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From the article: The ‘Axiomatic Design Methodology’ uses ‘Axioms’ that cannot be proven nor derived from physical phenomena. The axioms serve as guidelines for the design process of products and systems. The latest contribution was the addition of the ‘Complexity Axiom’ in 1999. However, the underlying theory of complexity did not get much traction by designers and their managers yet. It emphasises difficulties in the design, not primarily focussing on solutions. The ‘Theory of Complexity’ is converted to a ‘Theory of Maturity’ in this paper. It is supported with a graphical way to plot maturity as it develops. It visualises the results in a way that can be understood by all entities in a company, engineers, managers, and executives. Understanding the maturity of a system enables selection of the right measures to control it. Visualisation enables communication between the interacting parties. If successful development trajectories are understood, eventually from earlier experience, even better corrective actions can be applied. The method appears an affirmative way to graphically represent progression in design, thus presenting advances in a positive context. Though positively presented, it is not the case that the method hides problems; presumed and legitimate project progression can be quite different, which challenges the designer to understand the process. In this way, the method sends out a continuous warning to stay critical on design choices made.
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In 2010, the Dutch Probation Service introduced a digital decision support system for case management plans, a so called fourth generation risk/needs assessment instrument. Does this system help probation officers in determining the appropriate interventions that should prevent recidivism for each individual client? And to what extent are the case management plans based on existing theories on desistance from crime? These are the central questions in the thesis of Jacqueline Bosker of the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht: ‘Linking Theory and Practice in Probation – Structured decision support for case management plans’. “Further development is still needed, but we can conclude that the use of digital decision support helps improve the quality of case management plans.” Bosker concluded in her research that this form of decision support enhances the quality of the case management plans. “In the most practical sense, it helps a probation officer not to overlook certain measures that might be applicable for the client considering the risks and needs. The plans also correspond better to the offenders’ goals and focus more on strengthening social bonds. Over the years, desistance from crime has been studied and researched. This knowledge should be used in practice. A decision support system helps linking theory and practice.”
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There are three volumes in this body of work. In volume one, we lay the foundation for a general theory of organizing. We propose that organizing is a continuous process of ongoing mutual or reciprocal influence between objects (e.g., human actors) in a field, whereby a field is infinite and connects all the objects in it much like electromagnetic fields influence atomic and molecular charged objects or gravity fields influence inanimate objects with mass such as planets and stars. We use field theory to build what we now call the Network Field Model. In this model, human actors are modeled as pointlike objects in the field. Influence between and investments in these point-like human objects are explained as energy exchanges (potential and kinetic) which can be described in terms of three different types of capital: financial (assets), human capital (the individual) and social (two or more humans in a network). This model is predicated on a field theoretical understanding about the world we live in. We use historical and contemporaneous examples of human activity and describe them in terms of the model. In volume two, we demonstrate how to apply the model. In volume 3, we use experimental data to prove the reliability of the model. These three volumes will persistently challenge the reader’s understanding of time, position and what it means to be part of an infinite field. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99709
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To improve people’s lives, human-computer interaction researchers are increasingly designing technological solutions based on behavior change theory, such as social comparison theory (SCT). However, how researchers operationalize such a theory as a design remains largely unclear. One way to clarify this methodological step is to clearly state which functional elements of a design are aimed at operationalizing a specific behavior change theory construct to evaluate if such aims were successful. In this article, we investigate how the operationalization of functional elements of theories and designs can be more easily conveyed. First, we present a scoping review of the literature to determine the state of operationalizations of SCT as behavior change designs. Second, we introduce a new tool to facilitate the operationalization process. We term the tool blueprints. A blueprint explicates essential functional elements of a behavior change theory by describing it in relation to necessary and sufficient building blocks incorporated in a design. We describe the process of developing a blueprint for SCT. Last, we illustrate how the blueprint can be used during the design refinement and reflection process.
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There is a need for modernizing the Dutch collective management system of music copyright to match the rapidly changing digital music industry. Focusing on the often-neglected human values aspect, this study, part of a larger PhD research, examines the value preferences of music rights holders: creators and publishers. It aims to advise on technological redesign for music copyright management system and contribute to discussions on equitable collective management. Building upon prior research, which comprehensively analyzed the Dutch music copyright system and identified key stakeholders, this paper analyses 24 interviews with those key stakeholders to identify their values and potential value tensions. Initial findings establish a set of shared values, crucial for the next phases of the study –values operationalization. This research makes a academic contribution by integrating the Value Sensitive Design (VSD) approach with Distributive Justice Theory, enriching VSD's application and enhancing our understanding of the Economics of Collective Management (ECM).
