Design for Inclusion

AHFE International

Accelerating Open Access Science in Human Factors Engineering and Human-Centered Computing

Design for Inclusion

book-cover

Editors: Pepetto Di Bucchianico

Topics: Design for Inclusion

Publication Date: 2023

ISBN: 978-1-958651-51-3

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1004001

Articles

The role of design education in electronic waste management

Fast-changing technology is resulting in increased consumption of electronics. According to Nanath and Kumar(2019), the Global E-Waste Monitor 2020 reported that the amount of electronic waste produced in 2019 was 53.6 million metric tons. By 2030, they predict it to increase to 74Mt. This report also shows that, in 2019, the USA produced 6.92 million tons of electronic waste (e-waste), and only 15% was recycled. Severe environmental and human health problems will occur if the e-waste is not recycled appropriately. Unfortunately, the United States still needs a standard system for recycling electronic waste, including laptops, monitors, cell phones, printers, and television, which will lead to a low habit of recycling within the US population. The primary cause is the need for proper knowledge and awareness.One way to address the problem is to prepare the younger generation through education to create better habits and spread awareness of the importance of recycling electronic waste. This paper focuses on analyzing the existing quantitative and qualitative surveys on the role education methodologies have played in spreading this awareness of electronic waste recycling. Researchers are finding more about the most effective medium to communicate complex information about recycling and reusing electronic waste in students' courses. The curriculum should acknowledge how students can reuse electronic waste equipment rather than purchasing new devices. Additionally, gaps need to be addressed by the education system to build courses for students from all fields, as most of the existing studies specifically have electronic waste courses only for electrical or engineering students. This paper will propose an interdisciplinary approach to design education and electronic waste based on the existing literature and findings. The proposed approach will use design methodologies, such as divergent and convergent thinking, to educate students on electronic waste recycling and reuse. This will prepare the future generation to build the habit of recycling and reusing electronic waste and build a better environment.

Swetha Anand, Cecilia Xi Wang

Conference Proceedings

Inclusive clothing design: workshops based on case studies

Inclusive clothing design emerges from users' need to use products to their fullest. Despite being a segment with a wide variety of models, the great dysfunctionality of uses for people with movement restrictions still shows. Discussing this situation with designers is necessary to change perspectives toward inclusion when approaching unconventional scenarios in product development. For a preliminary approach to the subject, workshops can generate reflections for inclusive product development from the perspective of dressing-related problems. For this purpose, workshops were held at IDEGUI in Guimarães (Portugal) on practical approaches to discuss ideas and create inclusive alternatives. The results of the discussion were proposals like alternatives for the clothing market. These proposals can already be found in the clothing market, but still, the results are not entirely obsolete since they were not presented as an option from the beginning. The participants' interest, added to previous experiences, brought exciting complements to the discussion and dissemination of inclusive clothing design through a systemic perception of product development.

Leticia Marteli, Paula Trigueiros, Fernando Moreira Da Silva, Luis Carlos Paschoarelli

Conference Proceedings

Contribution of Ergonomics and Anthropometry in the Design of Hospital Clothing for Prevention of Pressure Ulcers in Patients with Reduced Mobility

Patients with reduced mobility resulting from physical/motor impairments, or even as a result of prolonged stays in hospital beds, are prone to various changes in their human body systems, namely the development of wounds, which can quickly evolve into pressure ulcers. Clothing (pajamas) as an essential item for users, will be in direct contact with the skin, also for long periods. The posture adopted in the different resting positions will influence the interaction between body and clothing, which, consequently, will have an effect on the users’ bodies. Understanding these body changes, meaning the changes in anthropometric measurements according to the adopted posture, is relevant in the product development phase. The objective of this study is to investigate and develop a typology of functional hospital clothing for the prevention of pressure ulcers, adapted to users with reduced mobility, which is able to respond to needs in terms of anthropometry, ergonomics, comfort, and usability. Through the virtual simulation of the 3D CAD system CLO 3D, the behavior of the fabric in relation to the body and the forces of tension, compression, adjustment, and pressure points were evaluated using visual resources.

Rochelne Barboza, Miguel Carvalho

Conference Proceedings

The Design of Human Smart Ships. How design-driven approach can foster future development and innovation in the cruise sector.

The radical transition from 'fun ships' to 'smart ships' is a complex phenomenon, involving technological, social and design aspects, which require systemic and complex thinking. The theoretical investigation of this research aims to fill an existing gap in design processes applied to cruise ships by providing a 'service + spatial’ perspective in the interpretation of the smart phenomenon, integrated in a multidisciplinary approach with ICT and Social Sciences. The new concepts of customer experience, cultural diversity, immersive technologies, cyber-physical systems and environmental commitment denote a strong connection of spaces and services with users and related human factors. In this sense, design has a collaborative and human-centered approach, as it considers users' experience and involves them as an active part of the design process. The results of this research show how a design-driven approach, rather than a technology-push or market-pull one, can drive towards radical changes in designing innovative and more sustainable ships through a better use of human capital and the multicultural richness of cruise passengers. Guidelines for design-driven research in the cruise industry can help companies move from closed and low transparent to new holistic approaches to innovation, guided by a critical attitude towards radical changes in the industry.

