In this thesis, I developed an empirically and theoretically grounded understanding of participatory action research (PAR). My aim was to develop and explore PAR methods within three culturally different fishing communities located in India, Portugal and the UK in order to generate emotionally meaningful stories. The work was conducted as part of the practice-led TOTeM research project and aspires to be associated with such works that have been able to make a methodological contribution by introducing theoretical insights, innovative methods and analytical concepts. In this study, the key finding is revealing the importance of the preliminary activities that helped design the innovative methods. I assess how my PAR methods, such as story interviews, digital storytelling workshops and story kits, helped me to gather participants’ personal experiences within the three chosen communities. Photographs and ‘objects’ provided a medium through which to identify stories that were emotionally meaningful to the participants. These stories gathered from the three chosen communities were analysed through a story narrative analysis method. Each method evoked strong, emotionally meaningful responses from the participants with regard to human relationships and demonstrated the vital role of objects in identifying stories that illustrate the participants’ intimate relationships. The collective findings from the three communities established that the methods utilised provided a new way of synthesising storytelling with digital technologies. The findings reinforce the role played by the participants as co-creators in collaboratively designing the methods, enabling me to craft a better way to gather stories. Upon critical reflection of the methods, supporting evidence was found that storytelling serves as an invaluable technique in providing participants with opportunities to explore their cultural identity through uniquely self-reflecting narratives and shared moments. I present the three stages of the participatory methods as my story culture framework and the findings and challenges as my original contribution to knowledge. I propose that this transferable framework will support designers as they engage with various settings to elicit information from user and stakeholder participants, develop their own experiential and critical perspectives and utilise their intuitive and expressive expertise to establish, manage and sustain productive human-centred design relationships.

Mobile, digital technologies are thought to augment and transcend the limits of our places, yet they raise the issue of what our places are. PlaceMark is a simple, distributed collaborative authoring environment constructed in conjunction with a site-specific writing activity. This system is examined as a cultural probe, investigating how new media students engage in collaborative writing and how they construct place. Findings include that students engage in the activity as if in parallel play (influencing one another implicitly rather than explicitly), that approaching the notion of place through writing may require development (working through issues brought to the place and the exercise), and that students' relationship to place, at least when asked to write about places that may be considered natural, is not characterized by certainty in behavioral framing. / Master of Science

The definition of technology may have changed quite a bit over the years, but people have been bringing technology to remote, natural locations since long before concepts like recreational hiking or national parks existed. Nowadays, "digital" is usually implied before the word technology, and discussion of technology and trails often revolves around smartphones and GPS systems. However, a wide variety of hiking gear has benefited from precise engineering and product design. Even with more digital products hitting the shelves, many hikers go out on the trail to get away from or limit their use of technology, however they may define that word. Before any technology for the trail can be designed, the diverse perspectives of hikers must be explored rather than taking them for granted. Polling hikers through digital means or even delivering prototypes for research through design seems disingenuous when part of the target audience has negative attitudes towards technology. For this reason, cultural probes stood out as a useful method for understanding hikers and inspiring future directions for Technology on the Trail. The heart of the matter is indeed a question of culture, so probes are a logical choice for teasing out a variety of viewpoints. The goal of this study is not to design new technology. Rather, the goal is to find a way to make technology and nature more harmonious in the context of hiking. This could end up requiring new designs, but it could also be a matter of shifting perspective instead. No device or gear will ever be for everyone, and that's natural. Technology on the Trail can still seek to support both users of technology and the bystanders who are affected by the technology use of others. / Master of Science

