3132 research outputs found
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What Passes Unspoken: Methods to Cross Linguistic Divides
Full text linkThis exhibition thesis explores how artists Evgenia Mikhaylova, Ivetta Sunyoung Kang, and Jasmine Liaw use sound and movement to foster embodied connections across linguistic divides. Working from diasporic positionalities, the artists devise strategies to communicate between languages, using the body to convey feelings and experiences that exceed the spoken and written word. Their artworks are discussed in dialogue with other artists and theorists in order to demonstrate how linguistic restrictions can be probed, challenged, and expanded through creative interventions employing sound and movement. These methods are designed with the intention of deconstructing the social hierarchies defined and enacted through language. Instead, they aim to support more equitable relations which are capable of honouring linguistic differences. Mikaylova, Kang, and Liaw reorganize how information is shared to create more intimate methods of communication. These efforts are carried through the curatorial thesis, which writes alongside the works by highlighting their sensory effects. What Passes Unspoken attends to the somatic and sonic aspects of interpersonal encounters
The Stories that Shape Us: Deconstructing Gender Narratives that Limit Hazara Canadian Women’s Aspirations
Full text linkThis research examines how gender narratives – the culturally transmitted stories, beliefs, and assumptions about appropriate roles and behaviors based on gender – shape the life choices and identities of Hazara women in the Canadian diaspora. Using a systemic design methodology, I investigate how these narratives persist in the Hazara culture and contribute to broader patterns of gender inequality observed in Canada. Through direct engagement with Hazara women across Canada, I identify three powerful narratives that consistently constrain women’s choices: i) narratives that i) frame traditional gender roles as natural and biologically determined, ii) position preservation of cultural values against women’s freedom, and iii) depict women’s lives as incomplete without marriage and motherhood.
Systems mapping reveals how these narratives interact with power imbalances within households and broader systems to create negotiation grounds that produce predictable and traditional gendered outcomes that are deemed “practical”. This research specifically deep dives into the context of mix-gender households across six key decision areas: i) division of domestic labor, ii) career choices, iii) marital name change practices, iv) financial decision-making, v) reproductive choices, and vi) tolerance for intimate partner violence. These patterns persist through self-reinforcing cycles where gender-conforming outcomes reinforce the same power disparities and limiting narratives.
Using foresight methodologies, I explore both current system dynamics and potential futures where gender no longer unnecessarily constrains human possibility. These analyses reveal that our current gender system is under increasing strain, with tensions emerging between women’s high educational achievements and undesirable occupational outcomes, women’s desires for family and aspirations for careers, and continued devaluation of women’s unpaid care work and growing demands for caregivers.
Based on visions of desired gender futures from Hazara women in 2050, I use Donella Meadows’ leverage points framework to propose two complementary pathways toward gender transformation: the Personal Climber’s Path for individuals seeking change in their personal lives and the Collective Builder’s Path for individuals seeking community and systemic transformation. These pathways identify strategic intervention points ranging from concrete changes in material structures to profound shifts in underlying paradigms
Anatolian Futures: A Memorium for Feminist Folklore
Full text linkAnatolian Futures: A Memorium for Feminist Folklore merges traditional mythology with speculative frameworks in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment. The project employs game mechanics such as hidden object discovery, item collection, and physical interaction with a loom to weave kilims, flat-woven rugs handcrafted in regions such as Middle East and Central Asia. This weaving metaphor parallels digital creation—stitch by stitch, byte by byte—highlighting how meaning is formed and carried into the future.
Set in a futuristic landscape, the VR experience features the guiding presence of Umai, a shamanic figure who symbolizes the divine knowledge traditionally attributed to female characters in Turkic mythology. Her contemporary projection accompanies the participant within the virtual space, serving as both a narrative guide and a methodological tool. Through this framework, the project seeks to interrogate ingrained gender norms, challenge patriarchal narratives, and envision more equitable futures rooted in Anatolian heritage.
