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ISBN: 978-1-905000-80-7
Conference sponsor: Audi Design Foundation Conference supporters: Design Science, EPSRC, SPARC Conference partners: Cambridge Engineering Design Centre, i-design, KT-Equal Conference organisers: Helen Hamlyn Centre Conference chairs: John Clarkson, Melanie Howard, Stephen Wilcox iii CONTENTS
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Session 2A - Transport and Travel: Inclusive Journeys and Spaces 98 Inclusive Design for the Whole Journey Environment 99 Graeme Evans, Steve Shaw How AMELIA helps to design more inclusive urban areas 109 Helena Titheridge, Roger L. Mackett, Kamalasudhan Achuthan Functional reach abilities of wheeled mobility device users: toward inclusive design 115 Clive D'Souza, Victor Paquet, Edward Steinfeld Inclusive Design for Air Travel 121 Laura Baird, Hua Dong User-centered Inclusive Design: Making Public Transport Accessible 127 Linda Bogren, Daniel Fallman, Catharina Henje
Session 2B - Interfaces and Interactions: Workng with Different Abilities 133 Designing in the dark: multi-sensorial workshop reconnecting designers with visually 134 impaired end-users Marc Dujardin An Accessible Creative Interaction Environment for Two People with Cerebral Palsy 140 Brendan McCloskey Innovation in Inclusive Typography: A Role for Design Research 149 Karin von Ompteda Sources of inconsistency in the application of inclusive solutions 155 Chris Law, Alex Varley Transforming policy practice in transport: Is there a space for communication design? 161 Teal Triggs, Claire McAndrew
Session 2C - The Next Generation: Working with Students 167 Transforming Design Education: Design leadership through integrating civic engagement 168 as a pedagogical tool in curriculum design Youngbok Hong The diversity that surrounds you: Teaching inclusive design at the University of Pretoria, 174 South Africa Catherine Karusseit Inclusive Practice: Researching the Relationships between Dyslexia, Personality, and Art 180 Students' Drawing Ability Howard Riley, Qona Rankin, Nicola Brunswick, I.C. McManus, Rebecca Chamberlain, P-W Loo Action for Age - service design and the new orthodoxy of inclusive process 186 Emily Campbell "Contributive Performances" - Learning in the margins 190 Brendon Clark, Diana Africano Clark 98
Session 2A Transport and Travel: Inclusive Journeys and Spaces 99 PAPERS
Inclusive Design for the Whole Journey Environment Graeme Evans & Steve Shaw, Cities Institute, London Metropolitan University, [email protected]
Abstract This paper reports on an ongoing research study into accessibility, urban design and social inclusion. Previous papers on the conceptual and policy analysis, and the development of a street design “index” and mapping tool, have been presented at INCLUDE 2005 and 2007. This paper outlines the participatory stage of the research, based on user consultation exercises with groups experiencing barriers to pedestrian access and therefore to engagement with the transport system and wider social inclusion. This involves user based panels and focus groups, the use of GIS-Participation techniques and map walks with participants, integrated with GIS based analysis and visualisation for further intervention in the street environment. Particular attention is paid to the mobility and journey needs of users, as well as perceptual and safety issues, since these present one of the major barriers to transport access for vulnerable groups.
Keywords Inclusive Design, Accessible Transport, GIS Participation
Accessibility and the Whole Journey Environment
Every time you walk to the shops or try to cross the road you are encountering a classic example of bad design. This design failure is the result of an ideology of traffic engineering that put cars first and dictated that different modes of transport must be set apart (Desyllas 2006, p.33).
Accessibility and social inclusion have emerged as particular challenges to inclusive design raising a wide range of issues affecting mobility and participation in everyday life. Accessibility here relates to the ability to reach a range of social, leisure end employment destinations from “home” and therefore access to pedestrian and transport systems. Whilst assistive technology research has focused on improvements in product design for individual application, accessibility has been limited to removing particular barriers such as wheelchair access, e.g. “step free” stations, “low floor” buses, “dropped kerbs”, and ambient factors such as lighting, auditory and visual information, wayfinding, signage. This is due in part to the imperatives that drive such product development with a clear target and user group and measurable functional and benefits arising, including commercial application. Accessibility design on the other hand is more of a process, with a multiplicity of stakeholders in the public realm and one that encompasses management, operation and information and relating to the built environment, transport, graphics, telecoms and products.
The urban environment and transport system is however fragmented in both policy, operational - ownership, statutory responsibilities - as well as design spheres. This fragmentation is multiplied further in terms of spatial scale and public and private interests. Design-related disciplines with an interest in the urban environment and transport system include: architects, urban designers, street, traffic, civil engineers, as well as product and industrial designers, including information & communications, and professionals with a responsibility for land-use, transport and safety - town & transport planners, the police (design against crime), and specialist advisers (e.g. access and disability audits).
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Defining the field and the scope of accessible transport from an inclusive design perspective is therefore best conceived in terms of the “whole journey environment”, since as Coleman notes: ‘A journey can be seen as a chain of individual products and services whose accessibility is only as strong as its weakest link’ (2003, p.132). In making our travel decisions, we do not differentiate between the elements of the journey but on their perception of the whole journey: ‘a broken paving stone under a failed street lamp is a deterrent to walking - it is of no use to say “as much as” or “more than” or “less than” fear of attack; if the environment stops someone from walking, it is not a matter of degree (Crime Concern, 1999, p.22). In practice, standards in accessible design tend to isolate particular elements such as the design of buildings and their approaches (DDA 1995) not if and how the user actually reached the destination itself, or whether transport is integrated with service delivery, e.g. opening times. Accessibility benchmarks classify a service or activity as “accessible” if it can be reached at reasonable cost, in reasonable time, and with reasonable ease. “Reasonable” in this context is not however defined - this same term is also used in DDA legislation - with this value judgement decided by the provider (e.g. transport operator) not the user, let alone those most excluded from travel and transport.
Community safety and barriers to walking Particular attention has been paid in our research to perceptual and safety issues, since these present one of the major barriers to transport access for excluded groups - with over 11% of the general public saying that they would travel more if they felt safer on the transport system (Crime Concern, 2002). More vulnerable groups and those who rely more on walking (i.e. older and younger people) frequently cite the safety factor, including “fear of crime”, as the highest in determining their travel behaviour. Indeed from our user group surveys, the first barrier to travelling at all, let alone more frequently, starts at the front door, then in the immediate neighbourhood. This includes physical barriers to particular mobility impaired groups, but a range of perceptual and environmental constraints are felt by a much wider group who are effectively excluded from travel, including a high proportion of older people and other socially excluded, including women and ethnic minorities. From our surveys with older people, ease of leaving the house and of simply “getting around” was the most important consideration, with regular mobility their prime need.
At the micro-scale, responsibility rests primarily with the street or traffic engineer with the emphasis (or priority) given to vehicular road access and movement, and safety in terms of pedestrian-road/vehicle inter-action, i.e. accident prevention. Crossings and car speed are key limitations to pedestrian access: ‘roads are perceived as barriers to the day-to-day movements of older people..who are often delayed as traffic volumes rise. Road traffic can lead to a perceived danger of travel, which causes feelings of insecurity, anxiety and stress’ (WHO, 2002, p. 12). Communities living in more disadvantaged areas are one and a half times more likely to be killed or injured on the roads than those living in better off areas - children under-16 over four times (DfT, 2007), a shocking ratio.
Only recently has the street as a pedestrian environment attracted transport, design and safety attention, as a stimulus to increased walking and pedestrian activity. Recent efforts to fill this knowledge gap include design guidance and toolkits to measure accessibility at the street level (Table 1), and guides to facility design, particularly to meet disability access and related building and planning regulations. The recent Transport Ministry’s Manual for Streets (DfT, 2007) signalled government’s acknowledgement that the pedestrian needed to be at the top of the “hierarchy of need” in the public realm, drawing on growing good practice in street design and layout schemes. Design guidance referenced in this manual is also generally predicated on new-build or major works, however the vast majority of development is incremental, retro-fitting and infill of existing built environments. User involvement in these guidelines is also weak, with an overemphasis on physical environmental and street features leading to prescriptive design standards, but less consideration of safety and other experiential barriers and the needs of particular excluded groups.
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Table 1. Selected Toolkits for Street Design and Accessibility Audit Toolkit Aim End-user Method Input Source involvement Link and Place Planning and Design of Stakeholders are Step 1 matrix assigns up to 5 Labour intensive - a urban street as a Link - a involved (key), categories to Link and 5 for matrix must be drawn up place that users should pass which takes into Place for each street/segment. to include each street through as quickly and account priorities Step 2 develops a Street Plan, and sub-segment. Then conveniently as possible; such as bus routes a design brief for the area, street plans, giving the and Place - as a destination and may also vary setting out priorities. Step 3 ideal design, followed by in its own right - equally by time of day or involves a review of key an evaluation of critical important. Aims to meet day of week. The streets in the area against the streets to see how well varying needs of street guide offers ‘ideal set out by the design they fit this design. P.Jones et al users and encourage active practical tools and process, and identification of Multiple iterations may stakeholder engagement approach to this areas for change be required Space Shaper Toolkit for public User group (self Questionnaire plus workshop Relatively little effort engagement - for use by selected, e.g. to obtain information on the beyond the time taken to anyone - whether a local friends group) quality of a public space. This fill in the questionnaire community group or a led by a trained assesses 8 aspects - access, and conduct the professional - to measure facilitator. Data use, other people (how it workshop and site visit. the quality of a public space analysis relies on caters for different needs), Further effort required to before investing time and algorithm/model maintenance, environment, collate the results money in improving it. design and appearance, obtained. Further community (its importance to iterations can be local people), how the space undertaken with the makes you feel. Uses spider same or different groups CABE diagrams to collate the results from the questionnaire Pedestrian A systematic process to Transport Audit framework to assess the All routes of interest Evaluation assess the pedestrian agencies and local links, crossings, routes, public need to be audited. Review environment. Establishes transport transport waiting areas, inter- Expert judgement based System the relative quality of authorities change spaces and public (PERS) different pedestrian routes involved with the spaces used by pedestrians. and provides an opportunity development and Relies upon the collation of to review at a detailed level validation. comments and scores on a the opportunities for Not end-user range of parameters to assess TRL improving individual links based the pedestrian environment and crossings Community Evaluates the quality of Local participants Facilitator takes people out to Organising walk, Street Audit public space and identifies guided by look at how places work on prepare mapping and (Street & issues of the people who facilitator. foot. No questionnaires, but recording material (also Social Space use the streets and Feedback observation and conversation cameras). Providing Audit) determine what needs to be provided to encourages a fluid, natural feedback to participants done to improve areas and participants response to the street routes environment. Can be carried out by members of the public, local stakeholders or by consultants who wish to assess the existing walking Living Streets conditions of the local street environment Within reach Wide reaching accessibility Accession is Mapping of population, Data on population Accession GIS based software tool. designed so that transport and local services characteristics to identify Modelling Used to map current data can be and models access and areas where people with accessibility levels and to shared within catchments. Suggests most specific needs are consider the effect of options partnerships and data can be collected from located, and on the for improvements. Criteria users, but data is national sets but local location and availability can be added - frequency, not end-user or knowledge is beneficial. of services e.g. doctors, Department road speed, delay for consultation based Requires effort to learn how to dentists, schools etc and for Transport wheelchair start/ end times use program local public transport
Accessibility as a feature of sustainable development and “Communities” is also expressed in terms of quality of life (QoL) measured through a basket of over 30 QoL indicators applied at a local level. These include access to services indicators such as journey (walking) times to a predetermined itinerary such as local GP or park, but from our user consultation these do not reconcile with the everyday destinations undertaken or desired (Table 2). What is also common between these physical design audit and planning standards is the absence of user involvement in their specification, or the recognition that travel and mobility needs and behaviour varies according to demographic make-up, at different times, and for different environments. What emerges is that the inter-action between local residents, other users (workers, visitors) and the local environment requires a fine grain level of analysis which might also inform higher scale urban design and planning of the street and transport system.
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User perspectives As the first step in specifying accessible design from a user perspective, several focus group sessions were held with groups with specific mobility needs and those experiencing potential transport exclusion, e.g. young people, mothers with toddlers/single parents, registered disabled, ethnic minorities - including elders and youth. These sought to evaluate the travel activity, aspirations and barriers to access, which could then be compared with transport planning standards and quality of life indicators. Focus groups were held in contrasting locations and communities in northern and southern England, including Rotherham, Liverpool, Camden (north London), and Hertfordshire. A key finding for example from the older groups consulted, was an assessment of their regular travel needs, and these were consistent across the locations and groups involved - Table 2.
Table 2: Benchmarking of older people’s (minimum) travel needs Activity Frequency No. of National accessibility indicator journeys Food shopping Weekly 2 % households & households without access to a Comparison shopping Monthly 2 car within 15 and 30 minutes of a major centre by public transport Social or recreational Weekly 2 % of the population within 20 minutes travel time activity (walking) of different sports facility types Structured day time activity Weekly 2-10 appropriate to need Post Office Weekly 2 Medical trip or visit Monthly 2 % households & households without access to a car within 15 and 30 minutes of a GP by public transport (30 & 60 mins. of a hospital) Solomon and Titheridge, 2006
Older people make most regular trips for shopping, personal and social/leisure purposes. This is confirmed in studies of older people in the USA (King et al., 2003), where park, restaurant and church also ranked as frequent destinations. However, government accessibility indicators do not include food shopping, whilst frequently used provision such as post offices are needed more locally and at shorter trip duration. Busy (traffic, pedestrians, shops, signage etc) centres may also be a turn-off to some older people, particularly the frail, dementia sufferers and those lacking confidence and mobility. Cunningham and Michael’s review of studies in this field (2004) also found that the most consistently significant factors were safety and aesthetics, and to a lesser extent, micro- scale urban design (e.g. pavements, lighting). There is however a relationship between safety, aesthetics and the design and layout of the environment and routes, and how they are perceived and actually used. The recommended approach from this evidence is the use of objective measures in combination with user evidence to ‘provide a richer more accurate picture of environmental influences on physical activity’ (ibid: 442), and one that that therefore should involve the community in order to ensure that their perspectives are considered.
Test bed – Street Audit The development of a Street Design Index based on urban design quality, safety and design against crime principles and guidance, identified 20 indicators representing the key macro- and micro-elements of accessibility and street safety (see Azmin-Fouladi, INCLUDE, 2007b). These elements were captured in an observational audit and detailed mapping of testbed sites in St Albans, Herts and two residential areas in St Pancras ward in the London Borough of Camden - Elm Village and Somerstown. Elm Village is a mixed community, “urban village” designed on new urbanist principles, whilst Somerstown is a deprived neighbourhood, with low car ownership, a high number of schools/school age children as well as older people, and a mixed ethnic, multicultural community (e.g. Irish, Bangladeshi, Somali). This case study is presented here.
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The street design elements were firstly recorded onto a hard copy ordnance survey (OS) map (1:500 scale), and subsequently transferred into GIS digital map format, creating a rich database resource for spatial analysis and visualisation, and subsequent consultation. Contextual data was also collected for the area, and visualised in 2D (and 3D) formats, including land-use, building heights, recorded crime (property, ‘street’/vehicle crime), ‘points of interest’ (e.g. amenities, retail, transport), as well as socio-economic and demographic profiles drawn from Census (2001), deprivation (IMD, 2004) and Experian income data. This spatial data has also provided the baseline for street audit and resident surveys, and as a reference for the findings arising from user surveys, where variations between primary and secondary data often arise around local perceptions and experience - “local knowledge” - regarding safety, social and amenity factors (see Figures 5-7).
This community mapping reveals the low car ownership and pockets of poverty surrounded by better off neighbourhoods, a mixed morphology of housing/building types, a high child and youth (primary and secondary schools, churches), as well as older person presence, and from census analysis, high economic inactivity and poor health. Transport provision (bus, tube, rail) is however in close proximity (if not accessible to many residents), but located outside of the area itself. Whilst schools and some community facilities exist within the neighbourhood, most food and other shopping and amenities were located outside of the area (Figure 2 and 3.i). Street crime and road safety also worsened at the edge of the area (Figure 1.i), but which served as the main pedestrian access to bus and other transport. This creates for some older and vulnerable groups (e.g. ethnic minorities) an enclave or “ghetto” effect, limiting travel outside of the residential neighbourhood.
Figure 1: i. Street Crime Density ii. Car Ownership
Primary data collected from this testbed area was geo-coded into a GIS database and mapped. In order to be able to analyse the quality of the public realm for the inclusive journey environment, attributes of each elements were ranked with negative and positive values. For example areas/routes that have a low level of natural surveillance are drawn based on the combination of the following six variables: No window; No ground floor window; Blank walls; High fences; Boundary wall/plantation >1.50m; Set backs of >10.00m (Fig. 3.ii).
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Somerstown area
Figure 2: Retail amenities
By using the GIS modelling technique combined with photos - which can hyperlinked in digital GIS format - spatial and observational data were layered to determine key routes and areas with potential personal security and fear of crime problems - Figure 3.
Figure 3: i. Permeability and ease to movement ii. Problematic routes to local transport and amenities
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This same approach is applied to the quality of urban design within the area, where elements that contribute to a negative environment can include a lack of ‘enclosure’ (inadequate relation between building height and street width), abnormal setbacks and ‘dead frontage’ (Azmin-Fouladi, 2005). By overlaying negative features, a new layer is created. These and other aspects can be further analysed by examining micro-elements where specific problems are identified, and where barriers are expressed by participants in user (resident and first-time visitor) surveys.
GIS-P community mapping Following the comprehensive street audits and digital data analysis, leading to the creation of the Street Design Index, small group meetings and postal questionnaire surveys were conducted with residents, and accompanied map-walks organized with participants as an experiential exercise to consult on their predetermined journeys. Limitations to pedestrian access and more frequent journeys included ‘fear of crime’ and ‘road safety’ as prime barriers, as well as problems with walking surfaces and amenities, with specific problem features and areas annotated on maps. These participant comments were overlaid with problematic streets, routes and features delineated from the prior street audit (above) which showed both close correlation and also divergence.
Focus groups were also held with the use of large scale maps, through the GIS-Participation (GIS-P) technique (Cinderby et al. 2006). Here participants - young children and parents, residents, workers and older people (Figure 4) - were able to annotate these using text and colour-coded stickers on the local area map, to mark their home and journey routes, problem areas and amenities, and intermediate features such as bus stops and facilities, e.g. public toilets, benches.
Figure 4: GIS-Participation groups mapping local routes and neighbourhood
The next figures show the combination of street design audit and comments arising from the GIS-Participation focus group with older residents in Elm Village (Figure 4-right, Figure 5), and from a survey questionnaire of all residents (Figure 6). These highlighted both routes and features/sites with which participants had negative associations or experiences, and useful details of journeys undertaken (e.g. local shops, supermarket, cinema), their frequency and problems in the journey chain. These included the resiting of bus stops separating bus services (where once they shared a single stop), inadequate crossings (islands too narrow for safety, controlled pedestrian crossing times too short), treacherous “designer paving” (sculpted, with weeds/grass growing through) and anti-social behaviour and areas with poor surveillance.
Fear of crime was the barrier that was ranked highest, followed by road safety, pavements and distance to amenities (Figure 6). The walk to the bus was the most problematic. A growing concern was the effect of new housing development on adjoining infill/brownfield sites which reduced pedestrian access (routes closed or made longer/unsafe) and also reduced views and sight lines. Major alterations to the streetscape present particular problems to older and dementia sufferers for whom familiarity and landmarks are important for confidence in undertaking regular journeys.
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• Many break ins around the bridge area, wouldn’t go there at night due to the reputation of the estate that is behind the train lines • It’s dark under the railway bridge at night, but is fine during the day • Many drug dealers • Druggies hanging around • Would never go down there on my own • Would never walk along here on my own • Too many people have been mugged here • Never feel safe here • I wouldn’t go along Camley Street even during the day • Such a shame, this is a lovely street ( Camley Street), but there is no people around, high density flats near by and it is the best and quickest way to Kings Cross • It has a reputation for criminality, there are many problem families on that estate
Figure 5: Street Audit and GIS-Participation annotation by older residents (Elm Village)
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20 Train station Bus stops 15
Frequency 10
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0
t r e ty ts n ce g ts im fe n tio n tin en le he r a e c m t c m u ta ea e oi O f s e tr is v c t o ad s D f s a li ar o av b o p e R p o k w ub F ay ac o f p ven L rr tw a k o ne oo N c U F La Barriers Figure 6: Barriers to accessing local bus stops and train station (Residents Survey)
Participant consultation conducted with focus groups and individuals - using both face-to- face and self-completed questionnaires and annotated maps (above) - included older people, as well as young (Bangladeshi) men, women and mothers with toddlers. These groups had been identified in our benchmarking review as experiencing particular transport- exclusion (Solomon and Titheridge, 2006). The results have been used to refine the journey design assessment and GIS-based street visualisations in an “iterative design” process, and practical design recommendations made. The feature “attributes” (Azmin-Fouladi, 2007a), in particular were validated with end-users (residents groups, visitors), and with professionals with responsibility for the urban, street and transport environments, through a questionnaire with explanatory images from the testbed area. These rated the various factors using a 5- point scale to determine both their inclusion as key barriers in the pedestrian environment and mobility, and their relative importance. This validation and weighting can be re-applied in each testbed and user group situation to reflect local conditions, user group subjectivities
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and preferences. This is more flexible than fixed design metrics and standards, where “one size does not fit all”.
The annotated maps were then analysed, together with focus group and questionnaire surveys, and mapped data digitised in GIS (Figure 7). These were then integrated with spatial data on demographic, land-use, facility/amenity (e.g. bus stops, WCs), as well as recorded crime data for the area, producing a synthesis between the primary, qualitative information and spatial data. For instance, areas of high street crime density were overlaid with participant’s own experience and perspective of unsafe areas. These revealed both convergence, but also divergence between where recorded crime was concentrated and other areas where particular groups felt unsafe or “feared” crime (and anti-social behaviour).
Figure 7: Annotated Mapwalks - Young (Asian) Men and Single Parents
The street audit and mapping model and testbed example has also been adopted by the regional transport authority in their Guidance to local authorities for Submission of Local Accessibility Schemes (TfL, 2007, p.8-9). Here, using the street design audit and mapping, street improvements were undertaken in response to access problems, user consultation through local community access points, e.g. Sure Start, disability, pensioner and residents groups. Prior to the street improvement scheme, an initial list of measures was identified based on site visits by borough and research officers. Once funding had been granted a new audit was carried out to reflect changes in the local environment since the baseline, and to include the input of local residents, including older and disability groups. In the latter case, conflicts emerged between step-free kerbs benefiting wheelchair users, and the visually impaired who require the kerb to differentiate the pavement from the road/traffic. Summary Digitising annotated maps and correlating these with spatial data for feedback in an iterative design process has been used to assess street and safety improvements, and extended transport routes and bus stop location and interchanges. Actionable findings have included micro-street maintenance and management, and more strategic transport and land-use planning using this inclusive design approach. This complements and informs local authority
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borough planning and Sustainable Community Strategy exercises, as well as Local Transport Plans which form the basis of government funding of transport improvement, and thereby demonstrate greater social inclusion and access.
The triangulation of comprehensive mapped digital data, with observational - human and environmental - and systematic street design analysis, combined with user consultation on needs, aspirations and perceptions, is an ambitious process. One that moves beyond, but also draws upon, the physical access audit, street and place design toolkits and consumer survey regimes that are currently used in quality of life assessments and accessibility benchmarks. A more inclusive design process and accessible journey environment has been the primary goal - in order to promote this further, a national practitioner network has been established, both to validate and exchange knowledge in the application of this accessibility user needs model, and to further test the street design and GIS-P approach in different locations and scenarios. These include station interchange areas and approaches, new station based improvement and regeneration areas, and pedestrian routes highlighted from our user led research.
Acknowledgements to our AUNT-SUE research team who have contributed to the above: Ben Calnan, Claire Ellul, Juliet Solomon, Helena Titheridge and Antje Witting. All maps (c) Crown Copyright. Ordnance Survey. All rights reserved.
Bibliography
Azmin-Fouladi, N (2005) A collaborative approach towards investigating the inclusive “Whole Journey Environment”: Literature review. www.aunt-sue.info
Azmin-Fouladi, N (2007a). Accessibility and user needs in transport. In: Thwaites, K., Porta, S., Romice, O. and Greaves, M. (eds) Urban Sustainability through Environmental Design. Approaches to time-people-place responsive urban spaces. London: Routledge, 112-118
Azmin-Fouladi, N (2007b). Designing the Inclusive Journey Environment. Proceedings of INCLUDE 2007
Cinderby, S, Forrester, J and Owen A (2006). A personal history of participatory geographic information systems in the UK context: Successes and failures and their implications for good practice. Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference. London
Coleman, R (2003). Living longer. In: Clarkson, J. et al (eds) Inclusive Design: Design for the whole population. Vienna: Springer-Verlag, 120-141
Crime Concern (2002). People’s Perceptions of Personal Security and their Concerns about Crime on Public Transport: Literature Review. London: Department for Transport
Cunningham, G and Michael, Y (2004). Concepts Guiding the Study of the Impact of the Built Environment on Physical Activity for Older Adults: A Review of the Literature, American Journal of Health promotion, 18 (6), 435-443
Desyllas, J (2006). The cost of bad street design. London: CABE, 33-52 DfT (2007). Manual for Streets. London: Department for Transport King, W, et al. (2003). The Relationship between Convenience of Destinations and Walking Levels in Older Women, American Journal of Health Promotion, 18(1), 74-82
Solomon, J. and Titheridge, H (2006). Accessibility Indicators and the Policy Goal of the reduction of Transport-Related Social Exclusion. CTS Working Paper 2006/3. UCL
TfL (2007). Guidance for Submissions of Local Accessibility Schemes. Prepared for all London Boroughs and Sub-regional partnerships. Transport for London, March
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How AMELIA helps to design more inclusive urban areas Titheridge, Hi., Mackett, R.L., and Achuthan, K. UCL Centre for Transport Studies
Abstract
Inclusive design of urban areas should take into account the needs of those who are socially excluded. To facilitate this, a software tool, AMELIA, is being developed, using the county of Hertfordshire, Great Britain, as the study area for testing and validation. More detailed analysis is based on the city of St Albans. After a description of AMELIA and how it is used, the paper continues with a discussion about an analysis of the increase in the number of elderly people who can reach the centre of St Albans as the result of the implementation of four policy actions. This demonstration includes the cost implications.
