Technological development and increased international competition have imposed a significant burden on the product development function of many companies. The growing complexity of products demands a larger product development team with people having various competencies. Simultaneously the importance of good quality, usability and customisation of products is growing, and many companies want to involve customers and users directly in the development work. Both the complexity and quality demand new ways of working that support collaboration between people with various competencies, interests (...) and responsibilities both inside and outside the company. This paper reports experiences from using action research to introduce new user-centred work practices in two commercial product development projects. The interventions varied. In the first project it was found rewarding to engage customers and users in workshops based on participatory inquiry and collaborative design. The design process was iterative and the workshops took place several times involving concept through detailed design. In the second project, new design representations are introduced. The experiences highlight the importance of creating and reifying insights in design representations and using these to both support collaboration, and create continuity in the project. The paper ends with a discussion of scientific rigor in action research and what the new work practices imply for the development team. (shrink)

The pervasive integration of human-centred robotic systems in healthcare encompasses applications like assistance, prosthetics, rehabilitation, and surgery. However, the introduction of smart mechatronic devices in biomedical contexts faces significant challenges, particularly in achieving human-centred design properties that effectively align with goals, needs, and skills of the users—clinicians, patients, and potentially anyone. Consequently, exploring the opportunities offered by healthcare robots requires the adoption of human factors perspectives, especially the ones of cognitive ergonomics and neuroergonomics. These disciplines are based on (...) the investigation of the interactions between humans and other elements of a system according to, respectively, mental and neural processes to design and assess (and re-design) the system itself. Overall, through cognitive ergonomics and neuroergonomics we can obtain intuitive and efficient interactions, improving user experience and system performance. This contribution will describe examples of human-centred robotic systems in biomedical scenarios in terms of the opportunities offered by cognitive ergonomics and neuroergonomics. In particular, this chapter will explore the potential of robotic-digital synergies for exploiting the versatility of computer-generated items (across virtual and augmented settings) to facilitate and enhance human-robot interactions in healthcare training applications according to principles of cognitive ergonomics and neuroergonomics. (shrink)

The requirement for anthropocentric, or human-centred decision support is outlined, and the IDIOMS management information tool, which implements several human-centred principles, is described. IDIOMS provides a flexible decision support environment in which applications can be modelled using both ‘objective’ database information, and user-centred ‘subjective’ and contextual information. The system has been tested on several real applications, demonstrating its power and flexibility.

PurposeThis paper aims to inform and improve the quality of electronic products and services by outlining an approach to ethically grounded design.Design/methodology/approachA number of design disciplines were investigated using desk research and also learning from experience in commercial design practice in the mobile phone, Internet and software industries.FindingsIt is suggested that design “scripts” specific behaviours with either good or bad results. Scripts have a behavioural element and they define the physical, social and individual impact of products and services. This suggests (...) that designers should be aware of the impact design decisions have throughout the product lifecycle. In order to achieve this, three ethical design principles (situated research, reflexivity and participation) are proposed to frame ethical design practice.Research limitations/implicationsIt is suggested that measuring impact alone is insufficient to minimise harm caused by electronic products and services. Instead, research should focus on positively informing design through actionable results in the participatory design tradition. Conversely, design needs to accommodate research into measuring the impact of products in order to deliver long‐term benefits to users rather than perpetuating passive consumption.Practical implicationsThe paper provides an overview of methods for value‐centred interaction design based on the analysis of alternative approaches to ethical design.Originality/valueThe research in the paper spans a number of related but heretofore separate disciplines pertinent to deepening design thinking. These disciplines are critiqued on the basis of their appropriateness and applicability to an ethical design approach and the concept of scripting, used in traditional design, is applied to interactivity. Lastly, three new principles are proposed for ethically grounded design. (shrink)

Connecting people across the digital divide is as much a social effort as a technological one. We are developing a community-centred approach to learn how interaction techniques can compensate for poor communication across the digital divide. We have incorporated the lessons learned regarding social intelligence design in an abstraction and in a device called the SoftBridge. The SoftBridge allows communication to flow from endpoints through adapters, getting converted if necessary, and out to destination endpoints. Field trials are underway with (...) two communities in South Africa: disadvantaged Deaf users and an isolated rural community. Initial lessons learned show that we have to design user interfaces that allow users to understand and cope with delay. We also learned that social concerns are often more important than the technical issues in designing such systems. (shrink)

Remote sensing, digital farm management tools, and machine learning are technological innovations that when combined have the potential to greatly enhance digital twin capability in rangeland grazing systems. User centred design is increasingly recognised as integral to technological development in agriculture and is essential during the early phases of development in emerging technologies, like digital twins, when those technologies are unfamiliar to key users. This article explores the effectiveness of user centred design in the development of (...) farmer-friendly digital twins for grazing planning, viewed through an affordance lens. A targeted literature review was conducted prior to, and in parallel with, 36 semi-structured interviews involving user centred design prototyping sessions with farmers and farm consultants. Findings highlight the importance of digital interfaces that are adapted to decision-making practices and thinking processes of farmers; supporting high utility without compromising functionality from irregular data entry; and the strong influence of management intensity on the perceived usefulness of digital twin supported grazing planning. This article provides the first account of how farmers operating in Australian rangeland grazing systems respond to the idea and specific interface elements of digital twin technology. By engaging with the design problems we identified, farmer centred design can help researchers and technology developers better understand what digital twins can afford their intended users. (shrink)

