An assessment of the importance of process in the development of communications materials in Uganda

In previous country programmes, communications development work was divided into single-issue vertical projects. Each project developed its own materials and would then send it to an in-house materials development unit. This unit would, in turn, design the graphics and layout, supervise the printing, and organise the field-testing. The system was production oriented. The Country Programme in Uganda is now organised on a broad-based programme arrangement in which different issues are combined. New concepts are being introduced along with new ways of working in the field, and a wide range of people from many different sectors and types of organisations are required for the production of communications materials.Inevitably, this approach has considerable costs, particularly in terms of time and control on the final product. During the time of transition from the single-intervention vertical product approach to a broad multi-sector programme approach, different processes were used to develop communications material. This variation created an opportunity to compare processes within one context, hence this assessment. The overall purpose of the assessment was to determine if the costs incurred by each method were justified in terms of the value added, such as stakeholder acceptance, ownership and use by the field staff.     

INFOMEDIA LITERACY: an educational basic for young people in the new information age

The aim of this article is to introduce the concept of infomedia literacy, which refers to the ability to process critically all kinds of written information, sound, images, graphics and values transmitted by the new technology. This article argues that when information technology merges with communication technology, there is a need for a new form of literacy. The article is divided into two parts. The first part uses empirical data from Hong Kong to illustrate the necessity of providing infomedia literacy training to young people in schools. Adopting the perspective of socially constructed technology, the second part attempts to conceptualize infomedia literacy and define its rationales, aims, scope, key components and characteristics. A socially participatory approach of infomedia education is proposed. It is suggested that infomedia literacy as a life skill in the new information age has several components: (1) an understanding of the nature and functions of infomedia and critical awareness of their impact on individuals and society; (2) the skill of critical analysis of information transmitted through infomedia technology; (3) the skill of efficient search and selection of information; (4) knowledge to use infomedia technology for self-expression; (5) aesthetic appreciation; and (6) social participation by influencing the development of infomedia technology.     

Anticipating needs and designing new items rapidly - a case study for the design of postural aid equipment

In this case study, designers proactively proposed new product ideas to a client by using an ergonomic approach. This approach differs from a more traditional approach where one works within a specific, clientdefined project. The methodology used included basic ergonomic techniques such as task analysis and information gathering sessions conducted with users. It was adapted so that these enriched user sessions could be conducted within a short time period. After meeting with five users in seven days, designers identified 20 problems that could be tackled and eight design ideas that could be implemented over the short, medium and long term. The ideas encompassed a wide range of potential projects, including physical product improvements, new product lines, Web-site and software improvements and longer term research. Problems identified and ideas generated involved many disciplines including occupational therapy, mechanical engineering, graphical design, software engineering, sales and manufacturing know-how. This wide range was possible because designers were not constrained to specific project scopes and timelines. The client was involved in the idea evaluation process. As a result of this study two new projects were initiated so far.     

THE FIRST THINGS FIRST MANIFESTO AND THE POLITICS OF CULTURE JAMMING: TOWARDS A CULTURAL ECONOMY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN AND ADVERTISING

Advertising has long been recognized as an important cultural force by media and cultural studies scholars. Graphic design, despite its comparable ubiquity, has rarely been the subject of this kind of critique. Where these activities have been discussed, the emphasis has been overwhelmingly on their textual manifestations (graphics, ads, commercials) and, occasionally, on their reception. In the interest of working towards a fuller account of the overall circulation and reproduction of an increasingly commercial contemporary culture, then, this paper turns to the generative source of these ephemeral artefacts and, in particular, professional graphic design practice. By paying especial attention to the framing of current debates about accountability and social responsibility within this profession, this paper seeks to explore the constraining and enabling effects of commercial practice. Advertising and design are readily distinguishable from other economic institutions because of their declared expertise in creating specifically cultural forms of communication. Further, these practices rely on the skills of cultural intermediaries: individuals whose job it is to develop these forms to mediate between, or more properly, articulate, the realms of production and consumption. Graphic designers, it seems, enjoy much greater latitude for personal expression than ad creatives – or at least enjoy a professional culture, or habitus, that supports debate and dissent through a variety of activities, and recognizes non-commercial design projects as legitimate forms of expression. While the designers interviewed here may claim that advertising is a creative practice entirely subsumed by commercial constraints, they also recognize that their own professional activities involve only a limited degree of subjective control. Personal and non-commercial projects, often indirectly funded by income from business clients, appear to provide a more reliable means to creative fulfillment.     