By converging artistic research and Critical Fabulations1, Anatolian Futures positions Anatolian identities and stories within the broader discourse of cultural futurisms. In doing so, it creates a transformative “memorium” where past and future converge, offering a forward-looking perspective on often underrepresented folklore while preserving its significance for generations to come
Design for Care Conversations Conversations: A Qualitative Research Project about Choices and Care at End-of-Life
Full text linkThis research investigates strategies to enhance communication between healthcare providers, older adults, and their caregivers, with a particular focus on the role of Social Prescribing at end of life. Preliminary findings suggest a significant communication gap within the healthcare system, compounded by insufficient training for healthcare providers. This gap poses a barrier to delivering compassionate and meaningful care. The study aims to explore these deficiencies in the context of end-of-life care communication
Evolving Play: Designing Healthy Digital Game Environments for Childhood
Full text linkPlay is a fundamental right of childhood and a critical driver of cognitive, social and emotional development. Yet, in increasingly digitized environments, the qualities that make play open-ended, imaginative and child-led are often constrained by platform architectures, monetization models and regulatory gaps. This research investigates how digital game environments for children are shaped, where their potential to support healthy development is nurtured or diminished and how they might be redesigned to better align with the principles of meaningful play. Adopting a systems-oriented design methodology, the study integrates a literature review of classical and contemporary play theories with systemic mapping tools, actor maps, iceberg models and causal loop diagrams to reveal the structural forces influencing children’s digital play. A participatory workshop with adult participants, drawing on memory work and speculative design, was conducted to explore cultural narratives, tensions, and aspirations surrounding digital play. The findings highlight recurring patterns of diminished agency, commercial overreach and fragmented governance, alongside opportunities for creativity, care and shared meaning-making. By synthesizing these insights, the project proposes design principles and policy considerations aimed at reframing digital play environments as spaces that protect children’s rights, foster autonomy and sustain the imaginative richness essential to childhood
Enabling Foresight Readiness: Exploring the Role of the Practitioner Through Multiple Lenses
Full text link“Foresight readiness” refers to an organization's ability to anticipate and prepare for future challenges and opportunities. It is a specialized concept in strategic planning and innovation. Foresight readiness is increasingly recognized as a critical factor in an organization's ability to anticipate and navigate an uncertain and complex future. This study explores foresight readiness through the lens of the foresight practitioner, focusing on three interconnected dimensions: learning, change management, and marketing. By examining how practitioners enable foresight adoption within organizations, this research highlights the structural and cultural conditions necessary for sustained futures thinking.
First, the study explores the role of learning as a foundational component of foresight readiness, emphasizing organizational learning, individual learning, and knowledge management. It examines how organizations can cultivate futures literacy, integrate foresight insights into decision-making, and shift from retrospective to anticipatory learning.
Next, the research investigates change management as a key enabler of foresight implementation. It identifies systemic barriers to organizational change, evaluates various change management models, and discusses how foresight practitioners can facilitate transitions. Leadership, culture, and psychological safety emerge as crucial factors in overcoming resistance and embedding foresight within organizational structures.
Finally, the study examines marketing and communications as essential to positioning foresight as a valuable strategic tool for organizations. It explores how practitioners tailor foresight messaging, align foresight work with organizational priorities, and address resistance through storytelling and engagement strategies.