Voice-assistants are becoming increasingly popular and can be deployed to offers a low-cost tool that can support and potentially reduce falls, injuries, and accidents faced by older people within the age of 65 and older. But, irrespective of the mobility and walkability challenges faced by the aging population, studies that employed Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based voice-assistants to reduce risks faced by older people when they use public transportation and walk in built environment are scarce. This is because the development of AI-based (...) voice-assistants suitable for the mobility domain presents several techno–social challenges. Accordingly, this study aims to identify user-centered service design and functional requirements, techno–social factors, and further design an architectural model for an AI-based voice-assistants that provide personalized recommendation to reduce falls, injuries, and accidents faced by older people. Accordingly, a scoping review of the literature grounded on secondary data from 59 studies was conducted and descriptive analysis of the literature and content-related analysis of the literature was carried out. Findings from this study presents the perceived techno-socio factors that may influences older people use of AI-based voice-assistants. More importantly, this study presents user-centred service design and functional requirements needed to be considered in developing voice-assistants suitable for older people. Implications from this study provides AI techniques for implementing voice-assistants that provide safe mobility, walkability, and wayfinding for older people in urban areas. (shrink)

Voice-assistants are becoming increasingly popular and can be deployed to offers a low-cost tool that can support and potentially reduce falls, injuries, and accidents faced by older people within the age of 65 and older. But, irrespective of the mobility and walkability challenges faced by the aging population, studies that employed Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based voice-assistants to reduce risks faced by older people when they use public transportation and walk in built environment are scarce. This is because the development of AI-based (...) voice-assistants suitable for the mobility domain presents several techno–social challenges. Accordingly, this study aims to identify _user-centered_ service design and functional requirements, techno–social factors, and further design an architectural model for an AI-based voice-assistants that provide personalized recommendation to reduce falls, injuries, and accidents faced by older people. Accordingly, a scoping review of the literature grounded on secondary data from 59 studies was conducted and descriptive analysis of the literature and content-related analysis of the literature was carried out. Findings from this study presents the perceived techno-socio factors that may influences older people use of AI-based voice-assistants. More importantly, this study presents user-centred service design and functional requirements needed to be considered in developing voice-assistants suitable for older people. Implications from this study provides AI techniques for implementing voice-assistants that provide safe mobility, walkability, and wayfinding for older people in urban areas. (shrink)

The cornerstone of the human-centred tradition lies in two notions: socially useful production and human machine symbiosis. However, only the latter became in focus in the successive user-centred design approaches. The paper makes a critical ‘flash-back’ to various human centred design approaches since the 1970s. In addition, it explores the sustainability challenges facing the current situation and suggests that ‘human-centredness’ should be extended to ‘human-context centred’ approach in order to recognize the challenges of the sustainability. (...) Finally, the paper discuss the possibilities to develop and use narrative and modelling simulation methods including both qualitative and quantitative tools in a combined approach to meet the challenges of sustainable development within such a human-context centred approach. (shrink)

Effective treatment of personality disorder (PD) presents a clinical conundrum. Many of the behaviours constitutive of PD cause harm to self and others. Encouraging service users to take responsibility for this behaviour is central to treatment. Blame, in contrast, is detrimental. How is it possible to hold service users responsible for harm to self and others without blaming them? A solution to this problem is part conceptual, part practical. I offer a conceptual framework that clearly distinguishes between ideas of responsibility, (...) blameworthiness, and blame. Within this framework, I distinguish two sorts of blame, which I call ‘detached’ and ‘affective’. Affective, not detached, blame is detrimental to effective treatment. I suggest that the practical demand to avoid affective blame is largely achieved through attention to PD service users’ past history. Past history does not eliminate responsibility and blameworthiness. Instead, it directly evokes compassion and empathy, which compete with affective blame. (shrink)

Emergent digital technologies provide cultural heritage spaces with the opportunity to reassess their current user journey. An immersive user experience can be developed that is innovative, dynamic, and customised for each attendee. Museums have already begun to move towards interactive exhibitions utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IOT), and more recently, the use of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) has become more common in cultural heritage spaces to present items of historical significance. VR (...) concentrates on the provision of full immersion within a digitised environment utilising a headset, whilst AR focuses on the inclusion of digitised content within the existing physical environment that can be accessed through a medium such as a mobile phone application. Machine learning techniques such as a recommender system can support an immersive user journey by issuing personalised recommendations regarding a user’s preferred future content based on their previous activity. An ethical approach is necessary to take the precautions required to protect the welfare of human participants and eliminate any aspect of stereotyping or biased behaviour. This paper sets out a human-centred manifesto intended to provide guidance when inducing smart digital immersion in cultural heritage spaces. A review of existing digital cultural heritage projects was conducted to determine their adherence to the manifesto with the findings indicating that Education was a primary focus across all projects and that Personalisation, Respect and Empathy, and Support were also highly valued. Additionally, the findings indicated that there were areas with room for improvement such as Fairness to ensure that a well-balanced human-centred system is implemented. (shrink)

Changes in technological and economic aspects of society have impacted on how we understand professional and client relationships. These relationships are constructed in terms of patients/users requiring care, and customers whose complaints have become a yardstick of satisfaction. A consequence of these changes is an interest in the related concepts of emotional labour and emotion work. For nurses, caring for people in illness and in health is central to their work, and it is this aspect of emotion at work that (...) distinguishes nursing from other occupational groups. This paper is concerned with emotion work in a National Health Service Direct (NHS Direct) call centre in the United Kingdom. Drawing upon theoretical perspectives from organizational psychology and sociology it focuses upon the social processes that narrate emotion events in a specific context. It is based on a qualitative study exploring the experience and emotion work of nurses working in a call centre. Issues in caring without the face‐to‐face contact using communication technology were crucial to the way nurses perceived their work. These factors contributed to nurses’ orientation to work and to the way that conflict and dissonance with expectations of callers and managers impacted on nurses’ emotion work. (shrink)

