Digital Commons Network^™

Music And Sustainable Development Goals: Telling The Story, Mark Reimer

Journal of Global Awareness

Now, 10 years after the United Nations adopted its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the music profession continues to work toward being a responsible partner in the health and preservation of the planet and its inhabitants. By transcending social barriers, music promotes cultural awareness and mutual understanding, encourages creativity, and enhances emotional well-being, outcomes vital to the global goals of health, freedom, peace, education, equality, prosperity, and environmental sustainability. The article includes various examples of how music performers, educators, composers, and scholars are creating or adopting new practices that are mindful of reducing the carbon footprint, yet financially feasible in their …

Reimagining Speculative Design For Inclusion: An Narrative-Based Prototype For Civic Participation, Sandy Claes, Gitte Vande Graveele, Erica Bol

IASDR Conference Series

Speculative design has the potential to foster civic reflection but often remains inaccessible to broader audiences due to its cultural and conceptual complexity. This paper presents a research-through-design (RtD) exploration of how speculative design can become more inclusive by embedding reflection into the narrative experience itself. We redesigned INWARDS, a policy-oriented speculative artefact, by segmenting one of its films and integrating plain-language prompts at key narrative moments and reframing participation as introspection by triggering lightweight, personal reflections. The resulting prototype was deployed in a semi-public setting to explore spontaneous engagement beyond design- savvy audiences. We contribute (1) a design-led exploration …

Process Designing For Creative Well-Being: How Cultural Prescribing Emerges Through Community-Based Art Practice At Machino Zukoushitsu In Nabari City, Japan, Rui Fukumoto, Takakazu Yamaguchi, Hideaki Kawabata, Sawako Inaniwa, Tatsuya Ito

IASDR Conference Series

As societies around the world confront aging populations and growing social isolation, Cultural Prescribing has emerged as a promising approach to community-based care beyond institutional systems. While social prescribing has primarily been implemented through clinical referral models, this study examines how Naturally Emergent Creative Well-being, the interaction between individual creativity and community culture, can generate care organically through everyday practice. The research focuses on Machino Zuko ushitsu, a community art studio in Nabari City, Japan, which serves as a hub for creative participation, intergenerational exchange, and informal support. Using a participatory action research framework, qualitative data were collected through interventional …

Design When Policy Cycle Begins: Participatory Design As Relational Infrastructuring For Local Policy, Shin Okamoto, Daijiro Mizuno

IASDR Conference Series

This paper explores the role of design when participatory design intervenes more deeply in decision- making processes of local policy making. In the domain where design and public policy share common interests, participatory design has been considered effective as a better policy making approach adapted to complex contexts, particularly with municipalities. However, the process from organizations' understanding of participatory design legitimacy to design's involvement in deeper levels of decision-making involves many unpredictable barriers and often takes a long time. Particularly in the front-end phase before setting policy design criteria, unstable relationships exist between designers and policymakers, appearing as conflicts and …

Design For Neo-Endogenous Regional Development Of Urban-Rural Interfaces In China: A Case Of 'Field Design Work' In Zhizigang Village, Changsha City, Hunan Province, Jia Ren, Tangxiang Huo, Binbin Shao, Chih-Hu Wang, Han Meng, Tie Ji

IASDR Conference Series

This study responds to the theoretical frameworks of New Endogenous Development and Place-Based Innovation by investigating how co-design can stimulate local agency and foster the co-evolution of cultural and ecological resources in urban–rural interface areas of China. Taking Zhizigang Village in Hunan Province as a case study, the research brought together cross-strait design teams to engage in both fieldwork and co-creative workshops, exploring design intervention strategies within the context of integrated urban – rural development. The study makes three key contributions:(1) It repositions the cultural and ecological strategic value of urban–rural interface areas, challenging the prevailing negative perceptions of their …

Empowering Through Design: Asset-Based Architectural Practices For Vulnerable Communities, Hei Chan, Peter Hasdell