New procedures of ergonomics design in a large oil company

This study presents the challenge involved in the negotiation and construction of a standard process in a major petroleum company that has the purpose of guiding the implementation of ergonomic studies in the development of projects, systemising the implementation of ergonomics design. The standard was created by a multi-disciplinary working group consisting of specialists in ergonomics, who work in a number of different areas of the company. The objective was to guide "how to" undertake ergonomics in all projects, taking into consideration the development of the ergonomic appraisals of work. It also established that all the process, in each project phase, should be accompanied by a specialist in ergonomics. This process as an innovation in the conception of projects in this company, signals a change of culture, and, for this reason requires broad dissemination throughout the several company leadership levels, and training of professionals in projects of ergonomics design. An implementation plan was also prepared and approved by the corporate governance, complementing the proposed challenge. In this way, this major oil company will implement new procedures of ergonomics design to promote health, safety, and wellbeing of the workforce, besides improving the performance and reliability of its systems and processes.     

THE ARTICULATION OF PROJECT WORK: AN ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS

This article offers a theoretical framework or model for understanding how work within projects is articulated. A distinction is drawn between articulation of work and a more inclusive organizational process , termed the "articulation process." The theoretical model includes several related concepts that pertain to numerous interlocking and sequential elements of the total work. These include work processes, types of work, and interactional processes. The model avoids assuming a tightly integrated organization of work; rather, it represents an extension of the negotiated order approach to organizations. A discussion of variations in projects revolves around two important dimensions of projects. The article closes with a discussion of extreme disruptions in project work flow, as well as some general considerations about the importance of focusing on articulation in organizations.     

Affordable housing in Pakistan

This paper demonstrates how the design of standards, pricing and finance must be integrated if affordable housing is to be achieved in a sustainable and replicable way. The paper does this by identifying basic principles in achieving affordability and applying these principles through a simple, computer-based integrated-design model to a ‘model’ housing project in Pakistan. In most instances, where there is not a development grant or forgivable loan, affordability must be combined with cost-recovery if projects are to be sustainable and replicable. Keys to such projects are the use of market prices, incremental construction using sweat equity, efficient and affordable standards, differential pricing, and financing using market interest rates but with affordable down payments and repayment rates. The paper demonstrates that the ‘model’ project in Pakistan, as designed, is not affordable. Through examining several alternative designs using different land-use standards, pricing and financing systems, the paper shows what needs to be done to make such projects affordable. In doing so, it illustrates how affordability, standards, pricing, finance, and cost-recovery can be integrated in the design process. While applied to Pakistan, the relevance to Canada of this integrated-interactive design process is explored.     

The state and the development of an information society: Greek policy and experience

The paper looks into the dynamics of information society policy and its implementation in the Greek context. It argues that information society development is a contested process, influenced by pre‐existing state, economy and society relations. Based on this, it looks into the different aspects of the idiosyncratic path which the evolution of the Greek information society has followed, particularly after 2000. Using Bob Jessop's strategic‐relational approach (SRA) to the state as an analytical framework and drawing on a number of in‐depth interviews with relevant political actors, it provides insights into policy implementation by examining: the public management of information technology projects, how such projects were received in bureaucratic structures and practices, as well as the relationship between the state and the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in public procurement processes. The emphasis is on the period 2000–2008, during which a major operational programme on the information society in Greece was put into effect. The paper also touches upon the post‐2008 experience, suggesting that information society developments might include dynamics operating independently and even in contradiction to the state agenda.     

Housing markets performing class: middle‐class cultures and market professionals in Chile

This article takes a cultural economy approach to the analysis of housing markets as spaces in which class cultures are performed. The design and marketing of real estate projects are understood as the outcome of the interplay of different narratives, practices and materials involving cultural and economic calculations. I explore one particular type of cultural knowledge used during the production and sale of houses: the meanings of class and social mobility. I argue that housing markets and housing production involve the interrelation of several cultural calculations on class and social mobility. In other words, meanings of class and social mobility are instrumentally produced and used in the design, production and marketing of real estate. I describe how cultural calculations about class are inscribed into house location, house design and real estate advertising and marketing devices. Indeed, it is argued that in designing ‘real estate’ projects, agents and executives work as ‘sociologists at large’: they create and perform new meanings of class and social mobility.     

