Digital Commons Network^™

Designing Wearable-Supported Contextualised Eco-Feedback System For Enhancing Sustainable Office Energy Behaviour, Leheng Chen, Jiayi Chen, Nianchong Qu, Qi Wang, Yongqi Lou

IASDR Conference Series

As global environmental challenges intensify, sustainable human-computer interaction (SHCI) research has gained increasing importance. Eco-feedback technology, which monitors and provides feedback on individuals' environmental impact, plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable behaviors. However, existing eco-feedback mechanisms exhibit significant limitations, including monotonous feedback formats and content, lack of fine-grained perception of individual energy behaviors and personalized feedback, and inadequate integration of multi-source energy information for real-time targeted responses. These limitations result in users' vague understanding of their energy consumption patterns and difficulty translating energy conservation awareness into concrete actions. This problem is particularly pronounced in office environments where users typically …

Application Study Of Adhd Design Based On Kano-Qfd-Z-Pareto Methods, Zixiang Feng, Yiwei Mo, Zhaochuan Fang, Wenjinhan Chen

IASDR Conference Series

In the past and current research and design practices, individuals with ADHD are predominantly defined as “patients,” with most design efforts focusing on the normalization needs of children and adolescents. However, there remains a significant gap in addressing the everyday and social support needs of adults with ADHD. This study adopts the lens of neuro diversity to explore the intersection of social and personal needs among adults with ADHD. By integrating the Kano-QFD-Z-Pareto methodology, the research systematically identifies and translates user needs into actionable design elements. Through a comprehensive literature review and Kano model analysis, 17 core user needs were …

"A Second Glance": Anthropomorphic Tools As Speculative Companion, Yixuan Wei, Dag Aarsland, Wei Liu

IASDR Conference Series

This paper explores how anthropomorphic design can function as a speculative pathway toward alternative futures. Drawing on the vision of design as a form of critical speculation, it proposes that endowing objects with human-like qualities, often accompanied by unexpected behaviours and effects, invites new modes of engagement that are emotional and narratives of the self. By examining selected design cases and artefacts that evoke anthropomorphic thinking, the study argues that such designs do not simply imitate life but provoke reflections on human entanglement with objects they live around and interact with every day, the fragility of agency, and the companionship …

A Component-Based Approach For Developing Actions In Non-Humanoid Elderly Care Robots, Danyal Sarfraz, Ulugbek Vahobjon Ugli Ismatullaev, Kwanmyung Kim

IASDR Conference Series

Developing expressive motion for non-humanoid companion robots is a growing area of research in human–robot interaction. This study presents a hybrid design approach that integrates designer-led ideation with user-based empirical validation to develop physical actions for Lemmy, a two-wheeled companion robot for elderly users. The research followed a three-stage process: designer workshops produced an initial action catalogue; pairwise comparison testing with older adults identified preferred variants of four key motion components, speed, posture, path, and turn type, and validation studies compared complete actions composed from preferred, non-preferred, and random combinations. High-fidelity 3D animation was employed to enable rapid iteration, experimental …

Urban Furniture Design Strategies Based On The Concept Of Circular Economy, Youzhi Chen, Chi Hang Lo, Kin Wai Michael Siu, Xin Liu

IASDR Conference Series

This study aims to explore how to design circular urban furniture in order to address the sustainability challenges faced by existing urban furniture. Firstly, the concept of the circular economy was outlined, and its four resource flow design principles were summarized, namely narrowing resource flows, slowing resource flows, closing resource flows, and regenerating resource flows. Secondly, a new definition and classification were proposed based on a review of the existing definitions and classifications of urban furniture. Then, the current state of research and practice on circular design in urban furniture was reviewed, and the research gap was identified. Finally, a …

Cultural Resonance – Understanding Food Cultures To Inform Adaptive Ai For Healthy And Sustainable Eating, Emily Groves, Zeynep Erol, Sebastian Baez-Lugo, Nicolas Henchoz, Margherita Motta

