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DESIGN RESEARCH NEWS Volume 8 Number 4, Apr 2003 ISSN 1473-3862
DRS Digital Newsletter http://www.designresearchsociety.org
________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS
o Editorial
o Design Studies contents, May 2003
o DRS Quarterly Council Report
o Calls
o Announcements
o Books
o Web
o The Design Research Society: information
o Electronic Services of the DRS
o Contributing to Design Research News
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
EDITOR'S SPACE
The Design Research Society has a new URL:
http://www.designresearchsociety.org
Please bookmark this URL.
This address links to a temporary site while the Society's new
website is designed and built. The new website will be
completely revised with new up to date content and, for the
first time, sections for DRS members only. This is an exciting
new venture for the Society, and we hope to make an announcement
soon about when it will go live.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
DESIGN STUDIES CONTENTS
May 2003
Editorial: Designing in context
P. Lloyd
pp 195-197
Mindless repetition: Learning from computer games
R. Coyne
pp 199-212
Transcending memory: remembrance and the design of place
F. Downing
pp 213-235
What was Philippe Starck thinking of?
P. Lloyd, D. Snelders
pp 237-253
Imagining the building: architectural design as semiotic construction
P. Medway, B. Clark
pp 255-273
Educating effective engineering designers: the role of reflective
practice
R.S. Adams, J. Turns, C.J. Atman
pp 275-294
Designing and learning: a disjunction in contexts
L.L. Bucciarelli
pp 295-311
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THE DRS QCR - QUARTERLY COUNCIL REPORT
This is sent via E-Mail to full members of the Design Research
Society. It includes a selection of edited reports from
international Council members and Council Officers received from
time to time. For download of a FREE SAMPLE ISSUE of the DRS QCR
please go to the DRS web site at
http://www.designresearchsociety.org
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
CALLS
* 6-7 November 2003: CONVERGENT PRACTICES New approaches
to Art and visual culture
CHArt NINETEENTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE Birkbeck College, 43
Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PD
The focus of the CHArt 2003 Annual Conference will be on the
effects of emerging technologies and hybrid media on art and
visual culture. We are particularly interested in areas
where these developments have fostered and encouraged new
practice. Examples might include cases where new media have
helped to redefine museum or gallery identity; where artists
have developed new forms of practice or where educators have
engaged with the challenges of these media.
[log in to unmask]
* 25-26 September 2003: NOTE NEW DATE for the 1st
International Meeting of Science and Technology of Design,
Senses and Sensibility In Technology, Lisbon, Portugal.
The organizing committee of the International Meeting is
calling for papers with an abstract deadline of 21 April
2003.
http://www.iade.pt/sst/
* DESIGN PHILOSOPHY PAPERS
"Design is possibly the most powerful, but least understood
force in the world today."
Design Philosophy Papers is a new project with an online
journal that we proudly launch.
Design Philosophy Papers seeks deeper, more fundamental
understandings of design. It will explore the idea of 'the
world as designed' ranging widely across the aesthetic and
the technical, architecture and products, images and
information, and more.
Design Philosophy Papers will present relevant and
adventurous thinking by prominent people from design
disciplines and beyond. Issues 1 and 2 have contributions
by Ezio Manzini, Tony Fry, Karsten Harries, Augustine Berque
and William McNeill.
http://www.desphilosophy.com
* 8-11 September 2003: Information Design International
Conference Recife, Brazil.
The deadline for paper submission to the Information Design
International Conference has been extended to 15th April
2003. Authors should submit their papers proposals
electronically to the e-mail address [log in to unmask]
For further information about the conference and paper
submission, please see
http://www.ufpe.br/sbdi/conference.htm
* 3rd mAAN international conference will beheld in
Surabaya, Indonesia. The astract dealine is 7 April 2003.
http://www.m-aan.org or http://www.petra.ac.id/maan/
* 8-11 September 2003: Information Design International
Conference, Recife, Brazil.
The deadline for paper submission to the Information Design
International Conference has been extended to April 15th
2003. Authors should submit their papers proposals
electronically to the e-mail address [log in to unmask]
http://www.ufpe.br/sbdi/conference.htm
* 21-22 November 2003: The State of the Real - An
Interdisciplinary Conference Glasgow School of Art, UK
"How real can you get?" The conference organisers propose a
debate on the subject of 'the real' in aesthetic philosophy,
criticism and practice.