Background The rise of a new generation of intelligent neuroprostheses, brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and adaptive closed-loop brain stimulation devices hastens the clinical deployment of neurotechnologies to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, it remains unclear how these nascent technologies may impact the subjective experience of their users. To inform this debate, it is crucial to have a solid understanding how more established current technologies already affect their users. In recent years, researchers have used qualitative research methods to explore the subjective (...) experience of individuals who become users of clinical neurotechnology. Yet, a synthesis of these more recent findings focusing on qualitative methods is still lacking. Methods To address this gap in the literature, we systematically searched five databases for original research articles that investigated subjective experiences of persons using or receiving neuroprosthetics, BCIs or neuromodulation with qualitative interviews and raised normative questions. Results 36 research articles were included and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Our findings synthesise the current scientific literature and reveal a pronounced focus on usability and other technical aspects of user experience. In parallel, they highlight a relative neglect of considerations regarding agency, self-perception, personal identity and subjective experience. Conclusions Our synthesis of the existing qualitative literature on clinical neurotechnology highlights the need to expand the current methodological focus as to investigate also non-technical aspects of user experience. Given the critical role considerations of agency, self-perception and personal identity play in assessing the ethical and legal significance of these technologies, our findings reveal a critical gap in the existing literature. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of the current qualitative research landscape on neurotechnology and the limitations thereof. These findings can inform researchers on how to study the subjective experience of neurotechnology users more holistically and build patient-centred neurotechnology. (shrink)

Even with obvious deficiencies, large prompt-commanded multimodal models are proving to be flexible cognitive tools representing an unprecedented generality. But the directness, diversity, and degree of user interaction create a distinctive “human-centred generality” (HCG), rather than a fully autonomous one. HCG implies that —for a specific user— a system is only as general as it is effective for the user’s relevant tasks and their prevalent ways of prompting. A human-centred evaluation of general-purpose AI systems therefore (...) needs to reflect the personal nature of interaction, tasks and cognition. We argue that the best way to understand these systems is as highly-coupled cognitive extenders, and to analyse the bidirectional cognitive adaptations between them and humans. In this paper, we give a formulation of HCG, as well as a high-level overview of the elements and trade-offs involved in the prompting process. We end the paper by outlining some essential research questions and suggestions for improving evaluation practices, which we envision as characteristic for the evaluation of general artificial intelligence in the future. (shrink)

An ideal in mental health care is user participation. This implies inclusion and facilitation by clinicians to enable users to participate in decisions about themselves and in the design of suitable treatment. However, much of the work of clinicians consists of handovers and other meetings where patients are not present. It is therefore interesting to study how the patient perspective is handled in such meetings and whether it forms a basis for user participation. We conducted fieldwork in three (...) different inpatient wards in Norwegian District Psychiatric Centres. We used an interactional perspective in our analysis, where speech acts, framing and footing were key concepts. The findings show that the talk in the handovers and meetings contained five main themes and that there was a clear correlation between what was said and how it was said, and whether clinicians related to the content in a decisive, person‐centred or indecisive manner. We discuss potential participation statuses for patients and their limited opportunity to influence the talk and possible decisions about themselves. Our conclusion is that handover meetings primarily function as an aid in organising clinicians' work and could ultimately be seen as counteracting user participation. (shrink)

BackgroundWhile most studies on HIV/AIDS often identify stigmatization and patients’ unwillingness to access health care as critical problems in the control of the pandemic, very few studies have focused on the possible consequences of accessing health care by sero-positives. This paper examines the socio-psychological trauma patients experience in their desire to access health care in two health facilities in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.MethodsThrough participant observation, informal conversation and in-depth interviews, data were collected from health workers and clients of the (...) voluntary counselling and antiretroviral therapy units in the two hospitals.The data gathered were analysed and categorized into themes and supported with illustrative quotes obtained from health workers and clients.ResultsThe study found that the mere presence of a person at the HIV counselling centre or clinic is enough for the person to be labelled as or suspected to be HIV patient. It demonstrates that stigmatization may occur not only in the community but also overtly or covertly, in the health facility itself. Consequently, for many HIV/AIDS patients, access to antiretroviral therapy and treatment of related nosocomial infections are problematic. Besides, the study found that many clients and potential users of services were uncomfortable with the quality of care given by some health workers, especially as they overtly and covertly breached confidentiality about their clients’ health status. This has compelled many patients and potential users of the services to adopt a modus vivendi that provides them access to some care services while protecting their identity.ConclusionThe paper argues that by examining issues relating to privacy and confidentiality in the provision of care for and use of services by seropositives, more light will be shed on the whys of the limited uptake of HIV-related health care services in Ghana. (shrink)

This important reference volume introduces readers and researchers to the treasury of printed and manuscript resources available in Irish libraries, archives, and genealogical centres. Although it is aimed principally at the Irish Diaspora—amounting to some 70 million people around the globe who can trace their ancestry back to Ireland— Irish and non-Irish researchers alike should find the book of inestimable value for their research anywhere in Ireland. It will acquaint the user with the valuable and accessible collections in Irish (...) repositories. Essential information on operating hours, contact information—including names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and website addresses—access and service information, descriptions, and the location of these repositories will prove to be immensely practical. A number of features also enhance the value of the book as a work of reference. The entries are arranged alphabetically by city or town within county, and a separate list, arranged alphabetically by type of institution, is provided for added convenience. There are lists of publications, a detailed glossary and bibliography, and an extensive index. For family and local history researchers, a brief history and description of the Irish Genealogical Project is provided along with a helpful introduction to tracing one’s ancestors. Of special interest are the vital reference details for each parish in Ireland for the crucially important tithe and valuation reocrds from around 1830 in the record offices in Belfast and Dublin. The guide also provides information of practical benefit to academic researchers; professionals in the area of business, education, marketing, medicine, law, and technology; and vacationers interested in learning about local resources available to them during their stay in Ireland. (shrink)

Specification acquisition in the system design process has been improved since the middle of the 1980s when the upper CASE tools appeared. On the contrary the quality of requirement acquisition in the upper processes of system design has not been enhanced as much as specification acquisition. Understanding the user's requirements is indispensable as one of the basic conditions for building systems that can really satisfy users.This article discusses obtaining requirement knowledge, in terms of human-centred design. The focus is (...) on the process of requirement acquisition, where there is room for one to make full use of human knowledge in a dynamic manner. (shrink)

