Digital Commons Network^™

User Empowerment By Design: A New Domestic Electricity Consumption Model. A Case Study Of Young Urban Tenants, Sagit Dominitz, Elad Persov

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The energy sector paradigm with the power station on the one end, and the passive consumer on the other end, is becoming obsolete. This paper offers a rethink of domestic electricity consumption: from the worldview where the electricity provider is the sole manager of the process via its interfaces, and acting out of self-interest, to a broad view of sustainable development. The domestic electricity consumption management system presented in this paper deals with the Democratisation of managing electricity consumption, and dismantling an information monopoly by transferring knowledge and responsibility to the users, thus increasing the possibility for sustainable consumption. Design …

The Future Of Heuristic Fossils, Simon T. Downs, Claire A. Lerpiniere

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The authors propose that while many fields of design are involved in reflexive interactions with design research tools, others are strongly heuristic in both their application of historic knowledge bases and in the ways in which they allow themselves to move forward, to construct new knowledge as an extension of craft thinking with user-centred evidence. These historical frames become a limiting factor in both the ways that practice can develop but also, more worryingly, in the ways in which these fields can develop their own research tools.

Responsive Knit: The Evolution Of A Programmable Material System, Jane Scott

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Programmable knitting presents a new class of behaving textiles, responsive to environmental stimuli and programmed to change in shape as humidity levels in the environment increase. It is a hierarchical system that exploits the inherent functionality of textile fibres, yarns and fabrics to integrate shape change behaviour into the intrinsic structure of the material. The research applies a biomimicry methodology, with insight derived from the structural organisation of plant materials; specifically, the control of hygromorphic actuation for seed dispersal. This biological model has produced transferable principles for application to responsive textiles and it has been critical to the success of …

The Design And Social Enterprise Ecosystem: How Can Design Be Applied To A Developing Social Enterprise Ecosystem?, Kwon Hyejin, Choi Youngok, Lam Busayawan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The United Kingdom’s social enterprise sector has grown radically over the past two decades, as a result of various government-led efforts to create an environment which enables social enterprise development. However, financial weaknesses still impede the sustainability and growth of most social enterprises. Typically, businesses recognise design as an important factor in the growth of their potential competitiveness which is crucial to making profits, and as a tool enabling stakeholders and organisations to work better as a system. Design is thus regarded as potentially playing a significant role in overcoming the financial weaknesses of social enterprises, in order to encourage …

The Beauty Of Making Hot Chocolate - An Enquiry On Designing For Everyday Rituals, Pierre Lévy

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The everyday is often mentioned in design, yet hardly inquired. The everyday is about what is banal, infraordinary, not memorable, as well as about the force that makes things habitual, endotic. In the research encompassing this paper, we question the everyday and explore opportunities to enchant it by design. This paper focuses more specifically on the design of everyday rituals, and aims to propose a descriptive framework to ‘read’ and compose such rituals. The elaboration of the framework is done based on a case study: the making of a hot chocolate in the morning. Through an autoethnographical approach, the main …

Exploring The Interaction Between Lighting Variables And Information Transfer As A New Function Of Lighting, Jun Daeun, Kim Chajoong, Cho Kwangmin

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Together with the improvement of artificial light sources such as LED, lighting has been utilized in our everyday products for various purposes such as visual aesthetic enhancement, and emotion induction. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to another function of transferring information with lighting. Therefore, this study attempted to explore how information transfer would be effectively made with manipulating lighting variables. An experiment was designed in which the interaction between lighting variables and information transfer was investigated depending on type of information in human-product interaction Three products were adopted to represent each type of information and used in the design …

Selective Use Of Pericardial Window And Drainage As Sole Treatment For Hemopericardium From Penetrating Chest Trauma, Paul J. Chestovich Md, Christopher F. Mcnicoll, Douglas R. Fraser, Purvi P. Patel, Deborah A. Kuhls, Esmeralda Clark, John J. Fildes

School of Medicine Faculty Research

Background

Penetrating cardiac injuries (PCIs) are highly lethal, and a sternotomy is considered mandatory for suspected PCI. Recent literature suggests pericardial window (PCW) may be sufficient for superficial cardiac injuries to drain hemopericardium and assess for continued bleeding and instability. This study objective is to review patients with PCI managed with sternotomy and PCW and compare outcomes.