Giuseppe Carmosino, Arianna Bionda, Andrea Ratti

Conference Proceedings

Implementation of Smart, Healthy, Age-friendly Environment through an Inclusive Robotic Air Purifier

A survey conducted in the United States estimates that people spend about 90% of their time inside buildings, mainly distributing activities in their homes and workplaces [1].The same lifestyle of being confined most of the time within enclosed spaces is also prevalent in Europe. This habit provides the opportunity and the right motivation to implement interventions that promote health and livability of the environments in which people live or work. In multiple fields of design discipline, this is translated into a focus on the development of quality indoor spaces that return comfortable environments for the inhabitants to organize, manage and modulate based on their needs and habits.The World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being" [2]. Thus, inhabitant well-being can be measured not only in the satisfaction of basic human needs related to an individual's physical health, but also in all those intangible aspects related to the psycho-social sphere, such as perceived feelings of security, self-esteem, positivity, mood, and productivity [3].New design paradigms for a "healthy building" evaluate a multiplicity of factors that contribute to the determination of living comfort and the resulting qualitative perception of the inhabited space. These include the issue of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) management. The "inhabitants" of an enclosed space usually turn out to be exposed not to a single agent, but to a mixture of substances that is generated by the concurrence of several triggers that combine into a potentially harmful mix for the occupants [4].Symptoms resulting from the effects of indoor pollution that are grouped under the acronym of BRI - Building-Related Illness - include specific pathological cases. In this regard the multiple studies on SBS - Sick Building Syndrome - are just one of the many concrete examples of the impact caused by a failure or fallacious management of the issue of indoor pollution [5].The evolving Coronavirus pandemic scenario has revolutionized people's habits, stimulating them to reflect on their condition as "inhabitants" forced to occupy enclosed spaces, suffering its negative influence. This reflection has been echoed by a strong awareness of aspects concerning indoor air quality highlighted also by the exponential increase in the market for air treatment devices. The growing attention to indoor air quality is part of the broader changement underway concerning the people's increasing sensitivity to issues relating to the care of their psycho-physical health in all its facets, from simply reducing risk factors to preventing aging.The paper presents a research project, titled APLU, which led to the development of an ion-generating robot that also has the function of a vacuum cleaner. A careful analysis of the state of the art in air purification devices revealed the lack of a holistic approach in the design of these products, whose function is often reduced to a mere assembly of components with embedded digital technologies. The main limitation that emerged is that the devices currently on the market are designed to be fixed, which entails limited coverage of the indoor space, as well as difficulty in interfacing and controlling by users, especially by elders.In this context, APLU aims to increase the usability of a purifier, in terms of effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction, and to create an inclusive interface, through the integration of advanced technologies, related to the field of robotics and Internet of Things. The final result of the research through design is a robot able to move autonomously within the home, going to cover in its purification activity the entire space of the house based on its sensing capabilities.The transition from a static device to an independent robot in the management of its functions also meets the need to interface with the most fragile categories of users, who are more exposed to the dangers of pollutants. The research project therefore intends to: i) test and validate the possibility of minimizing the user's burden of managing the product; ii) increase its efficiency by equipping it with autonomous intelligence; iii) facilitate the interaction with the device by providing inclusive support and monitoring tools capable of relieving the work of users, especially the elderly; iv) test the acceptability by the elderly, often hostile to advanced technological solutions.

Jonathan Lagrimino, Sara Viviani, Alessandra Rinaldi

Conference Proceedings

Research Experiences and Perspectives of inclusive Virtual Learning Systems

In contemporary society, the spread of media and online learning has generated on one hand new forms of complexity and opportunities for the development and dissemination of knowledge, on the other, new forms of social exclusion. Learning in the digital age means having user-friendly and interactive systems capable of creating a series of new relationships between man and technology. In this regard, the Design is called to face, more and more strongly, with different disciplines, from the engineering-informatics to the humanistic-social ones. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a bottom-up multidisciplinary approach, within which the design field interfaces with increasingly complex design dimensions. In recent years, computer accessibility and aspects regarding the use, distribution and visualization of contents, not only informative but also educational, became issues of great importance within the technology market, particularly within the Educational Technologies sector. The objective of this work is the presentation of a design tool useful for the development of an e-learning platform (i.e. Virtual Learning System) for the university educational sector. The work focused on an exploratory analysis phase of the current e-learning systems through the application of Human-Centred Design evaluation methods to identify critical issues and to define design and tools assessment requirements for Inclusive Design studies. In particular, User Observation, Heuristic Evaluation and exclusion calculator were the methods used during the evaluation sessions. The latter involved a sample of 100 users between 19 and 24 years of age, affected by specific learning disabilities (SLD) and visual and hearing disabilities of medium severity. Subsequently, through co-design activities involving users and education experts, functionalities and new design solutions were developed. The final result of the work is to illustrate an operational strategy of evaluation and design and an experimental platform for inclusive learning. The research has highlighted the need to strengthen educational tools in terms of accessibility and usability, and in particular collaborative learning. The assessment of many tools for specific categories of users has led to enhance and develop in key for all integrated functionalities to stimulate and support all students, regardless of their individual condition. Moreover, the research highlighted the need for systems based on social networking, supporting not only accessibility but also autonomy, socialization and the ability to collectively build new meanings.

Alessia Brischetto, Ester Iacono

Conference Proceedings

Building a Healthy Family Atmosphere: a Hybrid Toy System Design Based on the "Zone of Proximal Development" Theory

The lack of family sex education is a major issue in the development of comprehensive sex education for Chinese children. Three significant obstacles stand in the path of the development of family sex education. The first is the lack of effective parent-child participation in the practice of the family; the second is the mismatch between the parent’s sexual knowledge reserve and the sex education required by the child; third, the lack of quality of parental sex education has led to difficulties in grasping the timing and depth of development. Therefore, children's family sex education requires effective design patterns to intervene. This study proposes a model of design theory for family sex education based on the " zone of proximal development " education theory. This paper also yields an interactive hybrid toy system based on Dida products to help parents teach children about sex and boundaries. The design prototype has been tested and received positive appraisal and feedback, indicating that the designed theoretical model is effective in the promotion of family sex education.