Keywords: Inclusive design; Social exclusion; Social inclusion; Accessibility; Transport policy.
Introduction
The design of cities can influence whether all members of society are included. There is a wide range of characteristics that are associated with being socially excluded, for example, having a disability, being elderly, having a low income or being a single parent [1]. Social inclusion involves many issues that have nothing to do with access within urban areas, including politics, poverty and the nature of society. However, better access can help to overcome many problems associated with social exclusion by enabling people to reach opportunities that can help them earn money, improve their health and enjoy a rich social life, all of which can help make people to feel more included. Hence, it is increasingly being recognised that relevant policies should take into account explicitly the needs of those who are socially excluded. There is currently no comprehensive way to ensure that such policies do take social inclusion into account. This issue is being addressed in a research project being carried out in the Centre for Transport Studies at University College London as part of the work programme of the AUNT-SUE consortium (Accessibility and User Needs in Transport in a Sustainable Urban Environment) (see http://www.aunt-sue.info/). In this part of the programme, a software tool, AMELIA (A Methodology for Enhancing Life by Increasing Accessibility) is being developed to test the extent to which transport and related policies can increase social inclusion [2,3]. AMELIA is a user- friendly, policy-based interface to a GIS (Geographical Information System). The tool is being developed in cooperation with Hertfordshire County Council, who envisage using it as part of the accessibility planning process.
AMELIA
The purpose of AMELIA is to present the user with a set of possible policy actions relevant to the policy objective being considered, and then to quantify and map the effects of these policy actions to help the user to assess which is the most effective. The policy objective is normally defined in terms of increasing accessibility for members of a particular group to a set of opportunities, such as shops or medical
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facilities. Sometimes a mode of travel such as walking is specified. Alternatively, the policy objective might be formulated in terms of overcoming a barrier to movement. AMELIA requires data on the population in the group being considered (the elderly, those in wheelchairs and so on) and their capabilities, the nature of the facilities that they wish to reach (shops, jobs, health facilities and so on) and how they can travel there. AMELIA can then be used to see how many more of this group can reach the opportunities as a result of the policy actions. In order to assess whether a policy action is effective, it is necessary to use benchmarks representing a ‘reasonable’ level of access [4]. AMELIA is used to see how many members of the group meet the benchmark with and without the intervention represented by the policy action. To date, most of the analysis carried out with AMELIA has been at the microscale, examining barriers to walking [2,3]. The key elements of AMELIA are shown in Figure 1.
Policy objective Benchmarks
Policy actions to Analysis of Changes in the number achieve the the impact of socially excluded objective of the actions people meeting the benchmarks
Data on the population Data on the local area in a socially-excluded (transport networks group opportunities,etc)
Figure 1 The components of AMELIA
Figure 2 shows how AMELIA is used. Having set the general policy objective of increasing accessibility, it can be focussed on particular groups in society or modes of travel by selecting the relevant characteristics. These will be used by AMELIA to identify some suitable policy actions. Some of these can take different values, such as the angle on dropped kerbs, so suitable values need to be selected. Guidance is provided on this, drawing on various sources such as the Inclusive Mobility Guidelines [5]. Cost data are also provided for some policy actions, since this may influence the scale of implementation. The data for testing the policy action then have to be set up by making appropriate changes to the GIS representing the study area. Advice is provided on how to do this through a ‘help’ system. A suitable benchmark can be selected, on the basis of judgement about a ‘reasonable’ distance or level of expenditure of time or money. AMELIA is then run and the results examined, possibly in the light of the cost of implementing the policy action. AMELIA can be run again using different values for the policy action or another policy action. The user can repeat this process until satisfied that a policy action has been identified which is effective in meeting the accessibility needs of the group being considered.
AMELIA has an information system built into it that identifies suitable policy actions that can be implemented to help achieve the chosen objective. When a policy action is tested with AMELIA, the key output is the increase (or, possibly, decrease) in the number of people in a particular group who can reach the opportunities being considered as a result of the implementation of the policy action.
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Set the policy objective
Identify the relevant characteristics AMELIA information system
Select a policy action Guidance on values
Set the values for the policy action Costs
Set up the data for testing the policy action
Run AMELIA Set the benchmark
Examine the results
Figure 2 The procedure for using AMELIA
The application of AMELIA
The design of AMELIA requires an area to be defined for testing the tool and local authority involvement in the design process. The county of Hertfordshire, which is the area immediately north of London, has been chosen for this purpose. It was chosen mainly because Hertfordshire County Council is a non-academic partner in the AUNT-SUE work programme, is able to supply data for the project, and is involved in the testing and validation of AMELIA. A database has been set up for Hertfordshire. Macro-level data based upon the local authority’s information systems and other sources such as the 2001 Census of Population has been assembled for the whole county. Micro-level data based upon street audits, including details such as steps, slopes, access to individual buildings and obstructions on the pavement has been incorporated into the database. These more detailed data are only for the city of St Albans since it is not feasible to collect such data for the whole of Hertfordshire [2,3].
In order to demonstrate how AMELIA is used to identify ways of increasing accessibility, the impact of four policy actions in the city centre of St Albans is described in this paper: • Putting in dropped kerbs at existing road crossings; • Putting in new road crossings every 100 metres; • Widening the pavement to allow wheelchairs to progress; • Putting in benches so that people can rest every 100 metres. More information about this case study is given elsewhere [3]. The policy actions are considered in terms of how many more people are able to reach the centre of the city, represented by the Old Town Hall which is adjacent to the main shops and the street market. Approximate costs have been introduced for each of these policy actions.
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The population being considered is the 19231 residents of St Albans who are aged 65 years or over living in private residences. The elderly population is heterogeneous, with some being able to walk easily, others having difficulties. The shortage of road crossing points and benches to rest on are barriers to those who cannot walk very far. The lack of dropped kerbs at existing crossings is a barrier to those who cannot walk up a step or in a wheelchair. Some people may have both difficulties. Detailed data on the capabilities of the elderly population of St Albans are not available, so estimates have been made by applying rates based upon data from the Survey of Disabled Adults in Private Households in Great Britain which were used to produce the report Disability in Great Britain [6]. It was necessary to estimate how these people would have been likely to travel to the city centre. It was assumed that all those who, according to the Census of Population in 2001, lived in Census Output Areas within 800 metres of the centre of St Albans would have walked there (or travelled there by wheelchair). The rest were assumed to travel by bus or car. They were split between the two modes based on the relative usage of the two modes by people aged 65+ according to the Great Britain National Travel Survey [7]. Those assumed to be coming by bus were allocated to the most appropriate bus stop within 400 metres of the city centre according to where they live. Those assumed to be coming by car were allocated to car parks within 400 metres of the city centre in proportion to the size of the car park. It was assumed that those who could not walk at all would use wheelchairs.
Table 1 shows how many more of the 19231 people aged 65 or over that AMELIA estimated would be able to reach the Old Town Hall as a result of the policy actions. It can be seen that providing more road crossing points would make no difference. This is because there are already so many crossing points provided (233) that an extra eleven would not reduce the distance that any of the people arriving in the city centre would have to walk (or use a wheelchair) to make it possible for any more to reach the Old Town Hall. Providing wider pavements would enable 13 people, all car users, to reach the Old Town Hall. These would all be people who use wheelchairs to travel from the car park to the final destination. Narrow pavements are assumed not to be a barrier to walkers. Installing dropped kerbs at existing road crossings would enable 24 more people, also all car users, to reach the Old Town Hall. The fourth policy action, providing benches every 100 metres, would have the greatest impact, enabling 524 more people to reach the Old Town Hall, spread across the three access modes. This represents an increase from 71% to 74% of the elderly population of St Albans. Whilst this may be regarded as valuable in social terms, AMELIA also facilitates consideration of the cost implications.
Table 1 Increases in the numbers who can reach the Old Town Hall as a result of the policy actions Walk or Bus and either Car and either wheelchair walk or walk or Policy action all the way wheelchair wheelchair Total Providing dropped kerbs at existing 0 0 24 24 crossings Providing crossings every 0 0 0 0 100m Providing wider 0 0 13 13 pavements Providing benches 7 56 461 524 every 100m
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Table 2 shows the total cost of implementing each of the policy actions. The cheapest is the installation of dropped kerbs at existing crossings at £46,000 while the most expensive is providing road crossings every 100 metres at £275,000. However, as shown above, these policy actions benefited different numbers of people. Here there are large differences with the provision of benches every 100 metres being the most cost effective because it would cost £180 per beneficiary, while providing dropped kerbs at existing crossing would cost £1916 per head. The third most cost effective policy action would have been providing pavements, which costs much more at £18,447 per head, partly because of the relatively small number of beneficiaries. Because providing more road crossing points would not increase access to the Old Town Hall for anyone, the costs per head are, in effect, infinite.
Table 2 Costs of implementing the policy actions Unit Number of Policy action cost units installed Total cost Cost/head Providing dropped £2000 kerbs at existing 23 £46,000 £1916 each crossings Providing crossing £25,000 11 £275,000 - every 100m each
Providing wider £65 per 2 3689 m £239,805 £18,447 pavements m2 Providing benches £300 314 £94,200 £180 every 100m each
It is recognised that many assumptions have been made in carrying out this analysis, for example about the capabilities of the elderly population of St Albans and the impact of the policy actions on them. Also, the cost figures are indicative, and the total costs would be different if different layouts for the new infrastructure had been selected. In practice, a planner using AMELIA would test various layouts and assumptions about the implementation of the policy test, the costs and the possible responses of the population being studied. Notwithstanding these issues, the example above shows that it is possible for AMELIA to provide advice for planners to use in their decisions about the best strategy to improve accessibility for socially excluded people.
Conclusions
This paper has discussed the development of the software tool AMELIA which is designed to show the impacts of policy actions on social inclusion. The effects of some policy tests to improve accessibility for elderly people using the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire as an example have been illustrated. The analysis suggested that providing benches would provide the most cost-effective increase in accessibility. Providing benches provides more opportunities for older people to get out and about. Indeed, providing benches helps everyone not just those with walking difficulties. It is recognised that many assumptions have been made in doing the analysis, but, AMELIA does offer a systematic approach to the issue of increasing accessibility. With costs included in AMELIA, planners can compare the impacts of different policy actions and decide which is the most cost effective. AMELIA can be used in the public consultation process, allowing the public to see the cost-effectiveness of policy actions suggested by both the planners and themselves. Whilst it is quite clear that AMELIA can only address a small part of the social exclusion problem, it does offer a
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systematic approach to the very important issue of increasing accessibility to opportunities that many people in society lack. There is much more work to be done, but, as shown in this paper, the potential for the use of AMELIA is huge.
Acknowledgements
This paper has been written as part of a research project entitled ‘Accessibility and User Needs in Transport’ being funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant GR/S90867/01.
References
1. Mackett, R.L., Paskins, J., Titheridge, H. (2004) ‘The incorporation of social inclusion into policies in Local Transport Plans (LTPs)’, AUNT-SUE Scoping Study Report, available from http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/aunt-sue/publications.html.
2. Mackett R. L., Achuthan K., Titheridge H. (2008a) AMELIA: making streets more accessible for people with mobility difficulties, Urban Design International, vol 13, 80-89.
3. Mackett R. L., Achuthan K., Titheridge H. (2008b) AMELIA: a tool to make transport policies more socially inclusive, Transport Policy (forthcoming).
4. Titheridge, H., Solomon, J. (2007) Benchmarking Accessibility for Elderly Persons, Paper presented at the 11th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED), Montreal, Canada, 18th-22nd Jun 07.
5. Department for Transport (2005) ‘Inclusive mobility’, originally published 2002, updated 2005, available from http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_mobility/documents/page/dft_mobility_50328 2.hcsp.
6. Martin, J., Meltzer, H., Elliot, D. (1988) The Prevalence of Disability among Adults, OPCS surveys of disability in Great Britain, Social Surveys Division, Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, London: HMSO
7. Department for Transport (2007) National Travel Survey: 2006, Transport Statistics Bulletin.
i Corresponding author: Dr Helena Titheridge, Centre for Transport Studies, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT. Tel. 020 7679 7224, Fax. 020 7679 1567, Email [email protected], Web. www.cts.ucl.ac.uk
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Functional reach abilities of wheeled mobility device users: toward inclusive design
Clive D’Souza, Edward Steinfeld, Victor Paquet Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York, USA
Abstract
Current accessibility standards in the U.S. prescribe reach ranges in overly simplistic terms which also do not reflect reach capabilities of today’s population. This work documents the functional reach abilities of wheeled mobility device users in the U.S as part of a large anthropometric research study. More specifically, it describes the maximum reach abilities of 257 device users capable of performing a functional grasp while moving a light weight cylinder beyond the anterior-most and lateral-most aspects of their mobility devices. Reach envelopes generated from environmental simulations of object movement tasks are combined with three-dimensional static digital human models constructed from anthropometric landmark data to produce interactive anthropometry models for establishing functional reach capabilities. Results are displayed in a format that depicts the relationship between key environmental design parameters (e.g. reach height, direction and obstructions) and reach performance for potential use in design and code development. The use of such a representational format supports designing beyond the minimal compliance requirements of accessibility standards and can lead to broader inclusivity of users in the design of products and spaces.
Keywords
Anthropometry, wheeled mobility devices, functional reach, inclusive design
Introduction
Positioning controls, devices and objects in the built environment for access by mobility device users requires careful consideration of functional reach capability. Reach capability can be influenced by numerous anthropometric characteristics such as body size and joint range of motion, and environmental characteristics such as obstructions, and tasks (e.g., button pushing vs. object lifting). The reach ranges prescribed in current accessibility standards in the U.S. inadequately support design for two reasons. Firstly, the anthropometric data on wheeled mobility users that underlies the technical 116 PAPERS
requirements of the ICC/ANSI A117.1 (1998) Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities [1] and the ADA-ABA Accessibility Guidelines (ADA-ABA-AG) [2] were generated from research completed prior to 1980. Despite subsequent changes in the demographics and anthropometric characteristics of people who use wheeled mobility devices and the characteristics of their equipment, the technical requirements for the most part have remained unchanged. Second, the current accessibility guidelines for reach in particular, employ a very normative approach by prescribing thresholds or limits for reach ranges which are assumed to vary slightly if not remain invariant across different tasks and reaching strategies. These shortcomings directly affect the generalizability of the prescribed reach ranges to the wide variety of tasks encountered in today’s home, work and public environment. Also, normative approaches to characterizing reach purely as prescribed dimensions and thresholds do not provide much information to help designers (1) determine where to locate objects and devices in order to maximize accessibility, and (2) explore accessibility in design beyond minimal requirements, which is a major goal of inclusive design. For instance, the current U.S. standards [1] address forward and lateral reaches by prescribing reach ranges (higher and lower limits) using six discrete scenarios with designers expected to select the one most closely resembling the intended design. As a result, the influence of key design parameters on reach performance as a multivariate and continuous relationship is not addressed in the design process. This is especially relevant when faced with design trade-offs while accommodating user groups with vastly differing capabilities, e.g. when determining the optimal height of an elevator button from the floor which needs to be reached by ambulatory adults without disabilities and users of wheeled mobility devices as well. In light of such issues, research to develop a comprehensive database of three- dimensional anthropometry and functional performance of wheeled mobility device users in the U.S. through environmental user simulations in the context of inclusive/universal design is underway [3], [4]. The purpose of this paper is to report the maximum reaching abilities of 257 wheeled mobility device users from this sample that were able to grasp a cylinder and could reach at least to shoulder height. Findings are presented in a suggested format that allows multivariate analysis and supports designing beyond minimal compliance requirements for accessibility.
Methods 1. Participants A total of 320 mobility device users that included manual chair (52.8%), powered chair (39.7%) and scooter users (7.5%) with a diverse range of chronic medical conditions participated in this study. The sample comprised of 196 (61%) males and 124 (39%) females who relied on these devices as their primary means of mobility on a regular basis. The average age (standard deviation) for participants was 49 (15) years, with a range of 18 to 94 years of age. The average years (standard deviation) with disability was 21.6 (16.6) years with a range of one year to 82 years.
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2. Structural anthropometry Three-dimensional (3-D) information on the body and wheelchair size and shape was required to establish reference points used for the measurement of functional reach. This information was collected for each individual by digitizing a set of body and wheelchair landmarks in three dimensions with an electromechanical probe [4]. The mid-point of the main/drive axle was used as an origin point to identify the location of all landmarks. The 3-D coordinate data from each measured individual-mobility device system were subsequently used for deriving anthropometric dimensions [4] as well as constructing interactive digital human models [5].
3. Functional reach capability Functional capability of the preferred arm was assessed using a portable apparatus consisting of five height-adjustable shelves. Shelf heights were set at the highest and lowest vertical free reach heights, shoulder (acromion) height, and two shelves each mid-way above and below the shoulder height for each participant. For safety reasons, the lowest possible shelf height was restricted to 390 mm (15.3 in). Sixty-three individuals unable to perform a functional grasp and reach to the shoulder were excluded from all reaching tasks, resulting in an effective sample size of 257. The protocol required participants to reach out and place an empty cylindrical canister 75 mm (3.5 in.) in diameter and weighing 56 grams (2 oz.) on a particular target shelf at the maximum possible distance. The point of maximum reach was recorded in 3D using the electromechanical probe. Three different reach directions (forward, sideways and an intermediate of 45 degrees from a sagittal plane at the acromion) were tested producing fifteen maximum reach data points. Reach envelopes constructed from these points were then superimposed on the 3D digital model of the individual-mobility device system using a common origin point. As a result, distances between any pair of three-dimensional body or mobility device landmarks and reach coordinates could be computed, e.g. from shoulder, parts of the mobility device, the most leading edge (anterior-most) or trailing edge (posterior-most) of the person or device to the point of maximum reach. A computational procedure was used to obtain the vertical reach range in forward and side reach for each individual by identifying locations where the 3D reach envelope intersected with vertical reference planes at the anterior-most point and the lateral-most point, respectively. Vertical reach ranges were also computed at increments of 100 mm (4 in.) from the anterior most point and the lateral most points in directions both, positive (moving away from the body), and negative (moving towards the body). These reach ranges normalized to anterior-most and lateral-most points of each individual were then aggregated over the entire sample.
Results
For sake of brevity, key findings from the 257 individuals who were able to perform a functional grasp and reach above the shoulder for only two reach situations are presented here, namely, extended forward and extended lateral reach. When provided with clear floor space without any toe or knee clearance, mobility device users would typically align themselves with either the anterior-most point (e.g. toe tips, footrest) for a 118 PAPERS
forward reach, or lateral-most point (e.g. armrest, powered chair device controller) for a sideways reach as close as possible or at a comfortable distance from the reaching surface with the shoulder aligned with the reach target. Figure 1 summarizes the percent of the sample able to reach to the corresponding vertical height and horizontal distance for those two conditions and have been colour coded to differentiate regions in performance. Columns in the positive range represent target planes away from the body and, in the negative range, towards the body measured from the reference point (e.g. anterior most point or lateral most point). Hence, for a particular height and offset distance from the target (e.g. shelf, counter top, etc.) one can determine the percentage of people included or excluded by design by viewing the numeric data or noting the colour of the cell.
Figure 1: Reach abilities expressed as percent capable (n=257) in the forward (left) and lateral (right) directions referenced from the anterior-most point and lateral-most point of the individual- mobility device system, respectively.
The dashed lines show the current ADA-ABA-AG requirement which specifies a threshold value of 1220 mm when reaching to a target located at the anterior-most point [2]. The figure on the left suggests that at this height, only 61% of the sample in this study could successfully reach to or beyond the anterior-most aspect of their body or mobility device. In such a situation, increasing the proportion of the sample accommodated would entail providing toe and/or knee clearance space depicted by columns with negative offset distances and can be interpreted as the increase in percent capable (e.g. 74% or 88% of the sample) for every 100 mm. increase in available legroom. In the absence of such clearance space, a lateral reach orientation (shown on the right) suggests greater accessibility (approx. 97% capable). Also noticeable is the rapid decline in lateral reach capability of the sample when reaching beyond 300 mm, for example, over a counter or other obstacle. Moreover, best performance for extended reach tasks is generally between 800-1200 mm above the floor or ground plane for both, forward and lateral reach.
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Discussion
For anthropometric data to be effectively used in the design of environments, generalizability of the data in terms of intended user populations and routine activities encountered is important. The current study is one of few that quantitatively measures the effects of task requirements on the functional reaching and object movement capabilities of wheeled mobility device users. A key limitation of this study is the representativeness of the sample due to differences in gender, age and mobility device type when compared to the United States population of wheelchair users [6]. In addition to a larger proportion of males and powered chair users sampled in this study, the average age of participants is also comparatively younger than the average age of the mobility device user population in the U.S. Efforts are being made to increase participation of underrepresented user groups in the study as data collection continues. Nevertheless, findings from this study show that only about two-thirds of the sample could reach beyond the anterior-most point of their body or mobility device at the height ranges recommended by the ADAAG. Reducing the forward reach distance by providing toe or knee clearance increases the proportion of the sample accommodated. In comparison, a higher percentage of people were accommodated when reaching to the same height when using a lateral reach orientation. It should be emphasized that the percentages included in the figure depict the reaching abilities of only those individuals who could perform a functional grasp and reach to shoulder height. A design requiring some aspect of reaching assumes that the user population will have at least some reach capabilities. Consequently, those individuals unable to perform a functional reach at all are effectively excluded by design. Figure 1 is our attempt to display reach capability data in a way that is meaningful to designers. The results presented here graphically depict the impact that height and depth of a reach target have on the reaching ability of a sample of wheeled mobility device users when using either a forward or extended lateral reach. Similar tables have also been developed for different external weight conditions and different reference points, e.g. distal knee point in situations where knee clearance is provided. Such display formats are useful for standards developers in identifying minimum requirements as well as for designers who are faced with the task of identifying optimal positioning of devices and controls to maximize access. Designers can readily identify regions or sectors within the reach space that would maximize use by a diverse group of users with very different capabilities and may employ very different approach strategies, e.g. forward, lateral or an intermediate approach angle, thereby creating a more physically inclusive design.
Conclusions
The findings from this research have been prepared to provide accurate and reliable information for two activities: • Revision of accessibility standards to be more representative of intended user populations and the tasks encountered in daily living, and, 120 PAPERS
• Development of design tools or decision aids that help designers adhere to these standards while also providing flexibility to explore solutions beyond minimum requirements for standards compliance Research completed thus far suggests that full scale environmental simulations combined with three-dimensional measurement methods show great promise in meeting these objectives. Furthering the inclusive design initiative would require broadening the research base internationally through standardized measurement methodologies coupled with active collaboration between researchers, standards developers, design practitioners and other stakeholders.
References
1. American National Standards Institute, Inc. (1998). A117.1-1998 Accessible and usable buildings and facilities. New York: International Code Council, Inc.
2. U.S. Access Board (2004). Americans with Disabilities Act and Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities. Washington, DC: Department of Justice, July 2004.
3. Steinfeld, E, Maisel, J, and Feathers, D (2005). Standards and anthropometry for wheeled mobility. Buffalo, NY: IDEA Center, July 2005.
4. Paquet, V and Feathers, D (2004). An anthropometric study of manual and powered wheelchair users. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 2004; 33 (3):191-204.
5. D'Souza, C, Feathers, D and Paquet, V (2007). Constructing three-dimensional models of individuals and their wheeled mobility devices from landmark data. Technical Paper 2007-01-2494. Paper presented at the 2007 SAE Digital Human Modeling Conference, Seattle, WA.
6. Jones, M, L and Sanford, J, A (1996). People with mobility impairments in the United States Today and in 2010. Assistive Technology 1996; 8(1):43-53.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported with funding from the U.S. Access Board (contract # TDP- 02-C-0033) and the Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering Research through the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Universal Design at Buffalo (Grant # H133E990005). The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not represent the policy of the U.S. Access Board, the U.S. Department of Education nor the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
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Inclusive Design for Air Travel
Laura Baird and Dr Hua Dong Inclusive Design Research Group, School of Engineering and Design, Brunel University www.inclusivedesignresearch.org [email protected] [email protected]
Abstract This paper addresses the issue of inclusive design in air travel. Firstly the scale of the problem is defined with reference to passenger demographics, and the different stages of a typical commercial air travel. The relevant government legislation is described, with particular emphasis on the new EU Regulation that requires special assistance to be provided to any passenger who requests it. An assessment of current practices in the air travel industry indicates that existing guidelines are having little impact on design practice. Similarly, an analysis of the major stakeholders in the air travel industry illustrates that a number of different parties are involved in the design and management of a typical journey. The study identifies the needs to reduce the number of passengers who require special assistance through inclusive design. The future directions, which include empirical work, case studies and the possible development of an information tool aimed at the industry are described.
Keywords Air travel, inclusive design, regulations, assistance, barriers.
1. Introduction Over 2 billion passengers per year use commercial airlines worldwide, and this figure is set to rise [1]. Of these billions of passengers, it is clear that all varieties of people will be represented, particularly in light of the lower price of air travel, increased migration and multiculturalism. It is also well documented that the worldwide population is ageing [2] and that there is currently a high prevalence of people with disabilities – approximately 20% of the UK population, for example [3]. Consequently, there is a large, wide and growing frequency of people at risk from design exclusion during a typical air travel journey. The needs of these groups must be considered and brought to the attention of designers and managers in the industry. Previous research in inclusive design [4] suggests that this will not only improve the quality of the air travel experience for extreme users, but for all passengers, as well as alleviating the burden on air travel staff.
The aim of this early stage of the research is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current situation with regard to the inclusivity of air travel. Air travel will be examined from the perspective of the industry, along with that of the passengers, with a view to identifying the problems and needs of both groups in relation to the inclusivity of the journey. The results from these initial investigations will narrow the focus of the research.