IASDR Conference Series

applications in this domain often disregard the complex array of factors that shape food perceptions and practices, leading to exclusion and disengagement. At the same time, AI offers opportunities to adapt digital systems based on individual preferences and behaviours. This paper reports the first stage of work to design an AI-powered digital tool that introduces users to principles of healthy and sustainable eating across different cultural contexts. Using cultural probes and semi-structured interviews, we investigate lived experiences and socio-cultural connections to food and eating practices. Our findings reveal the diversity of eating frameworks and highlight the need for adaptive AI …

Non-Human Rights And Posthuman Governance: How Speculative Design Simulate The Dwelling Politics Of 'Cross-Species Symbiosis Lives'?, Wenjia Sun

IASDR Conference Series

This paper examines the interplay between non-human rights and posthuman governance, delving into how Speculative Design practice of Legislative Fictioneering and symbiotic scenario-building enables us to provotype alternative social contracts and the dwelling politics of 'cross-species symbiosis lives.' Within the framework of dec on str acting of technological determinism, the proposed project, 'Cross-species Symbiosis Lives' employs provotypes to augment tangible Legislative Fictioneering, material science, and embedded governance approaches that acknowledge non-human agency and legal personhood position from a futurological perspective. Notably, the paper critically analyzes the neoliberal tendencies within Speculative Design, which tend to privatize legal imagination and reduce systemic …

A Reflective Lab Journal For Biodesign: Navigating More-Than-Human Sensibilities And Disciplinary Tensions, Jiho Kim, Iohanna Nicenboim, Joana Martins, Elvin Karana

IASDR Conference Series

This paper introduces reflective journaling as a tool for advancing biodesign practices, merging documentation methods from biology and design while integrating more-than-human sensibilities into laboratory practices. It highlights the need for tools that can flexibly support record-keeping across biology and design, balancing precision and accountability with iteration, creativity, and collaboration. Furthermore, it critically addresses calls to support care ethics and nurturing multispecies interactions within biodesign. Through an explorative review of diverse documentation formats, including laboratory notebooks and annotated portfolios, and informed by our own biodesign experiences, we introduce the Reflective Biodesign Lab Journal as a potential approach to address these …

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 …

Exploring Aesthetic Interaction In Perfume Experience As A Design Opportunity, Juhyun Nam, Chajoong Kim

IASDR Conference Series

Recently, perfume has become a tool for expressing personality and emotional value, with increasing interest in sensory experiences beyond olfactory satisfaction. However, little research has explored how spray methods contribute to aesthetic interaction in perfume use. This study investigates how aesthetic interaction can enhance the perfume experience. Three types of aesthetic interaction (freedom of interaction, interaction pattern, and richness of motor actions) were prototyped through a designer workshop. To evaluate the associations between interaction types and perfume perception, tactile characteristics (temperature and texture) were used. Tactile stimuli representing warm-cool and rough-soft qualities were created, and participants matched them to each …

Sensus Pond: Exploring Water As Sensing Medium For More-Than-Human Observation, Kuan-Ju Wu, Youyang Hu, Chiaochi Chou, Yasuaki Kakehi

IASDR Conference Series

We introduce Sensus Pond, an interactive system that reconfigures water not merely as a static natural element but as an active sensing medium for registering more-than-human traces. In response to the limitations of anthropocentric approaches in interaction design, we propose a methodological framework of observation without translation—resisting the tendency to stabilize, decode, or humanize nonhuman presence. Drawing from critical theories of more-than-human design and ecological entanglement, Sensus Pond is a materially embedded and site-specific system that employs Swept Frequency Capacitive Sensing (SFCS) and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to detect ephemeral interactions between the pond’s surface and surrounding life forms. …

Symbiotic Morphologies: Visual Experiments In Sci-Fi Concept Art Of Natural And Artificial Forms, Yu Yang

IASDR Conference Series

Science fiction, as a creative genre, inspires imagination about the future and provokes reflections on the essence and meaning of humanity through the construction of speculative worlds. It not only influences the direction of technological development but also functions as a medium for ideological and cultural expression. This study focuses on the field of sci-fi concept art and explores the visual potential of integrating natural and artificial forms. By proposing a design theory model of symbiotic morph ologies, it establishes a method of constructing speculative visual forms that transcend traditional aesthetic boundaries. Positioned within a futuring-oriented design discourse, the research …