Methods

All patients with penetrating chest trauma from 2000 to 2016 requiring PCW or sternotomy were reviewed. Data were collected for patients who had PCW for hemopericardium managed with only pericardial drain, or underwent sternotomy for cardiac injuries grade 1–3 according to the …

Spinal Control Of Locomotion: Individual Neurons, Their Circuits And Functions, Marie-Pascale Côté, Lynda M. Murray, Maria Knikou

Publications and Research

Systematic research on the physiological and anatomical characteristics of spinal cord interneurons along with their functional output has evolved for more than one century. Despite significant progress in our understanding of these networks and their role in generating and modulating movement, it has remained a challenge to elucidate the properties of the locomotor rhythm across species. Neurophysiological experimental evidence indicates similarities in the function of interneurons mediating afferent information regarding muscle stretch and loading, being affected by motor axon collaterals and those mediating presynaptic inhibition in animals and humans when their function is assessed at rest. However, significantly different muscle …

Global Distribution Of Invasive Serotype 35d Streptococcus Pneumoniae Isolates Following Introduction Of 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, Stephanie W. Lo, Rebecca A. Gladstone, Andries J. Van Tonder, Paulina A. Hawkins, Brenda Kwambana Adams, Jennifer E. Cornick, Shabir A. Madhi, Susan A. Nzenze, Mignon Du Plessis, Rama Kandasamy, Philip E. Carter, Sadia Shakoor

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

A newly recognized pneumococcal serotype 35D, which differs from the 35B polysaccharide in structure and serology by not binding to factor serum 35a, was recently reported. The genetic basis for this distinctive serology is due to the presence of an inactivating mutation in wciG, which encodes an O-acetyltransferase responsible for O-acetylation of a galactofuranose. Here, we assessed the genomic data of a worldwide pneumococcal collection to identify serotype 35D isolates and understand their geographical distribution, genetic background and invasiveness potential. Of 21,980 pneumococcal isolates, 444 were originally typed as serotype 35B by PneumoCaT. Analysis of wciGrevealed 23 isolates …

Igf‐1 In Exercise‐Induced Enhancement Of Episodic Memory, Paul Loprinzi

Faculty and Student Publications (Open Access)

No abstract provided.

Pharmaceutical Additive Manufacturing: A Novel Tool For Complex And Personalized Drug Delivery Systems, Jiaxiang Zhang, Anh Q. Vo, Xinliang Feng, Suresh Bandari, Michael A. Repka

Faculty and Student Publications (Open Access)

No abstract provided.

Deep Learning For Automated Image Classification Of Seismic Damage To Built Infrastructure, B. Patterson, G. Leone, Maria Pantoja, Anahid A. Behrouzi

Architectural Engineering

The amount of structural damage image data produced in the aftermath of an earthquake can be staggering. It is challenging for a few human volunteers to efficiently filter and tag these images with meaningful damage information. The proposed solution is to automate post-earthquake reconnaissance image tagging activities by training a computer algorithm to classify each occurrence of damage per building material and structural member type. The approach is based on deep learning (DL), a subset of machine learning loosely based on the operation of a biologic neural system, which aims to learn and extract accurate representations from large data sets. …

Synthesis Of Small Molecules That Target Metalloenzymes, Akram M. Hazeen

Doctoral Dissertations

Metalloenzymes have gained interest in drug development. In this study, small molecules with metal binding groups were synthesized to target two metalloenzymes: alkaline nuclease (UL12) that causes a viral infection resulted in the simplex herpes 1 disease. The other enzyme was E. colienolase which is essential for the survival of several pathogens. Three general motifs were modified in this study inspired from natural products. Tropolone was diversified through aminocarbonylation and cross coupling reaction with diethyl phosphite to provide a series of tropolone derivatives. Pyridone series which has two sites for diversifications was also prepared. The last series was based …

Competition And Coexistence In Plant Communities: Intraspecific Competition Is Stronger Than Interspecific Competition, Peter B. Adler, Danielle Smull, Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, Tucker J. Furniss, Andrew Kulmatiski, Joan M. Meiners, Andrew T. Tredennick, Kari E. Veblen

Ecology Center Publications

Theory predicts that intraspecific competition should be stronger than interspecific competition for any pair of stably coexisting species, yet previous literature reviews found little support for this pattern. We screened over 5400 publications and identified 39 studies that quantified phenomenological intraspecific and interspecific interactions in terrestrial plant communities. Of the 67% of species pairs in which both intra‐ and interspecific effects were negative (competitive), intraspecific competition was, on average, four to five‐fold stronger than interspecific competition. Of the remaining pairs, 93% featured intraspecific competition and interspecific facilitation, a situation that stabilises coexistence. The difference between intra‐ and interspecific effects tended …

The Use Of Philosophical Theories In Design: Aresearch-Through-Design Case Of Treatment Compliance, Jonne Van Belle, Bob Giesberts, Wuter Eggink

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Design has a key role in shaping humans. In the design process, an understanding of the complex human and its often conflicting relations could be fruitful to improve the design. Ideas from Philosophy of Technology could offer a different perspective on product design. In this paper it will be explored how a philosophical perspective can support the design process in case of a conflict of interest using the ‘research-through- design’ method with a case study of clubfeet treatment compliance. The comfort and usability of the treatment could be improved using a brace instead of a cast. However, this change raises …