Using a qualitative research approach, including literature reviews and practitioner interviews, this study analyzes foresight readiness from a practitioner perspective through three critical lenses – learning, change management, and marketing and communications. The findings provide practical insights for those seeking to institutionalize futures thinking and build long-term strategic adaptability
Reimagining Video Communication: A Participatory Design Approach to Enhancing User Experience for Deaf ASL Signers
Full text linkThis research explores the reimagining of UI/UX design in digital communication tools to better serve the Deaf community, addressing challenges posed by Audism—the discrimination against individuals who cannot hear. Despite the importance of Sign Language (SL) as a primary mode of communication for many Deaf individuals, most digital communication platforms are designed with spoken language interactions in mind, inherently creating barriers for Deaf users. Through participatory design methods and direct engagement with Deaf community members, this study investigates specific challenges Deaf users face when using current video chat applications and identifies design interventions that can significantly improve their user experience. Utilizing focus groups conducted in American Sign Language (ASL) with certified interpreters, this research uncovered six major themes: Platform Preferences and Evolution, Visual Space and Interface Design Challenges, Visual-Centric vs. Audio-Centric Design, Multilingual and Multicultural Needs, Participatory Design and Ownership, and Economic and Social Considerations. Building on these findings, an interactive prototype was developed and tested with members of the Deaf community. Results suggest that effective communication platforms for Deaf users should prioritize visual communication, incorporate cultural elements such as sign names, offer customizable interfaces, and address economic barriers to technology access. This research contributes to more inclusive digital communication design practices that prioritize Deaf users' needs rather than treating them as an afterthought in accessibility compliance
Punk Games: DIY Punk in game making
Full text linkThe game industry is in crisis and is unwelcome to game makers. The DIY punk ethos (a set of principles rooted in do-it-yourself, anti-establishment, counterculture and direct action to create local scenes) provides a sustainable framework for art practicing and community making. What if we could apply the DIY punk ethos to the game industry? Would we be able to formulate strategies to address the crisis and make the game industry more welcome to game makers? Punk Games is a research project that examines the DIY punk ethos and applies it to game making to provide sustainable alternatives for action to game makers. By using the DIY punk ethos, building upon similar game making movements like art games, queer games, and personal games, a framework to make punk games is created, separated in three stages: ethos, action and scene. This project uses a research-for-creation methodology to create a punk games framework that is tested through the creation of two punk game sketches and a zine that exemplifies punk games in their conception, making and engagement with the community
Empowering small cacao post-conflict farmer communities in Colombia to reach their fullest potential through co-creating their preferred future
Full text linkThis research project explores how strategic foresight can empower post-conflict smallholder cacao farmers in Colombia to co-create a resilient and sustainable future. Rooted in the country’s complex socio-political history and informed by Colombia’s 2016 peace accords, the study examines the systemic challenges faced by cacao-producing communities, including barriers for a sustainable economic income, cacao regions’ recognition, informal market structures, and barriers to fair trade. Using a futures-informed design approach within design thinking’s Double Diamond framework, the project engaged smallholder cacao farmers through interviews, value chain observations, and a co-creation workshop. This collaboration led to the articulation of two preferred future scenarios, one centered on sustainable and regenerative cacao farming and the other on agritourism.
The project culminated in the development of a Flourishing Business Model and a Strategic Transition Roadmap. These tools aim to support smallholder cacao communities in achieving sustainable income, environmental regeneration, and socio-economic empowerment. The model blends sustainability and tourism and was validated with farmers from multiple cacao regions. A wind-tunneling exercise was used to test the model’s resilience against future scenarios. Findings highlight that a strategy grounded in sustainability is the most adaptable and impactful, while agritourism provides opportunities to mitigate labor shortages and diversify income. The research demonstrates how co-design, and foresight can contribute to peacebuilding and rural development by enabling communities to shape their own futures
Between the Self and Signal: The Dead Internet & a Crisis of Perception
Full text linkThis study explores how widespread synthetic content and bot activity may reshape human experiences and interactions across digital and physical environments, over the next 5–10 years. Using a neo-ecological systems framework that extends Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model into digital contexts, the study organizes challenges across interconnected domains, from trust formation and knowledge acquisition at the micro level across to governance and policy at the macro level. Drawing on a State of the Art (SoTA) literature review and expert interviews across a spectrum of fields, the analysis employs Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) to identify emerging disruptions. Experts highlight how increasingly sophisticated synthetic entities undermine existing verification systems, distort credibility signals, outpace current governance frameworks and even threaten our shared and private epistemologies. These insights inform the foresight inquiry that follows, applying the scenario planning method through a 2x2 matrix. Structured around ten systemic change drivers, the scenarios explore four divergent futures illustrating distinct trajectories through which these challenges may unfold. This inquiry offers a set of system-level recommendations that span microsystem to macrosystem interventions, including social, technical, and policy responses. Framed in light of the “Dead Internet Theory”, a once-fringe conspiracy now gaining plausibility amid the rapid proliferation of AI-driven bots, this research suggests that the mechanisms through which we establish our realities are being systematically manipulated by synthetic entities and those who deploy them, presenting a palpable, urgent and existential challenge