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2. The Air Travel Journey The first step in approaching this issue is to create a subjective framework for the analysis of a typical air travel journey. This will allow a more focussed assessment of the different stages of a typical journey, which will each have distinct issues with regard to inclusivity. The stages which were decided upon are illustrated in figure 1. It is important to note that the journey to the departure airport and from the arrival airport is exempt from this analysis, as this is considered to be a separate inclusive design issue in its own right.
Figure 1: The stages of a typical air travel journey
The ‘exclusion calculator’ tool, which is provided by the Inclusive Design Toolkit [5], can then be used to analyse the four subjectively defined stages of a typical air travel journey described above, with a view to identifying specific problem areas, if any. Two sets of exclusion calculations were carried out based on previous experience and observations at airports and in air cabins, the general results of which are summarised in figure 2. The first set assumes the provision of special assistance at the airport or in the aircraft, and the second assumes that no special assistance is provided. It should be noted that this analysis is again primarily subjective and only intended to provide a basis for highlighting problem areas. Further empirical investigation involving users with varying capability levels will be required to substantiate these initial findings.
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Figure 2: Initial results from exclusion calculations based on a typical air travel journey
The results described in figure 2 indicate that, while air travel is currently accessible to the majority of the UK population, a significant number (~400,000 or ~0.9%) are excluded altogether and for a large proportion (~5.5 million or ~12%) this accessibility is explicitly dependent on the provision of special assistance and is therefore not ‘inclusive’ as defined by the British Standards Institute [6]. This indicates that the primary aim of this research, therefore, is to facilitate a reduction in the number of passengers that require special assistance during a typical air travel journey. The reason for this focus is that the frequency of passengers who require special assistance is greater than those that are excluded altogether, and the issues facing these passengers are more feasible to address, although it is also important to consider how currently excluded passengers might gain greater access to air travel in the future.
3. Government Legislation & Guidelines The focus on government legislation and guidelines is also important from an industry perspective in light of the new EU regulation governing air travel, EC 1107/2006 [7], which came into full effect in July 2008. This regulation assigns responsibility to airport authorities for the welfare of passengers within the airport (up until they reach the point of entry of the aircraft), and states that special assistance must be provided to any passenger who requests it. Before this date, airlines were responsible for the welfare of passengers throughout the journey. This legislation undoubtedly increases the need for the air travel industry to diminish the requirement for special assistance during a typical journey. The current cost of providing this assistance at airports (relative to the volume of passengers) must also be identified in order to provide a more specific analysis of the possible savings to the industry, and thereby provide further incentive for the uptake of an inclusive design approach.
Furthermore, this regulation widens the scope of inclusive design in air travel. The first legislation that gave rights to air travellers with disabilities within the UK was the Disability Discrimination Act [8] of 1995. This act only covered the rights of passengers within the airport, while vehicles (i.e. the aircraft) were exempt. Conversely, EC 124 PAPERS
1107/2006 also relates to passengers’ rights within aircraft flying within the EU, making it illegal to refuse any person access to an aircraft on the grounds of their disability (though airlines can set a limit to the number of passengers requiring assistance that are allowed on each flight). This regulation provides a greater incentive for the industry to adopt an inclusive design approach, especially as the fines for breaching it can reach £5000 per passenger.
Elsewhere, a set of voluntary guidelines entitled ‘Access to Air Travel for Disabled People - Code of Practice’ was developed by the UK Department of Transport in 2003 [9] with assistance from The Disabled Peoples Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC). The aim of these guidelines is to improve the accessibility of air travel for people with limited capabilities. The guidelines are not solely for designers, but highlight the fact that all stakeholders involved must co-operate in order to create a fully inclusive air travel journey. It is important to note, however, that a review of practice in 2005 [10], two years after the introduction of these guidelines demonstrated that they had made little impact. This might imply that the industry is not receptive to the use of such guidelines, that they were presented in a manner which resists use, or that the process of improving accessibility in air travel is very slow.
Similarly, conversations with design managers reveal that the primary concern in industry is to meet the minimum requirements of current legislation. This illustrates a further issue facing this project, in terms of delivering any design and management guidelines which are developed to the industry and ensuring that they have the maximum possible impact. These voluntary guidelines have also been renewed in 2008 following the review of practice, and further interviews within designers and managers with the air travel industry must be conducted in order to more specifically identify reasons for the slow uptake of this code of practice.
4. The Air Travel Industry The current structure of the air travel industry is complicated. There are a large number of stakeholders and the power to make substantial changes to the design of the airport and aircraft broadly depends on the volume of passengers that pass through an airport, or the level of fares charged by an airline - as illustrated in figure 3. A number of regulations governing the design of aircraft cabins also exist, which must be considered alongside the legislation described above when developing future aircraft. For each stage of the typical air travel journey described earlier, the main stakeholders who bear responsibility for design and management have been identified, and this information will again be invaluable when addressing the issue of delivering the results of this research to the industry.
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Figure 3: Stakeholders in the air travel industry and their relative influence
5. Conclusions and Direction of Future Work The work carried out thus far has helped to provide a more specific direction for this research – to reduce the number of people who require special assistance at any stage of a typical air travel journey, as well as those that are excluded from air travel altogether. Furthermore, it has helped to identify several issues which may represent barriers to achieving this goal – such as the apparent unwillingness of the industry to act on and make use of existing design and management guidelines. The future direction of this work therefore consists of three main stages: (1) to support the work done so far with more detailed empirical findings; (2) to identify the barriers to inclusive design in the air travel industry; and (3) to develop and communicate effectively design and management guidelines which should reduce the need for special assistance and increase the accessiblity of air travel.
The first stage, which is currently under way, will require a more detailed analysis of each stage of the typical air travel journey with three airlines (Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Ryanair) and three airports (Heathrow T3, Heathrow T5 and London Luton) being used as case studies. Questionnaires are being prepared for distribution to passengers at each of the airports, and audits and interviews of the staff will also be carried out. For the airlines, audits of the different booking processes and typical cabins will be made alongside interviews and workshops with staff.
Secondly, it has been demonstrated that existing guidelines are not having a significant impact on the industry. Further investigation must be carried out to establish the reasons for this, in order to ensure that any guidelines created by this research are practical and will be made use of. Research carried out by Dong & Clarkson [11] identified a number of perceived barriers to inclusive design in industry including a lack of customer demand, lack of budget and time, lack of knowledge, information and method. Further research involving design managers must be undertaken to confirm these findings in relation to the air travel industry.
In summary, there is a need to both facilitate and improve access to air travel for a large and increasing number of passengers. The research carried out thus far has identified 126 PAPERS
and elucidated the nature of these obstacles, as well as the scale of the problem being addressed. Further work will aim to offer practical and achievable solutions which can easily be assimilated by the industry.
References
1. ICAO (2008). International Civil Aviation Organisation. Available from: www.icao.int [accessed 30-06-08]
2. United Nations (2006). Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision. United Nations Population Division
3. DPTAC (2004). Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee. Access for All. Available from: www.dptac.gov.uk/consult/03.htm [accessed 30-06-08]
4. Baird, L (2007). Claustrophobia and Air Travel. Major Project Report, School of Engineering & Design, Brunel University, West London.
5. Clarkson, J, Coleman, R, Hosking, I and Waller, S (2007). Inclusive Design Toolkit. Cambridge Engineering and Design Centre. Also available from: www.inclusivedesigntoolkit.com
6. British Standards Institute (2005). British Standard 7000-6:2005. Design management systems – Managing inclusive design - Guide
7. European Union (2006). REGULATION (EC) No 1107/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL. Official Journal of the European Union L 204/1- 9 Published by: European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, BE-1049 Brussels. Also available from: www.dft.gov.uk
8. Disability Discrimination Act (1995). The Office of Public Sector Information. Available from: www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/ukpga_19950050_en_1 [accessed 30- 06-08]
9. Department for Transport (2003). Access to Air Travel for Disabled People - Code of Practice. Available from: www.dft.gov.uk [accessed 14-10-08]
10. Department for Transport (2005). Review of the Access to Air Travel for Disabled People: 2005 Monitoring study. Available from: www.dft.gov.uk [accessed 14-10-08]
11. Dong, H and Clarkson, J (2007). Barriers and Drivers for Inclusive Design: Designers’ Perspective. Include 2007 proceedings, Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art, London. 127 PAPERS
Include 2009
User-centered Inclusive Design: Making Public Transport Accessible
Linda Bogren, Daniel Fallman, Catharina Henje Umeå Institute of Design, Umeå University, Sweden [email protected]
Abstract This paper describes a commissioned, user-centered inclusive design case study where an exceptionally heterogeneous group of users have been involved in all phases. With the overall aim of seeking to make public transport more accessible, this project has specifically focused on information issues relating to train stations. The objective has been to design and implement a fully functional prototype of an information terminal that can provide accessible information to as wide a group of users as possible. To fulfill this goal, we have taken a user-centered path, working with two groups of users. First, a heterogeneous group of users took active part in the early phases of the project, allowing us to quickly assess new design ideas and mock-up prototypes; provide entirely new design ideas in a participatory manner; as well as help us abandon some of our own preconceptions. A second, similarly heterogeneous user group, more formally tested and evaluated a finalized prototype of the system in situ at a real train station, in real time, and using real train information. Following the results of this evaluation, we have proposed a number of improvements to the system.
Keywords Inclusive design, design for all, accessibility, user involvement, heterogeneous users, information, travel, public transport, train
Introduction Inclusive Design is often described as “whereby designers ensure that their products and services address the needs of the widest possible audience” [2]. The value of incorporating principles and design ideals along these lines is becoming widely recognized by governments as well as industry throughout the world. In some countries, these ideals have even started to find their way into core legislation. In 2000, the Swedish parliament passed a government bill stipulating that no later than 2010, all public spaces in Sweden should be made accessible (see [6]). With 2010 now only a year away, much of this work remains to be done and various bodies of public administration are currently struggling to meet up to these new requirements and expectations. In this paper, we will introduce, describe, and discuss the practice of carrying out an inclusive design projects: how can it be done in practice? Commissioned by the Swedish Railroad Administration, seeking to meet the legal requirements of 128 PAPERS
making train travel accessible, this project focused on information issues relating to train stations. The Swedish Railroad Administration had some basic client requirements. From the start, the objective of the project has been to develop a prototype of a train information terminal providing accessible information about arrivals and departures to as wide an audience as possible. The resulting implementation should also be reasonably possible to mass-produce, maintain, and withstand wear and tear.
Project Description Below, we will present the various phases of the project. The project has been conducted by a group of design researchers at Umea Institute of Design during 2006 to 2008. It may be divided into four overlapping and interrelated phases: First, we conducted contextual studies at locations where existing arrival and departure information systems are already at hand and in use. Second, we started the design phase using low-fidelity prototyping with some participatory elements. Third, we designed and implemented a fully functional prototype system and, fourth, tested and evaluated it with users in situ in real time, based on which a number of improvements were made to our final design proposal.
Contextual Studies In a first phase, we conducted contextual observations at several train stations, airports, bus stations, subway stations, etc., i.e. locations where existing examples of things such as arrival and departure information, guiding maps, and other tools for helping travelers find their way around are already at hand. Here, we visited stations in Örebro, Gothenburg, Malmö, Helsingborg, Stockholm, and at other locations. We observed all existing accessibility aids put to use, all information systems used to distribute arrival and departure information, and talked to a great number of passengers at each location. All these observations and interviews were documented using written notes, video, and photos. In this phase, we also carried out a literature review. Later, during the design process, we used the gathered material to discuss our experiences, ideas, and potential obstacles with an experienced accessibility consultancy.
Figure 1: Contextual observations
The main objective of these initial efforts was to gain a first hand impression of how the question of accessibility has already been handled. While most people, including members of the design team, have a great deal of experience of moving through and trying to navigate various train stations, bus terminals, and airports, we found it very productive to approach these contexts using a specific pair of glasses, those of accessibility. We found these contextual studies useful in at least two ways: first, they 129 PAPERS
helped the team to not rely too heavily on their own previous experiences, and second, they provided a number of hands-on implications for the design process.
User-Centered Design Process Second, in line with Eisma et al [4], we argue strongly for the reimbursements in involving real end users early on in the inclusive design process, due to the cultural and experiential gap that always exists between designers and users but which is perhaps even more emphasized when dealing with a user group that is explicitly put together because of its heterogeneousness. Involvement and engaging end users in all phases of the project hence become useful means in finding ways of bridging this experiential gap [1]. Throughout the design process, a user group consisting of a number of people with various kinds of disabilities, impairments and other kinds of challenges—as well as some everyday users—has had an important impact on the process. The ideas, need, requirements, and opinions come to guide our design process, where the group’s explicitly heterogeneous nature has also from the start contributed to design solutions that are not specific to for instance one particular kind of disability. The user group consisted of: everyday users; people with visual impairment; people with hearing impairment; people with intellectual disability; people with mobility impairment depending of a wheelchair; people short in stature; people with deficits in motor control and perception; and people with dyslexia.
To deal with user inclusion early on in the design process, we developed an approach using low-fidelity prototyping with participatory elements, seeking to find ways of allowing users to engage hands-on with the future [3]. In our approach, we took an interaction design stance and worked hard from the beginning to try not to separate the virtual aspects of the system (e.g. the user interface design, information presented to the user, etc.) from its physical appearance (shape, physical functions, etc.) more than necessary, but rather try treat these as one and see the system as a whole throughout the design process. The design process has been a process of cycles of ideation (often together with members of the user group), scenario building, sketching, low-fidelity prototyping in cardboard and simple print-outs, testing, discussion, and evaluation.
Figure 2: Users and design researchers discussing early prototypes
During these cycles of prototyping, a number of important design implications were unveiled, some of which challenged the design team’s expectations and pre- understandings. For instance, users with perceptual challenges showed a great deal of opposition towards the now popular horizontal wide-screen format, which for them 130 PAPERS
caused confusion and disorder. Additionally, one of our early prototypes presented the users with a large screen (40 inches). Fairly quickly however, it became clear that this was not at all to the benefit of our user group’s visually challenged members, as many of them are only able to read at a distance of around 20 centimeters, which means that a large screen becomes very difficult to survey and take in as a whole.
Prototype Implementation Based on the two previous phases, we designed and implemented a fully functional prototype system. Unlike many other prototypes, we knowingly strived to come up with a prototype that was as close to a final product as possible. Thus, the prototype combines a finished physical form using sturdy outdoor materials with a fully functional user interface and a complete set of backbone computer systems connecting the prototype to all necessary existing sources of data. The main reason behind producing such an integration prototype [5] was that we wanted the system to be able to provide the user the chance of having a complete user experience, without the need of having to imagining or visualize certain features of the system or having to work with off-line or made-up information.
Figure 3: The prototype in use (left, middle); finalized design proposal (right)
The terminal has a vertically adjustable screen, which can slide down to be used by users in wheelchairs, short users, or children. The terminal holds information about all near-future arrivals and departures and gives users the opportunity to both listen to and read transcripts of loudspeaker calls. The terminal has a digital map of the station area, providing information about the shape of the station, staircases, elevators, tracks, etc. An on-screen animation shows which way the user should go to get to a certain point, and a synthesized voice talks the user through the route. All information throughout the system is available both as text and as synthesized speech.
The user interface has been designed to be imminently accessible and usable without the need for the user to spend any time learning how to use the interface. The interface is flat, knowingly avoiding depth and different modes. From the user’s point of view, the interface works like an accordion, expanding and contracting sections vertically on the screen. This design allows the user to keep track of where she is in the system at the same time as the amount of information given at any given point is not overwhelming, the latter being a specific request from perception-challenged users participating in the 131 PAPERS
study. Navigation is carried out by directly pointing at different areas of the touch- sensitive screen, or by using Braille-enhanced buttons located at the bottom of the screen. All on-screen graphics has been designed to provide good contrast.
The terminal, constructed in stainless steel, has been given a simple yet elegant physical shape, allowing it to blend in with the Swedish Railroad Administration’s other systems and signs. Blue light sources attached to the terminal aim to attract users.
User Evaluation The resulting prototype was exposed to users in situ at Örebro train station in the fourth phase. Apart from the purposes discussed above, putting the system to a test in its real environment also provided a realistic noise level, lighting conditions, and movement in the physical space, all influencing how the users conceive the system. In total, the prototype was tested formally with 18 invited subjects (10 female, 8 male) as well as with a number of spontaneous everyday users. None of these users had been part of the earlier group participating in the design phase, but represented the same kinds of challenges and disabilities. Tests were carried out with the members of the test group one by one during the course of three days. The process was as follows: each subject was asked to provide some information about their experiences of public transport and what kind of challenges they face when going by train, bus, or subway. After that, we provided them with a train ticket and asked them to use the terminal to get additional information about their upcoming travel. While the subjects were using the terminal, we asked them to explain to us what they were doing or trying to achieve. The test team video filmed each use situation for later review, and we also took written notes about the various problems the users came across. After having used the system, the users were able to reflect on their experiences with the system as well as to provide any immediate suggestions for improvements.
After having analyzed the gathered material, a large number of suggestions for improvements to the design surfaced, ranging from physical features to minor interface issues. Based on the results of this test and our own reflections of seeing it in use, we have suggested a number of improvements and re-designed the prototype system. The changes made are too many to discuss in detail here, but a few examples are: first, the terminal has been made easier to recognize and locate in the physical environment through various signs. The terminal has also been given a partly different color scheme (see Figure 2). Second, to increase the accessibility for people in wheelchairs, the horizontal depth of the terminal has been increased. Third, what became the most significant re-design from an interaction perspective, all buttons have been moved from the screen to off-screen areas below the screen itself to provide easier access and use.
Conclusions In this paper, we have introduced, described, and discussed the practice of inclusive design, i.e. how a commissioned inclusive design project can be carried out in practice. In collaboration with the Swedish Railroad Administration, seeking to meet the requirements of making train travel accessible, this project has focused on information 132 PAPERS
issues relating to train stations and public transport travel. The project’s objective was to develop a prototype of a train information terminal providing accessible information to as wide an audience as possible. To try to fulfill this goal, we chose to conduct a user- centered design project. To do this, we have used an approach with two groups of users. First, a very heterogeneous set of users took active part in early phases of the project, helping us quickly assess new design ideas and simple mock up prototypes, provide entirely new design ideas in a participatory manner, as well as help us kill some of our own darlings. A second user group, similarly heterogeneous in nature, more formally tested and evaluated a finalized prototype of the system in situ at a real train station in real time. These tests led to a number of improvements to be made to the prototype system. Our final proposal and the many lessons learned from this project currently serves as a base for Swedish Railroad Administration in setting up inclusive train information terminals at all train stations in Sweden.
End users have hence taken active part in all phases of the project, where they have been involved in at least three ways: first, in providing inspiration for design; second, in being involved in valuable collaborative design efforts; and third, as participating subjects in the test and evaluation of the fully-functional prototype terminal. With this work, we believe we have shown an example of a successfully carried out commissioned inclusive design project, where we have strived to meet both client needs as well as the needs of a truly diverse group of end users.
References 1. Clarkson J, Coleman, R., Keates, S. & Lebbon, C. (eds) (2003). Inclusive Design: Design for the whole population. London. Springer-Verlag.
2. DTI Foresight (2001). Making the future work for you. Department of Trade and Industry. London. UK.
3. Ehn, P. & Kyng, M. (1991). Cardboad Computers: Mocking-it-up or Hands-on the Future. Design at Work: Cooperative Design of Computer Systems, Greenbaum, J., & Kyng, M., Eds. Hillsdale, NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum.
4. Eimsa, R, Dickinson, A, Goodman, J, Mival, O, Syme, A and Tiwari, L (2003). Mutual inspiration in the development of new technology for older people. Include 2003. Royal College of Art. London. UK.
5. Houde, S. & Hill, C. (1997). What Do Prototypes Prototype? Handbook of Human- Computer Interaction (2nd ed.), Helander, M., Landauer, T., Prabhu, P., Eds., Elsevier Science.
6. SP, Swedish Parliament (2000), Bill 1999/2000:79, In Swedish: “Från patient till medborgare – en nationell handlingsplan för handikappolitiken”, http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c4/14/78/e9da3800.pdf 133
Session 2B Interfaces and Interactions: Working with Different Abilities 134 PAPERS
Designing in the dark: multi-sensorial workshop reconnecting designers with visually impaired end-users
Marc Dujardin, Sint-Lucas Department of Architecture, W&K, Brussels/Ghent, Belgium
Abstract This paper reports on the findings of a European sponsored Intensive Programme (IP) entitled ‘Designing in the Dark’ (DID). The central aim of the internationally organised workshop was to reconnect young designers in architecture to visually impaired user- experts. It was designed as an eleven day workshop that was organised in 2006, 2007 and 2008 at the Sint-Lucas Department of Architecture, campus Ghent, Hogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst, Belgium. Upon completion of its third and last edition as IP in December 2008, it is in order to review its rather challenging approach to architectural education from the perspective of Universal Design. The paper begins with explaining the rationale and framework of the workshop. The central aim of the programme is to explore the concept of user-orientation in architectural studies. The paper then moves to outline the approach and educational framework as well as to comment on the envisaged outputs of the workshop. To measure the impact of this intensive programme toward a more user-oriented approach to architectural design education, the paper ends with a number of concluding remarks.
Keywords Universal Design, user-orientation, blindfold, tactile, multi-sensorial.
Introduction Europe is currently shifting its perspective towards people with (dis-)abilities by adopting a ‘new paradigm’ of design, and of service and opportunities. Under this new paradigm the environment of the individual with (dis-)abilities is seen as the ‘dis-abler’ and not solely the person him or herself. In 2001 the Council of Europe adopted Resolution ResAP (2001) ‘on the introduction of the principles of Universal Design into the curricula of all occupations working on the built environment....’ with, among others, a series of recommendations for higher education. Since the initiation of the Universal Design Education Project (UD-EP.be) in September 2001 by three Flemish schools of Architecture, Sint-Lucas Architecture is continuously developing educational strategies to mainstream the concept and principles of Universal Design into its curriculum [1]. According to Froyen [2], common design exercises, such as ‘Universal Hotel’ and experiments such as ‘Designing in the Dark’ function as incubators of a new human- centred approach. He argues that there is an apparent opposition between, on the one hand, the propagated principles of ‘Universal Design’ or inclusive and integral ‘Design for All’ and on the other hand a specific design exercise targeted to people with visual 135 PAPERS
impairments, which tends toward the more exclusive and categorical ‘Design for Special Needs’. The title “Designing in the Dark”, according to Froyen [3], does not refer to the rich and refined experiential world of people who are blind or visually impaired, but rather to the unknown and unsure design attitudes of sighted designers. It refers to the ignorance and insecurity of architects and urban designers as they strive to take into consideration in their designs the a-modal, multi-sensorial ways of perception by users with visual impairments. Far beyond the contents and the methods of teaching, however, there is the more global task of raising ‘Universal Design’ awareness among practising and future designers, and of contributing to a rich culture of ‘design for diversity’. The aim of the ‘Designing in the Dark’ workshop is to investigate the concept of Universal Design from the specific viewpoint of visually impaired user/experts.
Rationale and framework of the workshop
Background, aims and objectives Against the background of the European resolution on introducing the principles of Universal Design, the workshop provides a means to converge and to rethink educational programmes of all participating institutes[4]. For instance, from the viewpoint of teacher mobility, the intensive programme offers a unique opportunity to ‘train the trainers’. Indeed, bringing together teachers from different backgrounds focusing on the key issue of ‘Designing in the Dark’ as a more user-oriented design paradigm, provided yet another means to exchange, compare and critically reconsider educational and research strategies and tools in this particular field of studies. The aim of the Intensive Programme, however, was to improve the research and design skills of master class students in architecture and interior design in addressing real world problems such as ‘ageing’ and ‘handicap’. To widen the scope of their conceptual architectural thinking and strengthen their design skills, the students were introduced to the concept of ‘Universal Design’, a relatively new design paradigm that extends far beyond the bias and field of architecture. The enthusiasm of both participating students and teachers vis-à-vis the topic (Universal Design and Designing in the Dark) as well as the approach (workshop) on the one hand, and the successful involvement of external user/experts with various types of visual impairments (from blindness over colour- blindness to tunnel sight) on the other hand, provided us with confidence to organise an unprecedented knowledge transfer at the level of our joint masters META-university network.
User-orientation in architectural studies As stated above, the workshop centred around the key issue of ‘user-orientation’. The important contribution of user/experts and the recognition of consumers with disabilities as experts is thoroughly demonstrated by Ringaert [5]. According to Ostroff [6], the experience of the user/expert is usually in strong contrast to the life experience of most designers and is invaluable in evaluating both existing products and places, as well as new designs in development. Indeed, one does not need and expert’s eye to see that there is still a big gap between the imaginary world of the designer and the experiential world of the end-user. From this perspective, the workshop ‘Designing in the Dark’, at the coordinating institute, is well integrated within the META-course module ‘Sustainable and user-oriented planning and design’, tutored by the author. From the perspective of 136 PAPERS
Universal Design education, a course module which involves ‘external’ disabling and enabling end-users as accessibility experts, is the only way to expose designers to the impact (handicap creation versus handicap elimination) of their design attitude. In other words, rethinking educational strategies and tools with inclusion of the ‘end-user’ as soundboard or touchstone at an early stage of any design process is considered among experts in the field as a major brake-through in architectural education.
Direct beneficiaries The direct beneficiaries of the programme are manifold: a. The invited students and teachers from the participating META-partner institutes; b. The incoming exchange students residing at the coordinating institute, campus Ghent and Brussels; c. Locally selected students from our master’s classes in Architecture, Interior architecture and 3rd year students of the professional Bachelor in Interior Design); d. Local teachers from various professional backgrounds; and e. Co- coordinators and visually impaired user/experts of the Belgian Blind League. Disabled or disadvantaged students were welcomed to participate and the organising institute provided the necessary assistance to address the educational (adapted tools) and social needs of such students/tutors. During DID2, we had one visually impaired PhD student in architecture from Strathclyde University. His participation was greatly appreciated by tutors and students. For DID3, he was invited as a tutor to assist all student teams. Students gained full academic recognition for participation in the intensive programme (3 ECTS credits for a successful participation).