This short paper is based on a presentation delivered by four young people from Sunderland Children Services—Amy, Claire, Jordan and Glen (supported by Grace Roddam, Young People's Training and Development Mentor, and Dave Laverick, Workforce Development Consultant)—at the ‘Learning Professional Wisdom: Courage and Compassion’ Ethics and Social Welfare conference, which took place on 15 May 2009 at St Mary's College, Durham University, UK. The conference was organized by the newly formed Ethics and Social Welfare network, with support from the Social (...) Work and Policy Subject Centre (SWAP), Durham University and Ethics & Social Welfare journal. The conference focused on the contested nature of ‘moral character’ in professional education, whether this can be learnt and developed and how it links with judgements about ‘suitability for practice’. The four young people, drawing on their specific experiences of the looked after system, provided a valuable contribution which will assist understanding of what is meant by the term ‘ethical practitioner’ and the values and attributes they believe practitioners should have in order to fulfil their ethical obligations. (shrink)

This paper considers the ethical implications of applying three major ethical theories to the memory structure of an artificial companion that might have different embodiments such as a physical robot or a graphical character on a hand-held device. We start by proposing an ethical memory model and then make use of an action-centric framework to evaluate its ethical implications. The case that we discuss is that of digital artefacts that autonomously record and store user data, where this data are (...) used as a resource for future interaction with users. (shrink)

Brain-computer interfaces are envisioned to enable new abilities of action. This potential can be fruitful in particular when it comes to restoring lost motion or communication abilities or to implementing new possibilities of action. However, BCIs do not come without presuppositions. Applying the concept of ability expectations to BCIs, a wide range of requirements on the side of the users becomes apparent. We examined these ability expectations by taking the example of therapeutic BCI users who got enrolled into BCI research (...) studies due to particular physical conditions. Some of the expectations identified are quite explicit, like particular physical conditions and BCI “literacy”. Other expectations are more implicit, such as motivation, a high level of concentration, pain tolerance, emotion control and resources. These expectations may produce a conception of the human and a self-understanding among BCI users that objectify the body in favour of a brain-centred, cerebral notion of the subject which also plays its part in upholding a normality regime. (shrink)

This paper reflects on discussions within the Social Intelligence for Tele-healthcare (SIFT) project. The SIFT project aims to establish a model of social intelligence, to support the user-centred design of social intelligence in interactive systems. The conceptual background of social intelligence for the SIFT project is presented. Five challenges identified for the design of socially aware interactions are described, and their implications are discussed.

Clinical ethics is widely recognised as an essential contribution to the quality of health and psychosocial service delivery. However, the lack of a common understanding of ethics within teams and insufficient organisational support often limits its optimal integration into the workplace. To address this problem, the clinical ethics committee of a rehabilitation centre developed a new clinical ethics framework based on a theoretical model and conducted a pre-implementation evaluation by interviewing future users. The study estimated the acceptability and initial adoption (...) of the new clinical ethics framework. The quantitative results of the study indicated a high level of acceptability for the definitions, tools and supporting strategies, with the exception of the definition of the concept of ethical issues. The qualitative results showed that the future users perceived positively the attributes of the new framework, such as its benefits and its compatibility with their professional concerns. In addition, they appreciated the fact that the framework was easy to understand and could potentially be applied in daily practice. The suggestions provided by future users also helped to improve the content of the clinical ethics framework. Finally, all the results will be useful for the planification of its eventual implementation. (shrink)

This article presents the first, systematic analysis of the ethical challenges posed by recommender systems through a literature review. The article identifies six areas of concern, and maps them onto a proposed taxonomy of different kinds of ethical impact. The analysis uncovers a gap in the literature: currently user-centred approaches do not consider the interests of a variety of other stakeholders—as opposed to just the receivers of a recommendation—in assessing the ethical impacts of a recommender system.

The computer is one of the most complex artifacts ever built. Given its complexity, it can be described from many different points of view. The aim of this paper is to investigate the representational structure and multifunctionality of a particular subset of computers, namely personal devices from a user-centred perspective. The paper also discusses the concept of “cognitive task”, as recently employed in some definitions of cognitive artifacts, and investigates the metaphysical properties of such artifacts. From a representational (...) point of view, the article introduces the concepts of artifactual meta-representation and of semi-transparency, two features that personal devices share with some cognitive and non-cognitive artifacts. Recognising the meta-representational nature of personal devices and of other cognitive artifacts, thus overcoming semi-transparency, is important for the understanding of why different artifacts offer us different cognitive affordances as well as different cognitive advantages. In this sense, it is not simply a theoretical achievement, but has some important practical consequences. In our highly technological world we can use different kinds of computers and artifacts for solving the same tasks, and we need to understand why some artifacts are better suited for some tasks than others. The ultimate characterisation of personal devices that emerges from this work is that of a sort of super-artifact. This special status is given to personal devices because of their distinctive features. They are in fact intrinsically multifunctional and meta-representational artifacts, with extremely variable structures. As super-artifacts, personal devices are characterised by macro-functionality and can be easily used as both cognitive artifacts and tools for other functions, depending on the kind of representations they instantiate. (shrink)

Amidst the surge in AI-oriented commercial ventures, music is a site of intensive efforts to innovate. A number of companies are seeking to apply AI to music production and consumption, and amongst them several are seeking to reinvent the music listening experience as adaptive, interactive, functional and infinitely generative. These are bold objectives, having no clear roadmap for what designs, technologies and use cases, if any, will be successful. Thus each company relies on speculative product visions. Through four case studies (...) of such companies, I consider how product visions must carefully provide a clear plan for developers and investors, whilst also remaining open to agile user-centred product development strategies, which I discuss in terms of the ‘blind search’ nature of innovation. I suggest that innovation in this area needs to be understood in terms of technological emergence, which is neither technologically determinist nor driven entirely by the visions of founders, but through a complex of interacting forces. I also consider, through these cases, how, through the accumulation of residual value, all such start-up work risks being exapted for more familiar extractive capitalist agendas under the general process that Doctorow calls “enshittification”. Lastly, I consider a number of other more specific ways in which these projects, if their growth is achieved, could influence music culture more broadly. (shrink)

