1,720,982 research outputs found
Le comunità del Free Software come organizzazioni complesse. Il ruolo del design verso una cultura Open Knowledge
No full textL’esperienza del Free Software ha esplicitato nuovi modelli organizzativi basati sull’idea di comunità e sulle
pratiche della condivisione e del fare comune. La diffusione di strumenti informatici e di forme organizzative
comunitarie ha contribuito al crescere della sensibilità che la società e gli individui oggi hanno verso l’idea di
rete, come infrastruttura e tecnologia, e di connettività, come attributo di sempre maggiore rilevanza nel
proprio agire quotidiano.
L’opportunità di traslare l’esperienza organizzativa del Free Software e interpretarla in altri ambiti sociali e
disciplinari è una delle eredità culturali del mondo digitale. Le comunità del Free Software sono cresciute
grazie alla loro capacità di sviluppare autonomamente strumenti di auto-organizzazione della comunità
stessa. Questa competenza ha attirato l'interesse di ricerca da parte di altre discipline, che ne hanno
individuato e apprezzato i principi organizzativi fino a considerarli non solo replicabili ma anche in parte
pre-esistenti all'esperienza del Free Software stesso. Ci sono già molti esempi di comunità che sfruttano a
proprio vantaggio la distribuzione delle risorse (partecipanti, informazioni, beni materiali) attraverso la
costruzione di reti collaborative aperte e paritarie per svolgere una attività specifica.
La comunità è un caso interessante di come sia possibile affrontare la complessità senza ridurla, facendo leva
sulla propria complessità organizzativa. Rappresenta quindi un modello di rottura con la modernità che basa
il suo essere nella riduzione della complessità e della diversità e nello sfruttamento del già noto.
Questa capacità di generare strumenti e forme auto-organizzative in grado di risolvere problemi complessi ha
incontrato gli interessi di ricerca del mondo del design.
Disciplina tradizionalmente orientata al problem solving, il design si trova ad affrontare la complessità
interrogandosi su quali siano gli strumenti concettuali e operativi ad essa adeguati. Per affrontare le
emergenze della sostenibilità (ambientale, sociale, economica) caratterizzate da un alto grado di complessità
Open and collaborative design processes
No full textThe public defense will be organized via Zoom:
https://aalto.zoom.us/j/66954394201
11.11.2020 14:00 – 16:00The emergence of the Maker Movement has taken place in the context of a design practice and research that is now open, peer-to-peer, diffuse, distributed, decentralized; activity-based; meta-designed; ontologically-defined and defining; locally-bounded but globally-networked and community-centered. For many years the author participated and worked in the Maker Movement, with a special focus on its usage of digital platforms and digital fabrication tools for collaboratively designing and manufacturing digital and physical artifacts as Open Design projects. The author's main focus in practice and research as a meta-designer was in understanding how can participants in distributed systems collaboratively work together through tools and platforms for the designing and managing of collaborative processes. The main research question of this dissertation is: How can we support and integrate the research and practice of meta-designers in analyzing, designing and sharing open and collaborative design and making processes within open, peer-to-peer and distributed systems?
The focus evolved and changed with three main phases: from facilitating collaborative design processes with 1) guidelines for a generic design approach, process and tools, to the use of 2) design tools and workshops that encode the methodology to developing 3) a digital ontology and the related digital platform. In the latter, the ontology for describing, documenting, sharing and designing collaborative design processes was developed as part of a broader conceptual framework, OpenMetaDesign, that builds the ontology on top of concepts describing design processes, and encodes it in a digital platform. The role of the ontology is to support the practice and research with a Research through Design approach that works not just on understanding the practice but also informing it, navigating it and continuously redesigning it. This dissertation is an exploration of the possible role, practice and profile of meta-designers that work in facilitating distributed, open and collaborative design and making processes in the Maker Movement. As a result, it provides insights on the practice and artifacts of the author and also a strategy and tools for applying the same exploration to other meta-designers. Following a Research through Design framework for bridging practice and research, the dissertation redefines Meta-Design in the Maker Movement as the design of digital ontologies of design processes as design material. Ultimately, the practice of designing a Metadata Ontology for Ontological Design through the design of bits (digital environments) and atoms (physical artifacts) with and for Open, Peer-to-Peer, Diffuse, Distributed and Decentralized Systems. Finally, it redefines meta-designers as designers, facilitators, participants, developers and researchers embedded in social networks that define their activities, profiles and boundaries for the ontologies they design.Maker-liike on syntynyt suunnittelukäytänteiden ja tutkimuksen kontekstissa, joka on avoin, vertaisuuteen perustuva ja hajautettu, toimintaan perustuva, metasuunniteltu, ontologisesti määritelty, paikallisesti rajattu mutta globaalisti verkottunut ja yhteisökeskeinen. Tutkija osallistui vuosien ajan maker-liikkeen toimintaan ja keskittyi siihen, miten liike käyttää digitaalisia alustoja ja digitaalisen valmistamisen työkaluja yhteissuunnitteluun ja sekä digitaalisten että fyysisten esineiden valmistamiseen avoimen suunnittelun projekteissa. Tutkijan käytännön työn ja tutkimuksen painopiste metasuunnittelijana oli ymmärtää, miten osallistujat voivat tehdä yhteistyötä hajautetuissa järjestelmissä yhteistyöhön perustuvien prosessien suunnitteluun ja hallintaan tarkoitettujen työkalujen ja alustojen avulla.
