This thesis examines three uniquely different community engagement methods that explore the relationship between community values and the physical landscape in two Appalachian communities; Austinville, VA and St. Paul, VA. Each community engagement method is 1) introduced via literature review/case study, 2) modified from the case study to suit local conditions, and 3) analyzed for effectiveness in connecting local values and the physical landscape. I then reflected on this academic research through the lens of a three-year employment as a community development and natural asset planner with a 501(c)3 non-profit in southwest Virginia. The professional experience revealed five community systems that impacted the overall effectiveness of community engagement processes and had the potential to position communities, and their public projects, for a higher level of success. The community systems included: Capacity and Readiness, Involvement, Leadership, Communication, Frame of Reference and Community Vision. Research and professional practice together suggested that an intentional effort to understand and incorporate community values via community engagement ultimately led to more meaningful designs in the public sector. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / E-government should be at the heart of service delivery in developing countries if the life of citizens, especially the socially and economically marginalised, is to be improved. Often in developing contexts, citizens have been treated as recipients of such interventions, in a top-down approach from central governments, resulting in the non-use of such interventions. A situation of non-use of e-services results in wastage of the public fiscus. The extant literature points to a number of underlying causes of the problem. One such problem is the “Design-Reality Gap."

Yes / Population Health Management (PHM) relies on the analysis of data from several sources to account for the complex interaction of factors that contribute to the health and well-being of a population, while considering biases and inequalities across sub-populations. Visualisation is emerging as an essential tool for insight generation from data shared and linked across services including healthcare, education, housing, policing, etc. However, visualisation design is challenged by poor data connectivity and quality, high dimensionality and complexity of real-world routinely collected data, in addition to the heterogeneity of users’ backgrounds and tasks. The Creative Visualisation Opportunities (CVO) framework provides a structured approach for working with diverse communities of visualisation stakeholders and defines a set of participatory activities for the effective elicitation of requirements and visualisation design alternatives. We conducted three workshops, applying variations of the CVO framework, with over one hundred participants from the PHM domain, including clinicians, researchers, government and private sector representatives, and local communities. In this paper, we present the results of preliminary analysis of these activities and report on the perceived impact of visualisation in this domain from a stakeholders’ perspective. We report real-world successes and limitations of applying the framework in different formats (through online and in-person workshops), and reflect on lessons learned for task analysis and visualisation design in the PHM domain.

Child-computer interaction researchers are increasingly recognising the benefits of directly involving children in the design of new technology. This has resulted in the development of several design methods for involving children in the technology design process, using approaches such as Participatory Design (PD). More recently there has been a greater focus on involving children with diverse needs, as technology can often be particularly beneficial within the education of these children. One such group is children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and in recent years there has been a sharp rise in the amount of technology being developed specifically for this population. However, the needs and preferences of this user group can differ from the general child population due to the specific characteristics of ASD, with these differences making it more challenging for adult designers to develop appropriate technologies. This thesis therefore seeks to establish the potential of using PD to involve children with ASD within the technology design process through the development of a new PD method, which aims to support the typical difficulties of children with ASD at the same time as utilising their characteristic strengths. A qualitative approach has been followed in order to understand firstly the ability of children with ASD to undertake typical design tasks; secondly the degree children with ASD are able to participate in the design process; and thirdly the ability of children with ASD to collaborate within a design team. The results reveal that children with ASD can undertake typical design tasks, but some children may require additional support to generate and communicate their design ideas. It is shown that a flexible approach should be taken with regard to the involvement of children with ASD within the technology design process, and the importance of the adaptability of the adult’s role in supporting the children’s participation and collaboration is additionally highlighted. This research has led to the development of a new PD method, IDEAS, which is tailored to the specific needs of children with ASD through the incorporation of flexible structured and supportive features.

<p>Vi har undersökt användares inställning till användarmedverkan i systemutvecklingsprojekt. Syftet var att ta reda på vilka faktorer som kan anses påverka denna inställning, undersöka hur användarnas inställning förändras under projekttiden samt ta reda på skillnader i inställning mellan civilt och militärt anställda. Som grund för vår undersökning genomfördes en tolkande fallstudie inom Försvarsmakten. Utifrån en litteraturstudie identifierades motivationsfaktorer som låg till grund för vår analys. Till största delen användes intervjuer som datakälla, men även dokument, informella samtal och andra erfarenheter användes i studien. Slutsatsen blev att tid är den viktigaste faktorn för användarnas inställning, men även vikten av information från projektledningen samt att användaren medverkar i de delar av projektet som är relevant för dem. Användarnas inställning förändrades inte över tiden och någon tydlig skillnad mellan civilt och militärt anställda kunde inte identifieras.</p>