Squeeze Machine: Designing Uncomfortable Interactions For Critical Heritage, Piyakorn Koowattanataworn, Anders Sundnes Løvlie, Steve Benford

IASDR Conference Series

We present Squeeze Machine, an experimental interactive experience, aiming for a critical-heritage exhibition at MUNCH museum. Our design process weaved together three research threads: (1) designing embodied interaction for critical heritage, (2) using uncomfortable interaction, and (3) facilitating critical reflection focusing on social beliefs of authority. We conducted interaction tests at a university laboratory (N=16, 8 pairs). Participant responses illustrate that Squeeze Machine could evoke visitors to reflect on their personal experience, increase visitor curiosity about the exhibition and support reflection on curated artefacts. The exploration also brought out some challenges for applying discomfort through control in an exhibition context.

Innovative Teaching And Effectiveness Analysis Of Integrating The Pogil Learning Model Into Human Factors Design Course, Wang-Chin Tsai, Ku-Hsi Chu, Chang-Franw Lee

IASDR Conference Series

This study aims to address common issues of low motivation and poor outcomes among design students in theoretical courses by introducing the "Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Model" (POGIL) into a human factors design course for instructional innovation. It evaluates changes in students' learning engagement through questionnaires and focus group interviews. The participants were 44 design students at a university of technology, and the course lasted nine weeks. Although students were initially unfamiliar with the POGIL model, which led to some adverse reactions, they demonstrated positive growth in collaboration, participation, and reflective learning. Statistical results indicated upward trends in skills, performance, …

An Illustrated Guide To Edible Flora In The Neo-Plasticene: From Empirical Research To Sensory Speculation Through Design, Hsiu-Fang Cheng, Rung-Huei Liang

IASDR Conference Series

As micro plastics gradually infiltrate the physiological structures and sensory characteristics of edible plants, this study combines empirical research and speculative design to construct an illustrated guide of edible flora in the “New Plastic Age”, which we herein conceptualize as the Neo-Plasticene. Through AI-assisted narrative and visual generation, the guide simulates potential morphological and sensory mutations in plants subjected to pollution stress—articulating intermediary species positioned between nature and artificiality, defined by their latent transformation and persistent edibility. This project addresses the perceptual challenge of slow ecological mutation by proposing the guidebook as a design medium for future food narratives and …

Exploring Design Opportunities For Positive User Experiences With House Plants In The Context Of Smart Technologies, Choeun Park, Chajoong Kim, James Andrew Self

IASDR Conference Series

This study aims to explore how emerging smart technologies such as IoT, autonomous devices and mobility systems can be integrated into house plants to facilitate positive emotions as an affective product. Through semi-structured interviews with fifteen young adults (aged 20–30) in South Korea, we collected their positive and negative experiences of plant care. To examine the influence of positive emotion in house plants, we adopted the theoretical framework of positive experiences and thematic ally coded the data according to three different constructs: Object (aesthetic value), Instrument (usability), and Enabler (self-identity and relational value). The results revealed that experiences as an …

Development Of A Breath-Synchronized Interactive Device For Sensory Rooms, Rina Katsube, Toshiaki Uchiyama, Shinichi Koyama

IASDR Conference Series

A sensory room is a space where people with symptoms of sensory hypersensitivity can temporarily rest and escape from stimuli such as sound and light. This study aims to increase the relaxation effect in sensory rooms by developing an interactive device that operates in synchronization with the user's breathing. A non-contact breath estimation using an RGB-Depth camera sensor, the system transforms physical structures in accordance with the user's breath. The device applies biofeedback technology that utilizes biometric information to the sensory room environment to achieve real-time optimization based on the physiological state of the individual user. The device was evaluated …

Kawaii As Interface Grammar: Reframing Emotional Design In Post-Usability Cultures, Haopeng Wu, Mia Tanio, Wonseok Yang