Xuan He, Shuai Sun, Xiaoling Lin

Conference Proceedings

Public ICT access and use for people with disabilities (PWDs): a pilot study of public inclusive design

The access and use of the Internet in public spaces is becoming more extensive, and increasingly regarded as a transitional stage to achieving the ultimate goal of private internet access for all citizens (Viseu et al., 2006). Internet in public spaces does not only narrow the digital divide and promote digital inclusion, but is also a basic requirement for the realization of the information society. However, there may still be inequal access to information and communication technologies (ICT), especially for people with disabilities (PWDs), that has been widely overlooked. This ‘digital disability divide’ (Dobransky and Hargittai, 2006; Sachdeva et al., 2015) is widely acknowledged as affecting the equal participation of PWDs in society, hindering the construction of an inclusive society. The current academic literature related to digital inequality has focused on internet access and use of a diverse population segment, but there is deficient research on the ‘digital disability divide’, especially focusing on public ICT facilities. In order to bridge this gap and promote social inclusion, this paper takes the social model of disabilities as an objective group, exploring the public disabilities inequality theories and exclusive phenomenon through a deep literature review and onsite observation. This paper summarizes the four forms of public interactive behaviours of PWDs based on the four elements of ICT engaging with the public space from Abdel-Aziz et al. (2016). Also, a framework of public digital disability barriers that correspond with the ICT elements in public spaces has been proposed. By applying inclusive design thinking and principles, this paper identifies the deficiencies in design of existing ICT facilities. This paper also identifies and discusses key directions for improving digital disabilities inclusion in public spaces from a design policy and practical perspective. Suggestions for further study directions are also offered.

Qiling Long, Kin Wai Michael Siu

Conference Proceedings

Uncovering an Inclusion Gap in the Design of Digital Assessments for Middle school-aged Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in the United States

What does a score on a digital assessment mean? At its core, a score is a measurement of how a student matches up to a predefined construct. For example, a reading assessment may measure the construct of a student’s reading fluency, comprehension, or both. This research seeks to challenge the legitimacy of digital assessment from the lens of Accessibility, User Experience (UX), Inclusive Design, and Marginalized Populations by focusing on the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) middle school-aged student in the United States.DHH learners are among the least understood groups. Neither the US Census nor public schools recognize American Sign Language (ASL) as a non-English language used at home. For the sake of discussion, this research references a study by Goman from 2016 which estimates that 14.3% of all Americans aged 12 and older have some form of hearing loss, and a study from the U.S. National Center of Educational Statistics which estimated students with hearing impairment between ages 3-21 at 1% of all students. These statistics are especially concerning when juxtaposed with how assessments are created. Two of the top educational companies in U.S. use a process called “pretesting” to determine the statistical relevance of the questions used in their assessments. This process involves trialing assessment items with a sample group similar to the population to be assessed. As assessments are increasingly delivered digitally, they overlap with other disciplines like UX Design. In UX, it is well documented that testing with five people finds most problems. If we assume that pretesting uses a similar sample size, it is a reasonable assumption that many items would not be trialed with DHH students, i.e. this marginalized group isn’t populous enough to be accounted for in a statistically relevant pretesting sample.To provide legitimacy to this claim, this research used structured interviews with subject-matter experts (SMEs) in usability, accessibility, child-computer interaction, and DHH education. The responses provided by these SMEs lent credence to the idea that DHH learners were often not included in digital assessment design either due to being sampled out, a lack of accessibility awareness, and/or the absence of inclusive design guidelines for DHH students. For example, one interviewed Director at a prominent deaf institution said, “In terms of my field, there isn’t some tangible set of design principles that apply in [my] specific area. These things are developing as we go.”This is especially concerning when scores for deaf learners have wide implications in terms of public funding for school districts at the macro level, and self-worth issues at the individual level; especially when it is oft-cited that 80% of age-14 DHH students on average place below a grade-4 reading level. For these reasons, the goal of this research is to empower designers, developers, managers, and researchers with a repeatable framework for inspiring cross-disciplinary collaboration to create fair and equitable digital assessment designs. It is about meeting the full spectrum of need for every individual student—starting with the DHH student’s needs.

Alexis Polanco Jr, Tsailu Liu

Conference Proceedings

Flow Theory-based Non-violent Communication App Design for Children

The characteristics of verbal violence in the family distinguish it from other forms of domestic violence: the intimate nature of the space, the persistence, multiplicity and widespread nature of the behaviour, and the interactive nature. In recent years, there has been an overall trend of increasing research articles related to domestic verbal violence, and the phenomenon of domestic verbal violence has gained more social attention and research by scholars. In order to improve the emotional experience of the abused in domestic verbal violence, while using the APP to do communication training, allowing the user to be in a mind-flow experience can improve the user experience of not being able to focus on the training during the use of the communication training APP, and the training based on the mind-flow experience can effectively improve the situation of family verbal communication and enhance the mental health of children.In order to improve the emotional experience of the abused in domestic verbal violence, while using the app to do communication training, the user can improve the user experience of not being able to focus on the training during the use of the communication training app, and the training based on the mind flow experience can effectively improve the situation of family verbal communication and enhance the mental health of children. This project investigated 131 young users who had suffered from family verbal violence in their families through questionnaires, and analysed the immersion training behaviour of 6 target users (parents and children) by using the interview method. Through in-depth analysis of the data obtained from the research through SPSS, the characteristics and performance of the user experience stages were summarised, and the corresponding elements and design factors of the mind-flow experience were extracted. The design principles of 16 children's psychological training APPs were summarised in four dimensions: clear target tasks, pleasant interface performance, effective operational interaction and motivating and immersive emotional experience. On this basis, a design model for a psychological communication training APP from the perspective of the mind-flow theory was developed, and WEIRDO WORDS APP was designed with non-violent communication as an example.The parent-child communication training APP prototype guided by the design strategy generated in this study can effectively enhance the user experience in training, stimulate the user's mind-flow experience, and increase the user stickiness of users using the training APP.Introducing mind-flow theory into the design study of communication training APPs can significantly influence users' behavioural motivation, satisfy their emotional needs and create a rich and comprehensive interactive experience. With the market prospect that children's mental health services are receiving more and more attention, introducing the mind flow theory into the design of children's psychological education APPs has important theoretical significance and practical value, and also provides new methods and new ideas for the design of children's psychological education APPs.