IASDR Conference Series

This paper investigates aasset‐based aarchitecture design practiices through an analysis of three architectural interventionss case study across vulnerable communities in differeent locations. Departing from deficit‐ddriven modelss of aid and ree construction, these projeccts illustrate hhow local asseets can be leveraged to drive empowwering, inclussive and culturally embedded sustainaable develop mment. The study draws on asset‐baseed design obsservations witth cases of Gaando Primary School (Burkina Faso), Itathao Tribee Community Rebuild (Taiwwan) and Zhoou Shan Village House of Dreams (Chiina). Each project is anaalysed throughh the lens of ttangible (builtt, natural, financial) and intaangible (sociaal, human, political, cultuural) capital cconditions andd outcomes. …

Utilizing Ai-Assisted Service Design To Address The Digitalization Challenges Of Religious Services: A Case Study Of Taoist Temple Service, Shin-Ying Chen, Hsien-Hui Tang

IASDR Conference Series

As digitalization reshapes religious services, Taoist temples in Taiwan face challenges involving cultural heritage, ritual experience, and institutional coordination. Existing studies often focus on the technological or sociological aspects of digital religion but rarely examine how design practice balances institutional efficiency with cultural sensitivity. This study explores how service design can clarify the systemic complexity of Taoist service transformation while addressing both institutional and cultural contexts throughout digital transition and implementation. Using a qualitative case study of a Taiwanese Taoist temple, the research applies the Triple Diamond Model of service design to analyze the cultural complexity embedded in people, processes, …

Design For Vulnerables: Co-Designing Technological Hubs For Socio-Environmental Resilience In Mexico's Semiarid Communities, Minqing Ni, Tiziano Cattaneo, Emanuele Giorgi

IASDR Conference Series

Design for Vulnerables was an international collaborative research initiative that explored how participatory design can address socio-environmental challenges in vulnerable communities across urban, peri-urban, rural, and forested settings within the semiarid region of Chihuahua, Mexico. Through participatory action research, the process integrated in-depth stakeholder engagement using semi-structured interviews, community immersion through neighbourhood walks, participatory mapping workshops, and in-community prioritization sessions. The DV project co-developed and implemented six technological “hubs” addressing mobility, water, agriculture, and environmental sustainability. These interventions provided transferable strategies for arid regions globally, bridging gaps between technological potential, ecological constraints, and social equity. The paper demonstrated how integrating …

From Jugaad To Generative Ai: A Framework For Culturally Responsive Human-Centered Ai, Nidhi Singh Rathore, Shreya Thakkar

IASDR Conference Series

Contemporary generative AI tools exhibit systematic biases rooted in their Anglo-American development context and training data, prioritizing Global North perspectives in design and implementation. Drawing on jugaad—an Indian approach to resourceful problem-solving—this paper critically evaluates how AI solutions disconnected from local contexts perpetuate technological Through a mixed-methods study involving 52 participants across workshops, systematic AI testing with over 300 images, and expert discussions, the authors compare human and AI responses to identical problem-solving scenarios. Our findings reveal stark differences: 100% of human solutions considered environmental and cultural contexts while 90% of AI solutions ignored these factors. Human participants demonstrated contextual …

From Research Subjects To Active Players: Playful Active Mastery Research For Value Co-Creation On C2c Platforms, Koki Kusano, Kyosuke Sakakura, Naruki Kurokawa

IASDR Conference Series

Customer-to-Customer (C2C) platforms have the potential to foster "sharing cultures" — diverse social practices emphasizing cooperation and relational values —, yet their capacity to harness users' creativity in value co-creation remains largely under explored. This paper introduces "Playful Active Mastery Research (PAMR)," a novel design research methodology specifically developed to investigate how C2C platforms can effectively support value co-creation rooted in users' everyday sharing practices. PAMR distinctively positions users as active, agentic "players" who playfully "master" existing platforms to devise novel, culturally resonant applications. Through a case study involving the C2C marketplace "Mercari," workshops were conducted where participants actively engaged …

Bridge Builders: A Comparative Study Of Arm's Length Bodies' Strategic Role In Design Education-To-Employment Gaps In Asia And Europe, Po-Yu Chen, Tang-Ling Kuo

