Registration Form Now Available: http://pdc2002.interactiveinstitute.se/ ***************************** PDC 2002 --The Participatory Design Conference http://pdc2002.interactiveinstitute.se/ PARTICIPATION AND DESIGN: Inquiring Into The Politics, Contexts And Practices of Collaborative Design Work June 23 - 25, 2002 School of Art and Communication, Malmo University Malmo, SWEDEN Sponsored by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. In cooperation with IFIP WG 9.1, Computers and Work The Conference Theme ***************************** Since 1990, the Participatory Design Conferences have brought together researchers and practitioners from a variety of disciplines and work traditions, probing the social scope and practices of design of technology. A core concern has been to understand how collaborative design processes can be based on participation of the people affected by the technology designed. The involvement of users and the focus on human-centered design, addressing the design of technology 'through the interface', were pioneered by contributions to the Participatory Design Conferences. Debates within the participatory design community have contributed to the development of a new IT design field emphasizing simultanously the need for thorough studies of the context of use, the relevance of an open and participatory design process, and concern for the political aspects of the technology in use. Today the collaborative nature of the design process and the need to involve a large variety of stakeholders has gained wider acceptance. At the same time a fundamental uncertainty concerning the scope and directions for the design of technology has created a growing interest in innovative approaches to participation and design. Inquiring into the contexts of use is becoming increasingly important as part of design work. Ethnographic approaches to field studies are producing valuable insights into existing and emerging practices of use, but the transition from what we learn from studies of work practices and social interactions to the design of a system, application or other design products remains poorly explored. Despite a well established literature on such approaches as contextual inquiry, focus groups and cooperative prototyping, the potential of participatory approaches to design oriented practice studies is often neglected in ethnographic approaches. Altogether, collaborative design practices, although widespread, are still not well understood. Design processes that are open to a large and varied group of participants are lacking a firm grounding in analysis of empirical studies and action research. How can the organisation of design processes in time and space accomodate participation? What roles do coordinating artifacts play in collaboration? How do design artifacts serve as bridges or barriers to diverse uesrs, including users with disabilities? What are the effects of distributed design processes on patterns of participation?What kinds of dialogues are possible between distributed design practices vs. local design practices and national or regional cultures? How does the local design process relate to the potential global outreach of the design? The politics of design must address questions about what can be and what should be designed. In a user-centered design process the distinction between the designed artifact, the context of use and the process of design may become blurred . Where does the design practice end, and the practice of use begin? When the technology is becoming tailorable in use, what is it then relevant to design for? How does participatory design work allow for redesign and participation in use over time? Inquiries: [EMAIL PROTECTED] PDC 2002 Registration Form Now Available: http://pdc2002.interactiveinstitute.se/ Also Of Interest ****************** DIAC 2002, Shaping the Network Society: Patterns for Participation, Action, and Change, Seattle, Washington, May 16-19. http://www.cpsr.org/conferences/diac02 ISCRAT, International Society for Cultural Research and Activity Theory, Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS, June 18-22. See http://www.psy.vu.nl/iscrat2002/ DIS 2002, Designing Interactive Systems, in London, ENGLAND June 26-28. See http://www.acm.org/sigs/sigchi/dis2002/ CSCW 2002 in New Orleans, LA, November 16-20. See http://www.fxpal.com/conferencesworkshops/cscw2002/ ******************* > -- Susan Evoy * Managing Director Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility P.O. Box 717 * Palo Alto * CA * 94302 USA Phone: (650) 322-3778 * Fax: (650) 322-4748 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cpsr.org/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ ___________________ There is less in this than meets the eye. Tellulah Bankhead [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.ssz.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.open-forge.org --------------------------------------------------------------------