IASDR Conference Series

In the context of post-usability cultures, where users increasingly seek emotional resonance over mere functionality, this study explores the potential of kawaii as a communicative grammar in interface icon design. Adopting a three-phase methodology— (1) UI audit of 31 mobile applications, (2) metaphor extraction across 101 apps to identify dominant icon types, and (3) an evaluation experiment involving 21 participants rating 12 heart-shaped icon stimuli—this research investigates how subtle visual modifications along three design axes (stroke thickness, curvature and fullness, spatial balance) influence users’ kawaii perception. Statistical analysis (ANOVA) revealed that moderately thick, rounded, and slightly imbalanced forms tend to …

Avian Experience In Urban Grotto: Ecological Soundscapes As A Biosemiotic Methodology In Multispecies Ethnographic Research And More-Than-Human Communication, Qingyu Zhang, Francesca Valsecchi

IASDR Conference Series

Ecological soundscapes, once primarily regarded as carriers of environmental information, are increasingly understood as immersive, embodied experiences that offer experiential and ontological access to more-than-human worlds. Situated within the framework of more-than-human design, this research challenges anthropocentric paradigms by foregrounding ecological soundscapes as dynamic, sentient agencies that convey environmental meaning and social structures among non-human species. Through field-based, autoethnographic inquiry on crow vocal is ation in Vienna, the project 1) articulates a hybrid methodological approach combining deep listening, soundscape walks, and bio acoustic analysis; and 2) establishes a sonification process that translates the data from the multispecies ethnographic research into …

A Burlesque: The Shimmering Body Of Revealing, Lola Montgomery

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

A Burlesque: The Shimmer Manuscript is a hybrid critical–creative work that examines burlesque as an embodied methodology and a mode of knowledge production. Drawing from my two decades as a performer–scholar, the work reframes glamour, desire, and adornment as epistemological practices rather than theatrical ornamentation. The project is significant in that it expands understandings of performance studies, autotheory, and feminist aesthetics by foregrounding the performer’s body as an intelligent, sensing, world-making apparatus.

The methodology is creative practice research and archive-driven, integrating backstage documentation, AI-assisted photomontage, and theoretical reflection. The work draws from poststructuralist and feminist frameworks (Irigaray, Deleuze & Guattari, …

Sex, The Body, And Learning Gender: Demons In The World Of The Five Gods, Erin E. Mcbrien

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

“Sex, the Body, and Learning Gender” analyzes the relationship between the physical body, sexual orientation, and gender as characterized within Lois McMaster Bujold’s World of the Five Gods series, with a particular emphasis on her Penric and Desdemona novellas. Using the framework of Bussey and Bandura’s social learning theory, and a close reading of Bujold’s text, this paper explores how the demonic characters within this series are an example of gender as a learned concept rather than a biological imperative. This is further developed by examining how the demonic characters both imprint on and contrast against the more societally-bound sorcerers …

Enhancing Facial Expressiveness For Games Through Procedural Animation, Abhijit Varanasi

All Theses

Facial animation is one of the most important parts of bringing characters to life in video games and virtual experiences. This thesis explores a new approach to creating more expressive facial animations using procedural techniques and blended facial performance for more flexibility. The project uses FACS (Facial Action Coding System), which breaks down facial expressions into small, measurable muscle movements. By building a facial rig based on these muscle units, the character’s face can be animated in a way that reflects real human emotion. The animation in this work is not just pre-recorded, though it can respond in real-time to …

2025-12-01 Caudill Connection, Morehead State University. Caudill College Of Arts, Humanities And Social Sciences.

Caudill Connection

Caudill Connection newsletter for December of 2025.