Xinwei Guan

Conference Proceedings

The emotional impact of cultural heritage on the public: physiological and psychological effects of multisensorial experiences

Accessibility and inclusion are nowadays consolidated concepts in Cultural Heritage management and enhancement. In this regard, attention has long been focused only on audiences with disabilities, translating into projects and actions that involve people with disabilities while excluding a broader approach that takes into account the specificities of each individual. Since Cultural Heritage belongs to every individual, it represents an opportunity to apply “design for all” principles, considering the variety of publics and “non-publics”, each with different interests and needs. With the knowledge that vision is widely considered the primary sense in communication, the paper aim to investigate the role of other senses in creating an enjoyable and emotional experience of the Cultural Heritage that can enrich its perception, knowledge and memory. Though non-visual and multisensorial cultural experiences are conceived to include publics with visual difficulties, they can become enriching and valuable ways of approaching Cultural Heritage for all visitors.The study aims to investigate arousal changes related to the emotional activation of an adequate sample of visitors during Cultural Heritage experiences through different senses, except for vision. Participants will be blinded and will undergo the cultural experience with various sensorial modalities through three counterbalanced conditions that will involve, respectively, one (auditory), two (auditory and tactile) and three (auditory, tactile, and olfactory) senses. Previous international studies have already enlightened physiological measures as a reliable indicator of the visitor’s body reaction related to the emotional state of the experience. Therefore, during all the experimental sessions, non-invasive wearable devices will register cardiovascular and skin conductance measures as quantitative physiological data. Instead, regarding qualitative measures, self-reported evaluation of both emotional state and visit experience will be collected through an online questionnaire.Authors hypothesize that also when vision does not play a significant role, the more the senses involved, the more the participants’ emotional state will enhance positively. Therefore, an increase in both physiological activation and perceived positive emotions is expected in the three-senses condition compared with the one and two-senses conditions. In general, the multisensory experience is foreseen to be associated with greater emotional involvement, enjoyment, and appreciation of the cultural visit. The impacts and results of this study can be helpful in improving cultural enjoyment in a plurality of publics, opening up new scenarios for the knowledge, perception and enhancement of Cultural Heritage to strengthen the binding between heritage and people.

Gianluca D'Agostino, Hilary Serra, Claudio Zavattaro

Conference Proceedings

Technology as a tool to study visitor behaviour in museums: positioning and neuropsychological detection to identify physical & cognitive barriers

Inclusive communication projects in museums and cultural sites often start from generically applicable assumptions referring to the principles of accessible and inclusive design, without considering the peculiarities of a cultural experience.It therefore seems important to study the audiences’ behaviour in museums, with particular attention to the different types of visitors: regular audiences with appropriate backgrounds; occasional audiences with very different backgrounds; and disaffected audiences who do not consider cultural experiences important or rewarding.It is precisely the latter that an inclusive design must carefully target, with the aim of understanding the reason for this exclusion and thus overcoming it, hence it is important that such studies do not observe only the first two types of audience, whereas this is often the case.The experiments the authors are carrying out monitor movements, times and stops of the public within the museum, in relation to the exhibits, the spatial features of the rooms, and the communication and display solutions, relating them to information resulting from ad hoc surveys.From the positioning point of view, one of the main problems is represented in tracking people in indoor environments, where the GNSS is not available, and there are often cramped spaces. Besides, if the number of people to be tracked is high, the level of difficulties increases dramatically. The problem of positioning even large numbers of people within closed and delimited spaces presents some difficulties and technical criticalities. On the other hand, the restitution of such data requires accentuated reliability: the behaviour and reactions recorded in the public during the experiment must be related to precise spatial positions, since the emotional responses of the public can vary in a very short time.At present, the aim of these experiments is not to consider the behaviour of numerous groups of people but to study individual visiting experiences. The system developed by the research team is briefly described and commented on in the paper.The technological challenge in these contexts goes beyond mere technical effectiveness. Indeed, the instrumentation required to track individual visitors, in certain solutions, risks influencing people's behaviour because it is moderately ostrusive: conversely, the challenge at present is to integrate the various sensing devices into compact and unobtrusive solutions. The Authors have implemented a Python code on a portable Raspberry device that guarantees the users’ location by exploiting signals coming from beacon devices. Communication systems between the device detecting neurophysiological reactions and monitoring physical movements can be implemented and optimised, fusing this technology with another one related to positioning purposes, exploiting electromagnetic signals such as ultra-wide-band technologies or Bluetooth, which guarantees the possibility of reaching positioning solutions even in indoor environments without afflicting the signals for neurophysiological parameter estimations.

Michela Benente, Valeria Minucciani, Paolo Dabove

Conference Proceedings

Neurosciences and museum - Museum visit as inclusive, embodied and transformative experience

Following their previous writings and research works, Authors describe very recent experimentations at Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia (Rome) devoted to study the visitors’ behavour and to verify the effectiveness of inclusive and multisensorial communication.Starting from the assumption that access and accessibility to Cultural Heritage are not simply intended as physical approach, and they happen when individuals “appropriate” and “transform” cultural contents, this paper shortly discusses the “Emotion Museology” principles, according to which what moved visitors will be particularly remembered by them, processed and transformed, becoming a very personal asset.Emotions, although difficult to define, are an important element in cognitive processes and are inclusive, as each visitor can empathise with objects and stories. The innovative experiment described by Authors has been conducted in a museum environment with the aid of techniques for detecting the neurophysiological factors of visitors during a visit: a number of experiments have been carried out in recent years on perception mechanisms of a neuro aesthetic nature, but not to indagate the spatial cognition and the role of “atmospherical” conditions.Searching for what all audiences have in common, and not what divides and differentiates them, emotions answer to objects, spaces and communicative stimuli proposed by museums (captions, context, relations). Conversely, differences have also to be considered and “celebrated” as a humanity’s treasure. Then, emotional stimuli can originate very different responses, assuring intimate and individual appropriation processes. From this point of view, the research team aims to relate unconscious responses with cognitive processing of contents: pre visit expectations and “bias” and post visit feedback can support an integrate interpretation of data.In this perspective, and following the seven “Design for All” principles, can be updated referring to cultural accessibility and inclusion, overcoming and abandoning the unrealistic goal of guaranteeing the same experience for different publics, but rather aiming to ensure a fulfilling, lasting and transformative experience for all.