IASDR Conference Series

This comparative study examines how Arm's-Length Bodies (ALBs) in Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Denmark address the persistent gap between design education and industry employment needs. By analyzing regional contexts and the institutional logics, methods, and intermediation roles of five representative organizations, the study reveals both shared concerns and divergent approaches. While the education-to-employment gap is a universal issue, all organizations emphasize designer upskilling, the development of design learning platforms, and engagement in research and policy advocacy. ALBs in Asia tend to adopt government-led strategies that prioritize transdisciplinary education, industry-academia collaboration, and skills upgrading, particularly in response to …

Integrating Cultural Touchpoints In Service Design: Insights From Culturally Embedded Marathons, Yijia Jiang, Xia Bi, Kin Wai Michael Siu, Keren Zhang, Wanchun Ye, Huiyi Zhang

IASDR Conference Series

This study explores service design strategies for Culturally Embedded Marathons (CEMs), proposing a research perspective that integrates cultural memory formation mechanisms (symbol is ation, ritual is ation, and institutional is ation) to examine service design frameworks. Through a case study of the representative 2025 Kyoto Marathon, we identified 26 cultural touch points within its service design system. Using Python, we scraped and analysed 2,689 user-generated posts from social media platforms documenting the 2025 Kyoto Marathon, comprising 13,345 images. Computer vision analysis was employed to assess the distribution, frequency, and key combinations of these cultural touch points. The findings reveal that …

Designing Participatory Placemaking: An Image-Based Co-Creation Approach In Ichigaya, Hsinyi Yang, Mengyao Lu, Koichi Wakasugi

IASDR Conference Series

This paper explores the application of image-based approaches in a co-creation context for constructing and communicating place images, addressing the regional revitalization policy undergone in Japan for new community identity and sustainability strategies. While image-based methods are methodologically recognized, their practical applications in collaborative placemaking remain under explored. Through a case study of the Editorial Club, an industry-academia initiative in Ichigaya, Tokyo, this research adopts a practice-oriented and image-centered perspective. The study investigates the collaborative image-based practices, including photo observation fieldwork, photo-eli citation group discussions, and the negotiation of creating collective creative output, which is various kinds of postcards. Findings …

Reflections On Participation In Fragile Urban Contexts: The Case Of Città-In Research Project, Nour Bergaoui, Laura Galluzzo

IASDR Conference Series

This paper shares insights from the Città-IN project, a one-year participatory research initiative in San Siro, Milan, a diverse and fragile public housing neighbourhood. The project explored how families with migratory backgrounds, especially mothers, access school-related public services. Being situated in Off Campus San Siro, a living lab of Polite cnico di Milano, we engaged with community members, informal women’s groups, service providers, and local actors. Using both formal and informal methods, we uncovered barriers such as language, digital systems, and bureaucratic complexity. We reflect on the challenges of working in over-researched areas, the emotional and ethical tensions we faced, …

Challenges And Opportunities Of Teaching Sustainable Interaction Design, Jonas Frich, Nicola Besana, Eli Blevis, Davide Spallazo, Amna Qureshi, Jonna Häkkilä, Peter Gall Krogh, Marianne Graves Petersen

IASDR Conference Series

This paper explores the challenges and opportunities of teaching Sustainable Interaction Design within higher education. Focusing on the integration of sustainability aspects into interaction design curricula, the paper examines the pedagogical approaches used to educate students as well as the students experience of having taken part in sustainability-related courses. Through a combination of interviews about student experiences, educator reflections, and analysis of students’ design projects, the study outlines key insights like the importance of students’ personal awareness and difficulty in moving from theory to practice. We consider how these insights can represent both challenges and opportunities and end by proposing …

Examining The Boundary Infrastructures Around 'Fair Food': The Sustainable Transition Approach Of Postane, Cagri G. Varli, Betül Şahin

