Temporary technology limits shouldn’t become design patterns

a post by Jim McGee for his blog McGee’s Musings

Things are the way they are because they got that way
– Ken Boulding

This is a quote attributed to Boulding by Jerry Weinberg in his excellent Secrets of Consulting. My students will tell you that I am fond of bringing it into many a class discussion. It’s somehow more useful to me than trotting out Santayana’s observation about learning history.

We’re all hot for the new, new thing and innovation is always better when it’s disruptive. For all that, when thinking about new technology we would do well to spend time and thought understanding how we got to the current situation. Predicaments today grew out of decisions yesterday that made sense when they were made. If we want to leave fewer predicaments for our successors, we need to understand how those earlier logic trains derailed.

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Design in a downturn? Creative work, labour market dynamics and institutions...

an article by Tara Vinodrai (University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) published in Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society Volume 6 Number 1 (2013)

Abstract

This article examines how creative workers are adapting to the global economic downturn and how this process is unfolding in different national and regional institutional spaces.

The article draws upon a comparative study of design work in two urban settings in advanced capitalist economies (Toronto, Canada and Copenhagen, Denmark) to explore this question.

It demonstrates that the strategies taken by creative workers to respond to changing economic conditions are actively shaped and constrained by their geographic and institutional contexts.

The article underscores that the existing national and regional institutions provide the foundation for the future possibilities, welfare and prosperity of creative workers.

JEL classification: O18, P5, R23, Z10

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The design construct in information systems design science

an article by Judy McKay (Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia), Peter Marshall (University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia) and Rudy Hirschheim (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA) published in Journal of Information Technology Volume 27 Issue 2 (June 2012)

Abstract

This paper arose from concerns regarding the current conceptualizations of ‘design’ in the emerging literature on design science (DS) in information systems (IS). In this paper, we argue that current conceptualizations of design in IS are overly narrow, which necessarily limits what is viewed as acceptable DS research. In response we advance a more encompassing view of design.

The revised view extends the current perspectives of design in the IS literature to embrace broader conceptualizations of design, which are evident in many intellectual communities outside IS where design is viewed as a critical component of both research and practice – such as management, engineering, architecture and others.

In addition to the fairly common conceptualizations of design as product and design as process or action, design is also conceived as: intention; planning – including modeling and representation; communication; user experience; value; professional practice; and as service.

Further, whereas the current conceptualization of design in IS views IS design knowledge as split across two paradigms, namely DS and behavioral science, in this paper we argue for a broader and more integrated view of design: one that emphasizes both the construction-centered and human-centered aspects of design in IS. Building from our broader view, we discuss some of the implications for design-oriented research in IS, and consider ways in which this human-centered perspective might impact on the context and content of design research in IS.

Design of Learning Spaces: …

Emotional and Cognitive Effects of Learning Environments in Relation to Child Development

 an article by Petra A. Arndt (Transfer Center for Neuroscience and Learning, University of Ulm, Germany) published in Mind, Brain, and Education Volume 6 Issue 1 (March 2012)

Abstract

The design of learning spaces is rightly gaining more and more pedagogical attention, as they influence the learning climate and learning results in multiple ways. General structural characteristics influence the willingness to learn through emotional well-being and a sense of security. Specific structural characteristics influence cognitive processes, from visual and acoustic perceptions, via attention to the model, to processes of comprehension and reflection.

Aspects of the design of the learning space also modify the interaction among students and between students and their teacher. Furthermore, the different requirements that have emerged through the development toward a learning society and the explosive increase of available information in our society require changes in the design of learning processes and thus of learning environments.

Taking biological needs and neurobiological processes into account when designing learning spaces can provide a beneficial learning environment with regard to mental resources. This article will highlight relevant (neuro)biological fundamentals and try to describe resulting conclusions for the design of learning spaces.

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