Designers have grown increasingly interested in social consequences of new technologies. As social impacts become increasingly important it might be fruitful to understand how social impacts develop and how a designer can anticipate these consequences. In health care practices, for instance, it is important to control unintended social impacts at forehand. Social impact is an outcome of the mediating effect of a technology with its social environment. Human behaviour in a social environment can be analysed from the perspective of a social ecological system. To anticipate social impacts simulations of social practices are needed. To simulate practices the persona approach has been adapted to a screenplay approach in which the elements of a social ecology are used to gain a rich description of a social environment. This has been applied for a 'Heart Managers' case. It was concluded that the screenplay approach can be used for a systematic simulation of future social impacts.
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Following social constructivism, the Metaverse can be seen as a “boundary object,” allowing “interpretative flexibility” across communities while maintaining a “common identity” to facilitate interactions and consensus. Understanding the social construction of the Metaverse requires acknowledging diverse perspectives that shape the discourse surrounding it. This research employed an internet-based Q methodology study to examine such “boundaries” within the Metaverse discourse. The study involved 46 participants from 14 countries and diverse sectors within the global Metaverse industry, who engaged in online card ranking exercises using statements covering five essential aspects of the Metaverse: Terminology, Cultural Values, Societal Impact, Economics, and Regulation. The factor analysis revealed four prominent frames of perspective: 1) Debating Liberal Globalism; 2) Critiques of the Metaverse as a Threat to Humanity; 3) The Metaverse as Neoliberalization; and 4) the New Prometheans: Techno-Optimism in the Digital Revolution. These frames underscore polarized perceptions related to the political-economic aspects of Metaverse development, particularly concerning affordability, infrastructure limitation, and digital literacy, all crucial for preventing global divisions. The findings contribute to policy dialogues focused on the social impact of technology innovation. Additionally, this research provides hands-on experience in designing and implementing a digitalized Q methodology, resulting in more systematic and transparent Q exercise procedures.
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We need look no further than the use of email communication, mobile phones and cars to understand that technology has wide-ranging social consequences. What is more, designers are plainly not always aware of the social consequences of technology, despite practicing user-centred design. Email, for instance, was developed as an efficient mode of communication between two actors. As we all know, the introduction of email has fundamentally changed traditional business and office practices. These side effects were not identified until long after email was introduced. During recent years, designers have grown increasingly interested in these social aspects. Modern information technology, in particular, creates extensive possibilities to influence social behaviour. Persuasive technology has been developed to increase, e.g., environmental friendliness. Once a designer aims at defined social changes, the consequences of technology for practices become a responsibility, too. The present research is aimed at providing tools and methods to anticipate social consequences at an earlier stage of the design process. These consequences of technologies in social environments will be called social impacts. In order to be a meaningful concept for designers the characteristics of a particular technology that are responsible for social impacts must be identified. Social consequences of technologies have not been observed very thoroughly from a user-centred design point of view. Therefore, this thesis is aimed, not only at gaining knowledge about social impact, but also translating these insights into workable instruments for designers. This leads to the following research questions:1. What relations can be identified between social impacts and characteristics oftechnologies?2. How can a designer anticipate social impact?3. How can social impact be managed in design environments?
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