Tämän väitöstyön keskeinen tutkimuskysymys on, miten voimme tukea ja integroida metasuunnittelijoiden tutkimusta ja käytännön työtä avoimen ja yhteissuunnittelun prosessien analysoinnissa, suunnittelussa ja jakamisessa avoimissa, vertais- ja hajautetuissa järjestelmissä. Työn painopiste muotoutui kolmessa päävaiheessa: yhteissuunnittelun prosessien helpottamiseksi laadittiin 1) yleistä suunnitteluperiaatetta, prosesseja ja työkaluja koskevat ohjeet, joita on tarkoitus käyttää 2) suunnittelutyökaluilla ja -työpajoissa, joissa koodataan menetelmiä 3) digitaalisen ontologian ja siihen liittyvän digitaalisen alustan kehittämiseen. Viimeisessä vaiheessa kehitettiin ontologiaa yhteissuunnittelun prosessien kuvaamiseen, dokumentoimiseen, jakamiseen ja suunnitteluun osana laajempaa konseptuaalista viitekehystä OpenMetaDesignia, joka rakentaa ontologian kehittämisprosesseja kuvaavien konseptien päälle ja koodaa sen digitaaliselle alustalle. Ontologian tehtävä on tukea käytännön työtä ja tutkimusta Research through Design -periaatteen kautta, joka ei auta vain käytännön työn ymmärtämisessä, vaan myös ruokkii, ohjaa ja uudistaa sitä. Tässä väitöstyössä tutkitaan sellaisen metasuunnittelijan mahdollista roolia, työtä ja profiilia, joka työskentelee helpottaakseen hajautettuja, avoimia ja yhteistyöhön perustuvia suunnittelu- ja toteutusprosesseja maker-liikkeessä. Näin väitöstyö antaa käsityksen tutkijan työstä sekä strategian ja työkaluja, joilla voidaan tarkastella toisten metasuunnittelijoiden työtä samaan tapaan. Tutkimus käyttää Research through Design -kehystä yhdistämään työn ja tutkimuksen sekä uudelleen määrittelee metasuunnittelun maker-liikkeessä suunnittelumateriaalina toimivien suunnitteluprosessien digitaalisten ontologioiden suunnitteluksi. Pohjimmiltaan se on metadataontologian suunnittelua ontologista suunnittelua varten kehittelemällä bittejä (digitaalisia ympäristöjä) ja atomeja (fyysisiä esineitä) sekä avoimille, vertais- ja hajautetuille järjestelmille että niiden kanssa. Lopulta se uudelleen määrittelee metasuunnittelijat suunnittelijoiksi, mahdollistajiksi, osallistujiksi, kehittäjiksi ja tutkijoiksi, jotka toimivat tiiviinä osana sosiaalisia verkostoja, jotka määrittävät heidän toimintansa ja profiilinsa sekä rajoitukset heidän suunnittelemilleen ontologioille
MAKERS AS A NEW WORK CONDITION BETWEEN SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND COMMUNITY PEER-PRODUCTION. INSIGHTS FROM A SURVEY ON MAKERS IN ITALY.
Get PDFPeer production has emerged as a new and relevant way of organising the work of distributed and autonomous individuals in the production and distribution of digital content. Increasingly, the adoption of peer production is taking place not only in the development of digital and immaterial content, but also in the design, manufacturing and distribution of physical goods. Furthermore, Open Design and Open Hardware projects are developed, discussed, manufactured and distributed thanks to digital fabrication technologies, digital communication technologies, advanced funding initiatives (like crowdfunding platforms and hardware incubators) and globally integrated supply chains. This new systemic dimension of work is possible, among other factors, thanks to local facilities like Fab Labs, Makerspaces and Hackerspaces (that can be generally called Maker laboratories), where individuals can gather and form communities with other people, designing and manufacturing together. Generally, these people are referred to as Makers and, while their existence is still an emergent phenomenon, it is widely acknowledged that they could exemplify a new modality of work. We investigated the knowledge, values and working dimensions of Makers in Italy with the Makers' Inquiry, a survey that focused on Makers, Indie Designers and managers of Maker laboratories. This research generated a first overview of the phenomenon in Italy, improving the knowledge of the profiles of Makers; an important step because Makers are usually defined in a very broad way. Furthermore, we investigated their profiles regarding their values and motivations, in order to understand how much Makers engage in peer production or in traditional businesses and whether their working condition is sustainable or not. Finally, we compared these profiles with data regarding traditional designers and businesses and the national context. Given the recent nature of the Maker movement, the focus of this article is on providing a first overview of the phenomenon in Italy with an exploratory analysis and with comparison with existing related literature or national data, rather than contextualising the Maker movement in sociological and political contributions. Far from happening in a void, Italian Makers have a strong relationship with their localities and established industry. Therefore, this is a recent evolution, where Makers work with a broader palette of projects and strategies: With both non-commercial and commercial activities, both peer production and traditional approaches. The activity of making is still a secondary working activity that partially covers the Makers’ income, who are mostly self-employed working at home, in a craft workshop or in a Fab Lab in self-funded or non-commercial initiatives, where technology is not the only critical issue. As a conclusion, we identified current patterns in the working condition of Italian Makers. The data gathered shows some interesting information that, however, could be applicable only to an Italian context. Nevertheless, the survey could be a starting point to compare the same phenomenon in different countries. Therefore, we released the survey files, software and data as open source in order to facilitate the adoption, modification, verification and replication of the survey