"When is representation not real?" Recent years have seen
notions of reality discussed in the open. What relationship
do current views developed by this discourse have with those
tenets of realism and representation that once provided the
foundation for aesthetic study? What are the philosophical
consequences of the introduction of technologies that
increasingly blur the boundaries between art and popular
culture? What is the effect of aesthetic culture on
Realpolitik? What has happened to the notions of social
realism, verisimilitude, and the imaginary? Are they still
relevant, and how have they been changed, if at all?
"Reclaiming the real." The organizers are also interested in
how notions of reality are affected by, and continue to
affect, aesthetic practice in the fields of art, design, and
media production. With the popularity of haptic
technologies, what has happened to 'real' haptics? How do
practitioners and academics view older technologies in the
light of their electronic avatars? With the development of
notions of virtual space, what has happened to our
understanding of the body, the mind, and corporeal space?
The organisers particularly welcome proposals on, or dealing
with, the following related subjects: Reality and realism in
Art & Design History; New media technologies Virtual
Reality, CGI photography and cinema, the Internet, haptic
technologies; Modernity and Post-modernity/Modernism and
Post-modernism; Philosophies on 'the real' in popular
culture; Philosophy and art/design and cultural practice;
Reality television, realism in film.
Deadline for abstracts: 22 April 2003
Abstracts may be sent by email to [log in to unmask]
* Journal of Visual Art Practice
I am in search of contributors to my first and future issues
of the Journal of Visual Art Practice. I would appreciate
articles on topics of interest to tutors and students on
practices and issues within the fine art/visual art studios.
The intention is to create a journal that would have a truly
international appeal. Consequently I am also creating a
website that would house contributions on 'political'
and educational issues specific to the UK. The website
would also be used as a supplement to the journal to allow
publication of colour images, animations, video clips etc.
My first deadline is June 1st but I would welcome anything
after that for future issue. For more information on matters
to do with presentation see
http://nafae.lboro.ac.uk/publications.html.
email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.richardwoodfield.org.uk
* August 2003: AMCIS'2003 MINITRACK CALL FOR PAPERS
Ontology-Driven Information Systems
Ontology - or the nature of being, once an esoteric term in
the field of philosophy, has been a subject matter of
inquiry in the field of artificial intelligence for quite
some time, and now generally refers to specification of some
knowledge about entities and their relationships in a
particular knowledge domain. Of late, however, there is a
growing recognition that ontological principles and concepts
need not be restricted to the traditional domains of
knowledge inquiry, but they can be fruitfully applied to and
developed further in the broader field of information
systems (IS). This has led to the notion of 'ontology driven
information systems,' a concept that, although in a
preliminary stage of development, opens up new ways of
thinking about ontologies and IS in conjunction with each
other, and covers both the structural and the temporal
dimensions of IS. In the structural aspect, ontologies can
provide a mechanism for structuring and storing generic IS
content including database schemas, user interfaces objects,
and application programs that can be customized and
integrated into a functioning IS. In the temporal dimension,
ontologies can guide the development of new information
systems by helping analysts and designers choose appropriate
processes, algorithms, rules, and software components
depending upon their needs. It has also been suggested
recently that ontologies, frameworks, and systems are
essentially knowledge artifacts at different levels of
knowledge abstraction and, therefore, systems can be
generated from ontologies through specialization and
combination. Ontologies and ontology-driven information
systems are being developed and applied in a variety of
emerging business and IT application areas, such as
enterprise modeling, diagnostics, decision-support, adaptive
learning, infrastructure modeling, planning and adaptation,
and process and systems modeling. It also appears that the
emerging web services paradigm, spearheaded by leading
companies like IBM, will enable the large-scale development,
deployment, and sharing of ontologies and ontology-driven
information systems.
http://www.amcis2003.org
* 17-19 November 2003: Expertise in Design: Design
Thinking Research Symposium VI. Sydney, Australia.
Focus of this workshop meeting will be on the nature and the
nurture of expert performance in design. The topic is
important for several reasons. Firstly, there is an
educational relevance, since the aim of design education is
to develop the knowledge and skills of expert design
behaviour. Secondly, there is a relevance to the development
of tools and techniques to support expert behaviour,
including computational support technologies, AI and
knowledge-based systems. Thirdly, there is a socio-economic
relevance in terms of managing, exploiting and developing
expert behaviour, given the importance of design as an
added-value economic factor and as a key factor in quality
of life. Despite this importance, the topic of expertise has
received only limited attention so far in the design
cognition community. Hence the timeliness of this sixth
symposium in the series in 'Research in Design Thinking'.
