studies: (1) An online survey (n=32) investigating UK SRH access barriers for LGBTQ+ PwU and (2) Asynchronous co-design sessions (n=8) in which LGBTQ+ PwU designed technologies based on the survey insights. The survey results showed participants’ fears and safety concerns associated with in-person care. The survey findings were used to frame the co-design sessions, where participants developed three technology designs to facilitate safe and appropriate SRH care for LGBTQ+ PwU. We provide critical insights into the needs of LGBTQ+ PwU accessing SRH, and how technologies could foster safe, discrimination-free environments and providing information suited to the range of identities within the LGBTQ+ community.
As design researchers, we often make use of sketching in our work. What happens when we explore the edges of this practice in order to focus on sketching as a collective making site? We address this question through a series of workshops designed to explore a wide range of sketching strategies. In this case study, we make use of both writing and sketching to highlight the collective making aspects in each of these activities. We found that a variety of turn-taking techniques were employed to prompt participants to negotiate the paper surface as a collective site. This resulted in a set of collectively authored sketches that we believe shows possibilities for producing a different kind of collective visual knowledge. We offer our experiences as a set of propositions that may be used to explore other practices of collective making. These propositions are centred on notions of emergence, intervention and collective authorship.
Biometric technologies are often advertised as a user-friendly way to authenticate individuals based on behavioural or biological characteristics. In recent years, biometric recognition has become ubiquitous in various application domains ranging from smartphone unlocking to border control. With the evolution of biometrics, ethical concerns have emerged with respect to the fairness or inclusiveness of these technologies. While many research efforts have been devoted towards investigating race and gender, little to no efforts have been put into studying the inclusiveness of biometric systems for disabled individuals. This work aims to address this gap in knowledge and shed light on this important matter. To this end, an online questionnaire as well as a usability study with smartphone biometrics was conducted with groups of disabled individuals. Obtained findings indicate disparities in the difficulties faced by disabled individuals compared to nondisabled individuals. Furthermore, it was observed that nondisabled individuals perceive biometric systems as being more inclusive towards disabled individuals than people living with disabilities perceive them to be. Moreover, the conducted usability experiment confirmed that accessibility issues are a real challenge for disabled individuals when using biometric systems.
The creative industries are at a significant turning point, blurring the lines between human innovation and machine efficiency due to the advent of AI tools for design. This research addresses the design community’s reaction to generative AI’s rapid ascent. Involving both professionals and students, this paper uses a survey (n=49), focus groups (n=6), and interviews (n=6), to explore the perspectives on AI’s role in creative workflows, revealing a mix of enthusiasm and dread for its potential to enhance innovation and concerns about its fit in traditionally human realms. The prevailing view frames AI as a partner or co-worker in design, yet calls for ethical considerations and transparent practices in its applications. This exploration aims to understand current designer attitudes and presents an initial framework for the adoption of AI tools in the designer’s workflow.
Disregarding crucial gender-specific differences and potential risks in medicine leads to widespread gender inequalities. This paper introduces interactive edutainment concepts developed through a user-centered design approach to raise awareness of gender medicine. An interactive exhibition course and an accompanying deck of cards provide an engaging and sensitizing experience of medical gender inequalities. Qualitative feedback, self-assessment, and user experience and behavior were evaluated during a public display of the concepts (n=14). The results highlight the potential of our playful approach to raising awareness among the public as well as health-related professionals, paving new ways for communication and empowerment of patients of all genders. We believe these insights have broader applicability across various domains, supporting efforts to address all forms of inequality.