Purpose Digital health literacy has emerged as a critical determinant of equitable healthcare delivery in the information society. This study aims to examine evolving trends, thematic patterns and ethical considerations, with a focus on global policy responses and technological developments in 2023–2025. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Seventy-two studies published between 2015 and 2025 (with a small number of earlier studies retained due to their continued conceptual and ethical (...) relevance) were selected through database searches (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science) and manual reference checks. Data were extracted and synthesised thematically, integrating recent policy documents and conceptual analyses relevant to ethics and equity. Findings Five dominant themes emerged: access and infrastructure inequities; misinformation and infodemic management; usability and user-centred design; health data poverty; and ethical governance. While digital health tools proliferated globally, disparities in access, representation and trust remain significant. Developments from 2023 to 2025 (e.g. artificial intelligence-driven health chatbots, TikTok-based health campaigns and updated World Health Organization infodemic guidelines) not only offer opportunities but also introduce new risks. Research limitations/implications The findings position digital health literacy as a core ethical construct within information systems and health policy scholarship, extending digital divide theory beyond access and skills to include justice, autonomy and data representation. This reframing underscores the need to integrate ethical governance and power asymmetries into models of digital health adoption. Practical implications Policymakers and health system designers should embed equity-by-design principles into digital health initiatives, prioritising inclusive usability, misinformation mitigation and representative data practices. Co-ordinated regulatory frameworks and targeted literacy interventions are essential to ensure emerging digital health technologies reduce, rather than reproduce, health inequalities. Originality/value This systematic review contributes to the discourse on information ethics in healthcare by explicitly linking digital health literacy to principles of justice, autonomy and beneficence. It offers a comprehensive synthesis that is policy-oriented, globally comparative and grounded in the latest literature. (shrink)

Urban spaces require increasing their attractiveness by exploring the social and spatial implications of new lifestyles. Broad civic knowledge is the basis for placemaking to shape user-centred and inclusive spaces of everyday life. Gathering information on the sense of the place is crucial to finding out and understanding the place-related identity of its users to make the place more appealing and usable. The most popular survey tool is a questionnaire constructed as a series of questions and used for (...) collecting information about a population’s attributes, attitudes or actions. Administered in person or online, questionnaire surveys may provide broad coverage of urban communities – however, they require significantly large human resources to carry out. The survey based on personal contact with the respondent may limit time allocated to its implementation, thus affecting the sample selection. Also, the researcher’s involvement in the questionnaire-filling process can be problematic if he or she reveals the topic of interest and if the sequencing of questionnaire themes influences responses. Similarly, an online questionnaire may not reach some potential respondents due to their reduced access to the internet etc. These limitations may affect the results’ reliability. Taking into account the above-mentioned aspects, the idea of this chapter is to present selected types of questionnaires (textual, visual, in-VR and survey gamification). The main aim is to discuss these questionnaires in the context of their main advantages and disadvantages resulting from the specifics of a type and a form of survey (in-depth and online) to facilitate their use in the process of data collection in placemaking research. The results show that the variety of types of questionnaires, as well as the form of the conducted survey, allow their better selection to the specificity of the community, increasing the place-related identity, thus may provide a more reliable and complete set of information possible to be used in placemaking. (shrink)

Purpose This paper aims to describe the case study carried out in Italy as part of the HealthyW8 project. In particular, it describes the methodology used in the participatory workshops held in Italy in 2023–2024 and the results obtained. Design/methodology/approach Using design thinking and user-centred design methodologies, the workshops aimed to develop intervention strategies and digital tool functionalities suitable for different user needs and local contexts. Findings Intervention strategies identified by the Italian stakeholders included the development of (...) tools (e.g. corporate bonuses, reward schemes and applications) that encourage healthy living and physical activity and the creation of educational cartoons that address healthy lifestyles, diets and physical activity. The study underlined the importance of multi-level interventions combining education, public policy and user-centred technological innovations. Originality/value Stakeholders also suggested innovative digital tool functionalities such as the integration with existing shopping list apps to streamline healthy food planning and the connection to real-life community-building events to promote active participation. (shrink)