Previous meetings have been in Delft, Boston MA, and
Istanbul - see special issues of the journal Design Studies:
1995, Volume 16, Number 2: Analysing Design Activity
1997, Volume 18, Number 4: Descriptive Models of Design
2000, Volume 21, Number 5: Design Representation
2003, Volume 24, Number 3: Designing in Context
Topics for papers relevant to the Expertise in Design
workshop theme include:
Strategic knowledge
Tacit knowledge
Cognitive style
Situated cognition
Reflective practice
Expert vs. novice behaviour
Knowledge-based systems
Knowledge support systems
Computational representations of expertise and knowledge
working
Submission of full papers is due by 30th April
http://www.designthinkingresearch.com
* 8-12 September 2003: ichim03: Cultural Institutions
and Digital Technology Join us at l'ecole du Louvre, Paris,
France.
Call for Papers: Deadline April 11, 2003
Overview: Since 1991 the best in interactive multimedia
have met biennially to examine the relationships between
technology and cultural heritage. If you are making
multimedia to interpret primary resources, using the
technology to expand your audience, reconstructing history
virtually, publishing digital culture or researching
cultural heritage informatics, ichim03 is the venue for you.
ichim03 Cultural Institutions and Digital Technology will
address the fundamental issues in the creation and
dissemination of virtual scientific and cultural heritage,
education and research, and digital artistic creations. Two
pre-conference days will offer exclusive seminars and
workshops for advanced training. They will be followed by
three days of papers, panels, presentations, debates and
demonstrations. Curators, computer scientists,
administrators, publishers, educators, entrepreneurs and
artists from around the world will come to share their
experiences, learn new methods and forge new partnerships.
http://www.archimuse.com/ichim03
Une version francaise de ce document est disponible
(http://www.archimuse.com/ichim03/pdfs/Ichim03_CFP_FR.pdf)
* CALL FOR AWARD APPLICATIONS. Norman K. Denzin
Qualitative Research Award
The Carl Couch Center issues an annual call for papers to be
considered for Norman K. Denzin Qualitative Research Award.
The Couch Center welcomes papers that (1) interpret or
address Denzin's theoretical or interpretive approaches, (2)
demonstrate creative narrative
ethnographies/autoethnographies as advocated by Denzin, (3)
apply Denzinian concepts to a communication event, be it
social or mediated, etc., (4) synthesize Denzinian ideas
with other lines of scholarship, or (5) develop aspects of
Dezinian scholarship in new directions, to be considered for
Denzin Award.
Papers will be evaluated based on the quality of (1) mastery
of Denzinian approaches and concepts, (2) originality, (3)
organization, (4) presentation, and (5) advancement of
knowledge.
Poetic, narrative, critical, cultural, autoethnographic, and
performative texts are welcomed. Both single and co-authored
works are accepted. Works that are published or accepted
for publication are not eligible for award consideration.
The top paper will receive the Denzin Award plaque to be
presented in 2003 Annual Convention of the National
Communication Association (NCA).
Those interested should send a copy of their paper with a
100-word abstract, electronically to Shing-Ling Chen at
[log in to unmask] Paper length is limited to 30 pages plus
references. Application deadline is May 1, 2003.
Notification of award application will be sent out by August
1, 2003.