Reframing Design Problems Within Women’S Health, Sarah Homewood

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper begins by offering a feminist reading of the visible increase in design research within the category of “women’s health”. A critical feminist reading of menstrual cycle tracking technologies is then used to investigate how the way that we frame design problems influences the artifacts produced and their impact within society. I argue that by re-framing design problems from the perspective of third and fourth wave feminism we can develop women’s health technologies that are more affirmative, inclusive and which celebrate difference and reflect the complexity around what it means to be a woman in today’s society. I illustrate …

Transdisciplinary Doctorates In The Making Disciplines, Anne Solberg

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This article is a discussion on interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity in doctoral works in the making disciplines, which include art, design, architecture and affiliated areas. The article includes examples from nine doctoral theses in the making disciplines that are the objects of investigation in the doctoral thesis of the author. This article holds that while interdisciplinary approaches contribute to sharing knowledge and have the potential to communicate research outputs to a broader audience, transdisciplinarity has an even wider scope of knowledge sharing. Hence, inter- and transdisciplinarity are catalysts, by the crossing of discipline borders, that allow knowledge and understanding to be …

Repurposing Digital Methods For Human-Centered Design, Donato Ricci, Agata Brilli, Roberta Tassi

DRS Biennial Conference Series

From logs and information left in online spaces to data points self-generated by connected devices, digital traces have become more diffused over the past years, prompting an expansion of Human-Centered Design methods. Along with some big- data approaches, Digital Methods of research – treating the actual content of digital users’ manifestation on-line (i.e. tweets, Instagram pictures, comments) – offer the opportunity to better understand users through their online activities. This paper investigates how Digital Methods can be repurposed as a full-fledged approach for Human-Centered Design. Grafting on the NATURPRADI project – a research aimed at describing the debate raised by …

Ics Materials. Towards A Re-Interpretation Of Material Qualities Through Interactive, Connected, And Smart Materials., Stefano Parisi, Valentina Ragnoli, Davide Spallazzo, Daniela Petrelli

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The domain of materials for design is changing under the influence of an increased technological advancement. Materials are becoming connected, augmented, computational, interactive, active, responsive, and dynamic. These are ICS Materials, an acronym that stands for Interactive, Connected and Smart. While labs around the world are experimenting with these new materials, there is the need to reflect on their potentials and impact on design. This paper is a first step in this direction: to interpret and describe the qualities of ICS materials, considering their experiential pattern, their expressive-sensorial dimension, and their aesthetic of interaction. Through case studies, we analyse and …

Natural Materials – Nature Of Materials, Damla Tonuk, Tom Fisher

DRS Biennial Conference Series

The material world is recently and very rapidly changing; altering the relationships between materials – the substance of everyday life – and designers – the professionals who are responsible for transforming materials into daily life objects. This vibrant context prompts us to explore and attempt to conceptualise these fluid relationships and review conceptual tools that will help to open up the scope of materials-based research in design. To address the multiple and multi-faceted relationships designers are situated in, we borrow concepts from social sciences that explore materiality within its multiple environments. We draw on conceptualisations of materials as active and …

Textile Waste And Haptic Feedback For Wearable Robotics, Hellen Van Rees, Angelika Mader, Merlijn Smits, Geke Ludden, Valérie Lamontagne

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Recent textile innovations have significantly transformed both the material structures of fibers and fabrics as well as their sphere of use and applications. At the same time, new recycling concepts and methods to re-use textile waste are rapidly being developed and many new ways to make use of recycled and reclaimed fibers have already been found. In this paper, we describe how the development of a new textile, making use of recycled fibers, sparked the development of Textile Reflexes, a robotic textile that can change shape. This paper elaborates on the development of the new textile material, the multidisciplinary approach …

Designing Play Equipment For Children With Cerebral Palsy: The Context And Design Guidelines, Ganna Borzenkova, Kristina Niedderer, Tunde Rozsahegyi

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper presents an investigation into designing play equipment for encouraging peer-to-peer social interactions of children with cerebral palsy as a part of developing their social competence. The focus is on developing a new model of, and guidelines for designing play equipment for engaging children in peer interactions during play sessions. Research projects on the development of children with cerebral palsy have to date mainly concentrated on physical and cognitive areas or on social development through special educational programmes and training. This paper, in contrast, investigates developing social competence through empowering children to participate in open-ended peer play through a …

Beyond Accessible Aisles? Psychosocial Inclusivity Of Shopping Experience: An Ethnographic Investigation, Yonghun Lim, Joseph Giacomin, Farnaz Nickpour

