Design fiction as a practice for researching the social

The aim of this paper is to contribute to a new conceptual foundation for design fiction. Much attention is dedicated to theorising how design fictions relate to our so-called actual world. This work can be seen as an attempt at securing the seriousness and legitimacy of design fiction as an approach to design research. The theory of possible worlds has proven promising in this regard. We argue, however, that a detailed understanding of design fiction is still lacking. In design fiction literature, authors often engage in critiquing techno-centric approaches while paying less attention to how design fiction has a potential to foster social change in situated actual affairs. We argue that analysis should start from the messy unfolding of the design event itself rather than from big ontological discussions of the boundaries between fiction and reality. To grasp the messiness of design fiction, we offer an interdisciplinary framework, bridging knowledge domains such as literally theory and design anthropology.</p

Fiction as a resource in participatory design

In this paper we are exploring the relation between participation and fiction with the aim of investigating how fiction can be a resource for participatory design and can shed more light on the participatory value of fiction. We describe how fiction has been taken up and conceptualized in contemporary design research and argue that different strategies for applying fiction may be seen as a resource for evoking various forms of participation. Furthermore this paper present three case examples of participatory prototyping, that makes use of play or games as a way to engage participants with a particular use of make-believe. We discuss these cases with the purpose of identifying how participatory design can benefit from a more articulate notion of fiction.In this paper we are exploring the relation between participation and fiction with the aim of investigating how fiction can be a resource for participatory design and can shed more light on the participatory value of fiction. We describe how fiction has been taken up and conceptualized in contemporary design research and argue that different strategies for applying fiction may be seen as a resource for evoking various forms of participation. Furthermore this paper present three case examples of participatory prototyping, that makes use of play or games as a way to engage participants with a particular use of make-believe. We discuss these cases with the purpose of identifying how participatory design can benefit from a more articulate notion of fiction

Seeding a Repository of Methods-To-Be for Nature-Entangled Design Research

Abstract We share an emergent repository of nature-entangled methods-to-be shared, experimented with, and discussed during a conference workshop. We present them in-use, as they are in formation. We do not seek to theorise or even fully articulate these methods-to-be. Rather, to make them approachable and actionable for others by showing them not fully polished. By doing this, we advocate for increased transparency in the difficulties of creating new methods, techniques, tools, and approaches. Our contribution is threefold: we provide 1) an annotated portfolio of methods-to-be; 2) illustrative examples of how cross-pollination of these methods can enrich their situated use; and 3) a discussion of ways to further articulate the methods and deepen reflection on their roles in nature-entangled design processes.Abstract We share an emergent repository of nature-entangled methods-to-be shared, experimented with, and discussed during a conference workshop. We present them in-use, as they are in formation. We do not seek to theorise or even fully articulate these methods-to-be. Rather, to make them approachable and actionable for others by showing them not fully polished. By doing this, we advocate for increased transparency in the difficulties of creating new methods, techniques, tools, and approaches. Our contribution is threefold: we provide 1) an annotated portfolio of methods-to-be; 2) illustrative examples of how cross-pollination of these methods can enrich their situated use; and 3) a discussion of ways to further articulate the methods and deepen reflection on their roles in nature-entangled design processes

Ecological data for manifesting the entanglement of more-than-human livingness

Data in Design and HCI research is often associated with something captured from the world in digital form and transferred to a database. However, the assumption of digitalisation, as well as the intentions and values underlying it, can obscure more nuanced approaches to data, and is becoming increasingly criticised (e.g., through notions of data colonialism, data extractivism, etc.). In this workshop, we invite participants to critically review data concepts and practices that sustain Western industrialised socio-economic systems, considering their ethical, environmental, and ecological implications. In contrast, we will explore data in the entangled ecologies of organisms, matter, and environments, focusing on ‘livingness’ as a way to reveal embodied, relational, and situated aspects of data. Through wandering and foraging, we will discuss how these aspects of data might help us regain our attentiveness, appreciation, and responsibility towards more-than-human ecologies, and ultimately reframe concepts of data in the world

Developing a Score to Grade Primary Care Providers’ Potentially Inappropriate Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Testing Behaviour in Nova Scotia

Introduction: Primary care providers are gatekeepers, and they only open the ‘gate’ for sick patients to further care and testing. Blood work is potentially overused, and overtesting can worsen health outcomes. We will use the common Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH) test as an example for the study. Objectives: Describe primary care providers’ TSH testing behaviour in Nova Scotia from 2014 to 2018 and develop a method to identify potentially inappropriate testing (PIT). Methods: Retrospective primary care electronic medical records from MaRNet-FP will be used to identify PITs and calculate PIT scores for participating physicians and nurse practitioners. Findings: Almost 9 % of TSH tests were potentially inappropriate in 2018 on average per provider. Most providers had a low PIT score, but 7 % are potentially overtesting their patients with TSH at a high rate. We did not find any changes in the frequency of laboratory orders or visits after a PIT