Exploring the relationship between material change and sustainable behaviour

Transcription

1 Funded PhD Opportunities Design Star Doctoral Programme Exploring the relationship between material change and sustainable behaviour Building on the EPSRC Closed Loop Emotionally Valuable E-waste Recovery (CLEVER) and the ENabling Designers to Understand material change (ENDURE) Project, this PhD would seek to explore the role materials can (or do) play in influencing or preventing more sustainable user behaviour. Potential focal areas include the effect of perceived or actual contamination, traces of use, odours, wear, ageing and / or accumulated dirt on material surfaces on users willingness to buy used or refurbished goods; their propensity to access shared or leased services or their willingness to retain products for longer thereby enabling product lifespan extension. Debra Lilley, (Design School, Loughborough University), plus TBC D.Lilley@lboro.ac.uk Bio-inspired Design Methods & Applications This area of research aims to add knowledge to studies in biomimetics, biomimicry and bionics where inspiration for innovative design is drawn from sources of naturally evolved functions. These can be established through the interpretation of a combination of tangible form, connectivity, systems and behaviours. As an emerging field of inquiry in Design, biomimetics is providing opportunities in technology applications, materials, and evolutionary processes for optimisation and manufacture. Many challenges exist in establishing understanding and knowledge transfer between Life Science and Design and in establishing Design Methods underpinning transdisciplinary research projects between scientists and designers. Invitations are invited from candidates from diverse and cross-disciplinary backgrounds with creative ideas to focus on biological principles for design and applications of technologies or in the applied arts. The research question should relate to ways in which biological systems can be analysed and interpreted to form new knowledge and understanding of function and in creating explorative techniques in Design methods. This can include virtual modelling and tangible prototyping. It is anticipated that research actions can be undertaken through a combination of conventional design practice and empirical studies. Academic supervisors: John McCardle & Abby Paterson (Loughborough) John McCardle, Abby Paterson, (Design School, Loughborough University) J.R.Mccardle@lboro.ac.uk Re-inventing the journey experience: life on board the autonomous vehicle of the future Future autonomous vehicles will provide the opportunity for drivers and passengers (occupants) to engage in many activities unrelated to the driving task (e.g. reading, work communication/social networking on mobile technologies, watching films) leading to benefits in terms of pleasure and productivity. There is also potential to improve musculoskeletal

2 comfort and wellbeing by eliminating the need for the fixed, static posture normally associated with driving. Future vehicles will therefore provide scope to re-invent the journey experience. The proposed research questions will focus on occupant needs (for work, leisure, health and well-being, socialising) and the innovative design of future vehicles to support such new occupant requirements. This PhD is in collaboration with an automotive manufacturer and applicants should be interested in autonomous vehicles and pursuing a PhD in design ergonomics. Diane Gyi and Andrew Morris, (Design School, Loughborough University) D.E.Gyi@lboro.ac.uk Creating Sustainable Prosperity through Social innovation and Digital Manufacturing The need to improve the lives of everyone on the planet, with particular emphasis on reducing the inequality and tackling poverty by those living in developing countries is increasingly recognised by businesses, organisations and governments around the world (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 2015; Design Council, 2016). A variety of industrial strategies have been proposed as capable of addressing these challenges (e.g. Eco-design, social sustainable design, open source design and distribution) have been working towards this end for the past four decades now. More recently, the need to collaborate with multidisciplinary and cross-cultural approaches has been identified in addressing why previous attempts to tackle these longstanding, complex and diverse issues have failed. A grass-roots approach (social innovation), together with a participatory visioning of desired futures, is pivotal for triggering successful socio-technical transitions that fit users aspirations, cultural context and values and delivers long-term, sustainable prosperity. However, to date, little published literature is available in the design discipline. This research would begin to apply more rigorous approaches to investigating the use, application, and impact of social innovation in the appropriation of digital fabrication technologies by those from disadvantaged communities (economically deprived, educationally deprived, geographically remote, etc). It would focus on identifying solutions appropriate to local needs, developing capacities for learning, reducing resource scarcity and creating greater levels of sustainable prosperity. It is envisaged that research questions in the following areas would be addressed: new organizational models, grass roots innovation, design for re-distributed manufacturing and design for sustainable prosperity. The research would build on three areas of existing research within the supervisory team: (i) Service design for social innovation and the Design for Happiness framework and toolkit that emerged from a completed PhD (C.Escobar-Tello) ad well as current teaching, research and PhD supervision. (ii) Consumer interventions in re-distributed manufacturing EPSRC-funded network project (M.Sinclair). It would also utilise expertise in future visioning developed in