Detta examensarbete undersöker användningen av mobiltelefoner som verktyg under användares beslutsprocess i en omnichannel-kundresa med fysisk och virtuell interaktion. Syftet är att identifiera både möjligheter och problem som kan uppstå vid användning av mobilen i en sådan interaktion, med fokus på fenomenet Webrooming. Studien belyser vikten av interaktionsdesign och tjänstedesign för att skapa en sömlös och positiv kundupplevelse i omnichannel-detaljhandeln. Examensarbetet undersöker tidigare forskning inom området, analyserar befintliga exempel på omnichannel-strategier samt undersöker användares beslutsprocess med mobilen som verktyg. Studien tar insikter från Cultural Probes som metod där användare dokumenterar en Webrooming-resa med olika medel där mobilen är i fokus. Intervjuer genomförs för att komplettera eventuella kunskapsluckor och öka förståelsen för deltagarnas inlämnade kit. Vidare analyseras insamlade data via Affinitetsdiagram samt Customer Journey Maps. Genom att tillhandahålla en djupgående analys av den nuvarande situationen inom användarens beslutsprocess, kan detta examensarbete bidra till en ökad förståelse för hur användaren använder mobilen som verktyg under den fysiska och virtuella interaktionen med ett företags olika tjänster under en webrooming-resa. Studiens resultat visar att mobilen används genomgående under hela kundresan för beslutsfattande, informationssökande, jämförelser och rekommendationer. Den slutsats som dras från studien är att mobilen används för beslutsfattande på ett flertal punkter och är ett viktigt verktyg under användarens beslutsprocess. Trots vissa utmaningar med mobiltelefonen som verktyg, såsom små skärmar och problem med mobilwebbsidor, upplevs mobiltelefonen som ett lättillgängligt och smidigt verktyg. / This thesis examines the use of mobile phones as tools during users' decision-making process in an omnichannel customer journey with physical and virtual interactions. The purpose is to identify both opportunities and issues that may arise when using the mobile phone in such interactions, with a focus on the phenomenon of webrooming. The study highlights the importance of interaction design and service design in creating a seamless and positive customer experience in omnichannel retail. To achieve this, the thesis examines previous research in the field, analyzes existing examples of omnichannel strategies, and investigates users' decision-making process using the mobile phone as a tool. The study employs insights from Cultural Probes as a method, where users document a webrooming journey using various means with the mobile phone at the center. Interviews are conducted to fill any knowledge gap and increase understanding of participants' submitted kits. Furthermore, collected data is analyzed through Affinity Diagrams and Customer Journey Maps. By providing an in-depth analysis of the current situation within the user's decision-making process, this thesis can contribute to a better understanding of how users use the mobile phone as a tool during the physical and virtual interaction with a company's various services during a webrooming journey. The findings of the study show that the mobile phone is consistently used throughout the entire customer journey for decision-making, information-seeking, comparisons, and recommendations. The conclusion drawn from the study is that the mobile phone is used for decision-making at multiple points and is an important tool during a user's decision-making process. Despite certain challenges with the mobile phone as a tool, such as small screens and issues with mobile web pages, the mobile phone is perceived as an accessible and convenient tool.

Research tools to identify sensitive topics and thus new opportunities to design for have grown in popularity in the last twenty years within HCI, with many projects and areas to note. However, the research tools used are still underdeveloped (Crabtree, 2003), and many universal designs of the 20th century have failed to develop for more sensitive areas, bar the conventional young, non-disabled, white, cis-male (Clarkson, 2003). The topics discussed in the thesis are reviews and arguments for the use of an adapted cultural probe’s place to research sensitive topics, identify perhaps previously hidden “sensitive-HCI” (Waycott et al. 2015) design spaces. The focus is on the tools to gather data, and discover design opportunities, rather than the particular and actual findings from the study.

Curious Cycles responds to the tensions that arise when designing technologies for menstruation and menstrual cycles, touching upon notions of curiosity, noticing, sharing, taking or making space, and our relationships with our bodies and their fluids. The project follows a Research through Design approach, guided by Soma Design and feminist research methods. Curious Cycles are a set of cultural probes; objects and interactions designed to gather experiences and insights from ve people who menstruate, throughout the duration of a cycle (approximately one month). The objects are meant to "cultivate curiosity", provoking reections on the ways we currently relate to our bodies and bodily uids and speculating on how we might relate to them in the future. This work seeks to approach the design method of cultural probes from a feminist perspective and contributes through the concept of "cultivating curiosity", a way to design menstrual cycle technologies by attending closely to the changing social and material experiences of the body, which in turn can challenge the cultural taboos surrounding menstruation. / Curious Cycles svarar mot spänningarna som uppkommer när teknologier designas för menstruation och menstruationscykeln, genom idéer kring nykenhet, att märka, att dela med sig, att ta eller göra plats, och våra relationer med våra kroppar och deras vätskor. Projektet följer en Research through Design metodik, guidad av Soma Design och feministiska forskningsmetoder. Curious Cycles är en uppsättning cultural probes; föremål och interaktioner designade för att samla erfarenheter och insikter från fem menstruerande personer genom deras hela menstruationscykel (vilka pågår cirka en månad). Föremålen är menade att kultivera nykenhet för att framkalla reektioner kring de sätt vi för närvarande relaterar till våra kroppar och kroppsliga vätskor på, och även för att spekulera kring hur vi kan relatera till de i framtiden. Detta arbete närmar sig cultural probes från feministiska perspektiv och bidrar med konceptet "cultivating curiosity", ett sätt att designa teknologier för menstruationscykeln genom att ingående uppmärksamma förändringar av sociala och materiella erfarenheter av kroppen, vilket i sin tur kan utmana kulturella tabun kring menstruation.

No / Purpose: We drew on an interdisciplinary research design to examine stroke survivors’ experiences of living with stroke and with technology in order to provide technology developers with insight into values, thoughts and feelings of the potential users of a to-be-designed robotic technology for home-based rehabilitation of the hand and wrist. Method: Ten stroke survivors and their family carers were purposefully selected. On the first home visit, they were introduced to cultural probe. On the second visit, the content of the probe packs were used as prompt to conduct one-to-one interviews with them. The data generated was analysed using thematic analysis. A third home visit was conducted to evaluate the early prototype. Results: User requirements were categorised into their network of relationships, their attitude towards technology, their skills, their goals and motivations. The user requirements were used to envision the requirements of the system including providing feedback on performance, motivational aspects and usability of the system. Participants’ views on the system requirements were obtained during a participatory evaluation. Conclusion: This study showed that prior to the development of technology, it is important to engage with potential users to identify user requirements and subsequently envision system requirements based on users’ views.