Approach and educational framework: The intensive Programme is conceived as an eleven-day workshop. It starts with introductory lectures on ‘Universal Design’ and an interactive lecture organised by the ‘Blind League’ (Blinderzorg Licht en Liefde). The role of each participating institute, represented by a tutor, was twofold: presenting a thematic lecture and providing extensive guidance of the international student teams during the process of research and design. The lectures of the tutors had a European dimension since UD cases were brought forward from each of the participating countries. Each of the workshop outputs (Bibliographical review, POE, tactile modelling, etc.) formed the subject of a separate lecture in which both the content and media of the strategy were examined. The strategic core of the workshop consisted of experience-based activities in situ and at the campus. Fieldwork at the various selected urban indoor and outdoor situations were alternated with moments of discussion and intermediate evaluation. Exposure through exhibiting the outputs (work in progress) immediately created an ambience of permanent sensibilisation and critical evaluation. Study visits to best practice examples in Flanders were organised to bring together the educational and professional sector.
Teaching tools The concept and objectives of the Universal Design Paradigm in general and Designing in the Dark in particular were translated into four interacting teaching tools: a. Awareness training based on bibliographical study; b. Subjective experiencing of the (disabling) man-made environment through simulation exercises, c. Learning from practice through Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) case studies, and d. Research by Design studio work.
137 PAPERS
a. Awareness training based on bibliographical study: By loading up key words and expressions such as accessibility, affordability, inclusive, equity, user-involvement, adjustable, user-friendly, handicap creation, etc, a shift from mere awareness to attitude was nurtured and fostered. Within the group of x number of students, X/2 articles were selected from the current UD bibliography. For the workshop the book ‘Blindness and the Multi-Sensorial city’ of Patrick Devlieger (Ed.) [7] served as the main bibliographical source. Per two students, an article was critically studied and summarised in the format of a PowerPoint presented to the plenum. Upon completion of the workshop, every student was made familiar with the essence of a good selection of key publications. More important to us was that both the quality and digital format could upgrade the student outputs to potential didactic UD tools for further educational purposes. b. Subjective experiencing of the man-made environment: To position their UD training course module within an educational framework that extends far beyond a mere academic intent, students and teachers took part in the senso-motoric workshop components directed by the Blind League. Here, the students experienced the discomfort of the dis-abling built environment by simulating some sensorial and motorical impairments within the presence of both therapists and impaired persons. The urban situations chosen for the simulation and walk-through experiences formed the spatial and cultural context in which the design task was formulated. c. Learning from practice: Post Occupancy Evaluation (POE): According to Corry [8], POE is about measuring satisfaction with the workplaces and anticipating what people might complain about later. The principles of Universal Design can be included in a POE not only as guidelines in developing a general evaluation instrument, but also as a separate UD-focused POE. Universal Design in tandem with post-occupancy evaluation, as Corry argues, is one answer to these questions that can positively influence the design process and the resulting building. If POE’s were incorporated into the design process as the last phase in the design/build cycle, problems in existing and future buildings could be decreased. When combined, POE and Universal Design are powerful tools in influencing the quality of the built environment. Individually, both can enhance the function and aesthetics of a building. Together, following Corry, they can begin to provide environments that are supportive, safe, appealing and equal. The focus of the POE related to open an built public places in the city of Ghent. Students prepared for a critical review of the project site on the basis of a personal ‘haptic’ experience (through body movement) and by involving the user/experts as consultants. Aspects of accessibility were were not the only objects of study. Factors such as ‘handicap creation’ versus ‘handicap elimination’ or architecture as medium of stigmatisation were of primary concern. Each experience-centred investigation resulted in a case study documentation that allowed for lively discussions about the designer’s state of mind. d. Research by Design: According to Paulsson [9], good inclusive design (as all good sustainable design) is unobtrusive. By means of goal-oriented design programmes, the student was stimulated to think inclusively throughout each and every design process, no matter what the 138 PAPERS
product might be: an object, an interior space, a private or public building, a neighbourhood or a townscape. A shift from design for special needs towards a design- for-all attitude was explicitly promoted. The incorporation of the DID2 design assignment “The blindfold: multiple playground and city hub” proved to be innovative for all key actors: students, tutors and, not least, the visually impaired accessibility experts. For the participating user-experts, Designing in the Dark surely became a concrete experience. The case-based design experience of students working hand in hand with the visually impaired experts was unprecedented. In DID1, the design aspect was limited to the re- design of existing problematic handicap situations. The focus of DID2 was on the actual ‘designing’. With DID3, however, we went one step further: to involve, besides the architectural institution and external user-experts, the City of Ghent as third key actor. The idea was to 1. investigate the city’s KOBRA-project (a master plan to re-design the historical centre of Ghent) from the perspective of visually impaired end-users, and 2. to design a multi-sensorial info centre, a missing component of the master plan. The outputs of DID3 were unprecedented (3 types of tactile models, one with audio-visual sensors and others with communication devices) and were covered by the national written press and by the regional television broadcaster.
Envisaged outputs of the workshop: To demonstrate the outputs of the project, the organisers have structured the IP in the format of a website and a weblog. They contain components such as: general information, detailed time table of the workshop, co-ordinates of the partners, PowerPoints of the lectures, and workshop outputs (reviewed articles, POE case studies and designs). The inputs and outputs of DID1-3 can be viewed on: http://etopia.sintlucas.be/DID2/ or www.designinginthedark.wordpress.com
Concluding remarks Moving away from a mere fragmented approach to aspects of accessibility, the coordinating institute is committed, in accordance with the European resolution RESAP(2001), to further develop ‘Universal Design’ as a mainstream component of its architectural curriculum in general, and to integrate the ‘Designing in the Dark’ workshop as an explicit competence in its newly conceived Masters Degree Programme in Architecture.
The aim of the Intensive Programme was to improve the research and design skills of master’s students in architecture and interior design in addressing ‘user-oriented’ real world problems such as ‘ageing’ and ‘handicap’. Particularly targeted were students from all faculties that were participating in the META joint master’s programme.
To reconnect the designers with the visually impaired end-users, an interdisciplinary approach seemed indispensable for ensuring the successful organisation of the workshop. The commitment to and practical co-operation with the Belgian Blind League is exemplary for the success of this approach. Moreover, the active participation of the City of Ghent as a third key actor brought the workshop to an unprecedented high level of designing: the concept and the organisational approach of the workshop united academics, local governmental bodies and end-users around the topic of a more inclusive and human-centred design paradigm on the basis of very concrete master and action area plans (e.g. KOBRA project). Some of the project outputs (tactile scale models and PowerPoint presentations of selective case studies) are now being used by 139 PAPERS
the Belgian Blind League in their discussion with official instancies and institutions that deal with the organisation of public spaces and places in Ghent.
The workshop not only let us, designers, understand how visually impaired persons sense, understand and memorise the built environment. The concept of the workshop is now being investigated by the City of Ghent as a possible ‘procedure’ to give the visually impaired end-users a better voice within the process of planning future public infrastructures and build environments.
References 1. For more information, refer to: a. Dujardin, M, and Dua, I (eds.) (2003). Universal Design Education, Brussels, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten; b. Dujardin, M (2004). Teaching universal design at Sint- Lucas Architecture: AUSMIP students exposed. Paper presented to the Design for All in education conference in co-operation with EIDD Sverige, Stockholm, 7 May; and c. Froyen, H, Asaert, C, Dujardin, M, Herssens, J (eds.) (2006). Ontwerpen voor iedereen: integraal & Inclusief. Universal Design Toolkit, Brussels, Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap.
2. and 3. Froyen, H (2006). Designing in the dark: an experimental design workshop. in Devlieger, P, Froyen, H, Renders, F, and Wildiers, K (eds.) (2006). Blindness and the Multi-Sensorial city. Anwerpen-Apeldoorn, Garant, pp. 329-330.
4. The invited META-university partners are the University of Warsaw (Poland), Chalmers University (Sweden), Roma Tre University (Italy), Strathclyde University (UK), Brno University (Czech Republic), Tue Eindhoven (Netherlands) and Ecole d’Architecture de Lille (France).
5. Ringaert, L (2001). User/expert Involvement in Universal Design. In Preiser W.F.E and Ostroff, E (eds.), Universal Design Handbook, Boston, McGraw-Hill, pp. 6.1-6.14.
6. Ostroff, E (2003). Strategies for teaching and recruiting designers for an inclusive world, in Dujardin, M and Dua, I (eds.) (2003). Universal Design Education, Brussels, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, pp. 23-39.
7. Devlieger, P, Froyen, H, Renders, F, and Wildiers, K (eds.) (2006). Blindness and the Multi-Sensorial city. Anwerpen-Apeldoorn, Garant.
8. Corry, S (2001). Post-Occupancy Evaluation from a Universal Design Perspective. In Preiser W.F.E and Ostroff, E (eds.), Universal Design Handbook, Boston, McGraw-Hill, pp. 56.1-56.12.
9. Paulsson, J (2003). The UDEP Sweden initiative: notes on a developing programme and further EU initiatives. In Dujardin, M and Dua, I (eds.) (2003). Universal Design Education, Brussels, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van België voor Wetenschappen en Kunsten, p. 61-71.
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An Accessible Creative Interaction Environment for Two People with Cerebral Palsy
Brendan McCloskey
Abstract The author presents the results of an accessible creative interaction design project, the aim of which is to grant physically disabled performers access to the creative process. A working methodology is synthesized through an extensive review of current trends in a number of related disciplines. The prototype performance environment is described and evaluated, allowing conclusions regarding the applicability of a ‘bespoke-design’ ethos to be drawn.
Keywords Accessible creative interaction design, user-centered design, musical performance and physical disability
Introduction
Examples of digital musical instruments (DMI’s) that rely on familiar or novel modes of interaction are numerous, the majority of such environments designed by and for able- bodied users [3,4,13,18,23,26]. While such interfaces are not explicitly designed for people with a physical disability, it is frustrating to note that such users are excluded from participating in the creative process by design approaches that fail to embrace the universal design ethos: we are all disabled by design approaches that fail to consider as wide a spectrum of abilities as possible [7,24,39]. Historically, HCI designers can avail of mature and robust methodological tools, vital to the evaluation and reiteration stages of the design process. Such tools are not available, however, to the designer of an accessible creative interface (ACI); the repercussions of exclusive design are manifold – user-groups are excluded and research is limited. A working methodology may, however, be synthesized by employing selected approaches from related disciplines, the most pertinent being user-centered design.
Methodology
There are currently few examples of robust prescribed methodologies for ACI design. The author has sought guidance and inspiration from the related fields of HCI, universal design and DMI design. Human task modelling is eminently applicable in the field of HCI 141 PAPERS
[5] but, it is argued, does not necessarily enhance accessible interaction design for target users with physical disabilities, given the unique and often unpredictable nature of gesture control in people with a physical disability. Considerations of motor task analysis tools, physical effort and user/audience perception are also avoided in this project, not deemed worthless but assigned value in a future iteration. The primary focus is on detailed and continuous user-consultation.
The abilities and expectations of two people with cerebral palsy are assessed in the first instance through a detailed questionnaire and informal interview. One participant is chosen as the focus of the design process, assessing and improving the various prototypes; the second participant assesses the finished design, commenting specifically on the viability of a device designed for someone else with an ostensibly similar physical disability. The results of the entire project are presented below as a review of related literature, design requirements and a final evaluation.
HCI State of the Art
Many contributors to this field [6,9,37,41] define the interaction environment in a manner similar to the following: interaction describes all feedback between the human and the system. Feedback may be cognitive, motive and sensory, each modality given varying emphasis depending on environment context. The transducer (or device) interposes itself non-trivially between the human and the processor (control map/event generator). The majority of HCI literature reviewed herein focuses on designing for able-bodied user interaction, or on adaptive interfaces (particularly in the context of content retrieval). Assessment tools borrowed from these disciplines have been applied with some success in the evaluation of expressive or creative performance devices, albeit without direct reference to accessibility.
The 1999 UK Disability Follow Up Survey [44] also identifies three categories of assessable human capabilities: motor, cognitive and sensory. In tests carried out by Keates and Clarkson [25] the authors found that disabled participants took approximately 50% longer to perform basic HCI motor tasks than able-bodied users but significantly took no longer in the cognitive and sensory cycles. Despite the obvious reduction in motor capability, such factors are independent of cognitive and sensory processes [35]. Conveniently, this allows the author to focus on the challenges presented by motor responses alone, in the current iteration of the project: what are the capabilities and desires of the participants and how are those demands best addressed?
In the wider field of interaction design there is evidence of some consideration of the needs of previously excluded ‘user groups’: the universal design ethos pervades much of the literature. There is also a very mature and robust research community focusing on novel interfaces for musical performance. With only a few notable exceptions, however, there is little concrete and conclusive research in the area of accessible creative interaction design.
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Device examples and parameter mapping
The learning phase of an interactive environment is radically reduced by the implementation of familiar devices and interaction modalities [14,32,43]. Both participants in the current project use power chairs controlled by a joystick (as do 81% of power chair users [30]). An example of the successful implementation of a joystick within a creative control environment is Rimmel and Howard’s physical modelling instrument [19,33]. The paradigm of constrained multi-axis control, in a vertical or horizontal hand- grip form factor, therefore, demands consideration. The motor-impaired user must be able to initialize control, and explore a limited set and range of control dimensions. Furthermore, such constraints allow the designer to impose a design strategy that produces an explicit control paradigm [29]: more or faster movements result in more or faster events, for example.
There is an abundance of multi-level research into interfaces based on a touch-screen model [31,45-7]. Such devices require fine motor control and often derive from the point- click-drag paradigm, rendering most of them inaccessible or at least non-universally accessible. The target user has, however, expressly stated his desire to exploit a level of ‘point/touch/select’ interaction in his ideal environment; the final prototype will exploit a simple large touchpad or screen affording selection-modification control gestures, combined with a joystick-type controller (Fig. 1). Allying a simple selector-type controller with a more complex continuous controller is a pervading and persuasive design approach [38]. Wanderley [41] and Gurevich [18], for example, both recommend the use of discrete selectors and modifiers in this context. The T-Stick DMI [26] exploits a more novel interaction paradigm, but one still based on selection and modification, or the ‘button-handle’ model [40]. A final consideration, but one emphatically highlighted by Coleman [7] and Marcus [27] is that of form-factor aesthetics. A disabled user may be stigmatized by poor aesthetic design; ideally the device should present itself as a tool that is accessible to all users, not just to those with a physical disability.
Parameter mapping
Numerous contributors to the field of interaction design stress the importance of parameter mapping [20-2,28,34,37]: the control paradigm suggested by the form factor of the device must be reflected in the applied mapping strategy. Stated generally, a control gesture afforded in the vertical axis, for example, should correspond with a vertical-type event in the sound space. Higher might equate to ‘more’ or ‘higher’, and vice versa, with infinite or discrete gradations between extremes (modification). Discrete selection gestures should correspond with clearly defined and perceivable changes (selection). The musical instrument paradigm also implies that faster (excitation) equates to louder, and slower to soft [17]. The affordances of these models – a joystick is dynamic and a touchpad is static – implies dynamic mapping of the joystick control signal (modification) and static mapping of the touchpad (selection). 143 PAPERS
Figure 1: Proposed solutions
Overly complex or multi-dimensional parameter mapping can lead to confusion, frustration and decreased viability of an interactive device [1,8]. This caveat must be observed when one considers that in conventional musical instrument design, control is naturally cross-coupled and complex [21]. An interaction such as ‘push forward’ (one modality) might, for example, be mapped to many parameters but perceived as one event. A corollary of this strategy would be that one parameter is only altered when pushing forward a joystick and selecting and holding a discrete trigger (many-to-one) [20]. Such a model resides in conventional acoustic instruments, and is expressly imposed and maintained in the mapping strategy applied in the current project. Tactile feedback is also a vital element in the design of a creative controller [14]. An inherent characteristic in conventional musical instruments, it affords the performer a high level of expressive control over sound events and continuously provides the user with sensory data relating to the state of the instrument.
User responses and environment design
User-questionnaire responses produced the following remit: the performance environment must employ a tactile device exhibiting a familiar form factor and model; the mapping strategy must exploit a generic musical instrument model affording real-time performance control; no use should be made of remote gesture sensing (non-tactile transducers such as photo-resistors, or video motion-tracking).
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Environment design The target participant has athetoid CP (low muscle tone or control) and can exercise precise fingertip control in the right hand and a degree of flexion and extension in the left arm; targeting gestures can often be unpredictable and protracted. The second participant has spastic CP and targets well with both left and right arms/hands while maintaining a steady posture. Due to high muscle tone, however, such gestures require a great deal of effort. Both the performers’ capabilities demand that the device affords the ability to grasp a stable handle or grip, and push/pull/rotate on the X- and Y-axes while selecting discrete ‘buttons’ with the right hand fingers, modalities familiar to and preferred by both participants. Despite the disparity in the specific natures of the participants’ disabilities, it is possible to address their unique capabilities through iteration and refinement of a single environment model.
The performance instrument consists of a custom built joystick embedded with an X-Y axis accelerometer, and a touchpad with embedded linear position sensors (force sensing resistors, FSR’s). The sensors’ signals are transmitted to Max/MSP [51] software via the Arduino microprocessor [52]. The joystick housing is constructed by securing a small wooden ball (4cm dia.) to the top plate of a dual-axis speaker wall- bracket; the accelerometer is fixed to the underside of the top plate. The ‘touchpad’ interface consists of three linear position sensors secured in a ‘T’ orientation inside a stiff cardboard container, with guiding holes and slots in the facing lid. The target participant noted that the FSR’s were too small to be accessed easily (2.5cm x 11cm). Consequently, the FSR housing underwent several revisions until the optimum form factor was achieved: a 30cm x 15cm x 0.5cm (approx.) light acrylic box, with guiding finger holes and slot. The form factor of the joystick proved more of a success; the participant commented very favourably on the familiarity of the design and interaction modality. However, the X-Y axes were remapped to create a wider Y-axis, with X-axis triggers as opposed to continuous control, at the extremes of left-right travel (<20 degrees and >160 degrees). These detailed revisions result from the practical implications of the user’s degree of control on the Y-axis: gestures are smoother and more refined on the X-axis than on the other. Such disparity engendered some de- correlation between gesture and control event. The wide control space on the Y-axis produced an increased level of confidence and repeatable control gestures from the user.
Some modification was also needed in the mapping strategy. Various parameters were assigned to both controllers, and demonstrated to the user. Timbral control, for example, formerly manifest as a continuous controller on the joystick X-axis, proved to be accessed best via an FSR. These revisions produced a second prototype, which was again tested. The form factor and mapping strategy assigned to the joystick had achieved optimum accessibility: the user demonstrated repeatable and predictable gestures and outcomes. Further testing produced the final incarnation of the device [53]: the joystick physical design was unchanged from prototype no.1 but the mapping strategy required some enhancement; the touchpad design evolved through several modifications, emerging as a hybrid keyguard/fader design, housed in rigid acrylic, angled slightly, like a conventional computer keyboard, and with FSRs placed no more 145 PAPERS
than 4mm underneath the surface. The target user described the final prototype as “more accessible than any other creative interaction device I have used in the past” [48- 50, for example]. He demonstrated and commented on the creative control afforded by both the physical design and the applied mapping strategy, two models absorbed from two related fields: the accessible design ethos of exploiting familiar form factors; and DMI interaction paradigms. The second participant, exposed to the final prototype at the end of the design process, agreed with the target user’s assessment of the accessibility of the physical design. The familiarity of both models (joystick and keypad) ensured this participant’s abilities and expectations (which expectations were similar to his colleague’s) were successfully addressed. The joystick handle proved to be inaccessible to User B. User A grips with each finger (from thumb) incrementally closer to the ball of the thumb, as one would hold a pen. User B grips by curling each finger to the same degree, as one would grip a bicycle handle, so a T-bar handle mimicking the design of the joystick on his powerchair was rapidly assembled.
Conclusions and future work
HCI modelling tools provide valuable data for interaction design [15], allowing the designer to assess and predict modes of interaction and intent, and develop environments for coupling intention with event. Accessible creative interaction design requires a fundamental focus on the motive capabilities of the target user(s), and can therefore avail of these tools when assessing intent. Where such tools may be less applicable is in the context of physical effort, or in the application of more generic human models. The target users concurred in their responses to enquiries regarding preferred modes of interaction (via familiar devices, gestures, and instrument models), but provided different responses to enquiries regarding device form factor (due to specific motive capabilities). HCI models demand generic assumptions regarding the capabilities of user-groups and cannot account for the idiosyncratic nature of physically impaired users’ abilities. Despite the unexpected concurrence in users’ responses to the initial questionnaire regarding expectations, there exists no such concurrence in motive capabilities. Consequently, user B’s evaluation of the finished prototype was not as glowing as that of the target user, who also had time to learn to use the environment. Last minute adaptations were suggested by user B as a direct result of his preferred gripping method. Could a pre-existing user model account for such specific requirements? It is as yet unclear whether accessible interaction design would benefit from the formulation of motor-impaired user models. A follow up design project will require a focus on several key areas. Closer examination of motor task analysis tools will assess the applicability of such tools. Gesture recognition tools will allow an analysis of user intent, as will an exploration of a variety of user-data formats. Aesthetics, physical effort and feedback modalities have also proved to be vital topics for future consideration. When the creative interaction design community avails of the universal design ethos and attempts to prescribe applicable methodologies and analytical tools, bespoke design will no longer be the only method for successfully addressing the capabilities and expectations of users with a physical disability.
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References
1. Blaine, T (2005). The convergence of alternate controllers and musical interfaces in interactive entertainment. Proceedings of the 2005 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME05) 2. Bongers, B (2000). Physical interfaces in the electronic arts. Trends in Gestural Control of Music. Wanderley and Battier eds. IRCAM 3. Bowen, A (2005). Soundstone: A 3-D wireless music controller. Proceedings of the 2005 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME05) 4. Buchla, D (1990). Thunder. http://www.buchla.com/historical/thunder 5. Card, S et al (1986). The model human processor: An engineering model of human performance. Handbook of Perception and Human Performance, 1-35. New York 6. Casciato, C, Wanderley, M (2007). Lessons from experienced gestural controller users. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Enactive Interfaces 2007 (ENACTIVE/07) 7. Coleman, R (2006). From margins to mainstream: why inclusive design is better design. 2006 Ergonomics Society Lecture address, Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, Royal College of Art, London http://www.ergonomics.org.uk/espdfs/ErgSocLecture.pdf 8. Cook, P (2001). Principles for designing computer music controllers. CHI workshop. (NIME01) 9. Courousse, D, Florens, JL (2007). Functional analysis of haptic devices. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Enactive Interfaces 2007 (ENACTIVE/07) 10. Coutourier, JM (2002). A scanned synthesis virtual instrument. Proceedings of the 2002 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME02) 11. Cronin, D (2005). Early and often: How to avoid the design revision death cycle. Proceedings of the 2005 Conference on Designing for User Experience (DUX05) 12. Elokla, N et al (2007). Usability assessment methodologies throughout the universal design process. Proceedings of INCLUDE07 http://www.hhc.rca.ac.uk/kt/include/2007/proceedings/paper.php?ID=1_108 13. Funk, M et al (2005). Sonification of facial actions for musical expression. Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME05) 14. Geerdink, B et al (2004). Force feedback therapy for children with cerebral palsy. Proceedings of the 2nd Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology (CWUAAT04) 15. Goodman, J et al (2007). Involving people with disabilities: lessons from a designer- centred inclusive design competition. Proceedings of INCLUDE07, http://www.edc.eng.cam.ac.uk/~jag76/research/2007_include/include07.pdf 16. Goodman, J et al (2007). Formats for user data in inclusive design. Universal Access in HCI, Part 1, HCII, 117-126. Stephanidis ed. LNCS 4554 17. Goudeseune, C (2002). Interpolated mappings for musical instruments. Organised Sound, vol 7, no 2, 85-96 August 147 PAPERS
18. Gurevich, M, von Muehlen, S (2001). The Accordiatron: A gestural interface for interactive music. Proceedings of the 2001 International Computer Music Conference (ICMC2001) 19. Howard, DM et al (2003). Force feedback gesture controlled physical modeling synthesis. Proceedings of the 2003 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME03) 20. Hunt, A, Kirk, R (2000). Mapping strategies for musical performance. Trends in Gestural Control of Music. Wanderley and Battier eds. IRCAM 21. Hunt, A et al (2002). The importance of parameter mapping in electronic instrument design. Proceedings of the 2002 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME02) 22. Hunt, A et al (2000). Towards a model for instrumental mapping in expert musical interaction. Proceedings of the 2000 International Computer Music Conference (ICMC2000) 23. Huott, R (2002). An interface for precise musical control. Proceedings of the 2002 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME02) 24. Keates, S et al (1998). Developing a methodology for the design of accessible interfaces. Proceedings of the 4th ERCIM Workshop on User Interfaces for All, http://www.ics.forth.gr/proj/at-hci/UI4ALL/UI4ALL-98/keates.pdf 25. Keates, S, Clarkson, PJ (2003). Countering design exclusion through inclusive design. Proceedings of the 2003 ACM Conference on Universal Usability (CUU03) 26. Malloch, J, Wanderley, M (2007). The T-stick: from musical interface to musical instrument. Proceedings of the 2007 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME07) 27. Marcus, A (2002). Metaphors and user interfaces in the 21st century. Interactions March/April, 7-10 28. Mina, S et al (2004). Multi-parameter data acquisition on interface devices for the development of adaptive input systems. Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP04), Miesenberger et al eds. LNCS 3118, 37-44 29. Mulder, A (2004). Towards a choice of gestural constraints for instrumental performers. Trends in Gestural Control of Music. Wanderley and Battier eds. IRCAM 30. Nischelwitzer, AK et al (2006). MediaWheelie: Research into multimodal user interfaces. Proceedings of the 2006 International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP2006). 31. Pauletto, S, Hunt, A (2004). A toolkit for interactive sonification. Proceedings of the 2004 Conference of the International Community for Auditory Display (ICAD04) 32. Prazak, B et al (2004). Accessibility through standard low cost pointing devices. Proceedings of the 2004 International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special Needs (ICCHP2004) 33. Rimmel, S et al (2002). Cymatic: Restoring the physical manifestation of digital sound using haptic interfaces to control a new computer based musical instrument. Proceedings of the 2002 International Computer Music Conference (ICMC2002) 34. Robson, D (2001). PLAY!: Sound toys for the non musical. Proceedings of the 2001 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME01) 148 PAPERS
35. Smits-Engelsman, B et al (2007). Children with congenital spastic hemiplegia obey Fitts’ Law in a visually guided tapping task. Experimental Brain Research, 177, 431-439 36. Story, MF et al (1998). Understanding the spectrum of human abilities. The Universal Design File: Designing for People of All Ages and Abilities. North Carolina State University 37. Svanaes, D, Verplank, W (2000). In search of metaphors for tangible user interfaces. Proceedings of the 2000 Conference on Designing for Augmented Reality Environments (DARE2000) 38. Truillet, P (2007). A taxonomy of physical contextual sensors. Human Computer Interaction, Part II, HCII, 982-989. J. Jacko ed. LNCS 4551 39. Vanderheiden, G, Henry, S (2003). Designing flexible, accessible interfaces that are more usable by everyone. CHI tutorial. TRACE R&D Center, Wisconsin http://www.sigchi.org/chi2003/docs/t10.pdf 40. Verplank, W et al (2001). A course on controllers. Proceedings of the 2001 Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME01) 41. Wanderley, M et al (2000). On the choice of sensor technologies for specific musical functions. Proceedings of the 2000 International Computer Music Conference (ICMC2000) 42. Wanderley, M, Orio, N (2002). Evaluation of input devices for musical expression: Borrowing tools from HCI. Computer Music Journal, vol 26, no 3, 62-76 Autumn 43. Wobbrock, J, Gajos, K (2007). A comparison of area pointing and goal crossing for people with and without motor impairment. Proceedings of the 2007 Conference on Assistive Technologies (ASSETS07) 44. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/ihr/ih019.pdf 45. http://global.yamaha.com/design/tenori-on 46. http://reactable.iua.upf.edu 47. http://korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no=KP3&category_id=2 48. http://soundbeam.co.uk 49. http://kentonuk.com 50. http://ablenetinc.com 51. http://www.cycling74.com/products/mmjoverview 52. http://www.arduino.cc/ 53. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ri_18Zx5I4c
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Innovation in Inclusive Typography: A Role for Design Research
Karin von Ompteda, Communication Art & Design, Royal College of Art [email protected]
Abstract
As the world’s populations age, it is increasingly critical that designers produce accessible communications for people with low vision. Currently, inclusive typography guidelines are vague and do not yet rest upon a strong scientific foundation. As such, there is insufficient knowledge to inform the design of typefaces for readers with low vision. Legibility research is largely conducted from within the scientific community, and the challenge of directly applying this knowledge to the practice of typeface design will be discussed. This paper will conclude that design research—acting as an intermediary between scientific research and design practice—has a potentially exciting contribution to make toward innovation in people centered design.