Challenges and Responsibilities in the UX Design of Text-to-Image AI Models: A Discussion Through a Comparative Heuristics Evaluation = Reptes i responsabilitats del disseny d’UX en models d’IA de text a imatge: Discussió a través d’una avaluació heurística comparativa
Get PDFThe rapid advancement and adoption of generative AI in creative and professional domains mark a significant evolution in technological interaction, raising pivotal discussions on its integration, usability and broader societal impact. This paper delves into the multifaceted challenges and opportunities presented by generative AI, focusing in particular on text-to-image tools and their integration into daily work practices of artists, designers, architects and researchers. As these creators increasingly incorporate AI’s inherent unpredictability and ambiguity into their work, a critical examination of the ethical, legislative and environmental implications becomes imperative.
We highlight how the User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) aspects of these groundbreaking technologies remain mostly underexplored. UX pioneer Jakob Nielsen has recently warned that professionals in the field must adapt to the fast-paced advancements in AI or become obsolete for an industry that is becoming pivotal in the contemporary creative field. He draws a parallel between the current AI era and the dot-com boom of the 1990s, highlighting how UX professionals were slow to adapt to the Internet, which led to missed opportunities and a lack of user-centred design. Consequently, the usability of generative AI tools is a paramount concern, especially as non-expert users increasingly engage with these systems. This paper explores the usability challenges, specifically the articulation barrier where users struggle to effectively communicate prompts to AI, and the consequent need for more intuitive and accessible interfaces. Through comparative analysis and a heuristic evaluation of four leading models, i.e. Midjourney, Dall.E, Stable Diffusion and Adobe Firefly, which presents a unique case study for comparison due to their divergent UI and UX elements, we aim to provide insights into the current state of AI tools and propose pathways for their responsible and effective use
Assessing the impact of maker services in Barcelona and Milan towards the 15-minute city model through their accessibility
No full textRe-organizing cities with proximity-based urban planning models such as the 15-Minute City model is an emerging and promising direction of policy, practice and research for sustainable cities. The planning of new urban spaces, infrastructures and mobilities requires planning and designing services that support citizens in their proximities. Along this direction, the emergence of the Maker Movement and its maker laboratories (Fab Labs, Makerspaces, Hackerspaces, DIYbio Labs, and so on) contributes to building the infrastructure for distributed design and manufacturing services in cities. How can we adopt the impact assessment of maker services in terms of potential accessibility for designing services towards the 15-Minute City model? We explore this issue within the context of the metropolitan areas of Barcelona and Milan by analysing 1) the 15-minute walking distance catchment areas of their maker service; 2) how to adopt this method for service design and impact assessment in the 15-Minute City model
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
A Framework for Understanding the Possible Intersections of Design with Open, P2P, Diffuse, Distributed and Decentralized Systems
No full textSince the turn of the century, the discipline of design has increasingly focused its attention on its application to projects and groups of users at a larger scale. Researchers and practitioners have tried to understand how design could shift its focus from single users to local and online communities, from isolated projects to whole complex systems. These new perspectives consequently brought the interest of designers to the tools and strategies that can enable their interactions with larger groups of people distributed in several localities. More specifically, designers and researchers started adopting many approaches coming from software development and web-based technologies, like open source, P2P, diffuse, distributed and decentralized systems. This article proposes a preliminary framework for understanding and working with the integration of design with open, P2P, diffuse, distributed and decentralized systems. In one direction, such open, P2P, DDD systems can be applied into design practice: this first intersection has many applications, from digital projects to P2P-based initiatives to physical projects designed and manufactured on global networks of distributed laboratories like Fab Labs and Makerspaces. In another direction, design practice can also have a role in enabling such systems through the analysis, visualization, and design of their collaborative tools, platforms, processes, and organizations. Design, therefore, could learn from such systems and also improve them. This second intersection falls into the meta-design domain, where designers can have a role in building environments for the collaborative design of open processes and their resulting organizations. The article therefore addresses this phenomenon by providing both an analysis of the concepts and the history of both directions and, in order to understand the phenomena with a broader overview, it proposes a preliminary framework for understanding the possible intersections of design with open, P2P, diffuse, distributed and decentralized systems through both literature and case studies. As the framework is still preliminary, the article provides as a conclusion some possible strategies for validating or improving the framework.Peer reviewe
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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