Michela Benente, Valeria Minucciani, Annamaria Berti

Conference Proceedings

Enhancing Inclusive Experience in Museums: results from a field study

Open access to culture and the possibility to experience and learn about art in museums are human rights that should be granted to everyone. However, very often the information accessible to users through the official channels of museums regarding independent visitation by individuals with a disability generally refers to accessibility in terms of mobility, and they also frequently provide incomplete information. Information related to independent enjoyment by people with sensory disabilities (visually impaired, blind, hearing impaired, deaf) is most often lacking, as the accessibility of the visit route is generally guaranteed in a pre-scheduled way and in the presence of mediators. This aspect limits the free enjoyment of the artworks by people with sensory disabilities and shows the lack of a real inclusive culture and adequate tools to guarantee the full right to visit independently, in their own way and time.This paper presents a part of the project “XAll - Tutta un’altra guida” (XAll - A whole other guide), funded by the TIM Foundation, which partners the University of Florence, the Polytechnic University of Milan, and the referents of 3 Florentine museums: Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, Museo Bardini and Museo Bargello. The overall objective of the project is to create an interactive, customizable and inclusive visit support, aimed at the overall population and designed to encourage a multisensory visit experience, realized by inserting tactile, sound and olfactory stimuli in the visit path of the 3 Museums involved and enhanced by the use of augmented reality. Specific objectives of the project are: to make cultural heritage accessible to visitors with all types of disability; to improve the quality of independent visitation in terms of engagement and customization of the experience; to encourage the dissemination of free applications in museum accessibility projects; and to provide an integrated framework and a set of open source tools for the development of applications in the same area.To achieve the overall objective, the project involved the application of the scientific and methodological approaches of Inclusive Design and Human-Centered Design. In detail, tor define user profiles during the preliminary design phase, the following researches were conducted: (1) On-site investigation of the three museums involved in the project; (2) Survey visits and field observations (in collaboration with experts from the museum institutions) at the three museums involved and with the associations ENS (Italian Association of the Deaf), UICI (Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired), and HABILIA Onlus (Paratetraplegic and Motor Disabled Association); Collection and systematization of feedback and data collected during the observations, based on which it was possible to set up the development of the video guide project and multi-sensory stations to be included within the museums.The study of user profiles allowed to conduct early analysis of User-Museum interaction models through the following activities: identification of the requirements of mobile media and multi-sensory stations; development of User Journey Map and Scenarios; definition of the technical characteristics of the video guide.

Alessia Brischetto, Ester Iacono, Claudia Becchimanzi, Francesca Tosi

Conference Proceedings

Smart furniture for CO2 reduction in public spaces in the center of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Case study: 9 de Octubre Avenue

As a problem experienced worldwide, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the environment are increasingly eminent, affecting ecosystems, leaving them unprotected from the ozone layer that makes public spaces in tropical and coastal areas uninhabitable. Guayaquil, as a city located in the coastal region corresponding to the warm coastal zone, has been affected by these CO2 emissions, which is why the development of materials based on CO2 emissions is proposed in this research section. A quantitative methodology is applied when evaluating Smart accessories within the furniture and a qualitative one for the study of the site and the decision making through the AHP-TOPSIS method that generates criteria and variables in the choice of material, obtaining a polyurethane hybrid in panels with wood. assembled. As a conclusion, there are 8 Smart furniture approaches which display energy saving functions, reduction of CO2 emissions and increase of green area in public spaces. Among the future lines of research, it is proposed that the proposal generate an increase in the urban green index through the use of Smart furniture in unprotected areas and with a deficit of green areas in the city of Guayaquil.

Pedro Chara, Jorge Coque, Juan Briones, Katherine Flores, Rosanna Rivera

Conference Proceedings

Polyhedral public play spaces for children and caregivers: an inclusive perspective

Play is essential to children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being. Public play spaces provide important opportunities for children to participate equally in play and social interaction. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers have begun to focus on the inclusiveness of public play spaces for children with different motion, sensory and cognitive capabilities. At the same time, for care and safety reasons, children must go to the play space with their caregivers in most cases. Yet, play spaces are mainly designed for children, the caregivers, whose needs and demands are often overlooked, are obviously necessary to access the spaces. It shows a lack of understanding of inclusive and related concepts among researchers. This study examines how inclusive and related concepts are used in peer-reviewed articles about public play spaces. This study implemented a scoping review in December 2022, and 14 peer-reviewed articles were identified. These articles mainly concern inclusive and related concepts in public play spaces from caregivers' perspectives. The casual use of inclusive and related terms embodies these terms and design approaches' youthfulness, inconsistency, and confusion. Further research can distinguish these concepts through further development and research to expand the understanding of inclusion in public play spaces.

Kin Wai Michael Siu, Zi Yang, Izzy Yi Jian

Conference Proceedings

Senior-friendly apartments in the context of professional activation of the elderly