Embodied Encounters With Plankton: Ground Truth Methods As Sites For Human-Ocean Entanglement, Clarissa Chevalier

Study of Women, Gender, & Sexuality: Faculty Publications

This article examines shifting methods of plankton research within contemporary oceanography through direct participatory engagement on a ten-day research cruise off the Santa Lucia Escarp- ment in February 2025. As a feminist visual science studies researcher, I reflect on how seasick- ness, sensory immersion, and embodied participation shaped my experience of plankton sampling and reveal the entanglement of oceanographic knowledge with its contexts. While remote sensing technologies – such as satellites, digital twins, and remotely operated vehicles – are increasingly shaping oceanography and producing intensified modes of ocean quantification, I argue that tactile, physical sampling methods remain indispensable in plankton …

An Impact Study Of Young Women's Leadership Development: A Case Study Of Kosovo, Linda Gjergji

Theses & Dissertations

This study explores the leadership development trajectories of young women in Kosovo engaged in a global leadership program, offering significant insights into their capabilities, aspirations, and the barriers they face in pursuit of leadership roles. Using a qualitative instrumental case study approach, this study examines how participation in global leadership initiatives fosters skill development, self-awareness, and civic engagement among young women in a traditionally male-dominated society. The conceptual framework of the study is comprised of Erikson's theory of Psychosocial Development (Erikson, 1968) and Positive Youth Development (Lerner, 2005). Data was collected through online semi-structured interviews and an arts-based method, revealing …

The Fate Of Meaning In An Age Of Machines: A Nietzschean Warning On Artificial Intelligence, Graham Johnston

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Artificial intelligence is quickly taking precedent in lives all over the world. It has emerged as one of the most controversial inventions of the 21st century, and represents a larger digital shift that is being taken among first world society. As our lives shift into unprecedented digitized territory, new technology brings more questions than answers, but there seems to be no slowing down despite patches of uncertainty. AI brings new forms of innovation to the table that drastically change the way humans interact with productivity as a whole. When these factors are observed from a philosophical lens, patterns arise that …

A Faith-Based Approach To Mental Health Challenges, Patrick Leblanc

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This project sheds light on mental health issues within the Black community and the need for faith communities to intentionally address mental health issues in communities of color. Black men are oppressed by an interplay of cultural, historical, societal, and economic factors that impact their well-being. Racial discrimination and oppression are non-medical drivers exacerbating mental health disorders among Black men. The influences of culture and faith fabricate barriers to help-seeking behavior, and mistaken perceptions of masculinity cause many men to suffer in silence. To begin erasing derogatory perceptions of mental health disorders, faith communities need to increase mental health …

Losing Control: Evaluative Access And The Limits Of Attributability In Angela Smith’S Theory Of Moral Responsibility, Henry Kissam

Honors Theses

The unwilling addict agent archetype–who wholeheartedly resolves to abstain from taking a drug but takes it regardless–is important to moral responsibility theorists for many reasons, but two in particular stand head-and-shoulders above the rest. The first is the frequency with which the archetype must be reckoned with through our everyday practices of moral assessment. It is not an idle thought experiment, pushing nothing but the theoretical limits of a particular theory. It is a near-ubiquitous presence in real, practical moral assessment. The second reason is a consequence of the first. Because we deal with the archetype frequently, we morally assess …

Dancing With Logic: The Impact Of Integrating Dance In Teaching Introductory Computer Science Concepts On Student Understanding And Engagement, April Monk

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of dance-integrated pedagogical methods in enhancing the learning experiences of students in an introductory computer science course. In particular, the research aimed to measure the impact of creative movement on student comprehension, engagement, and perceptions of computer science. To guide this investigation, the study explored three research questions: Does integrating dance into lessons impact students’ comprehension of fundamental computer science concepts? How does dance integration affect student perceptions of both dance and computer science? And what elements of dance contribute to differences in comprehension between dance-integrated and traditional lessons? A …

The Absence Of Something: Addressing Underrepresented Lgbtqia+ Communities In Video Games Through Holistic Character Design Techniques, Lydia Myers

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

This research identifies pain points and gaps in current LGBTQIA+ representation in the video games industry, and showcases the characters that I have created in response to those pain points. Despite the games industry representing LGBTQIA+ individuals often, certain communities under the umbrella are included less often, less accurately, and less respectfully than others. The goal of this research is to identify important considerations for respectfully portraying underrepresented queer communities in video games: specifically transgender, nonbinary, asexual, aromantic, and polyamorous communities, which are especially under-explored. My included characters were created via a holistic approach to character design. Despite my professional …