The purpose of the study is to elaborate the Wizard-of-Oz (WOz) technique by using it at a distance for design and elicitation of requirements and requests as part of a Participatory Design process (i.e. remotely - where the wizard and participant are located in different geographical locations). This study aims at evaluating what the salient traits in the participatory discussions are by using the WOz technique at a distance, what similarities there are in function or expression between non-verbal expressions in GUI-ii and ordinary physical interviews, and how WOz at a distance fit into the current state of the Participatory design field. In an early design phase of a project, ten experimental WOz-at-a-distance sessions and five face-to-face interviews were held. The experimental sessions’ focus was on the codesign of early drafts of the interaction design for a digital tool for the planning of crisis management exercises. The interaction design was developed with a WOz system. The sessions offered co-design between a designer and a co-designer by having joint access to a graphical user interface (GUI), and to verbally communicate with each other. These sessions had a twofold approach where the focus could shift seamlessly between design and walkthrough. The results from this study show that WOz at a distance, as used in this study, offers an approach for a seamless switch between design-phase and evaluation-phase in the form of walkthroughs. Having the GUI present as a boundary object whilst discussing the GUI and its interaction design enables a natural way of designing and evaluating the functions and interaction design of the upcoming system. The results also show that even if the participatory discussion lacks the face-to-face meeting between the interlocutors there are some similarities between those discussions and the face-to-face interviews in function and use of non-verbal expressions. Participatory discussions, when using WOz technique at a distance is a method where the participatory mindset is prominent and is a flexible approach that fits well with the overarching views on Participatory design.

This thesis builds on the fields of Participatory Design and Service Design to develop an inquiry into future repair practices: what they could be, how they might be encouraged and what would be their relations with public policies. It presents the concept of a municipal scheme promoting a better use of old electrical and electronic items through the creation of dedicated spaces where items can be repaired, sold or recycled and the granting of credit to be spent on repair services. Through this concept, this thesis presents a reflection on how technological infrastructures, policy instruments and local actors could be combined to encourage new practices. It therefore contributes to the research on Interaction Design and sustainability by arguing that the field can embrace a transdisciplinary perspective to design both infrastructure changes and their technological mediations.

I started the project by doing a workshop with aclassmate using a derivative of the german officeBaupiloten’s methods. The goal of the workshop was toextract their actual needs and wishes.Traditionally when asking a client “What do you want?”,they’ll be constricted by their own reality and context.Taking children as an example they would ask for moreslides or a trampoline. By using an seemingly nonconnectedand abstract task the children can expresstheir actuals needs and wishes for their enviroment.We had a group of 8, 5 year old children that we showed 9pictures of natural phenomena while telling the childrenabout the pictures to spark their imagination. Afterwardwe asked each child to pick the pictures they liked. Withthem and other material we then instructed them to“construct worlds” inside A4-boxes. During the wholeprocess speaking to the children to extract their thoughtprocess as thoroughly as possible.On top of this the concept was based on the ongoingdebate regarding the lack of outdoor areas for childrenin Stockholm as well as the pedagogies of Reggio Emiliaand Montessori. From this I derived four key points.Exploration and independence, denuded architecture,free play outside and children’s inherent creativity. / Jag startade projektet genom att göra en workshop med en klasskamrat med hjälp av ett derivat från tyska arkitekturkontoret Baupilotens metoder. Målet med workshoppen var att extrahera deras faktiska behov och önskemål. Traditionellt när man frågar en klient "Vad vill du ha?", kommer de att vara begränsade av sin egen verklighet och kontext. Ta ett barn som exempel. De skulle be om mer rutschkanor eller en studsmatta. Genom att använda en till synes icke-kopplad och abstrakt uppgift barnen kan uttrycka deras faktiska behov och önskemål för deras omgivningar. Vi hade en grupp av åtta stycken, fem år gamla barn som vi visade nio bilder av naturfenomen samtidigt som vi berättade om bilderna för att tända barnens fantasi. Efteråt bad vi varje barn att välja bilderna som de tyckte mest om. Vi instruerade dem sedan till "Konstruera världar" i A4-lådor. Under hela processen talade vi med barnen för att extrahera deras tankeprocess så noggrant som möjligt. Utöver detta var konceptet baserat på den pågående debatten om bristen på utomhusområden för barn i Stockholm samt pedagogiken i Reggio Emilia och Montessori. Från detta härledde jag fyra huvudpunkter. Utforskning och självständighet, redovisande arkitektur, fri lek utomhus och barns inneboende kreativitet.

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Research shows that Bulgaria is among the least LGBTQ+ friendly countries in the European Union, with members of the community facing discrimination, hostility, and violence both in their everyday lives and on a systemic level. The environment of suppression and stigma has also had an effect on the volume of local research into LGBTQ+ issues. This project’s goal is to fit into that research gap by providing a perspective on the problems faced by Bulgarian LGBTQ+ people and the plausible, practical solutions they would like to see or be part of on a local level. Participants focused on solutions that would create a space for queer community and expression, provide support and information where it is needed, and grow stronger community bonds. Some of those solutions were technological (such as an informational application and a community forum), others focused on interpersonal connection (such as an LGBTQ+ book club), and yet others on direct action (distributing counterpropaganda). / Forskning visar att Bulgarien är bland de minst hbtq-vänliga länderna i EU, med medlemmar av samhället som utsätts för diskriminering, fientlighet och våld både i sin vardag och på systemnivå. De miljö av förtryck och stigma har också haft en effekt på volymen av lokal forskning om HBTQ+-frågor. Detta projektets mål är att passa in i denna forskningsklyfta genom att ge ett perspektiv på problemen som bulgariska HBTQ+ står inför människor och de rimliga, praktiska lösningar de skulle vilja se eller vara en del av på lokal nivå. Deltagarna fokuserade på lösningar som skulle skapa ett utrymme för queergemenskap och uttryck, ge stöd och information där det behövs och stärka gemenskapsbanden. Några av dessa lösningar var tekniska (som en informativ ansökan och ett communityforum), andra fokuserade på interpersonell koppling (som en HBTQ +bokklubb), och ytterligare andra om direkta åtgärder (distribution av kontrapropaganda).