Both in Poland and globally we can observe significant demographic changes triggered by the phenomenon called ‘ageing societies’. According to the data of the Central Statistical Office (GUS), in 2020 there were 9.8 million people aged 60+ in Poland and this number is forecast to increase to 13.7 million in 2050.  With the longer life span, we can observe that the period of potential professional activity gets extended. We might assume that people will be working longer and retiring later than in the past. In view of economy, the seniors could partially meet the labour force demand which arises due to disproportionate structure of population in different age groups. With the demand for employees in the working age exceeding the supply, seniors are becoming an attractive alternative. Alongside those trends, the image of a senior in social awareness has changed. Professional potential of the seniors due to their abilities and experience has become widely acknowledged. Professional activation with no age barriers poses a chance for the seniors to longer maintain social bonds, which in turn translates into healthier ageing process. This is further reflected in the increase of the quality of life (in the broad meaning of the term) of ageing societies. With the currently changing working methods, we can find more and more ‘distant work’ job offers that are increasing relying on new technologies. This allows the interested parties to render professional services in their places of residence. At the same time, this trend effectively counteracts the adverse phenomenon of cyber exclusion of people in 65+ age group and extends their options of professional activation. The ageing process is inextricably linked with a decline in the efficiency of senses. It is important for the architecture, and the residential space in particular, to adapt to the changed abilities of its inhabitants in order to mitigate the impact of their physical and cognitive deficiencies. It is vital in the process of supporting good health condition and well-being. Because most of the elderly prefer remaining in their previous places of residence (ageing in place), the residential space should be designed in view of a universal and flexible layout that might be rearranged to adequately respond to any potential deficiencies. As per principle, interior design should be adaptable to reduced motor skills of the residents. The interior of an apartment should be envisaged as a place that can be adapted - if needed - to suit those requiring long term healthcare or rehabilitation. A workplace zone or a gym zone facilitating physical exercises might be perceived as a suitable extension of space and functions of an apartment. Moreover, technology can be viewed as a solution effectively supporting safe and unassisted living in one’s own apartment. Technology stands a good chance to support the physical and psychosocial well-being of residents. The article aims to present recommendations for designing senior-friendly apartments to facilitate their fitness and professional activation, thus, maintaining their good health condition, the feeling of comfort, safety and independence. Carefully designed space, sensitive to physical limitations and abilities as well as personal aspirations, will predetermine the quality of life of an individual and will exert impact on the society as a whole. An apartment should be responsive to needs of inhabitants that change as they age; it shall, furthermore, be age friendly and free of any spatial barriers, as well as activating, supporting and at the same time preventing any stigmatisation and social exclusion.

Agnieszka Ptak-Wojciechowska, Magda Matuszewska, Agata Gawlak

Conference Proceedings

Reflections on the accomplishments of human factors research in Japan toward universal design implementation

Experimental studies toward realization of universal design on residential space and various domestic appliances have been conducted for twenty years. Their research outcomes have been adopted for the compilation of dwelling design guidelines toward the aging society as well as the development of new products by the manufacturers, all of which contributed the realization of universal design of buildings. As one the government research bodies, the Building Research Institute of Japan was committed to the research for the betterment of people's living conditions, and Sekisui House, as one of the housing manufacturers also strived to provide with better house designs for the customers to enable transgenerational living (i.e., from cradle to grave, without being forced to throw out against their wishes). In the mid-1980s, when the cooperative research started, no concrete requirements on handrails better suited for Japanese population were clear. Therefore, research on the measurements of force applicable by seniors was started, which gradually led to the experimental determination of hardware shape, optimal height, etc. Graspable handrail shape and dimensions, shape of better stairways, grabrail for toilets, and kitchen leaning bars to support body posture: all of these were among the research accomplishments through experiments. Some of them were presented during the past AHFE Conferences. This paper will summarize the historical importance of these research outcomes, and will demonstrate their meaning in universal design implementation.

Yoshiaki Goto, Satoshi Kose, Ken Nunota, Yukari Semmyou

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Inclusive design: comparing models of living environments for older people

Many older adults who are no longer able to live independently due to a combination of impairments need to live in living environments that are adapted to their health conditions. Generally, these are various types of housing, such as nursing or retirement homes, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, residential care homes, palliative or rehabilitation centres, etc., which can be referred to as long-term care living environments. Although the recent trend in Europe has been to allow older adults to remain living at home as long as possible, the demand for institutionalised forms of long-term care living environments is quite high, and many older adults spend a significant portion of their lives in these settings. In general, the quality of the living environment has a significant impact on the physical and mental health of residents. Therefore, it is important to explore living environments for older adults that not only allow basic existential needs to be met, but also provide humane living conditions. Concepts of long-term care living environments vary from country to country and depend largely on the characteristics of each social and health care system. Among the various concepts of living environments for older adults, nursing homes house a relatively large proportion of the world's population aged 65 and older. The development of nursing home typologies has evolved from traditional to alternative forms which could be illustrated by five-generations model of nursing homes in Europe, whereby alternative types, fourth- and fifth-generation models provide residents with a higher quality of life due to specific architectural features and functional adaptations. The aim of this paper is to introduce some concepts of long-term care living environments in the U.S. and Europe and to analyse models of third-, fourth- and fifth-generation nursing homes, especially the architectural design features that can strongly influence the quality of life of older adults.

Vesna Zegarac Leskovar, Vanja Skalicky Klemenčič

Conference Proceedings

Housing in Japan toward a Super-ageing Society: How Far Have We Accomplished and What Remains to Be Done?

Japan started policy preparation to cope with its ageing in mid-1980s when alarming forecast told that a quarter of population would be 65 and over in 2030. Housing policy was no exception, and the author was involved in the development of dwelling design guidelines for an ageing society (not for aged persons) at a research institute. A proposal of design guidelines was drafted in 1991/92, which included three essential requirements: elimination of unnecessary step differences; installation of hand/grab rails for securing stability; and widening of corridors/doors for temporary use of an indoor wheelchair. The application of guidelines started in the early 1990s, and the government introduced a policy to make the design recommendation to work – extra subsidies for housing mortgages in 1996 if the dwelling design was prepared for the ageing. Although the scheme was terminated in about ten years, major housing providers were persuaded to abide by the requirements since they were fairly easy to follow for new construction compared to other requirements. Afterwards, similar policy measures were introduced intermittently to give incentives for new housing construction (but difficult to modify after the dwellings were once completed). An optimistic forecast was that existing housing will be demolished and replaced at a speed of one million dwelling units per year. The reality was that roughly only half a million were demolished every year, the other half survived with poorer quality in many aspects, and they tended to accommodate graying frail seniors – newly constructed ones were mostly occupied by younger generations. As of 2022, people aged 65 and over is nearly 30% of total population, but housing survey conducted in 2018 suggests that about 42.4 %% of seniors live in dwellings complying at least one of three key requirements. However, only about 8.8 % of seniors live in dwellings that meet all three requirements, suggesting that the situation is less than satisfactory.Will Japan need another 25 years to eliminate the mismatch between the ageing/aged residents and design? My reference to 25 years is that almost all Japanese baby-boomer generation, i.e., those who were born between 1947-1950, will have passed away by that time, and quite a large portion of sub-standard dwellings would have been demolished as well due to deterioration.

