Hello,
I, too, have been enjoying reading about other people’s research, so I am
sharing mine. Thanks, Ken, for the incitement. I would also like to say
that, while doing my PhD, I got valuable help from people on this list.
I came to design research due to a strong interest in disability and
inclusive design, which I began exploring early as an undergraduate in
industrial design, in Porto, Portugal, where I still live. After a brief
period working as an industrial designer, I started a fully funded PhD and
never left research. In this PhD I studied assistive products for stroke
survivors, which took me to stroke survivors’ homes across the country,
allowed me to dig deeper into design and stigma, and also taught me about
the inventiveness of people with acquired impairments (I documented stroke
survivors’ spontaneous designs, appropriations and strategies to cope with
activities of daily life, and tried to pass these ideas around amongst
stroke survivors).
I wanted nothing to do with digital technology by the time I finished the
PhD, but nowadays I work at Fraunhofer AICOS, an applied research centre on
digital technology and have learned to appreciate (some of) it. In
parallel, I get occasional appointments lecturing at undergraduate and
graduate levels. At Fraunhofer AICOS, I lead the design group, which works
together with two other groups: one in artificial intelligence and one in
electronics and sensors. This is a very fortunate place to be in, because I
get to work on the research, but also on the design of solutions, even
though I spend a lot of time in managerial tasks. We mainly work on
personal technology for chronic diseases (e.g. Parkinson’s, Stroke, Heart
Failure) and have recently moved a bit into the manufacturing industry,
which is going through complex transformations impacting shop-floor
operators and their health. We specialise in designing with novice
technology users, as well as in longitudinal studies of personal technology
use.
Currently, in my professional research practice, I’m intrigued by:
i) what societal values people perceive from digital technology for health
(and why that is) and how this technology, in turn, impacts these values
(currently applying for funding for this);
ii) how to tackle stigma in head-worn monitoring devices for people with
neurological conditions (by supervising the work of an MSc student);
iii) how the relationship of novice users with personal technology evolves
through time (by running a longitudinal study).
iv) whether artificial intelligence will, in some ways, get us stuck in
time (I’m not actively researching this, just trying to discuss the
hypothesis with AI colleagues).
Personally, I’m still always seeking to learn more about, and document,
spontaneous design of assistive products.
Work doesn’t always fulfil the need to make stuff with my hands, so I also
play around with textiles, by weaving, sewing and pattern making. I have a
keen interest in language, so I’ve learned some over the years, and I think
it makes a difference when trying to solve problems, as noted by Papanek.
Links:
- PhD thesis <PhD%20thesis%20entitled%20>
- Stroke survivors’ spontaneous design
<https://inventivme.wordpress.com/>
- Portfolio <http://correiadebarros.wordpress.com/>
- Publications <https://correiadebarros.wordpress.com/publications/>
- Records of human behaviour
<https://www.flickr.com/photos/122476713@N02/>
I would be delighted to hear from colleagues doing research in and around
the topics I mentioned above.
Thanks,
Ana
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