Key words
Inclusive Design, Typeface Design, Legibility, Practice-Led Design Research
Introduction
This paper is motivated by the unprecedented aging of the world’s populations (United Nations, 2002) and the associated increased prevalence of age-related eye disease (WHO, 2004). The majority of people with visual impairments are not blind, having significant remaining vision known as low vision (Arditi, 2004). Low vision compromises sight through blurring, patchiness and loss of central or peripheral vision, and in 2002 was estimated to affect approximately 124 million people worldwide (WHO, 2004).
In the United Kingdom, approximately two million people have significant sight loss, the majority of which are 65 years of age and over (RNIB, 2008). Macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract and diabetic retinopathy are leading causes of visual impairment; the risk of each increasing with age. Population aging is more rapid in developed nations, with one in five people currently aged 60 years or over in the UK, and a projected ratio of one in three by 2050 (United Nations, 2007). The number of people in Britain with low vision will rise dramatically over the coming decades (RNIB, 2005).
Difficulty with reading is a vital concern for people living with low vision (Legge, 2007), and a central goal of vision rehabilitation is improving access to written materials (Arditi, 1996). Low vision can be defined functionally as a visual impairment resulting in the inability to read the newspaper at a standard distance (40 cm) with best optical correction (Legge, 2007). Access to text is fundamental to participation in modern society, and the design community has an increasingly critical mitigating role to play in this context through the production of inclusive typographic design.
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Inclusive design is a response to the diverse demands of today’s consumers, especially those who are elderly or disabled (Clarkson et al., 2003). This approach to architectural, product and communication design, seeks to meet the needs of the largest user-group possible, whilst taking into consideration the goals of commerce (Clarkson et al., 2003). In the context of communication design, inclusive typographic principles are central, providing tools which fundamentally influence the number of individuals able to continue reading with low vision. Visual impairment organizations like the Royal National Institute of the Blind in the United Kingdom and Lighthouse International in the United States are primary sources for guidelines on how to design for readers with low vision (e.g. RNIB, 2006; Arditi, 2009). Inclusive typographic principles are increasingly being adopted by practicing designers, yet an examination of the underlying literature suggests that the research often does not translate into specific guidelines.
A recent review of typography for readers with low vision in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness concluded that “research has not produced consistent findings and thus that there is a need to develop standards and guidelines that are informed by evidence” (Russell-Minda et al., 2007). Another review discussed the “little scientific typographical research directly related to this user group” (Perera, 2001). A recent empirical paper in Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics examining typography for readers with mild to moderate vision loss stated that “the scientific basis for the guidelines is elusive at best” (Rubin et al., 2006). One set of typography guidelines for readers with impaired vision refers to “little reliable information on the comparative legibility of typefaces …” (Arditi, 2009). Typographic guidelines can also exist within legislation like the Americans with Disabilities Act; an aspect of which was referred to as “written without sufficient research to specify such ranges with confidence” (Arditi, 1996). Legibility research has thus far not been able to inform specific evidence-based inclusive typographic design principles.
Typeface legibility research
Inclusive typography guidelines are based largely on scientific legibility research; the term ‘legibility’ referring to the perceptual properties of text that influence readability (Legge, 2007). Legibility research is often conducted using what are called ‘psychophysical’ methods. Psychophysics is the study of the relationship between physical stimuli and perceptual responses (Norton et al., 2002); in this case, the relationship between the physical properties of text (e.g. character size, typeface) and reading performance (Legge, 2007). The psychophysical study of reading often employs two legibility metrics: reading acuity and reading speed. Reading acuity is the minimum size, or equivalently the greatest distance, at which text can be read, and is an appropriate legibility metric in the context of low vision because these people often read at their acuity limit (Arditi, 1996). Reading speed is another common legibility metric, preferred by some researchers because it more naturally resembles an ordinary reading situation. It should be stated that legibility is not an invariant property of text, as it is ultimately determined by a reader’s visual processing capabilities (Legge, 2007). As such, good reading performance is achieved through congruence between the physical properties of text and the visual processing abilities of the reader (Legge, 2007).
What are the properties of text that influence the reading performance of people with low vision? Type size is a critical typographic variable for low vision reading (Legge, 2007) and inclusive typography guidelines are defined primarily by larger type size recommendations (RNIB, 2005). Yet due to economic and aesthetic reasons, text is often not presented at sufficiently large sizes. In the context of print for example, increased size translates into larger and more costly documents (RNIB, 2005). Further, many designers are thought to prefer small type for aesthetic reasons (Manuelli, 2004), and the cultural connotations of large type with old age can deter both designers’ clients and end-users alike (Ivinski, 2000). 151 PAPERS
Thus, people with low vision who typically have low acuity, often must read at their acuity limit (i.e. smallest readable size). Research has shown that at these ‘threshold’ type sizes, typeface design has an influence on reading performance (Morris et al., 2002).
While evidence supports the important role that typeface design plays in low vision reading (Shaw, 1969; Mansfield et al., 1996; Russell-Minda et al., 2007), the influence of specific parameters is not well understood (Arditi & Cho, 2005). For example, experiments have suggested that typeface weight or ‘boldness’ influences low vision reading (Shaw, 1969; Arditi, 2004), yet optimum boldness values remain unknown. A range of values are currently recommended by inclusive typography guidelines (e.g. RNIB, 2005) and two print typefaces designed for low vision readers—APHont (Kitchel, 2004) and Tiresias LPFont (Perera, 2001)—differ in this parameter. It should further be noted that, as of yet, there exists no experimental evidence to support the claim that these typefaces improve reading performance for people with low vision. This is congruent with the notion that there is insufficient knowledge to inform specific inclusive typography principles or typeface design for people with low vision. This paucity of knowledge can be attributed to a lack of research within the area of typeface legibility for low vision, as well as research methodologies which have left questions unanswered.
Inclusive typography: why a lack of knowledge?
Typeface legibility has not been a major research interest over the past four decades (Legge, 2007). Some have gone so far as to reference “the current ‘low status’ of legibility research and its demise as a ‘research program’…” (Lund, 1999). This lack of research has been attributed to the practical challenges of manipulating typefaces for experimental purposes, as well as the perception that a creative design artifact is not amenable to “quantitative stimulus description” (Legge, 2007). Of existing typeface legibility research, low vision readers have historically not been a focus (Russell-Minda et al., 2007). Furthermore, methods of testing have left questions unanswered.
Scientists investigating typeface legibility are known to commonly test commercially available typefaces which differ in numerous parameters (e.g. Mansfield et al., 1996). While such experiments can tell us that one typeface is more legible than another, they cannot with any certainty tell us why. Thus, while evidence supports the important role that typeface design plays in low vision reading (Russell-Minda et al., 2007), the influence of specific parameters has remained elusive. This paucity of controlled investigation within the field of legibility research has been the basis for criticism by designers (Dyson, 1999; Lund, 1999) as well as scientists (Arditi & Cho, 2005), and has further discouraged research interest in the area (see above). Yet only with relatively recent digital technology has it become feasible to design experimental typefaces whose parameters can be adjusted systematically to assess their influence on low vision reading (Arditi, 1996). While the research community has discussed the value of such a methodology (Russell-Minda et al., 2007) experimental literature in the area is still rare.
The work of vision scientist Aries Arditi (and colleagues) has made a notable contribution to this methodology, having taken advantage of the opportunities of digital technology. Arditi has investigated the influence of numerous typeface parameters on legibility, through systematic and carefully controlled study made possible through his custom laboratory typefaces (e.g. Arditi et al., 1995a; Arditi et al., 1995b; Arditi, 2004; Arditi & Cho, 2005). While Arditi has read a significant amount on the subject of type design, as well as involving a typeface designer in some of his research projects, he has not asked a professional typeface designer to develop his experimental typefaces for him and took on this task himself. In the context of contemporary typefaces designed for continuous reading, his are unconventional in their construction and illustrate a distance between scientific methods and 152 PAPERS
design practice. While Arditi himself acknowledges freely that his fonts are not aesthetically pleasing, he asserts that they are specifically designed to answer particular questions about the impact of typographic variables on legibility (personal communication, August 12, 2008).
When typeface parameters are abstracted in the service of experimental control, does this come at the cost of applying the research to design practice? In an investigation employing a custom typeface to test the influence of boldness on legibility (Arditi et al., 1995a), the white internal spaces of many of the letters in the boldest font closed in with ink (e.g. think of the two white spaces within the capital ‘B’) resulting in distortions of letterforms. This would not occur within a professional commercial typeface, as bolder fonts are designed with decreased weight of internal strokes, for example, in order to maintain the white spaces necessary for letter recognition (see: M vs. M). In this experiment, Arditi held stroke weight constant within letters (i.e. a monoline font), which has little effect in the lighter weight fonts, but made it unfeasible for the boldest font to resemble conventional type.
While typographers (e.g. Carter et al., 2007) would agree with Arditi’s results—magnitude of boldness will eventually decrease legibility (Arditi et al., 1995a)—this experiment does not inform designers of the boldness value where this legibility decrease occurs. This leads one to ask: should experimental typefaces resemble commercial ones? According to Arditi, if one’s goal is to investigate the effects of typographic variables, then this is unnecessary; yet if one’s goal is to investigate the effects of variables within the confines of conventional typefaces, then most definitely (personal communication, August 12, 2008). If one were to do the latter, one would have to accept that in the bolder fonts, two parameters would be changing simultaneously: boldness and variation in stroke weight. However, the benefit of such an approach would be in maintaining letterform familiarity across the fonts. There is reason to believe that experimental control and typographic reality do not have to be at odds. One legibility study, co-authored by a typeface designer, developed experimental fonts by modifying the Lucida typeface family (Bigelow and Holmes Inc., San Jose, CA), based on the assumption that one component of legibility is familiarity (Morris et al., 2002).
Conclusions and further research
Scientific legibility research has provided the design community with a wealth of knowledge regarding the role of typography in influencing reading performance. Yet, if we are to understand the specifics which will influence inclusive typographic practice and the development of typefaces for people with low vision, I suggest there is a role for design researchers. Design academics have advocated for legibility researchers to increase their knowledge of typographic practice (Dyson, 1999; Lund, 1999), yet the inception of practice- led design research degrees has created a context within which designers can undertake these investigations underpinning our discipline. Responding to this opportunity, typeface legibility research projects have been initiated at both the Royal College of Art (United Kingdom) as well as the University College of the Province of Limburg (Belgium). This is a new context for legibility research; academic design researchers developing typefaces as test material and running experiments which employ psychophysical testing methods (supervised by scientists). There are two major reasons to believe that design academics have the ability to contribute to this research area. First, typeface designers are well versed in the sophisticated manipulation of typefaces; essentially their test material. Second, these researchers are studying legibility in the context of conventional type, with direct application to design practice and design artifacts as a central goal. These research projects are currently in progress, and it will be exciting to see to what degree interdisciplinary design research can lead toward innovation in inclusive typographic design.
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Acknowledgements
This research is funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom.
References
Arditi, A (2009). Making Text Legible: Designing for People with Partial Sight [Homepage of Lighthouse International], [Online]. Available: http://www.lighthouse.org/accessibility/legible/ [05 Feb., 2009].
Arditi, A (2004). Adjustable Typography: An Approach to Enhancing Low Vision Text Accessibility. Ergonomics, vol 47, no 5, 469-482.
Arditi, A (1996). Typography, Print Legibility and Low Vision. In: Rosenthal, B and Cole, R Eds, Remediation and Management of Low Vision. St. Louis: Mosby.
Arditi, A, Cagenello, R and Jacobs, B (1995a). Letter Strokewidth, Spacing, and Legibility. Vision Science and its Applications. Washington D.C.: Optical Society Of America.
Arditi, A, Cagenello, R and Jacobs, B (1995b). Effects of Aspect Ratio and Spacing on Legibility of Small Letters. Investigative Ophthalmology, vol 36, no 4, 36(4), 671.
Arditi, A and Cho, J (2005). Serifs and Font Legibility. Vision Research, vol 45, no 23, 2926-2933.
Barratt, M and Walker, S (2002). Typography for Visually Impaired Users [Homepage of Text Matters], [Online]. Available: http://www.textmatters.com/our_interests/guidelines/typog_visual_impaired/ [02 Jan., 2006].
Carter, R, Day, B and Meggs, P (2007). Typographic Design: Form and Communication. 4th Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Clarkson, J, Coleman, R, Keates, S and Lebbo, C, eds (2003). Inclusive Design: Design for the Whole Population. London: Springer.
Dyson, M (1999). Typography Through the Eyes of a Psychologist. Hyøen, vol 1, 5-13.
Ivinski, P (2000). Type For Sore Eyes. Print, vol 54, no 2, 8.
Kitchel, E (2004). APHontTM: A Font for Low Vision [Homepage of American Printing House for the Blind], [Online]. Available: http://www.aph.org/products/aphont.html [01 Oct., 2005].
Legge, G (2007). Psychophysics of Reading in Normal and Low Vision. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Lund, O (1999). Knowledge Construction in Typography: The Case of Legibility Research and the Legibility of Sans Serif Typefaces, Thesis (PhD), The University of Reading.
Mansfield, S, Legge, G and Bane, M (1996). Psychophysics of Reading XV: Font Effects in Normal and Low Vision. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, vol 37, no 8, 1492- 1501. 154 PAPERS
Manuelli, S (2004). Make A Point. Design Week, vol 19, no 9, 16-17.
Morris, R, Aquilante, K, Yager, D and Bigelow, C (2002). Serifs Slow RSVP Reading at Very Small Sizes, but Don't Matter at Larger Sizes. Society for Information Display International Symposium Digest of Technical Papers, vol 33, 1-4.
Norton, T, Corliss, D and Bailey, J (2002). The Psychophysical Measurement of Visual Function. Woburn: Elsevier Science.
Perera, S (2001). LPfont: An Investigation into the Legibility of Large Print Typefaces [Homepage of Tireseas], [Online]. Available: http://www.tiresias.org/publications/reports/lpfont%20report/index.htm [01 October, 2005].
RNIB (2008). Statistics: Numbers of People with Sight Problems by Age Group in the UK [Homepage of Royal National Institute of the Blind], [Online]. Available: http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/PublicWebsite/public_researchstats. hcsp [14 Apr., 2008].
RNIB (2006). See it Right: Making Information Accessible for People with Sight Problems. London: Royal National Institute of the Blind.
RNIB (2005). Inclusive Design: Clear and Large Print Best Practice Guide for Designers. Taunton: International Society of Typographic Designers.
Rubin, G, Feely, M, Perera, S, Ekstrom, K and Williamson, E (2006). The Effect of Font and Line Width on Reading Speed in People with Mild to Moderate Vision Loss. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, vol 26, no 6, 545-554.
Russell-Minda, E, Jutai, J, Strong, J, Campbell, K, Gold, D, Pretty, L and Wilmot, L (2007). The Legibility of Typefaces for Readers with Low Vision: A Research Review. Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, vol 101, no 7, 402-415.
Shaw, A (1969). Print For Partial Sight: A Report To The Library Association Sub-Committee On Books For Readers With Defective Sight. London: Library Association.
United Nations (2007). World Population Ageing 2007. New York: United Nations Publications.
United Nations (2002). World Population Ageing: 1950-2050 [Homepage Of United Nations], [Online]. Available: http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/index.htm [16 Nov., 2007].
World Health Organization (2004). Magnitude and Causes of Visual Impairment. Available: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs282/en/ [01 Oct., 2005].
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Sources of inconsistency in the application of inclusive solutions
Chris M. Law, School of Business Information Technology, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia ([email protected]) Alex Varley, Media Access Australia ([email protected])
Abstract A study was conducted on how people in businesses respond to accessibility issues. The study was designed to be business-centric, examining how people responded to access issues concerning their products and/or services. In this paper, we look at business practice and specifically things that cause inconsistency in the application of inclusive solutions to solve accessibility problems. Using captioning of media as an example, study findings are presented and discussed. Issues that concern accessibility and the supply chain, gate keeping, allocation of priorities, and sharing of responsibilities within organizations are presented. This study found impediments to the spread of awareness of inclusive design that had not been fully anticipated in past studies. Comparisons are made with earlier research that investigated the facilitators of and barriers to inclusive design in industry. Recommendations are made that further studies of people responsible for accessibility and inclusive design in business will be essential if we are to meet their product development needs.
Keywords Organizational behaviour, responsibility, media, captions.
Introduction The study In a recently completed study entitled 'Business Decision Making and Accessibility' (BDMA), people in eleven Australian businesses were interviewed on how they responded to accessibility issues. Examples of inconsistent application of inclusive solutions were easy to find in all organizations except one. In this short paper, we examine some of the possible reasons for inconsistent practice and examine what was different about the one 'stand-out' business in the BDMA study. The findings are illustrated in this paper by drawing on examples that represent a small set of the data, namely the captioning of video. Goggin & Newell (2003) argue that prevalent media inaccessibility is a social construction. In other words, society as a whole is a cause of disability if it does not systematically provide, among other things, technology solutions that are usable by and available to people with disabilities. Captioning (also known as 'subtitles') is just one aspect of media accessibility, but by and large it is an easy one to do. The technology and techniques to provide captioning (on almost any media delivery platform) are already well-established. However, captioning is not being consistently applied in practice.
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The problem: prevalent inconsistency Examples of the inconsistent application of captioning are easy to find1: If you are deaf and you go to see an American Football game of the home team in Washington, DC, absolutely everything that is announced on the public address (PA) system is typed out on large captioning screens just below the scoreboards. It includes the basic commentary (who passed to who, who just scored etc.), referee announcements, and advertising messages. It is a handy thing to have, even if you are not deaf. Sometimes the crowd noise drowns out the PA, but it is easy to glance up to the captions board to understand what is going on. It is a good example of an inclusive solution. But if you go to a Baseball game on the other side of town, you would not be so lucky. Baseball is a bit different. If you know what to look for and where to look, you can follow the main points of the game by looking at the scoreboard. It takes some getting used to and a good understanding of the meaning of the various acronyms used. As for advertising and other announcements from the PA, captioning on the scoreboard screen is either not available, or only sporadically available depending on the type of announcement. Either way, if you are deaf, the experience is quite different at the two stadia. When you buy a DVD movie, if you look at the back cover, you are almost certain to see that the movie is "Captioned for the deaf and hard of hearing". Even though you already saw the movie in the theatre, you really want to see it again and you are especially excited about seeing the bonus film-maker documentaries and features. Unfortunately, you are also almost certain to see on the DVD's back cover the phrase "Bonus featured not captioned". If you are given a pre-flight safety briefing on a commercial airliner that is video taped, it is almost guaranteed to be captioned. Later, you might settle in to watch the in-flight entertainment, unless you are deaf. You are almost guaranteed not to have captioning, unless you want to watch a foreign-language movie where written captions are displayed for all viewers. On the television news channels in the US, it is common to see the phrase "closed captioning hours are brought to you by..." and then the name of a sponsor. The convenience of 24-hour news is not available to deaf viewers.
Looking at the sources of inconsistency A number of earlier studies have looked at the 'barriers to' and 'facilitators of' inclusive design in industry (e.g., Dong, Keates, & Clarkson, 2004; Tobias, Vanderheiden, & Vanderheiden, 1998). From these studies, lists have been made of various reasons why (or why not) inclusive solutions are worked on in industry. Even though such studies provide us with insights into what might facilitate greater uptake of inclusive practices, the problems persist. We still see in 2009 the same sorts of problems in the introduction of new technologies and upgrades to old technologies that we saw in the field a decade or more previously. The approach employed in the BDMA study differed from that of previous studies. In past studies, the questions could be summed up as inclusive design centred, i.e., "what would help or hinder you in doing inclusive design?". In the BDMA study, the issue was approached in more business-centric terms. Interviews were concerned with how people in businesses responded to disability access issues concerning their
1 The examples given in this subsection are intended to be representative of problems that are easy to find throughout society. None of the examples in this subsection were a part of the BDMA study. 157 PAPERS
products and/or services, and if they did actively engage with accessibility issues, how this was done. While various design approaches came up in the interviews, they did not drive the conversation. The aim was simply to examine what were typical business responses to accessibility issues. The following describes some of the contributing factors to inconsistent practice found in the study of Australian businesses.
Studying practice Supply and demand A number of interviewees felt that they were beholden to their suppliers' handling of accessibility issues. In one example, a transit company licensed both old and new movies for their passengers to watch. Old movies came with captions; new release movies had no captions. When asked why the American supplier did not provide captions2, it was stated that although they did not like the situation, that was all that they could get from the suppliers. In another example, managers at a museum said that captioning was not something that got specified, so if the supplier did it for a certain exhibit, it was because of the supplier's initiative. They added that they would in the future be adding captions to video as a matter of course, but in the past it was 'hit and miss' as to whether captions were included. If people in business are not well versed in what accessibility solutions can be supplied (not just captions but other media accessibility features too), they are going to be unlikely to demand them. This leads directly to the problem of adequate gate keeping.
Gate keeping failures The same transit company as mentioned above had a number of waiting areas in which cable television was displayed on multiple televisions. None of the screens were set to show captions. It turned out that even though the cable provider's residential feeds contained caption information, their corporate customer feeds omitted the captioning data. For the transit company, this was a problem that they were trying to work on with the cable provider, but the system was only a few years old. This begs the question as to why was it implemented that way in the first place? In the procuring of any service, there is an onus on the customer to specify what they want. In some cases they use checklists derived from available guidance. In the museums studied it was common to hear how the installation heights of interactive devices were set according to allowable reach heights for wheelchair users. But, when asked about captioning for the media displayed on those screens the most common reply was that that was not in any checklist that they use. In other words, there was no systematic mechanism in any of the museums to ensure that the needs of people with sensory disabilities were adequately addressed in the procurement of such exhibit technologies. They thought it would be a good idea to have such a check, but they had simply never done it that way in the past. As a result, it was common to see a screen with either open (always on) or closed (switchable) captions in close proximity to another screen that had no captioning at all. It simply depended
2 When almost all movies are released in the US, captioned versions are released at the same time in cinemas. So, the captions are already made and it is technically possible to add them to any format, as they are for DVDs. 158 PAPERS
on what the supplier, or person responsible for creating the exhibit at a given time, chose to do.
Inconsistent priorities A museum building manager told me that catering to the needs of people with disabilities was seen as one of his highest priorities. It came up again and again in various guises in the discussion. It was seen as integral to the success of the organization that all people need to have a good visitor experience so that they would come back again and again. He saw himself as responsible for this and ensured that his team monitored the museum to ensure accessibility on a daily basis. The manager of the multimedia department of the same museum told me a very different story. Accessibility of media was not a priority, but it was something that is nice to do whenever it could be done. There was nobody in his department that was responsible for checking accessibility. The result of inconsistent priorities is that different people have different ideas of what is 'important' to do. In the case of the pre-flight safety briefings on airlines given above, someone who was responsible for the safety of the passengers thought that is was important for deaf persons to know how to exit the plane. We could hypothesize that the person who was responsible for the entertainment did not place a high enough importance on it. Or, we could hypothesize that they considered it was too expensive to supply. What was clear from the responses of interviewees in the BDMA study, however, was that accessibility features were likely to be regarded as additional expenses to any project when they were not considered as priority items. Talk of accessibility being an additional cost rather than integral was common. For example, if their budget for an interactive exhibit was $10,000, then the desire of the curators and exhibit designers would be to maximize their 'bang for the buck' with that $10,000 before considering the cost of accessibility. In the final analysis, pretty graphics would often trump captioning.