Satoshi Kose

Conference Proceedings

Inclusiveness in the Design of Mobile Payment Products for Chinese Elderly Users

As the world is facing a sudden public health crisis and an aging population, mobile payment products are widely used in the epidemic because of their ease of transaction and contactless security. However, data show that there are few mobile payment users over 60 years old in China, and this emerging digital technology has excluded many silver-haired generations. Through market research, product analysis, and user interviews, this study finds that the reasons for the low usage of mobile payment products by older users in Chinese society include: poor product inclusiveness and the lack of acceptance of digital products by older people. Most research in this area has focused on using technology acceptance model (TAM) and creating "elder models" specifically for the elderly. However, traditional TAM and polarized "normal model" and "elderly model" product models have made it difficult to expand the inclusiveness of products. This study innovatively introduces an inclusive design approach to constructing a TAM to optimize existing mobile payment products. The study selects WeChat Pay, which has the highest usage rate in China, as the research object. Through qualitative and quantitative survey methods, the study deeply investigates the pain points and needs of silver-haired people and integrates them with the needs of regular users, distills the key influencing elements in the new model to build an inclusive TAM, and finally gives recommendations for inclusive and age-appropriate design. The optimized design of WeChat Payments is based on the recommendations. Finally, the usability test is conducted with 15 elderly and 15 normal users to verify that the optimized design is inclusive.

Liyuan Bao, Le Xu, Liu Ying

Conference Proceedings

Framework for Social Implementation

It is said that in Japan, technological innovation has progressed but social transformation has not. The challenge for Japan is not so much innovation and technology, but rather the lack of progress in implementing them in society and linking them to social transformation. From now on, linking innovation and technology to social transformation and social implementation has the potential to improve life in Japan and restore Japan's competitiveness. And design activities have the potential to contribute to such activities. In this section, we will explain the framework for social implementation, social experiments and experience prototypes as an approach to social implementation.Social experiments and experience prototypes are important for design activities toward social implementation. Here, social implementation is defined as activities to change society. Social experimentation is defined as a small experiment for social implementation. An experiential prototype is defined as a prototype that can be experienced, which is necessary for social experiments. These three elements are defined as the "framework for social implementation. Social implementation, social experiments, and experience prototypes are explained below.Social experiment is "a trial of a new system, technology, or other measure in a limited location and time period to verify its effectiveness, identify problems, and sometimes to determine whether or not to introduce the measure on a full-scale basis. It also serves to exchange opinions with local residents, and to inform the public and build consensus. In some cases, the term "social experiment" is defined as "a social experiment that is implemented in a social context. Here, a social experiment is defined as "a small experiment for social implementation.Experiential prototypes are defined as "prototypes that can be experienced, which is necessary for social experiments. An experience prototype is one of those prototypes that is intended to be experienced by users and citizens. The experience prototype for service design leads to the experience prototype to plan services in an event-like manner and within a limited time frame.From the perspective of the process toward social implementation, there are top-down and bottom-up approaches. There is a top-down approach, in which the vision of what kind of social implementation is desired is first considered, then the necessary social experiments are studied, and the experience prototypes necessary for the social experiments are prepared. There is also a bottom-up approach, in which the vision for social implementation is not clearly defined from the outset, but rather a series of experience prototypes and small social experiments are conducted to the extent that they are feasible, and the vision for social implementation is considered.　As a university education for social implementation, we will introduce a case study of the Department of Creative Innovation at Musashino Art University. In this department, the first and second years are based on formative education, and from the third year, an educational program for social implementation begins in earnest. The "Industry-University Project Practice" in the second semester of the third year is an educational program for acquiring practical creative innovation skills through the execution of projects with local communities, governments, and companies.Here, "Framework for Social Implementation," social implementation, social experiments and hands-on prototypes are explained. The case of Musashino Art University was introduced as an example of university education for social implementation. We hope that the discussion will deepen on approaches for social implementation and methods of social experiments in the future.

Kazuhiko Yamazaki

Conference Proceedings

Good practices in implementing senior-friendly design in selected public institutions across the European Union

Societies in various parts of the world face social and economic challenges caused by a silver tsunami. Nonetheless, the accelerated aging processes also constitute a trigger for a positive change in the way public and private spaces are designed. The research task aimed to identify and analyze good practices in the design of furniture and interior design elements in selected public spaces adapted to the needs of seniors in selected countries of the European Union. The geographical scope included: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Taking into account the principles of universal design, field research was carried out in selected public institutions. Existing solutions were assessed in the context of their accessibility and safety for seniors. Photographic documentation was prepared, which constituted the source material. Moreover, interviews with owners and creators of the spaces have been performed. Based on the research a set of good practices was identified to support the process of designing furniture and interior design elements adapted to the needs of seniors, taking into account both functional and aesthetic aspects. These good practices do not only serve seniors but also other public space users with diverse abilities and needs.

Beata Fabisiak, Robert Kłos, Anna Jankowska, Jasna Hrovatin, Ryann Deloso

Conference Proceedings

Towards Dementia-Friendly Society: Design and Interactive Technologies for Collaborative Caregiving and Personalised Non-pharmacological Therapy

The speed of aging has been increasing and therefore the demand for products/services which would align to elderly people has been getting higher. With the synchronization of aging, the number of people with dementia has been increasing rapidly and it puts a burden on not only people with dementia but also stakeholders and the entire world. Dementia non-pharmacological therapy is one of the most feasible interventions and it includes cognitive, sensory, and psychosocial therapies.Research Problem: Family caregiver's low accessibility to patient-centred dementia non-pharmacological therapy has caused the low quality of caregiving to people with dementia, the increasing of caregiver's emotional/physical distress, and the low transparency of dementia to medical experts.Research Question: How can design and interactive technologies make dementia therapy more personalised to patients, accessible to caregivers, and transparent to medical experts?Research Aim: Explore the possibility of design and interactive technologies for dementia non-pharmacological therapy.Hypothesis: Giving dementia non-pharmacological therapy more stimulations, playfulness and meaning by design and interactive technology would be beneficial to make it more patient-centred and empower informal caregivers.Methodologies: The research is mainly based on Design Thinking methodology, DICE approach, and Constructive design wheel. The research is preceded with qualitative methods such as questionnaires, interviews, brainstorming, physical and digital prototyping and expert reviews. Conclusions: The research would contribute to the enhancement of dementia therapeutic intervention research and therefore the quality of life in people with dementia.