Sponsored by Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet
Research
http://www.cccsir.org/
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENTS
* 8-9 May 2003: The 4th International Conference of the
Design Education Association in association with the
University of Brighton and ADC-LTSN
STUDYING FORM - REFINING THE SCHOLARLY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR
LEARNING, TEACHING + RESEARCH IN DESIGN
Brighton Racecourse, UK
Scholarship is central to all aspects of education and
professional practice, within and outwith the academic
environment. Although common to all forms of knowledge
acquisition, transfer and production, within the field of
design, its' history is relatively short and scholarly
infrastructure limited in maturity and definition. This
two-day conference will therefore explore how a successful
scholarly infrastructure might be developed within the
context of design education. A wide range of views and ideas
will be presented and debated through expert keynote
speakers, complemented by a series of workshops and
presentations, exploring different aspects of the existing
infrastructure and how the inter-relationship of these may
be improved and refined. Speakers will include:
Sir Michael Checkland - Chairman of the HEFCE 1997-2001 +
currently Chair of the Board of Governors, University of
Brighton
David Powell - Creative Industries Consultant
Linda Drew - ADC-LTSN
David Clews - Principal Lecturer, University of Brighton
Roger Wilson - Head of College, Chelsea College of Art and
Design + Chair of CHEAD
Dr Rachael Cooper - Research Institute for Design
Manufacture and Marketing, University of Salford
http://www.deed.ac.uk
* 12-13 September 2003: 2nd Global Conference Virtual
Learning and Higher Education, Mansfield College, Oxford,
United Kingdom
Higher Education institutions have been criticized for
living in the past; some have even proclaimed that the
University has lost its relevance. In the midst of these
analyses and criticisms, the advent of Information and
Communication Technologies in today's universities/colleges
is seen as a promising development. What future has Higher
Education when the virtual world of on-line education has so
much more to offer? The aim of this conference will be to
examine Virtuality within Higher Education in an attempt to
critique both its essential characteristics and its future
possibilities to influence the education of adult learners.
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/vlhe03cfp.htm
* 7-9 October 2003: Downsizing Technology for Rural
Development
An International Seminar on Downsizing Technology for Rural
Development is being organised at Regional Research
Laboratory, (CSIR) Bhubaneswar, India.
The seminar proposes to bring out various downsized
appropriate technologies available all over the world today,
which can be propagated and adopted for improving quality of
life and promoting sustainable development in rural areas of
developing countries. We shall bring out proceedings for the
papers, and CD covering technology profiles of successful
appropriate technologies developed by various organizations,
which will be distributed among the participants. An
exhibition "RURALTECH" on different appropriate technologies
for rural development will be organised during the seminar
http://www.rrlbhu.res.in/isdtrd
* 22-24 September 2003: CONNECTING People, Culture and
the Future of Road Transport
A 3 day conference organised by Coventry University and
Coventry Transport Museum
http://www.coventry.ac.uk/connecting
* 21 may 2003: PRODUCT LIFE AND THE THROWAWAY SOCIETY.
We live in what is often described as a 'throwaway society'.
Many types of product do not last as long as their
predecessors. Some are disposable whereas previously they
were intended for repeated use (pens, nappies etc). Items
previously considered investments for life are typically
replaced rather than repaired (sofas, appliances). Some
products have a fashion element that quickly dates them
(watches, clothes). Others become technologically obsolete
(phones, computers). High quality, long lasting products
increasingly appear unaffordable. As product acquisition and
replacement accelerates, there are important implications
for sustainability and the quality of life.
[log in to unmask]
* PROPOSED PRODUCT LIFE NETWORK. Expressions of interest
are invited for a new multidisciplinary network that will
develop, undertake and promote research into the life span
of consumer durables. Participants from industry, academia,
government and NGOs are welcome.
Funding is being sought and it is anticipated that the
network will meet up to three times each year. A web site
and Email discussion list will be developed. Essential
travel and subsistence costs will be refunded to members of
the network.
If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Dr
Tim Cooper, Centre for Sustainable Consumption, Sheffield
Hallam University, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB (Tel:
0114 225 4838, Email: [log in to unmask])
* PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE ANECDOTES. Tim Cooper is
currently seeking anecdotal evidence of planned
obsolescence, particularly from designers and others
responsible for product specification. Information will be
handled on a strictly confidential basis. If you can provide
any such anecdotes, please contact him.
[log in to unmask]
* Proceedings from CADE'01
The Conference proceedings from CADE'01 Held at Glasgow
School of Art they are available on line: Digital Creativity
CROSSING THE BORDER
http://www.gsa.ac.uk/cade2001/contents.html
* See what's new (for image collections) at the Visual
Arts Data Service
Have you ever wanted to create and save image-sets on-line
or search for images based on their colour? The Visual Arts
Data Service (VADS): The AHDS Centre for Visual Arts has
just launched two exciting new features that will allow
users to do just that and more. VADS new Lightbox and
Visual Search features provide users the opportunity to
store, send and search, for images from a selection of VADS'
collections in a completely new and personalised way.