(Not my) Responsibility To continue the last example... what would it be like if captioning was a priority? In that case the calculations might instead go like this: "we have $10,000 and $500 of that is set aside for captioning. Design me an exhibit for $9,500". Would the graphics be less pretty? Perhaps marginally so. But, would the exhibit be comprehendible to both deaf and hearing persons? Definitely. The study did not go into detail on cost breakdowns and the argument is presented here simply to illustrate a point. What is clear from the study is that the priority that a certain individual assigns to accessibility depends on whether he or she is responsible and accountable for accessibility. Where one person in a large organization wears the 'accessibility hat', that person is often designated as 'responsible' for accessibility getting into products and services. They have to persuade (and often plead or fight with) others in the organization who do not see it as a high priority. It can become a difficult exercise. Even with all that has been written on the business case for accessibility (e.g., Dong, Keates, & Clarkson, 2004; Keates, 2007) it is difficult to make it a standard practice within an organization if enough people do not feel responsible. There were exceptions to the rule. At a large theatre complex, the manager for accessibility worked in a support and facilitation role, rather than being responsible for or doing the day to day accessibility work. Instead, every manager of the various 159 PAPERS
business departments was accountable for and responsible for ensuring that accessibility was well handled. The upper management made it clear that they were striving for excellence in all aspects of customer service, and this included customers with disabilities. To that end, the budget for accessibility was integrated with each department's funds that were periodically allocated. All new and existing employees received training in customer service as it related to disabilities. In planning each and every performance at the theatre there was a checklist that covered access for people with different types of disabilities, sensory as well as physical. In this theatre captioning was seen as a norm rather than an occasional offering.
Conclusions and recommendations
The interrelatedness of the issues raised is evident: you cannot be a good gatekeeper of accessibility if it is not your priority; and an individual's perceptions of the priority of accessibility is closely tied to the responsibility and accountability assigned to him or her on the matter. Trying to influence society, and in particular people responsible for implementing access solutions in the development of products and services, has been and continues to be a goal of policymakers and researchers:
"If equal access to multimedia for people with disabilities is to become a reality, knowledge and awareness will have to be developed across all areas." (NCD, 1998, p10).
"There is currently little awareness by industry of the need for accessible design in mainstream products, and the problems that poor design creates for people with disabilities and for older people." (AHRC, 2007, no page numbers).
The decade-long span between the above quotes points to a continued failure of achieving this goal, and the evidence of this failure is all around us: the prevalent inconsistency of the application of inclusive design solutions in our societies. To adequately support people in business we need to build on past research (e.g., the 'facilitators' and 'barriers' of inclusive design), with further research on how things actually get done in industry. By studying how practitioners work, we can make recommendations to improve support materials. People who get assigned the responsibility for accessibility at large organizations will go through a number of stages (Law, 2008) as they try to tackle issues and build a culture of inclusivity in the various departments that are responsible for product design. There are already a number of prescriptive sources of guidance on how to manage inclusive design that are based on collected expertise (e.g., BSI, 2005; Keates, 2007). If we are to overcome the 'lack of awareness' posited in the above quotes, we need to understand the reasons for impediments to the spread of awareness. Collected expertise is a good start, but continued in-situ research and analysis of common business practices (both inclusive and non-inclusive), will be essential for providing guidance that meets the operational needs of people doing business.
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Acknowledgments Mr. Law is supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award and a State of Victoria ICT scholarship through the School of Business Information Technology, College of Business at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia (www.rmit.edu.au). Financial support for the Business Decision Making and Accessibility (BDMA) project was also generously provided by Media Access Australia (www.mediaaccess.org.au), by Vision Australia (www.visionaustralia.org.au), and the Research Development Unit of RMIT Business. More information on the BDMA project can be found at www.udprojects.org
References AHRC. (2007). The Overlooked Consumers – 20% of the Australian Population with Disabilities and Older People. Sydney, Australia: Australian Human Rights Commission. BSI. (2005). BS 7000-6:2005. Design Management systems - Part 6: Managing inclusive design - guide: British Standards Institute. Dong, H., Keates, S., & Clarkson, J. (2004). Inclusive design in industry: barriers, drivers and the business case. In C. Stary & C. Stephanidis (Eds.), User-centered interaction paradigms for universal access in the information society (pp. 305-319). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Goggin, G., & Newell, A. F. (2003). Digital disability: the social construction of disability in new media. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. Keates, S. (2007). Design for accessibility: a business guide to countering design exclusion. Mahwah, NJ: LEA. Law, C. M. (2008). The evolution of Accessibility Program Offices in organizations. Paper presented at the Applied Ergonomics International Conference, Las Vegas, NV. NCD. (1998). Access to Multimedia Technology by People with Sensory Disabilities. Washington, DC: National Council on Disability. Tobias, J., Vanderheiden, G., & Vanderheiden, K. (1998, June 26-30). Why companies might adopt universal design: a report from the Universal Design Research Project. Paper presented at the RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and assistive technology Society of North America) Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN.
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Transforming policy practice in transport: Is there a space for communication design?
Teal Triggs and Claire McAndrew, London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, UK [email protected], [email protected]
Abstract This paper outlines the emerging transformation of UK Government policy practices through the growing recognition that communication design is one way forward in creating a shared dialogue between Government and society. Using transport in urban spaces as a case study, selective developments in UK transport policy and counter terror research are reviewed. Whilst current modes of research practice support policy makers, there is an increasing need to move beyond existing ‘closed systems’ to reassure the public about the threat of terrorism in response to the rising prevalence of counter terror technologies. The historical roots of communication design in transport environments are reviewed and a new agenda for engaging the public outlined. The EPSRC / AHRC funded project ‘Safer Spaces: Communication Design for Counter Terror’ is presented as an illustrative case of collaborative, inclusive research upon which this context paper is based. While our research is ongoing, we conclude by considering some preliminary implications of communication design and more creative collaborations between the design community and Government.
Keywords Communication design, Government policy, counter terrorism
Introduction
The transformation of the UK Government’s policy practice through collaboration with the design community has been integral in changing the nature of communication strategies. The growing recognition that communication design is a useful tool in both the development and dissemination of public sector policy has come to the attention of Government agencies. This paper documents recent collaborations between the UK Government and the design community, illustrating how communication design can assist in engaging the public in dialogues of a sensitive nature, in a non-fearful way.
Communication Design & Government Policy
“Visual communication design … is the action of conceiving, programming, projecting, and realizing visual communications that are usually produced through industrial means and are aimed at broadcasting specific messages to specific sectors of society. This is done with a view toward having an impact on the public’s knowledge, attitudes, or behavior in an intended direction.”1 (p2)
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Accordingly, the strategic value of applying communication design to public sector policy and practice is gaining recognition within a number of key UK Government agencies.2 This acknowledgment has led to a number of significant developments in the use of design as a bridge between social policy (as represented by the Home Office) and industrial policy (as represented by the Department of Trade and Industry) in crime reduction3 and the recent creation of the Service Transformation Unit and Service Design Authority by the UK Government Cabinet Office.
This new direction in public sector service reforms has most recently seen the forging of a relationship with the UK Design Council in a bid to collaborate on a ‘Policy making and communication’ initiative which seeks to facilitate communication to non-expert stakeholders and the general public in an engaging manner.2 The impetus for this was a series of research programmes focusing upon ‘Design for public services’, see for example the national ‘Clean your hands campaign’ (driven and managed by the National Patient Safety Agency) and the ‘Open health project’ (driven by a team of designers, policy thinkers and social scientists from the Design Council), aimed to harness the principles of design-led innovation and focus on the user to transform care. Recognition of the importance of co-creation processes in creating a shared dialogue between Government and society has produced significant changes in public policy formulation, whilst increasing collaboration between UK Research Councils, the Design Council and Government agencies have marked a new direction for policy practice.
In developing our proposition that communication design also ought to have a space in counter terror policy practice, we focus upon: (i) existing Government research and policy in relation to counter terror technologies, (ii) the historical presence of transport, policy and communication design in the UK and (iii) using ‘Safer Spaces: Communication Design for Counter Terror’ as a case study, the potential for academic research to inform counter terror policy practice.
Government Research & Policy: Counter Terror Technologies As early as 1987, Smith drew attention to the lack of interaction between the UK Government, academia and the public (beyond its protection) in relation to the administrative response to counter terror.4 This lack of coordinated effort is one that in the wake of 9/11 and the 7/7 London bombings still prevails today.5 As Ranstorp notes:
“While the 9/11 attacks brought about a profound urgency about the scale of potential future violence and the scale of the problem as a strategic threat, it has also ushered in a growing need and even pressure to produce timely and policy-relevant advice by the academic community on a range of different issues.”6 (p10)
Despite this apparent urgency, there have been significant coordination difficulties:
“Both the government national security policy community and the academic community are concerned with problems of political terrorism. A major gap exists, however, between these two communities in terms of cooperation and information flow.”7 (p117)
This has been attributed to the ongoing “…preferred emphasis on either policy-driven research or more theory-driven intellectual contributions.”6 (p8) Where informational exchange does occur, it has been critiqued as occurring as a part of a ‘closed loop’:
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“A related methodological problem … was the strong tendency of researchers to create an often closed and circular research system as they relied on each other’s work, government publications and media reporting functioning in a constantly reinforcing feedback loop.”6 (pp6-7)
Typical of the emergent dialogues between the scientific community and policy makers, is the report ‘Understanding public attitudes to new technologies’ commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT).8 Focus groups were used to provide policy relevant guidance on the underlying issues that shape acceptance or resistance to new transport technologies. Similarly, DfT and London Underground’s report ‘Attitudes to transport security after July 2005 London bombings’, documented a survey exploring responses to the 7/7 attacks and attitudes to the potential introduction of higher security measures.9 As a final example, in ‘Transport Security: Travelling without Fear’, the House of Commons Transport Committee provided a compilation of oral and written evidence regarding the threat of terrorism and counter terror measures.10
It is significant that the above are reflective of the ‘closed loop’ of academic – Government collaborations and are not in relation to the public’s actual experiences of technologies. A notable exception was the recent report of the ‘LUNR passenger screening trials and public attitude surveys at London Underground and National Railway Stations during 2006’, documenting security trials exploring public responses to the experience of counter terror technologies.11 Acceptability was intricately linked to understanding of security measure’s mode of operation and a connection with the process. Indeed, the recent Government report ‘Countering International Terrorism: The United Kingdom’s Strategy’ highlights the importance of adopting a ‘bottom-up’ approach that works with, and reassures communities by providing them with information in a transparent and open manner.12 This community-orientated mode of thought is an emerging part of the UK Government’s ‘counter terror strategy’. As authors, we propose that opening this ‘closed loop’ through engagement with the public and the application of communication design principles might help reduce fear in relation to counter terror.
Context: Transport, Policy & Communication Design The role of communication design has a historical and ongoing presence in the UK. One only has to consider The Royal Society for the Protection of Accidents (RoSPA) and security at home World War II campaigns to appreciate the function of posters as a means of attracting the attention of passers by; communicating their message clearly; and leaving a lasting imprint. RoSPA’s aim to campaign for change, influence opinion, contribute to debate, educate and inform can clearly be seen in the attention devoted to heightening the security consciousness of the public. The campaigns led by Tom Eckersley, Abram Games, GR Morris, Manfred Reiss and Arnold Rotholz are noted for their effect of contributing to an increased sense of involvement in the war effort.
Frank Pick, Director of the Underground Group from 1928 also played a fundamental role in the development of London Underground’s strong visual style through a standardised advertising policy for which it would later become famous. Initially commissioning posters to promote the recreational use of the Underground to reach the countryside, posters have continued to prevail as a contemporary communication tool albeit about the serious nature of transportation. For instance, the posters ‘Exactly what London needs 92 new TV stations’ and ‘Underground update no. 4, for the safety of our customers we've introduced, flatter, squarer tubes’, reflect Government campaigns
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which saw the widespread introduction of CCTV systems as a panacea solution to crime and public reassurance in the early 1990’s. The fine artist Anna Barribal’s latest, ‘I think I’m being watched’ from the series ‘About 60 miles of beautiful views’ commissioned in 2008 for London Platform for the Arts, continues to play upon our insecurities of surveillance and CCTV cameras prevalent throughout London’s transport network.
While Barribal’s poster is a commentary on contemporary surveillance, it also follows in the footsteps of earlier transport posters proposing that surveillance equated security. For example in 2002, TfL, whilst installing CCTV on its buses as a ‘crime control device’ also promoted a new campaign of posters comprised of a photograph of a double- decker bus crossing Waterloo Bridge with the headline reading ‘Secure Beneath the Watchful Eyes: CCTV and Metropolitan Police on buses are just two ways we’re making your journey more secure’. As Wired magazine reported, campaigns of this type suggest ‘a mentality that everyone is potentially a criminal…’.13
Poster campaigns during the 1990’s encouraging increased vigilance and instructional guidance for action have included ‘Suspect packages’ and ‘Bomb alerts’. In the wake of the ‘new terrorist threat’ following 7/7, TfL in co-operation with the Mayor's Office and the Metropolitan and British Transport Police launched a poster campaign, designed to reassure passengers and boost security on public transport. ‘Working to keep your Tube safe’, one of the three Tube posters, advises passengers what extra security measures have been taken on London’s Underground. This ‘big brother’ tactic (also prevalent during London Underground’s early RoSPA campaigns) denote a ‘top-down’ approach to communication. Whilst there have been some efforts to engage with the London community in projects such as ‘The Waiting Room’ (Anna Boggon and Carl Stevenson) and ‘My Flag’ (Tajender Sagoo), this has not extended to the domain of terrorism.
Case Study: ‘Safer Spaces: Communication Design for Counter Terror’ As noted in Richards’ essay on ‘Terrorism and Public Information’, the National Steering Committee on Warning and Informing the Public stated “The NSCWIP is confident that a [public education] campaign could be designed in such a way that people become more informed and vigilant, without increasing anxiety or causing panic”.5 (p290) The project ‘Safer Spaces: Communication Design for Counter Terror’ is one such programme. An 18-month scoping study, ‘Safer Spaces’ seeks to examine the design of the process of interactive counter terror communication with a view to reduce fear and re-engage awareness in communities in public spaces. Formed as a part of the broader programme of research ‘Countering Terrorism in Public Spaces’ (funded by the EPSRC / AHRC and in partnership with a number of key Government agencies), ‘Safer Spaces’ will provide new perspectives and approaches to communication design relating to counter terror.
The project as a whole is framed by a two-stage social sciences research design, incorporating design methods and creative practice. (Our work draws upon the expertise of specialists from fields as diverse as design, sensors engineering, psychology, social geography and political communication). This has the purpose of assessing (i) public perceptions of existing counter terror communications (using focus groups and cultural probe methods) and (ii) the effectiveness of the commissioned interactive counter terror communication tool (using a second-round of focus groups). Note that knowledge from the first series of focus groups is used to inform the design of the interactive communication in collaboration with Jason Bruges Studio.
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Although still in progress, inclusivity has occurred in three main ways. First, our methodological process has championed an inclusive approach through both its mixed- methods design and demographic cross-section (i.e. age, gender, ethnicity, education…etc). On the note of mixed-methods, we purposely sought to reconcile methods drawn from the fields of social science and design, on the premise that the vocal discursiveness of focus groups would be complemented with the visual language of cultural probes (i.e. comic book) - thereby ensuring the accessibility of communication design to the general public. Second, the use of visual and interactive components in the prototype (currently under development) is also pre-emptive in its attempt to encourage inclusivity. Third, the ‘Safer Spaces’ project has contributed by demonstrating how communication design can aid the creation of a shared dialogue, operating as a mechanism of communicating societal needs to Government stakeholders at periodic intervals throughout the research process and in our forthcoming exhibition (July 2009).
Conclusion
Early conclusions suggest that there is a growing recognition by current Government of the contributions academic researchers can make toward policy practice. The involvement of the CPNI in the collaborative partnership between the EPSRC, ESRC, AHRC and academia in the ‘Safer Spaces’ project, show an increasing appreciation for the role of communication design in taking their message to the public domain. As Kohn argues in Radical Space, “space is not just a tool for social control…spatial practices can contribute to transformative politics”.14 (p7) It is anticipated that by enhancing counter terror communication in addition to ministerial statements and the placement of information on websites (i.e. Home Office, London Resilience, MI5 and Metropolitan Police),5 communication design will contribute towards a more transformative and participatory dialogue in public spaces. Of course, whilst the ‘Safer Spaces’ project is provided as a one-of-its-kind exemplar, there remains an enduring need to ensure the longer-term strategic development of “constructive linkages with industry and state and local governments”.15 (pp28-29) Work on this front is already underway with the recent establishment of the Institute of Urban Information, a charity chaired by former UK home secretary Charles Clarke, concerned with the reconciliation of academia and Government to promote awareness of how urban information can improve the city environment and services. Using transport in urban environments as a case study this paper has proposed that there is a growing space for communication design in Government policy practice. It is hoped that this will set the foundations from which further communication design – Government collaborations can spring.
References
1. Frascara, J (2004). Communication Design: Principles, Methods and Practice. New York: Allworth Press
2. Chan, R (2008). Design and Public Service. Available at: http://www.innofoco.com/ OurThoughts.htm
3. Press, M, Cooper, R and Erol, R (2001). Design as a Tool for Social Policy: The Case of ‘Design Against Crime’, The Fourth European Academy of Design Conference, Aveiro, Portugal, 10-12 April
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4. Smith, T (1987). Counter Terrorism: Administrative Response in the United Kingdom, Public Policy and Administration, vol 2, no 1, 42-55
5. Richards, A (2007). Terrorism and Public Information. In P. Wilkinson (Ed) Homeland Security in the UK: Future Preparedness for Terrorist Attack Since 9/11 (288-295). London: Routledge
6. Ranstorp, M (2007). Mapping Terrorism Research: State of the Art, Gaps and Future Direction. London: Routledge
7. Ezekiel, R and Post, J (1991). Worlds in Collision, Worlds in Collusion: The Uneasy Relationship Between the Policy Community and the Academic Community. In C. McCauley (Ed) Terrorism Research and Public Policy (117-125). London: Cass
8. Department for Transport (undated). Understanding Public Attitudes to New Technologies. Available at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/scienceresearch/social/ newtechnologies
9. Department for Transport (undated). Research Findings: Attitudes to Transport Security After July 2005 London Bombings. Available at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/ security/sectionsocresearch/attitudestotransportsecurity
10. House of Commons Transport Committee (2008). Transport Security: Travelling without Fear Available at: http://www.pacts.org.uk/responses-to-consultations.php?id=19
11. Department for Transport (2006). Summary Report of the ‘LUNR’ Passenger Screening Trials. Available at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/security/land/lunr
12. Home Office Report (2006). Countering International Terrorism: The United Kingdom’s Strategy (CM6888). Available at: http://security.homeoffice.gov.uk/news- publications/ publicationsearch/general/ Contest-Strategy
13. Scheeres, J (2002). Wired Magazine. Available at: http://www.wired.com/politics/ security/news/2002/11/56152
14. Kohn, M (2003). Radical Space: Building the House of the People. New York: Cornell University Press
15. Branscomb, L (2002). The Changing Relationship Between Science and Government Post 9/11. In A. Teich, S. Nelson and S. Jita (Eds) Science and Technology in a Vulnerable World (21-32). Washington, DC: AAAS
Acknowledgements
We wish to express our gratitude to the EPSRC, AHRC, ESRC and CPNI for funding the project upon which this research is based (EPSRC ref: EP/F008503/1) and thank members of the project team and our Government partners for their valued contributions.
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Session 2C The Next Generation: Working with Students 168 PAPERS
Transforming Design Education: Design leadership through integrating civic engagement as a pedagogical tool in curriculum design
Youngbok Hong, Department of Visual Communication, Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University [email protected]
Abstract This paper provides a case study of curriculum redesign that integrates social context as a pedagogical tool from freshman to senior year. The curriculum model, especially based on visual communication design learning, approaches the discipline as methodical application for solving problem in civic contexts and aims to prepare design leaders who can facilitate collaborative problem solving processes in transdiciplinary working environments. The paper consists of three major parts that address context of curriculum redesign, its key components, and the influence of civic engagement on student learning.
1. Introduction Changes in the world have influenced contemporary design practice. Situated in heterogeneous and interrelated design contexts, design practice now requires designers to have a deeper and broader understanding of the conditions of designing in seeking relevant design solutions. The navigation of the complexity embedded in this new practice demands a highly cognitive competency on the part of the designer.
In response to this contemporary context, the Herron Visual Communication department redesigned the entire curriculum in a series of revisions by integrating civic engagement1 as a strategic pedagogical tool (2003-2006). Formalizing civic engagement in the curriculum structure (beyond course driven features by individual faculty) required multiple ingredients. Three key factors led this collective and intentional process.
First, there was a shared perspective among the department faculty that embraced a new vision for the discipline. This collective perspective on present and future teaching and learning brought a need for curriculum redesign. Second, at the school level, there was a strong culture that valued community engagement. Herron School of Art and Design has had a long history of community engagement through diverse activities. The
“Civic Engagement is…working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the 1 combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes.” (Thomas Ehrlich, Civic Responsibility and Higher Education, Preface, page vi).
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tradition naturally introduced young faculty to the concept of community as a learning asset and encouraged their appreciation for the heritage of civic engagement from senior faculty. Thirdly, Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) provides various supports for faculty to integrate civic engagement in research, teaching, and service activities.
2. Key Components of the Redesigned Curriculum 2.1 Mission Statement The first step taken to redesign the curriculum was to develop the department mission statement, which articulates the teaching goal from the philosophical perspective on discipline:
Herron’s visual communication design programs are focused on preparing leaders who can proactively manage processes for change and innovation to improve the experiences of businesses, institutions, organizations, communities and individuals. We advocate designing as a collaborative process for identifying root problems and facilitating meaningful solutions to complex issues. We seek to harness the power of design to clarify, humanize and energize the issues that are central to life in a pluralistic society.
The mission statement had been the first consideration for the faculty members to make strategic decisions in the curriculum redesign process.
2.2 Pedagogical Frame: Problem Based Learning The articulated teaching goal guided faculty members to seek an adequate pedagogical frame and to adopt problem based learning as an instructional model. In the problem- based approach, faculty perceived the need of general education learning beyond discipline-based learning, which fosters competencies required in the problem solving process: critical thinking, understanding of the wider world, analytical and communication skills, and responsibilities beyond self (Association of American College and Universities, 2007).
2.3 Scope of Knowledge and Skills: General Education Learning and Discipline Based Learning Under the each learning area, concrete knowledge and skills were specified. For general education learning, faculty adopted the Principles of Undergraduate Learning (PULs), which have been approved as a conceptual framework for all students' general education at IUPUI. The six PULs describe fundamental intellectual competencies across disciplines in the context of complex society. For discipline-based learning, the essential competencies were chosen from the Standards for Professional Undergraduate Degree Program by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), the national accrediting agency for art and design and art and design-related disciplines:
The professional competencies were analyzed and integrated with the Principles of Undergraduate Learning. The matrix combining the PULs and NASAD Standards functioned as a conceptual guideline for each faculty to develop student-learning outcomes within each course setting in a cohesive structure.
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2.4 Pedagogical Tool: Civic engagement As An Active Cognitive Tool While the mission statement defines the ultimate teaching goal and the matrix (of the PULs and the NASAD standards) specifies learning outcomes, civic engagement-- identified as a pedagogical tool--implements those declarative statements in real learning experience.
Specifically, in regard to the current agenda in design education (how to enhance cognitive competency in context driven practice), faculty members viewed civic engagement components—natural contexts for context inquiry, multiple stakeholders for collaborative process, social contexts for the common good—as intentional learning opportunities and approached civic engagement as a cognitive tool in curriculum redesign.
In Cognitive Tools: A Suitable Case for Learning (Mayes, 1992), a cognitive tool is described as a comprehension task, which helps learners perform an analytical search for meaning in the learning process. The cognitive tool concept carries the implication that learning is a byproduct of comprehension and that “to learn” is to perform cognitive processes using a cognitive tools task. Cognitive tools as supportive instruments play an important role particularly in the discovery learning mode (Joolingen, 1999). The purpose of this approach focuses on deep learning throughout learners’ active and constructive learning processes.
From this perspective, civic engagement as a cognitive tool was applied to the curriculum design (macro) level and course design (micro) level (see Figure.1). At the course level, civic engagement as a cognitive tool was employed for student understanding of course related theory and concept. For instance, the course topic in the sophomore year is about a communication design system with semiotics as a theoretical base. To provide relevant visual messages for community partners, students were required to analyze visual perceptions of existing visual identity systems, research other cases, and communicate with multiple stakeholders. A series of analytic and synthetic cognitive processes involved in the civic engagement experience elucidates the connection between theoretical and practical disciplinary concepts (Kecskes & Spring, 2003). At the curriculum level, civic engagement was approached for developing problem solving process skills, which are applied to every individual course activity as meta-level cognitive skills. Civic engagement tasks based on constructivist models (Kecskes & Spring, 2003) were built in the incremental process through multiple years of experience. In the freshman year, students focus on fundamental disciplinary knowledge without involving real world context. Starting civic engagement with less complex community problems in the sophomore year, students advance toward more complex problems in the junior and senior years.
The nature of complexity is defined by three elements: (a) learning context: theoretical to real, (b) determinacy of interacting elements: undefined to defined, and (c) scale of context: organization system to socio-cultural system (see Figure.2).
