Digital Commons Network^™

Preferable, Contextual And Sustainable… Climate Futures For Ecological Citizens., Robert Phillips, Sharon Baurley, Emily Boxall, Luke Gooding, Daniel Knox, Charlotte Nordmoen, Alec Shepley, Tom Simmons, Sarah West, Joanna Wright

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The responsibility for sustainable futures extends beyond individual disciplines, necessitating the adoption of diverse approaches across various fields. Water pollution is at epidemic levels, valuable materials go to landfill, ocean detritus grows, many people are disconnected from green space, and biodiversity is plummeting. We need new modes of climate futures, championing citizen agency. Societies require cross-collaborative, inclusive approaches to navigate climate future challenges. We seek to foresee ‘climate futures’ that signpost challenges, unpicking (appropriate) opportunities, benefits, and pitfalls. Through an Ecological Citizenship lens, the authors traverse situations, through preferable futures. It is an entry point for transition design, creating climate …

Asset Based Architectural Design With A Systemic Perspective In Vulnerable Community- Participatory Action Research In Iraq Bersive 2 Refugee Camp, Hei Chan, Peter Hasdell

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Vulnerable communities often lack of basic housing and facilities. However, with more understanding, they not only face housing problem but also with social, economic, environmental, political issues and so on. Traditional building approach often focuses on material needs while the underlying causes could be neglected. In fact, vulnerability is often more in the intangibles: relationships with self, others and environment. With this regard, how could designers develop efficient systemic design strategies responding to the complexity of social systems and empower vulnerable groups to recognize themselves as interrelated actors in community development? Asset based design approach under the community capital framework …

Historical Evolution Of Age-Friendly Transitions In The Yangfangdian Community In Beijing: A Multi-Level Perspective, Lijun Chen, Vladimír Kočí, Haipeng Tian

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The issue of transition and transformation of communities has a long history. Particularly in today's context of increasing aging trends, cities and communities are facing unprecedented multiple challenges that drive the transition to a more inclusive and sustainable future to enable community stakeholders to have a higher quality of life experience and to fulfil their visions for the future. This paper systemically reveals insights from the past of the ageing issue in the Yangfangdian community in Beijing through a multi- level perspective (MLP) framework created with local residents, a museum and design students to understand the historical foundations of the …

Using Living Labs To Engage Communities And Stakeholders In The Development And Knowledge Exchange Of Urban Health And Sanitation Solutions In The Global South, Emmanuel Tsekleves, Roger Pickup, Manoj Roy

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Engaging communities and stakeholders in developing user-centred urban health solutions, whilst linking the research to their own development, pose major challenges for design researchers working in the Global South. In a number of circular sanitation projects in a community school in Ghana, we co-designed and installed an anaerobic digester delivering electricity and sanitation improvements. To enhance impact we developed and pilot-tested a Living and physical Lab design approach. One project focussed on hand hygiene. We introduced students to ‘making the invisible visible’ by visualising microbes from their hands and assessing handwashing effects. Our findings suggest that visualisation of microbes not …

Show Me What You Mean: The Case For Easy-To-Use 3d Visualizations Of The Built Environment, Noelyn Stephens, Juan Salamanca

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Visual communication, particularly realistic visualization, has been found to be effective for facilitating constructive discussion on issues related to the built environment. Here, we make the case that a browser-based, intuitively designed 3D visualization interface could widen access to such approaches increasing opportunities for co-creation. Using this type of easy-to-access tool could allow community members to own the process of creating a shared vision for their city.

Towards Empowering Cohousing Communities: Finding Balance With A Group Of Users-Clients Throughout The Architectural Process, Audrey Mertens, Louise Coniasse, Catherine Elsen

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper explores the evolving role of architects in cohousing projects in response to environmental, economic, and social challenges. This research incorporates insights from semi-structured interviews in three Belgian case studies. The foundations and values of cohousing communities are tackled, highlighting shifts in architects' roles and challenges in working with groups of user-clients. In these cohousing processes, we found that the representatives of these user-client groups may not always share the full breadth of their negotiations with architects. Architects seem to miss out on some of the nuances, and some participants found that this approach left their voices unheard. Amidst …

Designing From The Plants' Perspective. A Field Case Study In Urban Forest Of “La Goccia”, Francesco Vergani, Fabio Di Liberto

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Designing by engaging more-than-human agents such as plants is a complex chal-lenge, as they have long been regarded as "ontologically inferior" resources pri-marily serving human needs. Emerging studies in the field of Plant Neurobiology are now breaking down knowledge barriers, gathering extraordinary data that recognize plant actions and behaviors guided by a distinct form of intelligence. Considering this breakthrough findings, this paper describes a 10-day workshop involving 52 international design students from Politecnico di Milano University that focused on experiencing plants in a former industrial area within the city borders. Through the years, this area has gone from desolation to …

Analysis Of Strengths And Barriers Of Engaging A Diverse Population In A Biobank Program, Danielle Despanie, Taylor Payton

Medicine Research Day

Analysis of Strengths and Barriers of Engaging a Diverse Population in a Biobank Program Danielle Despanie and Tayler Payton

Background: The All of Us research program is a nation-wide effort to build the largest public health data repository and biobank in the world, comprising biospecimens and multi-dimensional data from more than one million people across the United States. A major concern of clinical research is the lack of minority representation, which can bias study results and further perpetuate existing health disparities. To increase minority engagement and representation in this program, we must identify barriers within the program and effective engagement …

Rethinking The Mentor/Mentee Relationship: The Critical Mentoring Approach In A North Carolina Middle School, Kendra P. Alexander, Brianna Mccullough, Nikaizha Davis, Patrick Clifford

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

In this session, undergraduate and graduate students from North Carolina A&T State University describe the genesis and evolution of an internship-based, community-academic partnership grounded in the concept of critical mentoring. As mentors with the Nia Project, interns support middle school students in critical exploration of post-high school pathways. Along with the supervising instructor, students identify key concepts and prerequisites for successful implementation.

Understanding The Importance Of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices And Implications On Aviation Industry, William R. Karanikolas, Peter M. Schnappauf Iv, Arun Nayak, Yingying Li

Student Research Symposium (SRS)

This poster delves into the realm of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the aviation industry, with a specific focus on United Airlines, Ryan Air, and Emirates. It elucidates the importance and significance of CSR, exploring its various dimensions and implications for businesses in this sector. By thoroughly analyzing the CSR policies and practices of these diverse global airlines, we describe the ways in which they engage with social responsibility. Furthermore, this research offers practical recommendations for these airlines and the broader aviation industry, aiming to improve and strengthen their CSR initiatives. Such enhancements hold the potential to bring positive outcomes …