Masato Kagiwada

Conference Proceedings

Visioning design for making the law familiar - Four utilization models of the law

The Japanese government has proposed Society 5.0, which is now known as the 4th Industrial Revolution, and the use of open data is attracting more and more attention and rapidly changing society and industrial structure. In line with these changes, the existence of law is also being called upon to change. However, while it is "extremely important to make the judiciary more familiar and accessible to the public," [Note 1] this has yet to be achieved. Rapid innovation has led to the creation and expansion of markets that have no legal system in place, and the law is still left to only a few experts.This study aims to create new social value by exploring the ideal form of law suited to the current social situation. We will also utilize design as a means to achieve this goal, and summarize the results as a case study of initiatives in the fields of law and design.3. This study contentBased on the aforementioned background, we surveyed domestic and foreign cases of advanced efforts regarding the Japanese people's awareness of and relationship with laws, and presented the characteristics of these cases. Based on these characteristics, we proposed a vision of "Law and Design for All. Finally, we will discuss and summarize the process that led to the vision proposal and discuss what is needed for collaboration in the fields of law and design in Japan.In this paper, we show what a "vision utilizing law and design" looks like, based on the current research we have conducted. In addition, the definition of vision in this study is "a desired vision of the future based on an individual's intrinsic motivation.4. research resultsA literature review was conducted to examine the Japanese people's awareness of the law. The survey revealed that they perceive that current laws are made by lawmakers whom they trust but do not trust, and that they are not involved in the process. In addition, they are not aware that they are making the laws, and are only required to decide and abide by them without knowing it. As a result, we believe that the problems are that they do not know that the law exists, they do not know how to use it because they do not know it, and the law is not up to date.We surveyed examples of activities, technologies, and services to solve these problems, and categorized them according to the target areas. As a result, we were able to classify them into LegalTech, OpenGovernment, GovTech, CivicTech, and Others (cases of utilization other than technology). It was found that there is a major trend toward the use of open data and citizen participation.In addition, a workshop was held to survey individuals' awareness of legal issues and use it as a reference for creating a vision. The theme was "issues and desires that you feel in your daily life that you think are related to the law. The participants were asked to write their awareness of legal issues on post-it notes and paste them on imitation papers. The reason for the ambiguity of "I think it is related to the law" was not the fact that the law is actually related to the issue, but rather to find out "what the person who wrote the post-it thinks is related to the law.As a result of the workshop, it can be said that the state that "Law and Design for All" aims for is a state where "people's awareness of the law is changing," "people are becoming more familiar with the law," "people are thinking about creating a better society," and "people feel their personal opinions are reflected in policy and law. It can be said that "people's awareness of the law is changing. We believe that law is subject to change, and that it is necessary to move from passive involvement to active involvement. Based on the above given conditions, we proposed a model in which law is viewed from the perspective of four relationships: "utilize," "protect," "improve," and “create.5. ConclusionBased on a survey of Japanese people's awareness of the law, case studies, and workshops, we have proposed a model that views the law from four perspectives. In the future, we plan to increase the number of cases in which this model is used and elaborate on it.The proposed model will enable us to understand the stages of legal utilization, and to realize the state that "Law and Design for All" aims to achieve through the cycle of the four stages. In other words, the "vision of utilizing law and design" can be described as the creation of a story that utilizes the proposed model.

Takashi Inaba, Kazuhiko Yamazaki, Shota Hiratsuka

Conference Proceedings

Understanding Students’ Diversity in Inclusive Design: A Review of Literature on Students’ Empathy and Prosocial Motivation from Cultural Differences

The goal of inclusive design is “design for all,” and it has been considered a valuable approach to universal design and user-centered design in engineering design education. Although there are diverse methods to achieve the goal of inclusive design, individuals’ diverse cultural backgrounds, empathy, and prosocial motivation are essential. The aim of this study is to investigate how engineering students’ cultural backgrounds (collectivism and individualism) can be intertwined in classrooms and promote students’ empathy and prosocial motivation for generating inclusive design solutions. Through the review of previous studies, students with collectivist cultures represented a higher empathy degree, and they frequently perceived prosocial motivation for others rather than students from individualist cultures. To amplify engineering students’ empathy and prosocial motivation with respecting their cultural differences, this study followed the “three needs” of Oxford and Gkonou (2018) to suggest teaching methods for engineering design education. Diverse types of in- and outside-class activities, such as class discussions, role-playing, sharing students’ own stories, and problem-based learning are recommended for enhancing students’ empathy and prosocial motivation to understand others with diverse perspectives for inclusive ideas.

Hye Jeong Park, Huiwon Lim, Yongyeon Cho

Conference Proceedings

POT Design: Participatory design workshops for guidance on university choice in design

The issue of participation is at the basis of the design approaches of design for inclusion. In particular, active and conscious involvement must be the starting point of any action that intends to look at inclusion. This is all the more true when addressing young students who are about to make their university choice: nothing more useful than leading them to directly experience a simulation, albeit simplified, of what could be assimilated to the possible training experience that awaits them.This contribution describes two design experiences conducted by a heterogeneous group of young designers in the context of an ideas competition, developed starting from a study orientation initiative promoted by the Italian Ministry of University, which was repeated for two successive academic years and on two different themes, albeit refer-ring to central areas of industrial design: product design and communication design. The goal was to develop artifacts that had their greatest value in the ability to enhance problematic environmental contexts, human diversity, and some issues and effects related to the post pandemic period.

Giuseppe Di Bucchianico, Stefania Camplone, Raffaella Massacesi, Rossana Gaddi

Conference Proceedings