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Freshman year Sophomore year Junior year Senior year
Primary course Form Form Form concerns Form Content Content Content Process Process Process Process Skills Process Skills Process Skills Context Context Context
From-making Creative problem-solving Creative problem-solving Creative problem-solving Core skills skills in art and design process and process process and process process and process development skills for developing skills for defining skills for identifying solutions to define unarticulated, fuzzy unarticulated, fuzzy communication design problems at the problems at the problems at the enterprise enterprise-level of level of society and culture. level of organization. organization. Value awareness in Value awareness in Value awareness in social context disciplinary context organizational context
Nature of civic Skills are applied in Skills are applied in real- Skills are applied in real- Skills are applied in real- context experimental, life, real-time contexts in life, real-time contexts in life, real-time contexts in for application theoretical contexts which students must work which students must find which students must find of skills framed as aesthetic with client stakeholders to a fuzzy problem and work a fuzzy problem and build exercise develop solutions for pre- with client stakeholders a coalition of stakeholders determined communication to define the problem and to define the problem and design needs develop solutions develop solutions
Nature of project Project investigation Project investigation Project investigation Project investigation investigation is motivated by is motivated by is motivated by is motivated by personal concerns and people-centered Enterprise and audience collective social and developed independently communication design concerns and developed cultural concerns and by individual student concerns and developed collaboratively by a single developed collaboratively independently by individual -discipline design team by an integrated cross- students working with disciplinary team external stakeholders
Figure.1: Curriculum Chart, Design Management Review Summer 2007, Learning to Work in Team by Christopher Vice
Figure.2: Definition of Complexity
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3. Impacts of Civic Engagement on Student Learning
Cognitive competencies Before the curriculum redesign, for twenty years, the Herron Visual Communications department has offered a single elective professional practice course where students deliver client-focused work for community-based partners. However, the complexity of real problems was not considered as an instructional element. Community partners identified their needs and problems and students provided visual solutions. The course- learning objective was more "applying" of knowledge and skills with focus on the craft of detailed design.
In the new curriculum, community problems are employed as cognitive tools from freshman to senior year. Intensity and frequency of the cognitive processes increasingly enhance students’ cognitive competency. Feedback from community partners provides evidence of student learning outcomes with sophisticated design solutions and analytical process management. Students demonstrate evidence of their learning competency in portfolio format in a senior year capstone course. Students analyze their learning outcomes with the matrix (of the PULs and NASAD competencies), which were originally used as a learning outcome design tool for the faculty. Each student portfolio clearly reflects the enhanced cognitive competencies and deepened understanding of the learning experiences of that student.
Engaged learning Students came to the Visual Communication program with preconceptions about the major through various experiences. In many cases, the preconceptions were based on phenomena in which Visual Communication is identified with design applications such as posters, logos, or web design. Students expected to learn stylish form and technology skills for production. Contrary to their expected learning outcomes, the concept of design as problem solving and the related learning subjects was unfamiliar or unattractive to students. That disconnection led to the challenges of their first year of learning. Civic engagement that started in the second year prompted a shift in students’ attitudes toward learning. The actual involvement in the ‘real world’ problems, which were designed intentionally to be repetitive and incremental, enabled students to grasp the conceptual understanding of their learning as they advanced and transformed them into more engaged and confident learners.
Empowerment The experiential leaning component made the departmental mission statement comprehensive and provided opportunities for students to see those values in action (Kecskes & Spring, 2003). As a result, there was a change in the way students viewed their professional and civic identity beyond academic learning. Student involvement in real life situations as design context has provided opportunities for students to develop ethical sensitivity with consideration of cause-and-effect relationships and to establish their value system through design decision processes. 173 PAPERS
Community problem settings have provided opportunities for students to see how their design process skills and design thinking can be transferable to a wide range of problems and be instrumental for creative solution development beyond the role of mediating communication needs. Students consistently mention that they feel empowered and take active ownership of the practice.
4. Conclusion This paper, reflecting the redesigned curriculum from a student learning perspective, presents two main concepts. One is a cognitive approach to civic engagement, which is different from traditional citizenship education and takes real world problems as intentional learning tools and demonstrates how civic engagement experience facilitates students’ deep learning in the process of community problem solving.
The other key concept is the reshaped professional identity through the systematic construction of civic engagement in curriculum design. The breadth and depth of design problems in social contexts provide opportunities for the faculty and students to explore the concept of design leadership, which is associated with the alternative view on leadership, the “steward” or “servant” leadership model (Greenleaf, 1996).
Since implementing the curriculum, faculty members have focused on student learning outcomes in its evaluation. The department intends to research faculty and community experience centered around the curriculum in order to further improve the curriculum.
References American Institute of Graphic Arts & National Association of Schools of Arts and Design. General education and the professional study of graphic design. Association of American College and Universities. (2007). The report of college learning for new global century. Washington D.C. Dewey, J. (1998). Experience and education: The 60th anniversary edition. Indiana: Kappa Delta Pi. Gibbons, M., Limoges.C. Nowotny, H., Schwartzman, S., Scott, P.,& Trow, M. (1994). The new production of knowledge: the dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. London: Sage. Joolingen, W. (1999). Cognitive tools for discovery learning. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 10, 385-397. Kecskes, K (2003). Creating engaged departments: Moving faculty culture from private to public, individual to collective focus for the common good. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Professional Society of Washington: Washington Campus Compact. Mayes, J.T. (1992) Cognitive Tools: a suitable case for learning. In P. Kommers,D. Jonassen & J.T Mayes (Eds.) Cognitive Tools for Learning (p. 81). Berlin Heidleberg: Springer-Verlag. Greenleaf, R.K. (1968). On Becoming a Servant Leader. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
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The diversity that surrounds you: Teaching inclusive design at the University of Pretoria, South Africa
Catherine Karusseit
Abstract
Disability is a part of diversity and is more widespread in South Africa than one realises. Moreover, South Africa possesses one of the most progressive Constitutions in the world, which is rooted in qualities of equality and diversity. Yet, the concept of universal access is rarely discussed and very few programmes in architecture, landscape architecture and interior architecture present formal courses on inclusive design and people with disabilities. The program in interior architecture, at the University of Pretoria, is an exception. This paper documents this inclusive design course with examples of student work. Its ability to inform design and its outcomes are considered with a view to elucidating its strengths and shortcomings and locating opportunities for its future.
Keywords
Inclusive design, South Africa, interior architecture, product design, user-centred, teaching, application, innovation, student projects
A diverse and complex nation
Diversity is typical of all societies over time and South Africa is no exception. Our country's composition makes it intrinsically diverse and complex. Not only does disability constitute part of our diverse society, but disability is itself varied. These two concepts are interrelated: disability is the outcome of the interaction of an individual with society which fails to tolerate difference and therefore diversity. Simply stated, disability is a lack of choice.
Disability in South Africa is more widespread than one realises and is further exacerbated by crime, poverty, unemployment and social isolation [1]. In the past not only were the majority of people with disabilities excluded from mainstream society, but the nature of exclusion was dependent on which group of an already segregated society they came from. The demise of apartheid in 1994 has been followed by many positive transformations. South Africa’s new Constitution’s recognition of discrimination against people with disabilities, as well as our endorsement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has meant that disability has become a significant concern. Yet, many people with disabilities continue to be marginalised. This is an outcome of a dichotomous society: being immensely concerned with human rights and yet maintaining strongly traditional beliefs that result in the isolation of people with disabilities.
Weisman [2] contends that access to space is fundamentally related to social status and power, and that changing the allocation of space is inherently related to changing society. Currently, in South Africa, design is a means to form and articulate change, from an exclusive society to one that is inclusive. Thus, disability as a form of diversity goes to the heart of whether we can build a society that tolerates and celebrates difference [3], yet in South Africa the concept of inclusive design is rarely discussed. Our built environment continues, for the most part, to be designed and constructed with only the interests of a portion of South Africans, the so called non-disabled, in mind [3].
In light of the above, the need for education in inclusive design seems clear, yet very few 175 PAPERS
programmes in interior architecture, or even architecture and landscape architecture, present formal courses on inclusive design and people with disabilities. The Department of Architecture, at the University of Pretoria (UP), is one such programme. A small module in inclusive design is presented to undergraduate architecture and landscape architecture students, while a more comprehensive course is presented to interior architecture students of the same year. This paper documents this theory course, its ability to inform design and its outcomes, with a view to elucidating its strengths and shortcomings and locating opportunities for its future.
Inclusive design at the Department of Architecture, UP
Since 2001, inclusive design has been taught to second year interior architecture students as a component of theoretical courses, such as Environmental Studies and Earth Studies. In 2005 it came into its own as the sole theme for the course, Earth Studies 223, which is presented over a seven-week period. The value of teaching inclusive design was recognised as not only an end in itself but as a vehicle for critical discourse in design instruction [4].
Earth Studies 223
This course studies the theoretical, social, political, legal and technical implications of an inclusive approach to design in the built environment. Initially, certain themes informed the approach adopted in the teaching of the subject; however, the pedagogy underlying these strategies has subsequently been identified. Firstly, critical discourse is the point of departure for the theoretical approach to teaching and understanding of inclusive design [5]. This approach disassociates from the idea that inclusive design is all ‘ramps and railings’ and that ‘disabled’ refers exclusively to wheelchair users or ‘paraplegics’. Thereby, it has established an awareness and appreciation for diversity and design for society as a whole. Furthermore, legal requirements (the Constitution and National Building Regulations) and their shortcomings are critically considered. Secondly, the theme of identity and diversity [6] recognises the multiple facets of identity and the role of design in addressing the needs of diverse users [4]. Thirdly, teaching includes a variety of curricular content: technical data, users’ needs research, user involvement, self-awareness and political considerations [4]. Finally, the course attempts to infuse inclusive design values into all aspects of design education [4].
The diversity that surrounds you
The first assignment, 'The diversity that surrounds you', was developed out of a similar project by Welch [4]. The assignment is given out after a lecture presenting a discussion on the diversity of South African society and the occurrence of disability. Students are required to spend time with an individual in their community whose abilities are different from their own. Through a process of informal conversation and observation, the students are able to analyse the effects of design on (dis)abilities. The student's research is qualitative, focusing both on the life experience of the disabled person, as well as, allowing the student to reflect on his/her own experience throughout the process. This exercise realises the argument [7] that power and meaning of knowledge is greatly enriched when it is constructed from real experiences of students.
Design for living - 2nd year design project
'Design for living' is a product design project that is part of the students’ major subject, Design. Although inclusive design is actively emphasised throughout all design projects, this specific project is preceded by a lecture on product design and examples of inclusive products are presented to the students. Additionally, the students would have completed the Earth Studies course. 'Design for living' was devised as a design response to the theory students had recently acquired, in particular, the 'The diversity that surrounds you' assignment.
The design project requires that students identify the specific needs of the person interviewed 176 PAPERS
earlier in the semester. They are asked to design a lifestyle product to address any of these necessities, so as to assist the person in his/her daily living. The product could be designed for a specific need, therefore marketable to only people with a similar impairment. Or it could meet the person’s specific need and at the same time be useful to all.
Strategies
The underlying strategy of both the Earth Studies assignment and the Design project is to expose students to the diversity of society, and disability within it. The projects are based on user- orientated research, which forces students to notice and communicate with people they would not necessarily interact with or may even avoid. Thereby, pre-conceived ideas about the person’s impairment are addressed and overcome and empathy and consideration engendered for their daily needs. As a result students are moved from a mere awareness to critical engagement. Students have been able to better recognise the impact of design and the built environment on the dignity, comfort and independence of people with disabilities. Equally significant, they have recognised on a personal level, their responsibility as designers. Finally, the Design project facilitates internalisation of the Earth Studies theory through application.
Student proposals
The students have tackled the project with enthusiasm, creativity and empathy. The range of products has reflected the diversity of people the students had encountered in their Earth Studies assignment. The following five examples, chosen from a class of twenty-four, address a variety of disabilities. Four out of the five were designed to meet specific needs; the fifth product had both specific and general applications. All the products were designed to be aesthetically appealing to all, embodying current design trends and thereby breaking the stereotype that design for the disabled is something necessarily medical and/or institutional.
Easy Grip Cutlery
In general, cutlery designed for people with quadriplegia or poor motor control in their hands looks clumsy and institutional. The concept for Easy Grip Cutlery was assistive, yet elegant, easy to use eating utensils. The cutlery becomes a type of jewellery; ergonomically designed to fit the users hand and wrist. The knife blade, fork tines and spoon elements have been re-thought to provide safe and low-effort utility; the 'grips' also allow for more independence in eating. The cutlery is constructed out of stainless steel covered with polyethylene high-density foam in 'grip' areas.
Figure 1: Easy Grip Cutlery (E Krugell)
Multi-functional Wheelchair Accessory
The concept for this product was generated for wheelchair users as a means to personalise their wheelchair, while at the same time adding to its functionality. The device is clamped, by means of a PVC clamp mechanism, to the wheelchair's armrests and by changing its position it becomes a writing table, an eating tray, a side table and if put on the ground, a ramp for overcoming 177 PAPERS
uncomfortable thresholds. Along with personal choice in colour of the silicone rubber on the wheelchair handles and the wheel-rim, when not in use the device becomes a 'side accessory' and comfortable arm rest. The Wheelchair Accessory is constructed out of an inner core of high- pressed foam, with a silicone rubber exterior finish.
Figure 2: Multi-functional wheelchair accessory (S Lubbe 2007)
Bright Black Stableware
The concept for Bright Black Stableware was created for people who are visually impaired. The product overcame the problem of accidental spillage caused by knocking into or overfilling a glass. The Bright Black tumbler comes in two sizes and is designed with a convex base, allowing the glass to rock but not topple over entirely. A 'stop pouring mechanism' is incorporated into the glass during manufacture. The mechanism consists of a micro-controller, which activates a buzzer, this alerts the user to stop pouring and a 3 volt kinetic battery, provides power and recharges itself via kinetic energy generated during use and care. Moreover, the mechanism becomes a design feature by aesthetically winding around inside the glass sides of the tumbler. Although created for a specific need the design renders the glassware attractive to all.
Figure 3: Bright Black Stableware (G Venter 2007) iHelp iHelp is a device to assist in shopping. The concept was originally thought of to assist people who are colour blind and find shopping for clothing a challenge. Through the design process it was realised that the device could also be beneficial to people with visual or mobility impairments, people in wheelchairs or the elderly. iHelp slips onto the users hand like a glove and is constructed of layers of breathable nylon nano textile, osmotic silicone conductive textile and a silicon USB 178 PAPERS
circuit board. By incorporating Bluetooth technology, the iHelp, provides information about the garment currently being touched and audio domes in the store relay the information to the user. The built-in silicone USB pad allows the user to add items desired to a personal shopping list. Shop assistants collect the items stored on the users iHelp, thus the user can enjoy looking at the merchandise without have to carry all their chosen items around with them.
Figure 4: iHelp (M Durand 2007)
U Jug
The concept was to create a water pitcher that could assist a range of people in a basic need. A diverse range of users were considered, from an elderly person who lacks strength in their arms, or has limited dexterity due to arthritis, to a wheelchair user for whom at sitting level it is difficult to lift and pour. The design of U Jug needed to embody a universal design language, incorporating assistive features without stigmatising specific users. U Jug is aesthetically appealing, thereby overcoming the stigma special purpose products often create by focusing only on functional aspects. U Jug is designed around two spouts, one spout for filling and the other spout streamlined for pouring. The height of the container is such that at least half a glass would be filled by tipping before having to lift it. U Jug is long and narrow, gripped either by the handle or by slipping a hand between the handle and container. U Jug is made up of a light plywood base and a transparent polypropylene container.
Figure 5: U Jug (A Vorster 2007)
Locating opportunities
The two projects are valuable tools in teaching inclusive design, as they facilitate interaction 179 PAPERS
between students and a diverse society, and emphasise learning through application. Time, however, was a major constraint and limited the depth of research, refinement and resolution of outcomes. Unfortunately, limited time is a reality of the undergraduate degree, and the Design project needs to be adjusted accordingly. By incorporating a similar project into the post-graduate honours year, more time would be available to allow for research, both academic and user- orientated, for refinement of concepts with continual testing and evaluation by users, as well opportunity for prototyping. Moreover, it would be valuable to increase the scope of the project to include architecture and landscape architecture. An inclusive approach is just as relevant to these two disciplines as it is to interior architecture, as all three centre around the design of environments to be used and enjoyed by people. Moreover, our built environment clearly indicates a need for a consciously inclusive approach to these two disciplines.
It is evident that limiting inclusive design to a single semester and to a single discipline is insufficient to attain a depth of understanding and appreciation that will ensure students apply it in practice and that it will positively impact on our built environment. Inclusive design should be incorporated yearly into coursework and be consciously addressed in Design.
South Africa, like other developing countries, has characteristics quite different from the economically developed world. The characteristics have bearing on the kind and method of inclusive design education required for our context. This aspect still needs to be researched and developed. It could be incorporated as part of a post-graduate inclusive design project, the outcomes of which could inform the curriculum for under-graduates.
Conclusion
Designers often perceive inclusive design negatively, an issue only for a few campaigners, and limiting creativity. Yet, it is clear from the projects discussed that designing for diversity need not be stifling or ugly, rather it encourages innovation, which is embodied in a product that is marketable and aesthetically pleasing to all. Moreover, a solid appreciation for the theory means that students embrace rather than resist the requirements introduced by diversity.
Acknowledgements
The second year interior architecture class of 2007 for their enthusiasm and creativity in tackling all the inclusive design challenges given them. In particular Esther Krugell, Sarni Lubbe, Gerrida Venter, Mireille Du Rand and Annalise Vorster for the use of their projects.
References
1. White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy. (1997). Edited by De Villiers, S. Cape Town: Rustica. 2. Weisman, LK. (1994). Discrimination by design: a feminist critique of the man-made environment. Urbana: University of Illinois. 3. Swartz, L & Watermeyer, B. (2006). Introduction and overview in Disability and social change: a South African agenda. Edited by Watermeyer, B, Swartz, L, Lorenzo, T, Schneider, M & Priestley, M. Cape Town: HSRC. 4. Welch, P & Jones, S. (2002). An opportunity for critical discourse in design education in Universal design: 17 ways of thinking and teaching. Oslo: Husbanken. 5. Christophersen, J (ed). (2002). Universal design: 17 ways of thinking and teaching. Oslo: Husbanken. 6. Welch, P. (2002). Strategies for teaching Universal Design. Boston: MIG Communications. 7. Dutton, T (ed). (1991). Voices in architectural education: Cultural politics and pedagogy. New York: Bergin & Garvey. 180 PAPERS
Inclusive Practice: Researching the Relationships between Dyslexia, Personality, and Art Students’ Drawing Ability
H. Riley, Swansea Metropolitan University Q. Rankin, Royal College of Art N. Brunswick, Middlesex University I.C.McManus, University College London R. Chamberlain, UCL P-W. Loo, UCL
Abstract
This paper addresses the conference theme of inclusivity from two standpoints: firstly, collaboration between researchers from fields including psychology, educational study support and studio drawing practice, which has revealed insights to students’ learning difficulties in drawing not easily accessible through mono-disciplinary research practice; secondly, a proposal is made outlining a strategy for the teaching of drawing which attempts to include students of varying abilities in drawing, and to empower their practice equally. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of an inclusive, cross-disciplinary approach to exploring the relations between personality factors, perceptual problems, visual memory and drawing skills in art students who report difficulties producing accurate drawn representations of their observational experiences. Results indicate that whilst in general drawing ability seems not to relate to dyslexia, higher drawing ability does appear related to the personality measure of conscientiousness, and also both to sex (in the biological sense, males drawing better than females) and to gender (those who perceive themselves as more masculine drawing better, whether they are male or female). Poor drawers are less good at accurately copying angles and proportions, and their visual memory is less good. These findings inform a proposed inclusive group teaching strategy for drawing which attempts to address these weaknesses without hindering the progress of the more able student.
Introduction There is a growing realisation in the art schools that some students cannot draw well, and that those students would like to improve so as to empower their practice. At the Royal College of Art (RCA), a particular problem arose with students on courses such as textiles, jewellery and ceramics, many of whom were extremely competent in their particular medium, but who found that practical problems arose from their lack of drawing ability. The student realises that drawing is a skill they both lacked and needed. There has also been a growing realisation that a high proportion of students in art schools are dyslexic (Rankin et al., 2007). One explanation is that dyslexic students find it more difficult to study sciences or the humanities because of their problems reading and writing, and so they tend to gravitate towards more ‘non-verbal’ disciplines where being dyslexic is 181 PAPERS
less of a problem (2,3). Another is that although dyslexic students have problems with reading and writing, they also have special talents in visual spatial ability (4,5), in particular types of spatial task (6,7,8), in aesthetics overall, or more specifically in the visual arts (8), although there are dissenting views concerning this "popular (and comforting) view" of dyslexia (3). Finally, there is the possibility that, in so far as drawing is a symbolic act of representing the visual world by marks that to some extent are arbitrary, then dyslexic readers will also have specific problems with drawing. The three theories make entirely different predictions about the relationship of drawing to dyslexia, suggesting in turn that dyslexic students will be better, the same, or worse at drawing than non-dyslexic students. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that dyslexia does not preclude the production of work of outstanding artistic ability (9). An important point in any study of the relationship of talent with dyslexia is that Everatt (10) has shown the best single predictor of dyslexia is spelling ability, and we therefore included a test of spelling ability in the present study. The argument that an inability to draw accurately comes from errors of perception has been put most forcefully by Cohen and Bennett (11). In a more recent paper, Cohen and Jones (12) extended the argument, suggesting that "…the major source of drawing errors lies in the initial perception of the to-be-drawn object". An alternative approach to perceptual problems in drawing was reviewed by Cain (13) who asked art students to copy six-sided polygons, referred to as 'houses'. Cain found significant correlations between the accuracy of portraying the houses, and subsequent grades obtained by the art students. An aspect of drawing that has been little studied is the role of visual memory. A rare exception is the study by Jones (1922) who found that the drawing ability of 7th and 8th grade children correlated with a measure of visual memory. We therefore included visual memory within our research, not least because of several studies that suggest dyslexics have poorer performance at the task, either generally (15), or more specifically in a subgroup of dyslexics who also have poor mathematical skills (16).
Method The first stage of our study used a questionnaire that assessed, amongst other things, self- perceived drawing ability in two groups of art students: a Foundation Diploma cohort at Swansea Metropolitan University (SMU), and MA students at the RCA. The second stage of the study assessed drawing ability directly in subsets of art students chosen for being high or low on self-assessed drawing ability, and high or low on the spelling test (which correlated with diagnoses of dyslexia). Finally, a control group of non-art student participants drawn from the psychology student cohort at University College London was also tested on the same drawing tasks and completed a questionnaire that was similar to that given to the art students. Drawing tests. A subset of the art students and all of the controls were tested on a series of drawing tasks: 1. Copying of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure (17,18) 2. Immediate recall of the Rey-Osterrieth figure. Participants were asked to draw the figure once more but this time from memory. 3. Hand drawing. Participants were asked to make an accurate drawing of a photograph of a hand holding a pencil. 4. Arp drawing. Participants were asked to make an accurate drawing of the 1951 lithograph Configuration by Hans Arp. 5. Malevich drawing. Participants were asked to make an accurate drawing of Kazimir Malevich's 1915 Suprematism With Eight Red Rectangles. 6. 'House' drawing task. Participants were asked to make accurate drawings of five 'houses' (13) 7. Blocks drawing. Participants were asked to make an accurate drawing of a photograph of an object which consisted of a series of children's toy blocks joined together. 182 PAPERS
8. Delayed recall of the Rey-Osterrieth figure. Participants, who had not been warned that they would be required to do this task, were asked to make a drawing of the figure again from memory.
Discussion of Results Drawing accurately and fluently is a difficult skill to learn, and while it still underpins many of the visual arts, changing pedagogical practices means that there are now students who would like to be able to draw well, but cannot. An important step towards empowering those students is to understand both how people learn to draw and why some have more difficulties than others. The present study found a number of useful and important results. Firstly, it was clear that art students have insight into whether they are good at drawing or not, and the validity of those insights is confirmed when self-perceptions were compared with actual performance on a series of drawing tests It is also of interest that even poor drawing art students were on average better at drawing than were non-art students, suggesting that some skills are indeed present, albeit not at such a sophisticated stage as in the good drawers, and such skills might form the basis for interventions to improve drawing further. Our study was driven originally by the possibility that poor drawing ability might be related to dyslexia or other problems with reading. However we found no evidence for this, either in the questionnaire study, or in the study that assessed drawing ability on a number of tasks, including an assessment of technical quality and aesthetic quality. Neither did a classification of the drawings as having characteristics putatively associated with dyslexia show a significant correlation either with a prior history of dyslexia or with spelling ability. This result is illustrated below: Figure 1 (Solid circles=participants in drawing tests; open circles=other questionnaire respondents) The conclusion therefore is that dyslexia has little or no relationship to drawing ability in art students. However, it is possible, particularly given the association of mathematics achievement and Rey-Osterrieth performance in our data that there is a subset of dyslexics with mathematical problems who are particularly poor at drawing. Our data do not have adequate power to search for such a group, and we are therefore carrying out a separate study to look at the question more directly. The reason that so many art students are dyslexic still requires explanation, but it seems unlikely that dyslexics have either special skills or particular problems with making visual representations of the world.