Purpose This study aims to systematically review the emerging literature on ChatGPT in higher education, focusing on its applications, impacts and ethical implications from the perspectives of students and academic staff. By synthesising evidence across disciplines and geographical contexts, the review identifies key benefits such as enhanced learning efficiency and artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, alongside challenges including academic integrity risks and unequal access. The purpose is to provide a comprehensive, student-centred understanding of ChatGPT’s role in higher education and to (...) offer actionable insights for policy, practice and future research. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a systematic literature review (SLR) guided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses 2020 standards to ensure transparency and rigour. Papers were retrieved from SpringerLink, Scopus and ACM Digital Library using predefined search queries. Inclusion criteria focused on peer-reviewed journal papers published in English after November 2022 that directly examined ChatGPT in higher education. The final data set of 50 studies was thematically, geographically and field-specifically analysed to evaluate ChatGPT’s applications, benefits and challenges, offering comprehensive insights into its educational role. Findings The review reveals that ChatGPT offers substantial benefits in higher education, including enhanced learning efficiency, AI literacy, academic writing support and improved problem-solving. Programming and medicine emerged as the most examined disciplines, while the USA and UK dominated the research landscape. However, concerns persist regarding academic integrity, over-reliance, bias and unequal access to advanced features. Students’ and educators’ perceptions highlight both opportunities and risks, underscoring the need for tailored policies, revised assessment frameworks and inclusive practices to maximise benefits while safeguarding academic standards and equity. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by its focus on peer-reviewed journal papers published in English after November 2022, which may exclude relevant conference papers or non-English research. The analysis primarily reflects contexts in developed countries, with fewer insights from developing regions. In addition, the review concentrates on student and staff perspectives, leaving institutional and policy viewpoints less explored. Despite these constraints, the findings highlight critical implications: the need for geographically inclusive studies, broader disciplinary coverage and robust policies to balance ChatGPT’s benefits with academic integrity and equity in higher education. Practical implications The findings provide actionable insights for students, educators and policymakers. For students, ChatGPT offers personalised support, enhanced efficiency and opportunities to build AI literacy. Educators can leverage it for course design, feedback and assessment innovation, though careful validation of outputs is essential. Institutions should revise assessment frameworks to address AI-generated content and provide training to promote ethical, responsible use. Policymakers must balance the risks of academic misconduct with the benefits of AI-enhanced learning by developing clear, context-specific guidelines. Collectively, these measures ensure effective, equitable integration of ChatGPT into higher education practice. Social implications The integration of ChatGPT in higher education carries wide-ranging social implications. It can democratise access to knowledge, foster digital literacy and support students from diverse backgrounds, particularly in resource-limited settings. However, unequal access to premium features risks deepening the digital divide. Over-reliance may also undermine critical thinking and academic independence, raising ethical concerns about fairness and integrity. Addressing these issues requires inclusive policies and responsible adoption strategies to ensure that ChatGPT enhances learning opportunities equitably while safeguarding academic standards and preparing students for meaningful participation in an AI-driven society. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides one of the first SLRs dedicated to ChatGPT’s role in higher education, synthesising 50 peer-reviewed papers across disciplines and regions. Unlike existing reviews that focus broadly on AI or chatbots, this research specifically highlights student and academic staff perspectives, offering a nuanced, user-centred understanding of ChatGPT’s applications, benefits and challenges. By combining thematic, field-specific and geographical analyses, the study identifies research gaps, particularly in developing contexts and offers evidence-based recommendations. Its value lies in guiding educators, policymakers and researchers towards responsible, equitable and effective integration of ChatGPT into higher education. (shrink)

Medication adherence is a significant challenge in Nigeria, exacerbating chronic conditions, increasing healthcare costs, and undermining treatment outcomes. Existing mobile adherence tools often overlook cultural contexts and fail to differentiate reminders based on medication type, limiting their impact in low-resource settings. This study introduces Medstracker, a mobile application that uniquely integrates culturally relevant strategies, medication-type-specific symbolic nudges (e.g. icons for tablets, syrups), and persuasive technology to improve adherence. Guided by the Design Science Research methodology, the study followed an iterative process (...) of problem identification, solution objectives, design, development, and evaluation. Medstracker’s features include dynamic reminders, adherence dashboards, and a user-centred interface for improved usability, supported by a layered Firebase architecture for secure data storage and effective reminder management. Expert reviews with healthcare professionals and interaction design specialists indicated its potential to address barriers such as forgetfulness and complex regimens, whilst offering advantages in cultural relevance and intuitiveness over conventional adherence apps. Recommendations included enhancing security, integrating caregiver support, and conducting real-world usability tests. This research demonstrates how combining user-centred design with culturally adaptive, medication-type-specific nudges can fill a critical gap in digital health solutions, offering a scalable approach for improving health outcomes in Nigeria and similar contexts. (shrink)

Both in formal and computational natural language semantics, the classical correspondence view of meaning – and, more specifically, the view that the meaning of a declarative sentence coincides with its truth conditions – is widely held. Truth (in the world or a situation) plays the role of the given, and meaning is analysed in terms of it. Both language and the world feature in this perspective on meaning, but language users are conspicuously absent. In contrast, the inferentialist semantics that Robert (...) Brandom proposes in his magisterial book ‘Making It Explicit’ puts the language user centre stage. According to his theory of meaning, the utterance of a sentence is meaningful in as far as it is a move by a language user in a game of giving and asking for reasons (with reasons underwritten by a notion of good inferences). In this paper, I propose a proof-theoretic formalisation of the game of giving and asking for reasons that lends itself to computer implementation. In the current proposal, I flesh out an account of defeasible inferences, a variety of inferences which play a pivotal role in ordinary (and scientific) language use. (shrink)

Purpose The objective of the paper was to consider how digital wellbeing can best be studied from a user-centredness perspective, offering a contemporary perspective in this ever-evolving area. Design/methodology/approach The paper undertakes a critical analysis and synthesis of the literature, aiming to put relevant work into perspective. Findings Digital wellbeing is (i) based on various user circumstances, (ii) dependent on users’ experience of time and (iii) embedded in events that are occurring. The variations in users’ digital wellbeing provide (...) support for the need for user-centredness in studying digital wellbeing and emphasise the importance of user perceptions of their own experiences. Practical implications An understanding of individuals’ short-term digital wellbeing can provide a reference point for exploring medium- and long-term as well as past and future digital wellbeing occurrences. Such an understanding can help underpin design and development that is conducive to promoting digital wellbeing. Originality/value The review has identified knowledge gaps, suggesting various possibilities for user-centred research in this field of study. The potential research areas relate to pressing issues that need to be addressed to understand the phenomenon itself, as well as methodological issues for consideration when conducting research on digital wellbeing. (shrink)

MyJay is an open-source robot designed to facilitate play between children with and without physical disabilities. The robot acts as a proxy for children with upper limb challenges, allowing them to participate in physical games with their peers. Our design was inspired by the FIRST Robotics Competition, which involves teleoperating robots to manipulate objects. Taking a user-centred perspective, we consulted therapists and conducted remote interviews with children with disabilities and their guardians at various stages of the design process. (...) We then conducted an in-person feasibility study with 18 typically developing children in a school setting. The study involved children teleoperating the robot to pick up and throw balls into a designated goal, and the interaction was evaluated using the user experience questionnaire and the Robotic Social Attributes Scale. The results of the study show great potential for MyJay to act as a play mediator in various scenarios, and the response from the children was positive. The ultimate aim of our research agenda is to pave the way towards creating more inclusive play environments through robot-mediated interactions, breaking barriers posed by physical limitations. (shrink)