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Abstract The emergence of new technologies such as mp3 and music streaming, and the accompanying digital transformation of the music industry, have led to the shift and change of the entire music industry’s value chain. While music is increasingly being consumed through digital channels, the number of empirical studies, particularly in the field of music copyright in the digital music industry, is limited. Every year, rightsholders of musical works, valued 2.5 billion dollars, remain unknown. The objectives of this study are twofold: First to understand and describe the structure and process of the Dutch music copyright system including the most relevant actors within the system and their relations. Second to apply evolutionary economics approach and Values Sensitive Design method within the context of music copyright through positive-empirical perspective. For studies of technological change in existing markets, the evolutionary economics literature provides a coherent and evidence-based foundation. The actors are generally perceived as being different, for example with regard to their access to information, their ability to handle information, their capital and knowledge base (asymmetric information). Also their norms, values and roles can differ. Based on an analysis of documents and held expert interviews, we find that the collection and distribution of the music copyright money is still based on obsolete laws, neoclassical paradigm and legacy IT-system. Finally, we conclude that the rightsholders are heterogenous and have asymmetrical information and negotiating power. The outcomes of this study contribute to create a better understanding of impact of digitization of music copyright industry and empower the stakeholders to proceed from a more informed perspective on redesigning and applying the future music copyright system and pre-digital norms and values amongst actors.
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In the aftermath of the systemic financial crises of 2007-9, several scholars argued that the problem of systemic financial crises is not well understood. At the same time, the introduction of digital technologies led to new threats and opportunities for the design of the monetary and financial system. For example, thousands of private cryptocurrencies have been implemented and hundreds of research papers on the (possible) introduction of public digital currencies have been published. It is often not explained why these new forms of digital money are needed and which (systemic) problems they (can) solve. In addition, the literature does not provide requirements nor guidelines to shape the development of the monetary and financial system in the digital age. This thesis applies design science to the monetary and financial system as a whole. The application of this novel methodology offers new possibilities to examine this complex system. The contribution of this thesis is threefold. First, different theories on money, banking and systemic financial crises have been researched through an extensive literature review and balance sheets. Second, those theories have been used to develop design requirements and guidelines. Finally, the consensus and pivotal dissensions about the systemic problem(s) of the current monetary and financial system, requirements and guidelines among experts have been identified through semistructured interviews. This research process results in widely supported requirements that demarcate the design space and widely supported guidelines that aim to give direction within the design space, that is, to the future development of the monetary and financial system.
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This study offers a new perspective on clothing consumption by uncovering the systemic nature of the wardrobe. The research builds on systems theory and aims at drawing a map of the wardrobe as a system with particular structure and behaviour. By co-designing fictional 'smart wardrobe' services with experts and discussing these services with wardrobe users, we identify characteristics of wardrobe structure and behaviour that give input for a preliminary wardrobe map. Lastly, the wardrobe map provides a basis for discussing sustainable design approaches aimed at reducing clothing demand, in the context of growing clothing production volume and its associated environmental impacts.
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Lean Production (LP) can be regarded as a design approach in search of a theoretical foundation. In this paper we show that Lowlands’ Sociotechnical Design Theory (STSL) could function as such a foundation. To reach this goal, we first describe STSL as a system theoretical reformulation of Original Sociotechnical Theory (OSTS). Then, we introduce the Toyota Production System as the origin of LP and the challenge it poses for the academic field of organization design. This academic field should (1) assess LP’s success, (2) generalize it by embedding it in more abstract concepts and theories in order to be able to (3) re-specify it for different manufacturing and non-manufacturing contexts. Next, we give an exposition of STSL as a structural design approach based on developments in system theory. At last, we reformulate lean production in STSL terms and so show that LP is a subcase within the more general theory of STSL. We discuss the merits of both approaches and clarify some misunderstandings of lean both outside and inside the lean community. Embedding LP in the more general language of STSL should enable us to discover similarities and differences, to start a process of mutual learning, to integrate diverse design approaches in a theory of organizational design and to add content to redesign proposals of for example the health care system as proposed by Porter and Teisberg (2006) and Christensen et al. (2009). We quote extensively from the lean literature (to convince our sociotechnical friends) and embed both STSL and LP in the broader literature on organization design. We hope this adds a new perspective to the one given in the Operations Management literature on LP. Again, mutual learning is the goal.
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