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Purpose: Although the importance of non-physical inclusivity has been recognised in inclusive design, the current understanding of psychosocial aspects in inclusive design is currently limited, disjointed and unstructured. This study reports a study of supermarket shopping experience of older individuals, designed and conducted to explore the concept of psychosocial aspects in older individuals’ supermarket shopping experience by identifying any possible psychosocial components. Empirical investigation i.e. non-participant observation was conducted with eight participants aged 60 and over. The results from the observational investigation were analysed and validated via multiple coding steps and multiple coders. Findings suggest four major dimensions including ‘cognitive’, …

Re-Framing Product Circularity From A User Perspective, Anneli Selvefors, Oskar Rexfelt, Helena Strömberg, Sara Renström

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Much of the discussion regarding product circularity is framed from a production and business perspective. This paper argues that the current narrative needs to be complemented with a re-framing of circularity from a user perspective and that issues of consumption should be considered in more depth. Such a re-framing is proposed based on an exploration of the consumption process and a discussion regarding what different paths of consumption may entail for people. The paper also delves into the process of product exchange between multiple users over time. It underlines that products can be designed so that they can be transferred …

Investigating Perceptions Related To Technology Acceptance & Stigma Of Wearable Robotic Assistive Devices By Older Adults - Preliminary Findings, Linda Shore, Adam De Eyto, Leonard O'Sullivan

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Longevity, and good Quality of Life enhances a positive ageing experience by post- retirement adults. However, physical decline and limitations may affect independence and autonomy to conduct and engage in day to day tasks and social activities. Assistive robots can offer support to assist, and become embodied features that are accepted and worn by older adults. To date, research is limited and little is known about older adults’ opinions of assistance by robots in personal and home life. There are a number of Technology Acceptance Models (TAMs) presenting quantitative based questionnaires that attempt to gauge acceptance and usefulness of robots …

Seeking For Diversity Among Young Users: The Case Of Children's Photography, Sedef Süner, Çiğdem Erbuğ

DRS Biennial Conference Series

User-centred design practices in the design of products for children’s use has become common, especially in the field of technology design. Although young users are now considered as essential and reliable actors to inform the design space, design research with children still remains focused on the design process itself, and children’s role in it. In an attempt to steer away the discussion from how children are included in design to how they are represented in design, our paper focuses on understanding and communicating plurality of the experience among young users to inform and expand the early design phase. For this …

Co-Creating Happy Moments: A Case Study Of Designing For People With Mental Health Challenges, Hong Li, Yiyun Zha, Jie Zhao

DRS Biennial Conference Series

We all have to consider the importance of mental health, which just as with physical health can cause us to feel ill, unwell and ostracized from our community. However, the stereotypes and prejudice that result from misconceptions about mental problems appears to form an impassive and invisible barrier between the people with mental health challenges and the public who is less willing to interact with them. As three researchers respectively from service design, visual communication and art education, we undertook collaborative interdisciplinary design as a strategy, in order to explore a participatory approach to engage with our participants, namely, an …

Encouraging Physical Activity And Self-Enhancement In Women With Breast Cancer Through A Smart Bra, Daphne Menheere, Carl Megens, Erik Van Der Spek, Steven Vos

DRS Biennial Conference Series

Physical activity (PA) can have a substantial benefit in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of (breast) cancer. Wearable devices offer possibilities to monitor PA, to provide feedback and to set targets. Although the market for PA related wearable devices is booming, the impact of these wearables is questionable. One of the main concerns is the limitations to address individual needs of users, among which specific groups such as women with breast cancer. Through design, we see opportunities to stimulate for self-enhancement while encouraging PA after cancer treatment. Following a constructive design research approach, Aymée was designed. Aymée is a smart …

Design Research Opportunities In The Internet Of Health Things: A Review Of Reviews, Emmanuel Tsekleves, Rachel Cooper

DRS Biennial Conference Series

This paper charts the challenges and opportunities for design research in the Internet of Health Things (IoHT), by conducting a systematic review of review papers. The Internet of Things (IoT) is already impacting health services and could be the basis for a new healthcare paradigm in the near future. Thus there is a need to engage more designers and design researchers in actively shaping the next generation of development and deployment of IoT in health and care. Following a systematic review of the literature, we present key emerging themes, where design can add value and make a significant contribution to …

Why We Need Engineers To Make Art, Giovanni Innella, Paul A. Rodgers

DRS Biennial Conference Series

As design practitioners researchers and educators, we constantly find ourselves shuffled between humanities and sciences. In fact, the design departments in the universities around the globe are sometimes placed under the formers, sometimes under the latters, thus becoming a meeting point for academics and professionals coming from both realms. The synergy resulting from the varieties of backgrounds and expertise creates a fertile ground for explorations on both a conceptual and a technical level. This paper reflects on the potential benefits of combining engineering and art research. The authors of this paper look at the increasingly delicate role that technicians, engineers …