IASDR Conference Series

In response to the growing sense of distrust in mainstream food systems, Alternative Food Networks have gained traction by prioritizing ecological, ethical, and participatory principles. One such alternative initiative is the ‘fair food’ ecosystem developed by the urban hub Postane Istanbul, which this study explores as a case. Postane brings together food-related practices, infrastructures, and actors around the idea of fair food. The study focuses on how fair food can act as a boundary object that mediates between diverse actors, values, and practices. Data were collected through site visits, document analysis, and long-term participant observation, offering insights into Postane’s fair …

Co-Designing Futures: Vernacular Knowledge In Kibera's Educational Infrastructure, Pak Wai Ling, Peter Winston Ferretto, Man Yan Lam, Ziwei Liu

IASDR Conference Series

This paper explores how participatory design can reshape educational infrastructure in Kibera’s informal settlement by centering local knowledge and challenging top-down architectural expertise. It documents Condition_Lab collaboration with Amani Kibera and Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI) to co- create a community library and textile workshop. Through hands-on workshops with children, residents, and local stakeholders — using methods like model-making, storytelling, and material prototyping — the project redefined design hierarchies, transforming community members into co- designers. The study reveals how such collaborations not only produce culturally rooted infrastructure but also redefine design processes themselves. By bridging professional standards with informal practices, the …

Mountain Communities During A Time Of War: A Case Study Of The Hutsul Region In The Carpathian Mountains Of Ukraine, Pavlo Rybaruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the ethno-ecological technologies employed by the Hutsul people within the highland agrarian economy of the Carpathian Mountains. Over centuries, the Hutsuls have developed ethno-ecological technologies that maintain ecological integrity while supporting community livelihoods.

The study addresses three primary research questions: What are the most important ethno-ecological technologies of the Hutsul highland economy? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be applied to economic, agricultural, and tourism development in the Hutsul region? How might these traditional ethno-ecological practices be combined with contemporary approaches to encourage sustainable development in the region?

The research explores the devastating impact of the Russian …

Art As Relational Freedom: Lifelong Learning Through Creativity, Community, And Critical Hope, Linda J. Helmick

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

International Journal of Lifelong Learning in Art Education

No abstract provided.

Museums In Public Libraries: An Ethnographic Case Study Of The Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, Yadira Y. Quintero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Access to information is a human right, and this thesis explores the benefits and challenges of integrating museums into public libraries by conducting an ethnographic case study of the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library. The study's findings highlight the complexities of integration. The biggest benefit is the increased access to museum collections, information, and resources. However, challenges arise from the lack of cohesion within the museum and library disciplines, as well as strained community relations. Engaging the community is crucial for successful collaboration, emphasizing the importance of a bottom-up approach that allows for active participation. Integrating museums into public libraries …

Jazz & Contemporary Combos, Department Of Music, University Of Richmond

Music Department Concert Programs

No abstract provided.

Revitalizing Rural Grocery Stores In Northern New Mexico: A Community Handbook, Emily Arasim

Student Publications

Rural grocery stores are cornerstone institutions that are central to the health and well-being of their communities - not only providing food, but also serving as spaces of economic development, cultural and historic preservation, social connection, and resilience. In response to the loss of many rural stores over recent decades, the ‘Revitalizing Rural Grocery Stores in Northern New Mexico’ handbook brings together community histories, political analysis, and practical strategies to support their protection and resurgence. The handbook shares findings on the multi-faceted importance of rural grocery stores and the causal factors in their loss; maps and photographs documenting the condition …

Think Piece: Urban Echoes: How The New Historiography On Cities Is Reframing Our Understanding Of Mao’S China, Taoyu Yang

Asia Pacific Perspectives

Despite the conventional portrayal of the Chinese revolution as a predominantly peasant-oriented movement, cities emerged as critical arenas for the Chinese Communist Party’s project of modernization and class restructuring during Maoist period (1949–1976). Over the past decade, scholarly attention has increasingly turned to the urban dimensions of the early years of the People’s Republic. This think piece addresses how recent scholarship on cities offers new analytical insights into our understanding of Maoist China by focusing on six recently published monographs. Themes to be discussed in this essay include the contested and evolving notion of socialist modernity, the transformative effects of …