The Lightbox allows users to personally manage images they
find within VADS (similar to a 'shopping basket' type
feature). Users have the options to store images in sets,
save & compare individual images and e-mail image- sets
which can then be adopted by other users when they visit
VADS
The Visual Search function uses a technique known as Content
Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) that allows users to search the
collections on the basis of features extracted from the
images themselves (such as colour, shape and contrast),
rather than using text based methods. Visual searching is
particularly useful where text descriptions are ambiguous or
limited such as with patterns, colours or abstract designs.
Visual searching is a relatively new concept and VADS is
pleased to offer it on a trial basis, in association with
The Institute for Image Data Research (IIDR), University of
Northumbria.
VADS now provides over 16,500 cross-searchable visual arts
images for use in research, learning and teaching
http://vads.ahds.ac.uk.
* Apologies for multiple postings
Now available proceedings from the conference - Enhancing
Curricula: exploring effective curriculum practices in art,
design and communication in Higher Education: April 2002
Colleagues who teach in the context of art and design may
welcome this publication because it addresses some of the
pedagogical issues specific to our disciplines that they may
have previously found it difficult to find. The 1st
International conference run by The Centre for Learning and
Teaching in Art & Design (cltad) brought together 80
teachers of art and design, from 12 different countries, who
had a responsibility for and/or who were interested in the
education of post-compulsory art and design students to
share their views on what issues a future curriculum should
address and how it might be shaped. This book brings
together many of the papers, work in practice and workshops
that were presented at the conference.
http://www.cltad.ac.uk or email [log in to unmask]
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
BOOKS
* Hickman, Larry A. 2001. Philosophical Tools for
Technological Culture. Putting Pragmatism to Work.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Human beings today live in a world defined by technology as
much as it is defined by nature. Technology is the realm of
techne and the human-made, built environment. Dozens of
books from Herbert Simon's Sciences of the Artificial to
Victor Margolin's Politics of the Artificial have examined
the meaning, history, politics, processes, and development
of technology and technological cultures - and of design. In
contrast, relatively few books have considered the
philosophical issues involved in the artificial.
More philosophers have written on technology than have
written on design. Much work remains to be done on both.
This book examines a range of philosophers, philosophical
and cultural issues. It opens by considering Pragmatism, a
reasonable starting point for a philosophy professor who is
also director of the Center for Dewey Studies at Southern
Illinois University. Hickman goes on to address concepts
located in the work of such current philosophers as Albert
Borgmann and Richard Rorty, along with such central
twentieth century thinkers as Martin Heidegger, Walter
Benjamin, and Jurgen Habermas.
This book offers an excellent bridge between several current
themes in design research.
The first theme has been taking root over the past few
decades. A growing interest in pragmatism is visible in a
renewed and deepening respect for John Dewey's work, and in
a resurgence of serious work on Charles Saunders Peirce.
Pragmatism offers an important new stream of philosophical
inquiry that explores alternatives to modernism and
post-modernism both (see, for example, Neville 1992).
The second theme is a new interest in philosophy of design.
This is seen in research monographs, conference papers, and
conference tracks, and in special journal issues.
The third theme is just beginning to emerge. This is a deep
inquiry into the ontology and philosophy of design by
designers and scholars willing to do the hard work of
careful reading and writing. This is visible in such new
projects as the Center for Philosophy, Art, and Design
(Cephad) in the United Kingdom or Design Philosophy Papers
in Australia. It finds an important symbol in the recent
election of a philosopher - Richard Buchanan - as president
of the Design Research Society.
While philosophical inquiry into the professions and
practical arts is as old as Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics,
serious philosophical inquiry on design remains relatively
new, a quiet revolution in a field that has always favored
the tacit knowledge of practice to the explicit knowledge
articulated in research. Hickman (2001: 157) quotes
Wartofsky on the nature of revolutions: "Talk about
revolutions is easy, but revolutions are hard." A new way of
thinking involves hard work: this book offers a clear,
concise introduction to important and sometimes difficult
issues.
-- Reviewed by Ken Friedman
References
Hickman, Larry A. 2001. Philosophical Tools for
Technological Culture. Putting Pragmatism to Work.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Neville, Robert Cummings. 1992. The Highroad Around
Modernism. Albany, New York: State University of New York
Press.