Research tools to identify sensitive topics and thus new opportunities to design for have grown in popularity in the last twenty years within HCI, with many projects and areas to note. However, the research tools used are still underdeveloped (Crabtree, 2003), and many universal designs of the 20th century have failed to develop for more sensitive areas, bar the conventional young, non-disabled, white, cis-male (Clarkson, 2003). The topics discussed in the thesis are reviews and arguments for the use of an adapted cultural probe’s place to research sensitive topics, identify perhaps previously hidden “sensitive-HCI” (Waycott et al. 2015) design spaces. The focus is on the tools to gather data, and discover design opportunities, rather than the particular and actual findings from the study.

Sweden has a high rate of unintended pregnancies (UP) despite being a rather open society regarding sexual health education. New technology provides new possibilities to improve access by providing contraceptive consultations online, but will that lower the rate of UP? Very few studies have been done on the people working with the young women to find out what can be done to improve the quality of the contraceptive counseling. That is why this study involved two midwives practicing at a youth center at an early stage of the design process. Cultural Probes was used as method to better understand what needs midwives experience in their daily work. Three key findings stating the needs of the midwives were knowledge, missed appointments and trust. In addition, a service evaluation was done to investigate when and how midwives and young women interact. Making the contraceptive consultations available online with a digital care provider would make it more accessible for the young women and the results of this study do not contradict that hypothesis. However, availability is not the sole influencing factor on contraceptive usage. This study shows that encouragement for young women to seek general knowledge and information about contraceptives prior to the consultation is an important factor in order to improve the quality of contraceptive counselling. / Trots Sveriges relativt öppna samhälle gällande sex och sexualundervisning så har vi en väldigt hög frekvens av oönskade graviditeter. Ny teknik möjliggör att hålla preventivmedel konsultationer online vilket leder bättre tillgänglighet, men frågan är om det räcker för att sänka frekvensen oönskade graviditeter? Väldigt få studier har gjort på barnmorskorna som jobbar med de unga kvinnorna för att får reda på vad mer som kan göras för att höja kvaliteten på preventivmedelsrådgivningen. Därför har denna studie, i ett tidigt stadie av designprocessen, involverat två barnmorskor praktiserande på en ungdomsmottagning. Cultural Probes användes som metod för att bättre förstå vilka behov barnmorskor upplever i deras dagliga arbete. Det främsta resultatet summeras i tre teman: kunskap, missade besök och förtroende. Dessutom utfördes en serviceutvärdering av hela kundresan för att ta reda på när och hur barnmorskor och unga kvinnor interagerar. Genom att möjliggöra preventivmedelsrådgivning online genom digital vård så skulle tillgängligheten förbättras för de unga kvinnorna och denna hypotes är inget som denna studie motsätter sig. Men tillgänglighet är inte den enda faktorn som påverkar användandet av preventivmedel. Denna studie visar att uppmuntran till att få unga kvinnor att söka kunskap och information om preventivmedel innan själva besöket är en viktig del som skulle kunna förbättra kvaliteten på preventivmedelsrådgivningen

Pollutants can harm menstrual health, and raising awareness of this is vital. This study is a research-through-design project that aims to investigate the design qualities of interactive technologies that aim to raise this kind of awareness. This study used first-person experiment method to design and develop cultural probes. The probes were iterated based on the results of a pilot study. The cultural probes were deployed with five women from Asia and Europe, followed by a semi-structured interview. The probes were designed to prompt participants to reflect on pollution and menstrual health. The results present confusion about pollutants, negative feelings and conflicting feelings while awareness is raising, being watched by technology, lack of more profound knowledge of menstrual health, infringement upon individual bodily autonomy and human responsibility on pollution, and connection between our bodies and environment. This paper highlights the importance of designing and mitigating these design tensions in designing technologies to raise awareness of pollution’s impacts on menstrual health. / Föroreningar kan skada menstruationshälsa, och att öka kännedomen av detta är viktigt. Denna studie är ett research-through-design-projekt som försöker undersöka designkvaliteterna i interaktiv teknologi som försöker att öka kännedom om detta. Studien använde sig av metoden förstapersonsexperiment för att designa och utveckla kulturella sonder. Sonderna itererades baserat på resultaten från en pilotstudie. Kultursonderna utplacerades hos fem kvinnor från Asien och Europa, och följdes upp av en semistrukturell intervju. Sonderna var designade för att få deltagarna att reflektera på förorening och menstruell hälsa. Resultaten presenterar förvirring kring föroreningar, negativa känslor och motstridiga känslor när kännedomen ökar, bli bevakad av teknologi, brist på mer djupgående kunskap kring menstruationhälsa, kränkning av den personliga autonomin och mänskligt ansvar kring förorening, samt kopplingen mellan våra kroppar och miljön. Studien lyfter fram vikten av design och mitigering av dessa designspänningar när man designar teknologi för att öka kännedomen om föroreningens påverkan på menstruationshälsa.