Zine Labs As Centers For Public Interest Communication Design, Mina Bikmohammadi, Abigail Boafo, Ryan Cheek, Rachel M. Schneider, Carleigh J. Davis, Erin Clark

English and Technical Communication Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper introduces Zine Labs (ZLabs) as centers for public-interest communication design that treat as practices that foreground making, collaboration, and community knowledge. Launched in 2024 with multi-institutional support, the project established parallel ZLabs that partner with local artists, libraries, and community groups to run pop-up, hands-on events in flexible, welcoming spaces. We show how ZLabs prioritize process over product, negotiate privacy and anonymity alongside inclusion. We also resist top-down branding so community identities can lead. We report classroom applications, courses in AI, information design, and public writing, where students used zines to connect questions of technology, access, and ethics …

Strategic Branding: The Critical Role Of Brand Strategy For Successful Branding Initiatives, Sara Virginia Abell

Senior Honors Theses

In the increasingly saturated world of branding, the ability to rise above the noise and establish meaningful connections with an audience is essential. This thesis explores the relationship between brand strategy development and successful branding outcomes. An initial review of relevant literature is conducted, focusing on the importance and creation of strategy. Further consideration is given to the unique challenges associated with rebranding efforts. The practical impact of brand and rebrand strategies is underscored through case studies across varying contexts. Following this, the implementation of strategy is discussed, with an emphasis on the role of design elements and principles in …

Engaging The Somali Diaspora: A Case Study Of One Agency’S Community Programming Approach, Farhia Abdi

The Journal of Social Encounters

This case study investigates how a local community agency engages with the Somali diaspora to design and implement culturally responsive services, such as the Settlement and Integration Program. It also explores the potential of fostering meaningful dialogue with community members to inform the development of culturally sensitive programming. The research question guiding this study was developed by findings from previous research, which highlighted the significance of community engagement, sustained dialogue, and the necessity for agencies to design clearly defined programs. These programs should prioritize active participation from community members in both the creation and implementation of tailored initiatives.

Same Face, Different Name - Colonialism, Colonization, And Capitalism: How To Combat The Insidious Capitalist Individualism That Denies Basic Human Rights To Us Citizens Via Community Centric Bartering, Nadia Loney

McNair Research Journal SJSU

This paper examines the effects of colonialism, colonization, and capitalism

on the social fabric of the United States and how severing key connections

within society has hindered the direct benefits of community. As has been

tested in various cities around the world, intentional bartering can create a

sustainable community and combat the devastating effects that these

systems have had on the environment and the escalation of violence both

internally and globally. Art aimed at community rebuilding and a

decentralization of the US dollar, can help facilitate innovation that heal

various social wounds.

Housewerk: How Drag Performers Engage In Emotional Labor While Navigating Community Care, Steph O. Landeros

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation examines drag performance as a form of service labor shaped by emotional labor, community care, and identity-based inequality. Drawing on interviews with drag performers shows how drag labor blends artistic skill, emotional regulation, interpersonal care, and entrepreneurial labor. While these demands mirror service sector roles in other industries, drag remains underrecognized and undervalued, particularly for performers who do not conform to white, cisgender norms. The study introduces Housewerk—an adaptation of Marlon Bailey’s concept of housework (Bailey, 2013)—to describe the mix of paid and unpaid labor drag performers engage in. Housewerk captures how performers must balance self-preservation (branding, income, …

Design For Longevity: A Relational And Systemic Perspective, Sheng-Hung Lee

Nordes Conference Series

As Relational Design (RD) grows in popularity, Casual Loop Diagrams (CLD) can complement RD in systemic analysis by visualizing relationships between variables. This study integrates CLD with RD within the context of longevity planning, which considers dimensions of financial, social and physical wellness. While RD maps static relationships, CLDs model dynamic interactions and feedback loops, enhancing innovation through a holistic and adaptive approach. By bridging relational and systemic perspectives, this preliminary study advances discourse in service design, system thinking, and research methodologies, demonstrating how RD and CLD contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of longevity planning. Findings emphasize the importance …