* Bennett, Clinton, Lorraine Foreman-Peck, & Chris
Higgins. 1996. Researching into teaching methods in
colleges and universities. Kogan Page. 0-7494-1768-4
Although the range of research undertaken by universities
and colleges covers a very wide spectrum, each of the books
in this series is narrowly focused on a particular form of
research, that of small scale 'insider research'. This is
defined as research into teaching and learning which is
undertaken by tutors with the specific aim of improving
their teaching practice. The series is intended to be quick
and easy to read, to provide starting points for research
into teaching practice, and to give pointers to ways in
which outcomes may be recorded and published. It aims to
deal with contemporary issues affecting teachers in colleges
and universities, and to include a range of research methods
with suggestions for how these might be used or adapted in
particular circumstances. Each book in the series shares a
version of the opening and concluding paragraphs. The
opening paragraph introduces a concept of insider research
based on the notion of the reflective practitioner of
education: this model takes the view that teachers should
play an active role in constructing and reconstructing
knowledge with a view to improving teaching. 'Research' is
related mainly to the rating system defined by the Higher
Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
The text is careful not to offer a blueprint for research
activity. This would be unlikely to be of practical value,
given the very wide range of contexts and activities in
which readers would be engaged. It seeks instead to provide
pointers to how to begin reflective research activity, the
limitations of small scale research, and stresses the need
for objectivity. The kinds of groups which might be suited
to study, and their particular perspectives, are listed, as
are the differences between the traditions of qualitative
and quantitative research methodologies in education (there
is also a useful appendix which introduces the use of IT in
qualitative analysis). There is a synopsis of methods for
data collection and analysis.
Chapters two and three deal mainly with the changing role of
the lecturer, and highlight some contemporary directions for
research into teaching. This again deals mainly with the
situation in the UK, and highlights policy initiatives such
as National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs), the influence
of teaching quality assessments, and problems of
semesterisation. The move towards a mass education system
is related to problems in teaching large groups. Aspects of
research into student learning includes strategies for
learning and students' perceptions of learning and of
assessment. The extent to which students are able to take
charge of their own learning is contrasted with views about
the extent of teacher guidance. Open, resource-based, and
distance learning are detailed, and the relative
advantages/disadvantages are discussed.
Chapter 4 deals with approaches and issues arising from
vocationalisation of the curriculum, again specifically
related to the UK. However, the rich literature on
students' learning styles and its relationship to styles of
teaching and to personality is not indicated, and the
referencing might be enhanced by the addition of several key
texts in this area. The use of computer technology for the
delivery of educational materials is discussed, though IT is
associated only with models of interaction classified as
'surface' or 'deep', and little is said about the evaluation
of learning outcomes. The culture of educational
organisations, as a focus for research, is a useful
contribution in chapter 5. An explanation of the various
cultures, borrowed from Charles Handy's perspective on
institutional cultures, is informative. Linked with this is
discussion of institutional change and the management of
change.
The concluding chapter is a synopsis of the processes
leading to getting research published. This deals with the
process from both the author's and publisher's points of
view, and offers good advice on the negotiation of
contracts. Finally there is an annotated list of
publishers. For those new to publishing, this chapter
provides an excellent overview.
The book is well referenced, and reading lists are
helpfully annotated with comments on the scope and
suitability of the texts chosen. Each chapter also suggests
a number of focused research tasks: these are displayed as
separate tables. This is a small book of only six chapters,
and comprises a total of 136 pages. However, as an
introduction to help tutors to begin researching into
aspects of their own work, it is clearly written and
informative at an appropriate level. It provides sound
advice, and good pointers to the kinds of research which
might be undertaken by tutors, though it does focus on the
research assessment culture which is current in the UK. It
will perhaps be of particular value to those who are expert
in the practice of their subject but not necessarily in its
pedagogy, and who are approaching formal, publishable
research for the first time.
-- Reviewed by David Durling
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
WEB
* An invitation to participate in DesignSpace. Graduate
students in the Department of Art and Design at the
University of Alberta are hosting a discussion forum that is
intended to enrich the conference experience. They have
called it DesignSpace. It is a space where you can explore
ideas, consider how to act on a diverse range of topics, and
share your experiences as they relate to creating
communicational spaces.
DesignSpace is an online forum that was created as part of a
graduate student course, to discuss the issues and themes
that will emerge during the Creating Communicational Spaces
conference that will be held at the University of Alberta
from May 1 to 4, 2003. Visit DesignSpace at the following
address:
http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/~despace/
The goal of DesignSpace is to create a 'living' document
that will start now and take on a life of its own. It will
allow participants to continue to explore, share and act
long after the conference has finished.