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As our contemporary cities continue to revitalize, redefine, and reassert themselves on an international scale, public spaces provide an opportunity to lend the sense of place which makes cities unique and compelling. Several cities such as Toronto, Chicago, and most notably Bilbao have commissioned world renowned architects to design a project in their signature style. These projects are generally anticipated with great excitement, yet once they are completed and a few years have passed, the initial enthusiasm fades along with the international recognition which originated the object. In the end, these projects, regardless of how well they are liked by the citizens of a city, seem to lack a sense of authenticity. Citizen participation offers an opportunity to develop public spaces in a way that will reintroduce the citizen into its built environment. Rather than merely offering a beautiful space, the participatory design model recognizes the collaborative potential with the citizen, and embraces it. This research-based thesis seeks to understand the growing movement of citizen participation and the role it can play in the design of urban public spaces. Furthermore, it examines the role of the architect and how one can begin to successfully integrate the citizen into the design process. The research is divided into three sections. First, a survey of the literature surrounding the field of participation provides an understanding of different attitudes and methods regarding citizen involvement and why its integration into the design of public spaces is important. Second, a series of case studies with varying levels of citizen participation were examined for the role the architect and his/her relationship with the citizen, as well as the overall effectiveness public participation had on the end result. Finally, the third section illustrates two applications of a participation workshop, originally designed by Proboscis, both located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This thesis maintains that citizen participation is not only beneficial to the development of urban public spaces but is essential if one wishes to design a space that can empower a neighbourhood and its city. Moreover, public spaces designed through the participatory design model allows for citizens to take ownership for the space and appropriate it as their own, which will lead to its continual development, transforming the space into a locus for the city.

This thesis explores participatory design methods and presents the process and the outcomes of a related case study, carried out in collaboration with Vestel Electronics, a Turkish consumer electronics manufacturer, on TV remote controls. The thesis comprises a literature review on participatory design, including its historical background and evolution, the motivations behind its contemporary utilization and the methods, techniques and tools utilized within the approach. The case study comprises two phases. In the first phase, a participatory user workshop was realized with eight middle-aged Turkish housewives. In the second phase, an interactive, computer based design resource was developed by the author, which aims to present the workshop outcomes to designers. The resource was evaluated by the designers of Vestel Electronics and the outcomes are presented in the thesis. Through such a case study the approach of a Turkish in-house design team towards participatory design methods was reached. Moreover, insights about how such a design resource can be developed were gained through designers&amp / #8217 / evaluations.

Vi har undersökt användares inställning till användarmedverkan i systemutvecklingsprojekt. Syftet var att ta reda på vilka faktorer som kan anses påverka denna inställning, undersöka hur användarnas inställning förändras under projekttiden samt ta reda på skillnader i inställning mellan civilt och militärt anställda. Som grund för vår undersökning genomfördes en tolkande fallstudie inom Försvarsmakten. Utifrån en litteraturstudie identifierades motivationsfaktorer som låg till grund för vår analys. Till största delen användes intervjuer som datakälla, men även dokument, informella samtal och andra erfarenheter användes i studien. Slutsatsen blev att tid är den viktigaste faktorn för användarnas inställning, men även vikten av information från projektledningen samt att användaren medverkar i de delar av projektet som är relevant för dem. Användarnas inställning förändrades inte över tiden och någon tydlig skillnad mellan civilt och militärt anställda kunde inte identifieras.

As our contemporary cities continue to revitalize, redefine, and reassert themselves on an international scale, public spaces provide an opportunity to lend the sense of place which makes cities unique and compelling. Several cities such as Toronto, Chicago, and most notably Bilbao have commissioned world renowned architects to design a project in their signature style. These projects are generally anticipated with great excitement, yet once they are completed and a few years have passed, the initial enthusiasm fades along with the international recognition which originated the object. In the end, these projects, regardless of how well they are liked by the citizens of a city, seem to lack a sense of authenticity. Citizen participation offers an opportunity to develop public spaces in a way that will reintroduce the citizen into its built environment. Rather than merely offering a beautiful space, the participatory design model recognizes the collaborative potential with the citizen, and embraces it. This research-based thesis seeks to understand the growing movement of citizen participation and the role it can play in the design of urban public spaces. Furthermore, it examines the role of the architect and how one can begin to successfully integrate the citizen into the design process. The research is divided into three sections. First, a survey of the literature surrounding the field of participation provides an understanding of different attitudes and methods regarding citizen involvement and why its integration into the design of public spaces is important. Second, a series of case studies with varying levels of citizen participation were examined for the role the architect and his/her relationship with the citizen, as well as the overall effectiveness public participation had on the end result. Finally, the third section illustrates two applications of a participation workshop, originally designed by Proboscis, both located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This thesis maintains that citizen participation is not only beneficial to the development of urban public spaces but is essential if one wishes to design a space that can empower a neighbourhood and its city. Moreover, public spaces designed through the participatory design model allows for citizens to take ownership for the space and appropriate it as their own, which will lead to its continual development, transforming the space into a locus for the city.