Social robots have the potential to support autistic school children with their wellbeing. This research reveals how a co-design approach with autistic children and their teachers was undertaken. Focus groups with autistic children and teachers collaboratively identified user requirements for the social robot and robot behaviours within the school ecosystem in order to improve student wellbeing. The results reveal the importance of including autistic children in the co-design process to ensure their voices are heard and also that the role (...) of the robot is appropriate and targeted to the users’ needs and requirements. Autistic children and their teachers report multiple potential benefits for social robots supporting emotional wellbeing in the school. Autistic children were supportive of the introduction of a social robot in their school, mostly expressing positive attitudes towards the robot. The research is significant in revealing how a user-centred co-design approach involving autistic children and social robots may support emotional wellbeing. (shrink)

The application developed responded to the need to offer personalised meal plans aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for the Argentine Population. This solution used Artificial Intelligence to generate individualised nutritional recommendations and Augmented Reality to scan foods, enabling more conscious eating. It provided concrete benefits, such as access to healthy meal plans, daily progress tracking, and reduced risk of chronic non-communicable diseases. The project integrated knowledge of nutrition, computer science, and user experience design. Technologies such as SwiftUI for declarative (...) interfaces, MVVM architecture to keep logic separate and organised, Node.js for backend development, and MongoDB for unstructured database management were implemented. This combination enabled a robust, flexible, and scalable application. The problem domain analysis highlighted the importance of distinguishing between meal plans and strict diets, emphasising mindful eating as a central focus. Compared to other apps on the market, this proposal stood out for its comprehensive, evidence-based and user-centred approach. In conclusion, the application represented a significant contribution to digital health. Not only did it promote healthy and sustainable eating, but it also proved to be an effective tool for fostering positive habits through education, personalisation and the strategic use of emerging technologies. Its development marked an important step towards digital solutions that improve quality of life. (shrink)

This chapter sees a reprise of the book’s key arguments. Primarily, SAD in women can be conceptualised as a culture-bound syndrome whose (pharmacological) treatment rests on normative white femininity in twenty-first-century Britain. By extension, its conception as a disease entity, underpinned by biological malfunction and individual pathology, is problematised. Going forward, I propose alternative social or lateral models of care which are service user-centred and service user-led. Consciousness-raising is also likely to be of value, as is, in (...) the spirit of Laing’s work, embracing the metanoiac nature of social anxiety and heeding what it might have to tell us. Pragmatically, our best hope might lie in critical psychiatry, which applies some of this book’s tenets within the constraints of mainstream psychiatry. This entails refuting the ‘brain disease’ model and exploring why the individual has presented with mental distress in the context of their life. I draw the book to a close in delimiting its remit and suggesting avenues for future research. I conclude with some personal reflections, including an appreciation of how we women experience SAD and how I have been changed by conducting this research. (shrink)

A local explanation method (LE) in explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is basically a two-step procedure: first construct a naively explainable model approximating the black-box model in need of explanations; then extract an explanation from the approximate model and return it. The extracted explanation aims to be just analogous to the target explanation, suggesting that users should rely on analogical arguments to transfer certain properties observable on the former to the latter. In this article, assuming a hypothetical expert user whose (...) knowledge satisfies certain conjectures, we reconstruct the structures ‘ reason therefore conclusion ’ of these analogical arguments and study conditions for ensuring the truth of the reason ; conditions for ensuring that the conclusion follows necessarily from the reason ; as well as counter-arguments the user has to consider. It is argued that the presented findings shed light on the internal reasoning of an expert user at the end of User–LE dialogue. On this basis, the article then pursues a computational argumentation-based approach to elevate existing system-centred LEs to user-centred XAI. Technically the paper develops an argumentation framework for the so-called Argumentative Local Explainers ( A r g L E ) which extend local explanation methods with the internal reasoning of a hypothetical expert user. Formally, we show that A r g L E can compute the expert user’s beliefs about the target explanation. It is envisioned that the integration of A r g L E and existing models of argumentation dialogues helps to create conversational agents that can guide non-expert users to receive system-centred XAI explanations in a way that expert users do. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology 11.2 (2004) 165-173 [Access article in PDF] Professional Judgment, Critical Realism, Real People, and, Yes, Two Wrongs Can Make a Right! K.W.M. Fulford Anthony Colombo Keywords values, values-based practice, models of disorder, concept of mental illness, user-centred practice, patient-centred practice, multidisciplinary teamwork We are grateful to our four commentators for putting much-needed conceptual air and space around the models project. Published originally (...) as an empirical study of the different implicit models of disorder, held by users of services, carers, nurses, psychiatrists, and social workers (Colombo et al. 2003), our paper outlined the philosophical roots of the models project in linguistic analytic philosophy of the "Oxford school" (Fulford and Colombo 2004). Our four commentators provide extra dimensions of understanding, respectively from professional education (Williams 2004), sociology (Bendelow 2004), Heideggerian phenomenology (Heginbotham 2004), and mental health policy and practice (Williamson 2004).Since the original study, the models project has been taken forward as a key contribution to a range of philosophy-into-practice initiatives called, collectively, Values-Based Practice. In this brief response, we outline the key features of Values-Based Practice and indicate how these connect with some of the many thoughtful points about models made by our commentators. Values-Based Practice Values-Based Practice, then, is the theory and skills-base for effective health care decision making where different, and hence potentially conflicting, values are in play (Fulford 2004). Premised on the democratic meta-value of equal respect for all voices, Values-Based Practice relies, much as a political democracy relies, on good process rather than preset outcomes for its practical effectiveness. The ten pointers to good process in Values-Based Practice are summarized in Figure 1. We return to the implications of these for the work on models below.Relying on good process may be thought to be a recipe more for relativism and indecision in clinical decision making than for practical effectiveness. To the contrary, however, the 'values democracy' of Values-Based Practice, again like a political democracy, carries a number of clear and coherent implications for policy and practice in health care. [End Page 165] Click for larger viewFigure 1 10 Pointers to Good Process in VBP [End Page 166]Examples of the implications of Values-Based Practice for policy and practice are given in the Values Framework shown in Figure 2. This is a policy framework for the development of Values-Based Practice in mental health produced by a project group in the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE), the section of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) responsible for implementing government policy on mental health as embodied in the National Service Framework for Mental Health (Department of Health 1999) and subsequent policies. The framework gives three key principles of Values-Based Practice (the three Rs of recognition, raising awareness, and respect) and then summarizes some of the specific implications of the approach. Racism, for example, is incompatible with Values-Based Practice because racism is by definition intolerant of diversity. Again, we indicate some of the policy implications of Values-Based Practice for the points about models made by our commentators below.Training for mental health practitioners in Values-Based Practice will be rolled out from April 2005, through both voluntary and statutory bodies, in each of the eight regions of the National Health Service of England and Wales. This roll out will be supported by training methods developed and piloted in a unique joint venture between Warwick University's Department of Philosophy and Medical School, and an in-service training provider, the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health (Fulford, Williamson, and Woodbridge 2002; Woodbridge and Fulford 2003). These training methods are the basis of a detailed workbook for Values-Based Practice (Woodbridge and Fulford 2004). The workbook will be launched in July 2004 at a conference in London by the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Rosie Winterton. Professional Training and Professional Judgment The models project has been central to the development of... (shrink)