The thoughts and opinions that you contribute to the forums
will be translated from a virtual world into a physical
reality as part of an exhibition during the conference.
Click on the web address provided above to join in the
discussions that have already begun, or start a discussion
of your own. To find out more about the Creating
Communicational Spaces conference, click on the following
address:
http://www.ualberta.ca/COMSPACE/
* The Sappi Idea Exchange is a unique place to find an
extensive global database of creative ideas, print and
design industry information, contacts and opportunities. The
Idea Exchange> website features topics such as: Products
and Samples (you can order promotional material and paper
samples on line!), a Library of Ideas, a Knowledge Bank (you
can obtain technical information, practical advice and
innovative solutions that will help you succeed at your
daily challenges), a Resource Finder, a Ga> llery of Ideas
(you can showcase your creative designs and find out about
all the latest trends in the design industry), a Calendar of
Events, Useful Tools, Useful Links, information on the Sappi
Printer of the Year Award and the Ideas That Matter
programme.
http://www.ideaexchange.sappi.com
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DESIGN RESEARCH SOCIETY
The Design Research Society is the multi-disciplinary
international learned society for the design research community.
DRS was founded in 1967, and since then has established a
record of significant achievements in contributing to design
knowledge.
DRS has facilitated an international design research network in
40 countries comprising members who maintain contact through the
publications and activities of the Society. Members are drawn
from diverse backgrounds, not only from the traditional areas of
design, ranging from fine art to engineering, but also from
subjects like psychology and computer science.
Our interests include:
o recognising design as a creative act common to many
disciplines
o understanding research and its relationship with education
and practice
o advancing the theory and practice of design
We realise these by:
o encouraging the development of scholarship and knowledge in
design
o contributing to the development of doctoral education and
research training
o sharing knowledge across the boundaries of design disciplines
o facilitating networks to exchange and communicate ideas,
experience and research findings among members
o disseminating research findings
o promoting awareness of design research
o organising and sponsoring conferences, and publishing
proceedings
o encouraging communications between members internationally
o responding to consultative documents
o collaborating with other bodies
o lobbying on behalf of members' research interests
o recognising excellence in design research through awards
o sponsoring email discussion groups and a monthly emailed
newsletter
Membership of DRS provides:
o regular communications about research activities worldwide
o reduced subscription to Design Studies, the international
journal for design research in engineering, architecture,
products and systems. Design Studies is published by
Elsevier in cooperation with DRS
o reduced fees to DRS sponsored events
o representation of the design research community and members'
interests
o a means of identifying and contacting other members
o an opportunity to contribute to the international design
research community
For further details and an application form, contact the
membership secretary:
Professor Robert Jerrard, School of Design Research, Birmingham
Institute of Art and Design, University of Central England,
Corporation Street, Birmingham, UK B4 7DX
email: [log in to unmask]
or the interactive form at http://www.drs.org.uk
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SERVICES OF THE DESIGN RESEARCH SOCIETY
o Design Research News is the digital newsletter of the
Design Research Society. It communicates news about
research throughout the world. It is mailed automatically
at the beginning of each month and is free. You may
subscribe and unsubscribe at the following site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/design-research.html
o PHD-DESIGN is a discussion list open for unmoderated
discussion on all matters related to the PhD in design.
Topics include philosophies and theories of design, research
methods, curriculum development, and relations between
theory and practice. You may subscribe and unsubscribe at
the following site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/phd-design.html
o DRS is a discussion list open for unmoderated discussion
on all matters related to design research. You may
subscribe and unsubscribe at the following site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/drs.html
o Design Studies is the International Journal for Design
Research in Engineering, Architecture, Products and Systems,
which is published in co-operation with the Design Research
Society.
DRS members can subscribe to the journal at special rates.
http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/inca/30409/
o The DRS QCR - quarterly council report is sent via
E-Mail to full members of the Design Research Society. It
includes a selection of edited reports from international
Council members and Council Officers received from time to
time.
o Full information about the Design Research Society may
be found at:
http://www.designresearchsociety.org
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CONTRIBUTIONS
Information to the editor Dr David Durling, Director, Advanced
Research Institute, Staffordshire University, UK.
<[log in to unmask]>
Book information and suggestions for reviews should be
sent to the book review editor Dr Ken Friedman, Norwegian
School of Management, Oslo, and Advanced Research Institute,
Staffordshire University, UK. <[log in to unmask]>
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