Friday, October 12, 2012

People are already cyborgs

Donna Haraway writes about us being cyborgs, connected and dependent on the technology around us. Jepp, part of you brain is on the Internet and on your mobilephone Harraway is "a leading thinker about people's love/hate relationship with machines". Jepp, she is also into this perspective that we need to understand peoples relationships to technology, and even that human and machine are not possible to separate any longer. I don't agree fully, but I think it says something about our relationship to technology. Living "without that part of your brain" is like living without glasses  when having really bad sight. You feel cut off from reality. You loose something of yourself and you ability to take part in society and to perceive,  reflect and communicate.

Harraway also tackles "masculine bias in scientific culture and sees herself as the troubled "modest witness" of the ethical maelstrom of genetic engineering" 

Read more at: 

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.02/ffharaway_pr.html

By the way, Donna is coming to Uppsala in 30 of October!






Design in progress

Communicating and  presenting the design process continiously for stakeholders becomes more and more important for designers. Especially in service design, because then the "product" is never really finished. Its an ongoing process and the user value is created continiously at different touchpoints. This also  why companies are adviced to have a a group that constantly work with user input and how to improve the service. This, and other hints comes from UX practioners:

http://www.uie.com/articles/best_practices/


http://www.agileproductdesign.com/blog/emerging_best_agile_ux_practice.html

http://www.thinkingandmaking.com/view/agile-ux-six


http://www.upassoc.org/upa_publications/jus/2007may/agile-ucd.html



This and more  examples of  advices for best practice for UX in agile environments, is found here: http://www.quora.com/How-do-UX-practices-fit-with-agile-development-practices

Thursday, October 11, 2012

What is your food culture?

Learning about the culture of eating without hands.  Its a challenge... but people ARE very creative in finding ways. Finding their own culture and manner. This is where true innovative ideas occur.

But, eating is about aesthetics and pleasure and meetings and cultures and lifestyle....
not just eating.

Its like, why do people take a shower or a bath?
Not necessarily to get clean. Its plesuare, rituals, lifestyle etc

- To wake up.
- To prepare for bed.
- To get warm.
- To feel warm.
- To reflect.
- To meditate.
- To reduce pain.
- To do something.
- To get away.
- To prepare oneself for a meeting.
- To look good in the hair.
- To avoid a burn injury.
- Etc.

Showering can also be approached as a culture. Just like eating is a culture.


http://wikieducator.org/Lesson_19:_Disability_and_Rehabilitation_Part_1