A case study is presented of the development of computer-based support tools for power engineers in the electricity supply industry. The objective was to develop an expert system to support witching schedule production. A user-centred approach was followed which led the user community to conclude that a switching schedule production assistant (SSPA) was required which would leave control with the power engineer. Prototype systems were developed and evaluated in user trials which revealed that a significant and (...) more general purpose tool would be a computer generated electricity network display that the engineers could manipulate. The paper concludes that the process of enabling users to evaluate alternative forms of technology can facilitate the development systems that are useful, acceptable and usable. (shrink)

The concept of Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE) emphasises the comprehensive person-centred experience as essential to promoting living environments. SHAFE takes an interdisciplinary approach, conceptualising complete and multidisciplinary solutions for an inclusive society. From this approach, we promote participation, health, and well-being experiences by finding the best possible combinations of social, physical, and digital solutions in the community. This initiative emerged bottom-up in Europe from the dream and conviction that innovation can improve health equity, foster caring communities, and sustainable (...) development. Smart, adaptable, and inclusive solutions can promote and support independence and autonomy throughout the lifespan, regardless of age, gender, disabilities, cultural differences, and personal choices, as well as promote happier and fairer living places. The New European Bauhaus initiative gathers “beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive projects and ideas” to inspire a positive transformation around us. The New European Bauhaus 2024 Festival took place between 9-13 April. “Designing the perfect New European Bauhaus neighbourhood: New European Bauhaus meets SHAFE” was a Satellite Event of the Festival, held as an online workshop, organised by the SHAFE Foundation on April 9th, 2024. At the event, a group of 50 participants with a multidisciplinary background discussed how to meet the challenges of the European Garcia family to enable them to live in a perfect neighbourhood. The White Paper presents the findings of the participants with the New European Bauhaus inspiring projects and ideas to house the European Garcia family in their neighbourhood. The White Paper recommends developers, designers, planners, and policymakers to include person-centred design of social and physical environments and technologies. Although awareness of person-centred design is growing, many initiatives still hamper the inclusion of citizens or end-users throughout the development of products and services. (shrink)

A person‐centred approach in healthcare has garnered increasing global attention and is promoted in research and by the WHO as an approach that holds potential for improving the quality of healthcare, patient safety and nurses' work environment. This, in turn, supports the recruitment and retention of nurses. This institutional ethnography is situated on a Danish University hospital where a person‐centred approach is central to the hospitals' visions, goals and strategy in nursing practice. We explore the connections between institutional (...) discourses and nurses' negotiations of meaning and identity and the implications for a person‐centred approach. These connections often remain invisible until they are subjected to analysis. The study is based on participant observation, interviews with nurses and nurse managers and scrutiny of the fields' documents. Additionally, we conducted a series of co‐creation workshops (WS) with nurses as co‐researchers to facilitate critical reflection through joint analysis. The empirical material is analysed by the authors by using mapping and Bakhtin's concept of voice. This study sheds light on the multiple ways in which policy and institutional discourses constitute ruling relations that activate, mediate and coordinate nursing practice as institutional logics infuse nurses' person‐centred, holistic voice. Thus, the study provides perspectives on how neoliberal efficiency discourses contribute to a cross‐pressure affecting nurses' work environment, shaping their ability to engage in person‐centred care and communication. (shrink)

Intelligent environments aim to provide context-sensitive services to humans in the physical spaces in which they work and live. While the ethical dimensions of these systems have been considered, this is an aspect which requires further analysis. A literature review shows that these approaches are disconnected from each other, and that they are making little impact on real systems being built. This article provides a solution to both of these problems. It synthesises the ethical issues addressed by previous work and (...) highlights other important concerns which have been overlooked so far. Furthermore, it proposes an alternative, more holistic approach that can be used to guide the development of intelligent environments. The validity of the framework is demonstrated by its integration into an actual project. (shrink)

Person‐centredness is common speak in nursing and health care literature. Increasingly there is an expectation that practitioners adopt person‐centred principles in their practice and organizations are expected to respect the values of the service user. However, in the research methodology literature, there is little explicit attention paid to the concept of person‐centredness in research practice. Instead, there continues to be a reliance on traditional ‘ethical principles’ to guide effectiveness in research work. This paper argues that the principles of (...) person‐centredness that are espoused in nursing practice should also underpin nursing and health care research. A framework for person‐centred research is proposed and issues concerning its implementation in practice are discussed. (shrink)