It should be pointed out that drawing ability seemed not to relate to the wide range of background variables, and those null correlations are also of some interest. We could find no evidence for instance that drawing related to age, to parental attitudes towards art, to any of our measures of handedness or right-left problems, to a history of dyspraxia or stuttering/stammering, to aesthetic behaviours in general, to educational achievement either at GCSE or A-level, or to personality. All these null correlations help to exclude some explanations of the reasons some art students have troubles in drawing. The experimental part of our study was important, not only because it validated the self-rated perceptions of drawing ability, but also because it allowed a more detailed examination of underlying processes in drawing. One of the tasks, the ‘House’ task of Cain (13), explicitly looked at the low level processes of accurately representing angles and proportional relationships. Overall it is clear that accuracy in drawing angles and proportions correlates with ability to draw the hand and the 183 PAPERS
blocks, although a more detailed analysis suggests that it is only performance in Cain's ‘House’ task which is doing the prediction. Cain's ‘House’ task has two separate components of representing angles and proportions. To some extent these are inevitably correlated (although it is worth noting that a 'house' for which just the side walls were stretched upwards would fail on its proportional representation but would be accurate in its angular representations). Nevertheless it does seem that angular representations are more important as predictors of drawing ability than are proportions. Why angles should be better than proportions is far from clear. Conventional teaching of drawing often emphasises proportions, measured in the traditional way with the pencil at the end of the outstretched arm and held vertically or horizontally. Measuring angles that way is indirect, and may well be inefficient. The direct measurement of angles (e.g. by rotating a pencil until its angle matches that of an object) is also difficult, as there is no reference angle against which the pencil can be compared. It is therefore possible that the veridical perception of phenomenal angles is difficult, and hence those who have mastered it better are also those who are better at making representational drawings. Our study also found that visual memory as assessed by the immediate and the delayed reproduction of the Rey-Osterrieth figures, is related to the production of visually accurate drawings, as indicated above: Figure 2 (Controls (non-art students) = squares; art students with high self-rated drawing ability =triangles; art students with poor self-rated drawing ability = circles). In our study, there was no correlation between performance on the Rey-Osterrieth task and on the Cain ‘house’ task, so that performance on the reproduction of angles and proportions and on the Rey-Osterrieth figure are therefore independent predictors of drawing ability, together accounting for almost a third of the total variance in performance. Visual memory may not be trainable, but it may be a substrate on which drawing performance is subsequently built.
In Conclusion: A Proposed Inclusive Teaching Strategy
As well as wishing to understand why some art students cannot draw well, we would also like to be able to help art students who cannot draw but wish to draw well. Our study raises several possibilities. Firstly, it would appear that motivational and personality factors are important in being able to draw well, and one possibility is that increasing both motivation and the opportunity to practice drawing will improve performance (as with any complex skill). A possibility raised by the present study is that art students may benefit from the explicit teaching of techniques for carrying out very low level copying skills, such as in accurately representing angles and proportions. An alternative possibility is that accurately perceiving angles and proportions would itself be beneficial. A study to examine the effect of both approaches is being considered at present, structured upon teaching strategy designed to consolidate learning through repetitive procedures first presented by Nist and Mealy (19) reported in Mortimore (20), who express this type of learning as an eight step process: 1. Focus attention 2. Give a general overview 3. Introduce new terms 4. Go through the procedure step by step 184 PAPERS
5. Model the process - think aloud - introduce new frameworks of thought; the students also discuss the process and teach each other 6. Guide the practice- students repeat the instructor’s strategy with support 7. Independent practice 8. Re-demonstrate the practice, if necessary, to reinforce The eight-step process outlined above can be adapted to a strategy of teaching drawing in a traditional life-room, where the student is encouraged: 1 To focus attention upon the model and their relationship with the surroundings (figure/field relations). 2 To construct a general structure, or scaffolding, in terms of drawing the main axes of the pose, using, for example, the ‘invisible grid’ of lines running across the figure that connect salient points such as nose, nipples, navel, knees, and knuckles. These axes might be the vehicle by which students hone their skills of accuracy in drawing angles and lengths in proportion so that the repetitive, low-level exercise is perceived to have contextual meaning for the student. 3 To introduce visual concepts such as ‘contrast boundary’ in place of the common term ‘outline’. This immediately engages the student with the variety of tonal values across the whole subject-matter and, in particular, allows the student to notice how the contrast boundary fluctuates at the edges between figure and field. The concept of ‘negative space’ (spaces between those items in the visual field normally labelled with language), can also aid students to look without language, to apply specifically non-verbal methods in the process of drawing. 4 To repeat these first three steps at the beginning of every new pose. 5 To discuss with the tutor the process under way on the drawing board. 6 To repeat the instructor’s strategy with support from the tutor. 7 To draw independently at unsupervised open-access life sessions. 8 To re-demonstrate the practices and strategies offered by the tutor in order to reinforce them. Could this be a helpful model when thinking about teaching drawing processes? And what types of strategies might be incorporated into such processes? Plans are in hand for the probing of these questions in the Foundation Diploma course at SMU, and we look forward to reporting progress.
References 1. Rankin, Q., Riley, H., and Davies, M. (2007). Including dyslexics: indicators of dyslexia in art students' drawings. In J.Myerson & C. Bilsland (eds.) Include 2007: Conference on Inclusive Design London: Royal College of Art. 2. Winner, E. and Casey, M. B. (1992). Cognitive profiles of artists. In G.C.Cupchik & J. László (eds.), Emerging Visions of the Aesthetic Process: Psychology, Semiology, and Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 154-170. 3. Winner, E., von Karolyi, C., and Malinsky, D. (2000). Dyslexia and visio-spatial talents: no clear link. International Dyslexia Association Newsletter. Spring, 27-30. 4. Craggs, J. G., Sanchez, J., Kibby, M. Y., Gilger, J. W., and Hynd, G. W. (2008). Brain morphology and neuropsychological profiles in a family displaying dyslexia and superior nonverbal intelligence. Cortex, 42, 1107-1118. 5. Miles, T. R. (1993). Dyslexia: The Pattern of Difficulties. London: Whurr. 6. von Karolyi, C. (2001). Visual-spatial strength in dyslexia: rapid discrimination of impossible figures. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34, 380-391. 7.von Karolyi, C. and Winner, E. (2004). Dyslexia and visual spatial talents: are they connected? In T.M.Newman & R. J. Sternberg (eds.), Students with both Gifts and Learning Disabilities. New York: Springer. 95-118. 8 .Brunswick, N. (2009). Dyslexia: A Beginner's Guide. Oxford: Oneworld. 9. Aaron, P. G. and Guillemard, J.-C. (1993). Artists as dyslexics. In D.M.Willows, R. S. Kruk & E. Corcos (eds.), Visual Processes in Reading and Reading Disabilities . Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 393-415. 185 PAPERS
10. Everatt, J. (1997). The ability and disabilities associated with adult developmental dyslexia. Journal of Research in Reading, 20, 13-21. 11 .Cohen, D.J. and Bennett, S. (1997) Why can’t most people draw what they see? Journal of Experimental Psychology, Human Perception and Performance. 23, 609-621. 12. Cohen, D.J. and Jones, H.E. (2008) How shape constancy relates to drawing accuracy. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts. 2, 18-19. 13 .Cain, T. I. (1943). Psychology of drawing and painting. In D.D.Runes & H. G. Schrickel (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the Arts (pp. 817-820). New York: Philosophical Library. 14. Jones, E. E. (1922). The correlation of visual memory and perception of perspective with drawing ability. School and Society, 15, 174-176. 15. Mati-Zizzi, H. and Zafiropoulou, M. (2003). Visuomotor coordination and visuospatial working memory of children with specific reading disabilities: a study using the Rey- Osterrieth complex figure. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 97, 543-546. 16. Helland , T. and AsbjØrnsen, A. (2003) Visual-sequential and visuo-spatial skills in dyslexia: variations according to language comprehension and mathematical skills. Child Neuropsychology 9, 208-220. 17. Rey, A. & Osterrieth, P. A. (1993). Translations of excerpts from Andre Rey’s psychological examination of traumatic encephalopathy and P. A. Osterrieth’s The Complex Figure Copy Test. Clinical Neuropsychologist, 7, 4-21. 18. Brunswick, N. (2008). Visuospatial Ability in Adults with Developmental Dyslexia. Proceedings of the 1st Stavanger Reading and Writing Conference. 19. Nist, S. L. and Mealey, D. (1991). Teacher directed comprehension strategies. In Flippo, R. F. & Caverly, D. C. (eds.) Teaching Reading and Study Strategies at the College Level. Newark:IRA 20. Mortimore, T. (2003). Dyslexia and Learning Style. A Practitioner’s Handbook. London: Whurr.
186 PAPERS
Action for Age – service design and the new orthodoxy of inclusive process
Abstract Among the urgent challenges to design today, not the least is an ageing population. While the greater number of people living longer should undoubtedly be celebrated, the inherent challenges to both state and community intervention are enormous. It has always been the case that as people grow older, and particularly the older-old, many more live alone. Because our society is increasingly constituted of single households, the phenomenon is compounded. Isolation and loneliness amongst older people will emerge as a major societal issue.
What services, systems and networks do we need to design in anticipation of millions of older single people? How do we ensure that designers of the future have the skills and tools to address this challenge?
National design competitions have an important role in encouraging design education to keep pace with changes in the professional design industry brought about by changes in society itself. The growth of ‘service design’ as a discipline is an example. This paper explores not only how a student design project focused on service design can uncover new ways to approach the social isolation among older people, but also what is won and lost for the identity of design as a discipline in the new orthodoxy of inclusive process.
Keywords Design, networks, service design, loneliness, isolation, co-design, inclusive design, designers, identity
Introduction “Being a designer means being an optimist… All we can do is assume there’s a possibility of solving [problems].” Ezio Marini
Design contains the inherent idea of change since it always represents the potential of better (faster, neater; more economical, ethical, effective, stylish; less wasteful or damaging) ways of doing or saying something. For this reason design continues to have great potential to abet social progress. Design education needs to encourage the optimism of designers and to give them skills, tools and confidence to provoke changes in civic organisation and behaviour as well as in commercial product choice. High profile national design competitions can motivate designers and design schools to think hard about design’s value to society.
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What are the challenges? A competition brief on the neo discipline of ‘service design’, which aims at systemic innovations (usually in public services) rather than in material products makes this social motivation explicit and inevitable. Service design is a process that integrates designers in multidisciplinary teams and explicitly engages users in order to shape services around their needs in response to their experiences and interactions. The outcome or solution is owned by all members of the community that created it; and this corresponds with a political climate favouring social equity and an enhanced sense of citizenship.
The inclusive process, however, stands in marked contrast to the popular narrative of design history. The designer is famed for his or her passionately pursued, authentic and unique visual language. The designer is known by his or her mediated icons. The designer is famously unbending in his or her choices and only ever wears black.
A national student design competition that has focused for five years largely on the social agenda rather than elite notions of design in itself, is well positioned to speculate on what is won and lost for the identity of design in the new orthodoxy of inclusive and engagement-led processes. Is access to users easier said than done? Are designers and non-designers – anthropologists, economists, civil servants, scientists – able to understand each other? Are undergraduate designers ready to address the social agenda or do they need to become designers in another sense first? What are the implications for design education and design educators? What kind of jobs do prize-winning designers skilled in inclusive process get? Is the inclusive design process alluring enough for magazines? Is it hard enough to be news? Does the inclusive agenda support or refute what has traditionally been understood as design?
A 2008-09 student design brief addressing social isolation and loneliness among older people is the central case study of this paper and asks for designs for a new service, network or other solution that would benefit those at risk, as a route to improving their emotional and general wellbeing. Whilst the brief’s central questions ask how might older people be engaged in the process of co-designing a response that would be meaningful to them and how can it lead to more appropriately designed outcomes, it will also provide a context to analyse some of the more pragmatic issues about the role of the designer in this new landscape.
Understanding the issues Key to the project is the need for students to unpack and understand the experiences of older people, the circumstances that affect their lives and the pathways to loneliness and isolation. Whilst these are often linked to socio-economic circumstances, it is also the case that older people often have weaker social
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networks, preventing them accessing many of the things most of us take for granted: friends and regular company, stimulating activity and easy access to services such as shops, post offices and GPs.
They then need to reflect on the ways in which design can respond to some of the issues in ways that could improve the lives of those at risk. How can awareness be increased in society of the valuable role and potential contribution older people can offer: if they are engaged, active and have a sense of purpose, they could make a big contribution to our communities but will remain an untapped resource unless used.
When thinking about the issues of loneliness and social isolation in relation to older people, students need to understand what has led people to each of these two types of situation. For some it will be a continuation of their life experience; for many others, it will be a new and hitherto unknown experience brought about by changes such as bereavement. They need be clear when developing responses to the project, to which of these different ‘pathways’ (loneliness or isolation) they are responding. In addition they need to gain insight into the nuances between living alone, loneliness and social isolation. Loneliness refers more to how people think about the level of social contact they have (or do not have); social isolation is a measure of how disengaged people are in their wider community whilst living alone may not necessarily lead to either of those situations.1
Designers – what can they do? The importance of working meaningfully with users, other stakeholders and professionals is becoming part of the new design orthodoxy; an understanding of people and their needs shapes best practice and responds to difficult challenges in ways that improve and enrich their lives.
At the core of this project is the question: what can designers do to improve the lives of those who are already – or who are at risk of experiencing – loneliness and social isolation? What insights might be uncovered that could have an impact on the lives of older people in this way? Understanding, and making sense of the ways that people live and behave, and drawing insights from these observations is at the heart of what the best designers do – they simplify complex information and facilitate clear communication.
The brief is current and entries will be judged in January 09. It will be supplemented by examples of entries going back over a five year period, variously addressing the practical and social difficulties of ageing, disability and isolation, for example: the
1 Loneliness, social isolation and living alone in later life (ESRC 2002)
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design of pharmaceutical packaging and dispensers, the design of doors for ‘lifetime’ homes and a reading device to help people with age-related motor difficulty. Case studies drawn more widely from the design competition over recent years will be used to illustrate the pertinence of the questions above.
The career paths of three representative prize-winners since 2003, who are now working in a publicly funded design organisation, a consultancy specialising in the design of public services and as an independent designer will illuminate the employment and industry implications of the abstract.
Conclusions These will be drawn ultimately from the evidence of the student project outlined here (and others with similarly prescribed methodologies) as well as drawing on research with students, educators and public and private sector professionals. These will be used to form a view on whether there is a genuinely new orthodoxy for design in the making, and if so what needs to happen at grassroots design education level to meet its aspirations.
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“Contributive Performances” – Learning in the margins
Brendon Clark, SPIRE Centre, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, [email protected] Diana Africano Clark, Ergonomidesign, Sweden [email protected]
Abstract Research regarding physical and cognitive aspects of product development usually relies on inquiry methods that focus on the collection of data from the practice studied (e.g. anthropometric) and the creation of design solutions (e.g. better grips). This paper suggests that design inquiry into social practices can benefit from moving beyond the data collection / data application focus, into a two-way flow of accountability between the “practice space” and the “design space”. To bring focus to the social and organizational issues in designing for the inclusion of marginalized people or practices, we introduce the notion of “contributive performance” as a short-term goal within the overall design process. Contributive performances are efforts to contribute to the ongoing practice of another in a way that can be assessed by the intended audience, even contributions that may appear trivial or peripheral to the main design agenda. The paper draws on a design case working with Somali and Arabic mother tongue teachers and their students in Sweden to develop interactive technologies to support their teaching and learning.
Keywords Social inclusion, marginalized practices, mother tongue instruction, method
Introduction At the crux of the universal design philosophy, is the belief that addressing the specific circumstances of extraordinary users - people who are excluded by current design solutions - can lead to design solutions valuable to everyone else. This paper seeks to build upon the inclusive design approach with a methods contribution for exploring the social and organizational aspects of marginalized practices. We use a case of supporting mother tongue teaching for immigrants in Sweden to emphasize the value of short-term contributions as a design inquiry technique for marginalized practices.
The idea of supporting the unique needs of aging people, young children and those with physical disabilities has proven to be a powerful driver for designers to learn, in great detail, about the uniqueness of the users they design products to support. In a classic case from the early 1970s, in collaboration with the Swedish Handicap Institute, Benktzon and Juhlin carried out a series of user studies with the aim of developing new assistive devices and new mainstream products for people with impaired hand-arm 191 PAPERS
function. As a result, they developed the Gustavsberg kitchen knife as an assistive device specially suited for people living with rheumatism (Benktzon, 2007). Over time, their design experienced great market success by receiving wide acceptance and acclaim not only as an assistive tool for users with different levels of mobility and visual impairment, but also as a practical tool for the common kitchen.
As the philosophy of designing for extra-ordinary circumstances moves from the physical and cognitive conditions important to product design, such as the Gustavsberg knife example, to include the social and organizational issues of extra-ordinary and/or marginalized practices (as called for by Donahue and Gheerawo 2007), what are valuable methodological techniques for: (1) exploring the social and organizational circumstances?; (2) creating environments for innovation?; and (3) assessing potential design contributions throughout the process? In the following section we draw on the Design for Cultural Pluralism case to highlight these questions.
Mother tongue teaching practice in Sweden The Design for Cultural Pluralism (CUPL) project sought to use design thinking to support cultural integration in Sweden. The project received funding from the local municipality to support mother tongue teaching and learning in the city of Umeå. In Sweden, children with at least one parent, with a non-Swedish mother tongue, are entitled to one lesson a week of mother tongue language instruction. Mother tongue teaching practice in Sweden is challenging work. Language teachers travel daily to multiple schools to give language instruction to pupils in their language group. Teaching involves creating an interesting and dynamic learning atmosphere appropriate for different ages and language levels, often in the same lesson. Language materials are not necessarily ‘ready-to-use’ in the Swedish context, but rather are often based on the context of their country of origin. Furthermore, mother tongue teaching is generally planned outside the curriculum often conflicting with activities in the regular curriculum. Teachers often lack a dedicated teaching space, but rather use space in whatever room may be available. These sessions are often interrupted or the participants are asked to move to other spaces.
Our contribution seeks to highlight how we generated an elaborate understanding of and involvement with mother tongue teaching and learned to make contributions to those practices. To recruit the very busy mother tongue teachers into our design project, we began with the questions: 1. How can we learn about what you do?; 2. How can we contribute to your immediate needs?; 3. How can you contribute to our long-term design project goals? As a result, we developed working relationships with two Arabic teachers and two Somali teachers. In addition we had individual sessions with other language teachers who teach in English, Bengali and Spanish. It is the nuanced way in which we engaged with these teachers that we wish to emphasize here. Rather than focusing our efforts on creating ethnographic data solely for analysis and eventual application, our intention was to find short-term techniques for exposing future possibilities for and potential obstacles to supporting mother tongue teaching and learning. Below we introduce three examples of how we engaged the teachers and their students. 192 PAPERS
Getting involved in mother tongue teaching and learning
Example I - Teachers coaching designers During one of our first classroom visits, we identified a basic design task that could respond to the children’s explicit requests. We observed a class exercise in which the teacher passed out two photocopied pages from a Somali story with a comprehension exercise at the end. The students read the story alone silently and then took turns reading aloud. The teacher corrected their pronunciation periodically. Upon completion of the class lesson, we spoke with the students about their class and the material. Among other things, the students complained about the quality of the Somali language material. At the end of class, we asked the teacher for a copy of the exercise he had used.
Back at the design lab, we created an upgraded version (aesthetically and dynamically) of the Somali material through a short process of scanning, working in Adobe InDesign software, and printing. We then showed a test version to the Somali teacher for his input. He was impressed with the look of the material and excitedly gave us copies of the next class exercise for improvement. We developed the material returning twice to the teacher for his comments. We then brought the material to his class on the day of the lesson. The teacher used the redesigned material in the class while we observed. Upon completion, we sat together with the students and discussed the exercise. The students expressed excitement about seeing their Somali material in this format. One student commented, “It is professional, like the national exam!”
Figure 1: Preparing a small contribution to the class - redesigning material and observing use
For the design team, this was a rather basic design task that simply involved improving the appearance of the exercise, and using a layout, typefaces, and colours that were more appropriate for the students’ age group. However, it was our first attempt at supporting the teaching practice. We demonstrated in action our ability to support the teachers’ work through design contributions in a way that let us observe and get feedback from those in-the-know. We learned about the importance of learning material.
Example II: Designers enrolling teachers in design activities Concurrently, the design team began defining a design agenda for the project. We sought to support students in learning their mother tongue when outside the confines of their classroom, and allowing them to bring content inside the classroom from the outside. We challenged the teachers to explore with us different tangible interactive 193 PAPERS
formats using digital audio. Rather than presenting to the teachers and asking for their feedback, we enrolled them in activities and asked them to enact future scenarios.
Figure 2: Performing at the design lab - creating and testing future tools for the classroom
The weekly meeting provoked the design team to prepare material and design activities for each encounter. For instance, in the first photo in figure 2, a Somali teacher presents an interactive alphabet poster he created and describes how he would use it with his students. In the next two photos, two Arabic teachers improvisationally conduct exercises for teaching Arabic pronunciation using the interactive audio prototypes we had created.
Example III: Learning inside and outside the classroom Our third example demonstrates a longer sequence of engagements with the teachers and students. Together with the Somali teachers, we developed a project-based learning activity for the 9th grade Somali students. Nine pupils from three schools spent five weeks creating their own DVDs titled either ‘The History of Somalia’ or ‘A Day in My Life’. The exercise allowed the students to put their language skills to practical use while providing incentives and visible results for themselves, teachers and parents. Each DVD included an interview, pictures taken with a disposable camera, written text, and a video recorded introduction. Through planning, interviewing, transcribing, and performing, the students practiced reading, writing, speaking and listening to their mother tongue. Classes were held in their regular classrooms with two extra sessions at the design lab. Together with the teachers, the design team participated in planning, project introductions, passing out and collecting disposable cameras and mp3 players and, creating DVDs and viewing the final outcome.
The DVD project provided the design team a broad spectrum of insights into the mother tongue teaching practice and potential future practice. We enrolled Somali teachers as experts uniquely qualified to inform the development of Somali language instruction in Sweden. They were responsible for overseeing the pedagogic value of the work, at the same time that the project provided a test bed for introduction of new technological combinations. The teachers found value in the resultant high student motivation, parent involvement, and in exposing the results of student/teacher progress. One parent shared his appreciation with a Somali teacher reportedly stating, “It was the first time my son ever asked me about Somalia.” The students freely brought content from their lives into the classroom, while the process (interviews/photos) and the output (DVD) provided them material for exploration outside the classroom. The project highlighted difficulties such as using mp3 players and computers to work with audio files during class. 194 PAPERS
The three examples above provide some snapshots of how the design team organized the CUPL project with teachers and students. Rather than conduct a thorough qualitative study, analysis and conclusions, followed by a design phase, the design and inquiry took place concurrently. The project resulted in the Soundbites prototypes, three concepts using audio under the conditions of mother tongue education in Sweden. Soundbites (referring to short phrases) is a set of tools for teacher supported collaborative learning in and out of the classroom setting using personalized audio material. The concepts address ways that experiences inside and outside the formal classroom can serve as content for mother tongue learning. The format is blank and the interaction tangible and social, so that they can be used as building blocks for any language content, multiple language levels, various ages and environments. The Soundbites concepts are currently in the process of funding and commercialization negotiations.
Discussion Enrolling and being enrolled in contributive performances Learning about practice involves not only a willingness to view the practice from many angles, but also a willingness to participate in the activities one wishes to learn about. In the ethnographic tradition there are a variety of techniques that anthropologists have relied upon to learn about foreign practices. Under the umbrella of participatory observation, anthropologists traditionally seek to develop locally appropriate techniques for inquiry that follow the local rhythm of unfolding events, relying on their personal attributes as a resource. The approach is a reaction to the difficulty of studying the unfolding of social practice and its unwillingness to cooperate with systemic inquiry:
"Fieldwork involves (literally) research in which the numbers are small, the relationships complex, and nothing occurs exactly the same way twice. The artistic challenge is to preserve, convey, and celebrate that complexity, even to the point of "messing up" science the way humans seem capable of doing." (Wolcott 1995:19)
Design, on the other hand, especially inclusive design, seeks to enrol people into the design process as a basis for gaining their input, and allowing designers to develop meaningful design contributions that foster new possibilities for their users. But rather than reserve the goal of a design contribution as the overall outcome of a project, we propose focusing on opportunities for short-term contributions as a vehicle to guide and motivate discovery in the design process, even contributions that may seem peripheral to the main design agenda. This is an alternative way of generating knowledge rather than, for instance, systematically evaluating the underlying properties of teaching and learning. Instead, the design team set in motion (a) attempts to make valuable contributions to an ongoing practice; and, (b) opportunities for feedback from the various recipients of the intended contribution.
Benktzon described how she and Juhlin discovered when testing utensils for use with rheumatism, it was not sufficient to bring a single option to the users, but rather they enrolled users into exploring the feel of the knives and handles to identify their favourite among many options (personal communication 2008). However, to explore the organizational and social conditions under which mother tongue teaching and learning 195 PAPERS
takes place, enrolling teachers and/or students in testing situations alone does not suffice, especially when the goal is to explore what may be possible both inside and outside of the classroom setting. We suggest that techniques that may be considered less systematic, less predictable, and may appear to “mess up science,” are often fundamental conditions for innovation. For instance, it is through such examples as the creation of the audio and video for the DVD, the way the students engaged their parents and relatives in the project, and the feedback received by the Somali teacher that we were encouraged to explore new possibilities of increased parental involvement in their children’s mother tongue learning through Soundbites.
Conclusion We have highlighted two couplings between the “practice space” and the “design space” that we suggest is a path for designers to move from a product and capability focus to that of the social and organizational aspects of designing for marginalized people and practices. Identifying opportunities to make small contributions to the practice of others, and inviting others into the practice of design provides a short-term goal for designing for marginalized practices such as mother tongue education in Sweden. By practicing to contribute and creating space for multivocal feedback, designers are able to explore the social and organizational implications of their contributions. We have demonstrated that this two-way flow of accountability is not only important to gain the interest of project participants, but rather a fruitful inquiry technique into unknown practices. Additionally, it prevents the designers from falling into the “data trap” of a never-ending search for more data; it rather allows for a sustained focus on designing and its evaluation along the way to concept testing and product proposals.
References
Benktzon, M (1993). Designing for our future selves: The Swedish experience, Applied Ergonomics, vol 24, no 1, pp 19-27, February
Benktzon, M (2007). From Assistive Design to Design for All, Ergonomidesign and Design for All in Sweden – early beginnings and greatest hits, Annual inclusive design symposium of the Helen Hamlyn Research Associates, Royal College of Art, London
Benktzon, M (2008). Personal communication, Ergonomidesign, Stockholm, Sweden, October 6, 2008
Donahue, S and Gheerawo, R (2007). Social concerns – new challenges for inclusive design, Proceedings of INCLUDE, 'Designing with People', Royal College of Art, London, April 1-4, 2007
Ergonomidesign website (2008). http://www.ergonomidesign.com/Default.aspx?ID=1024, downloaded October 28, 2008
Wolcott, H F (1995). The Art of Fieldwork. Walnut Creek, London, and New Delhi: AltaMira Press.