3 (iii) teaching and PhD supervision at Umeå Institute of Design, Tecnológico de Monterrey and Loughborough Design School. Revisioning made futures that grow sustainable prosperity requires the consumer to take on different roles. Slower products and a more informed citizenship are areas that build on the work of Emma Dewberry, Open University Design Group (EPSRC/ESRC Network Project Doi: /cran eld.rd ). The intention would be for the research to strengthen existing LDS and OU relationships in Mexico, Colombia, Chile and South Africa and emerging relationships in India. Empirical research would be conducted in the UK and at least one of these other countries. Carolina Escobar-Tello, Matt Sinclair (Design School, Loughborough University), Emma Dewberry (Open University) M.C.Escobar-Tello@lboro.ac.uk Future Telling and Innovation within Distributed Product Development Teams Recent social, economic and industrial trends mean that design is an increasingly international and interdisciplinary activity. The Design Skills Advisory Panel noted the scale and importance of the challenges stemming from having designer working with others and design for others :...'working globally and in partnership (both remotely and face to face) with overseas designers and suppliers will require language and communication skills that go way beyond current needs, while designing in, and for, different cultures and contexts will stretch designers' abilities and methodologies to the limits.' It is these shifting trends in the organisation of design as a key component of globally networked New Product Development (NPD) teams that provide the condition for this proposal. Its key aim will be to explore the challenges, opportunities and necessary conditions for successfully implementing distributed innovation networks. This will involve addressing research questions such as: 1. How are design innovation processes managed in globally and organisationally distributed NPD teams? 2. How can the success of distributed innovation networks be measured? 3. What might be the future boundary objects suggested by collaboration technologies (VR, AI, etc)? 4. Which futures methods are employed within distributed innovation networks 5. How might the formal education of designers and other NPD professionals provide more effective distributed innovation outcomes? Erik Bohemia, Matt Sinclair (Design School, Loughborough University) E.Bohemia@lboro.ac.uk

4 Design for Sustainable Behaviour Design for Sustainable Behaviour (DfSB) is an established activity under the banner of sustainable design which aims to reduce products' environmental and social impacts by moderating how users interact with them. Building on over 10 years of research expertise in the field of Design for Sustainable Behaviour, Loughborough Design School are seeking a PhD researcher to explore the application of Design for Sustainable Behaviour to a new field or problem space. Potential areas of focus include; healthcare, wellbeing, resource consumption reduction, social inclusion/isolation or crime reduction or an area of the students own choosing. Studies which involve cultural cross-comparisons of behaviour and interventions for change are particularly welcome as are projects with an applied (practicebased) element. Debra Lilley, (Design School, Loughborough University), plus TBC D.Lilley@lboro.ac.uk Research Through Designing You will have a background in industrial/product design and desire to answer topical questions about the nature of artefacts in terms of technology, users, aesthetics or the way we design. The scope of this PhD is intentionally broad and you will play a central role in formulating the research questions based on areas of personal interest. Answering these questions will be supported by the creation of functional/useable/desirable products that make full use of Loughborough Design School s world-class modelmaking and prototyping facilities. This PhD will employ the University s practice based research degrees route that requires a written component of words plus practical elements. Dr Mark Evans m.a.evans@lboro.ac.uk, Loughborough Design School and second Creative Economies for Emerging Economies A Practice Based Industrial/Product/Textile Design PhD Emerging economies have significant material resources and craft capabilities but struggle to commercialise these in global markets. This PhD will explore approaches by which industrial/product and/or textile design methods can transform indigenous materials and crafts into desirable export products that support supply chains and employment opportunities i.e. contribute to the alleviation of poverty. Recent Research Council UK funded projects awarded to Loughborough Design School have provided networks and materials knowledge in Indonesia, Kenya, Botswana and Uganda and these countries may be integrated into the research activity. This will employ the University s practice based research degrees route that requires a written component of words plus practical elements that make full use of the world class workshop facilities of Loughborough Design School and School of the Arts.

5 Dr Mark Evans Loughborough Design School and second The Pedagogy of User Experience (UX) Design As the profession of the user experience (UX) designer continues to evolve, demand for capable practitioners increases, with industrial/product designers being identified as possessing a particularly close-fit in skills and knowledge. Despite high demand for practitioners, there remains a lack of dedicated educational provision in the discipline or pedagogy underpinning. This PhD will explore the nature of UX design and pedagogic approaches to deliver the required level of skills and knowledge for the future needs of the profession. Dr Mark Evans m.a.evans@lboro.ac.uk Loughborough Design School and second Home hacks for dementia Following a diagnosis of dementia, there is limited and often inaccessible information available to patients and their carers about how to adapt their homes to enable them to cope with the condition and carry on with everyday life at home. While there are assistive devices available, accessed through healthcare services, many people with dementia and their carers intuitively make their own adaptions, or hacks, e.g. labelling controls on appliances in their home. This PhD aims to understand the lived-experiences of the intuitive and informal ways in which people adapt their homes when living with dementia. It will use experience design and prototyping, participatory and ethnographic approaches to understanding the design hacks which people with dementia and their carers make to their homes. At the same time, engagement with the retail sector could present opportunities for impact through the development of new tools and approaches to empower people to creatively adapt their homes. Rebecca Cain and Garrath T. Wilson (Loughborough Design School) R.Cain@lboro.ac.uk