The ethnosurvey in theory and practice

This article describes a research approach designed to overcome the limitations of federal immigration statistics and to illuminate the social processes underlying aggregate patterns of migration. The principal weaknesses of existing data sources are that they underenumerate and imperfectly measure undocumented migration; they do not reflect the widespread circularity of modern international movements; they omit variables central to the immigration process; and their cross-sectional collection and tabulation precludes the analysis of immigration as a dynamic process. The ethnosurvey is a research design that ameliorates these problems through 5 specific design features: multimethod data collection, representative multisite sampling, multilevel data compilation, life history collection, and parallel sampling. The ethnosurvey design is illustrated by its recent application to study Mexican migration to the US, and empirical evidence is presented to show how it corrects the limitations of federal data on immigration. In spite of its advantages, the ethnosurvey does have several drawbacks. It is costly and requires a substantial investment of professional time. Rather than emphasizing breadth of information, as does a representative sample survey, the ethnosurvey attempts to gather detailed information through intensive analysis of particular communities. The ethnosurvey, because of its costs and professional demands, is hard to implement within a representative sampling framework. For these reasons, the ethnosurvey is best seen as a supplement to other sources of immigration data, providing specialized information on the social processes that underlie the aggregate patterns revealed in national statistics. However, promising results obtained in applying the ethnosurvey to study immigration suggest that it may profitably be applied to investigate other longitudinal social processes as well, such as status attainment, occupational mobility, and residential mobility.     

Ergonomics in projects of oil platforms in a change context

The context of oil platform design is changing in order to increase competitiveness and be prepared for difficult operations, mainly in fields more distant from the coast, like pre-salt. The currently preceding context is marked by projects guidelines designed to reduce projects and operation costs, including an important reducing in the number of people on board. The main objective of this research is to verify and discuss if the experience of use in platforms designed in a previous context, in which the people on board is practically twice, can contribute and/or can be transferred to new projects. From the ergonomic intervention in the design of two oil platform, with the work of team on board investigated on previous projects as reference, it was possible analyze if the previous use is still applicable to new projects. As a result, about 90% of the recommendations based on use are applicable to the current context. The restrictions on the transfer or operational experience are mainly related to the time of entry of ergonomics in the design process, the subsequent transformations costs and the advance of the execution phase started with the detailed design.     

An interdisciplinary approach to the development of professional identity through digital storytelling in health and social care and teacher education

The present article presents a study based on an interdisciplinary approach to research into reflection on identity construction. This multiple case study explores the narrative of professional identities in digital artefacts. It is aimed at exploring in what way digital storytelling can be used as a suitable pedagogical strategy for the construction of professional identity. The students involved in the innovative learning activity comprise two groups of Health and Social Care students in the UK, two groups of Primary Education student-teachers and one group of Secondary Education student-teachers in Spain. Thematic analysis is used to identify the topics addressed by students in exploring their professional identities, including values and the process of learning itself. Finally, the lessons learned from this interdisciplinary approach to reflection on identity and the implications these have not only for teaching and learning design but also for future collaborative research projects are set out in the discussion and conclusions.     

An approach to the design of housing for Kathmandu, Nepal : Improving utility and facilitating construction

Totally modern design of housing in Nepal causes problems both in its use and construction. The modern designs have arbitrary spatial layouts that are incompatible with the cultural needs of the users. They require many foreign building materials and skills making construction problematic. Whereas modern design can improve performance of building in areas of damp-proofing and thermal control, traditional design provides culturally useful spaces. Traditional housing is easy to build but fails in some technical aspects of building. A synthesis of modern and traditional designs is the most suitable approach to housing design in Nepal and governmental policy should facilitate it by redirecting the education on building technology, by encouraging the production of indigenous materials, by suitable regulatory controls and by incorporating an optimal design in its own housing projects.     

Gestaltung internetbasierter kollaborativer Team- und Projektarbeit

In order to support team and project work in companies, Internet-based collaboration software tools are increasingly being used. These software tools enable employees located within and outside the organization to communicate, share knowledge and data, and organize projects. Whether these benefits can be actualized depends on how the collaboration software is designed. As an orientation for the effective use of collaboration software tools, the present paper presents a design model for spatially distributed collaborative work and demonstrates its suitability based on a practical example. Therefore, we exemplarily show design activities and problems of the practical example and locate them within the model. Despite an extensive technical acumen and diverse design work, we identify problems with the use of collaboration tools. They focus on five problem areas: (1) parallel use of collaboration software tools, (2) transparency in terms of change, (3) the high rate of virtual meetings, (4) the onboarding process, and (5) the dilemma between the daily business and the implementation of internal IT projects.     

International comparative explorations of prostitution policies: lessons from two European projects

In this contribution we reflect on our experiences of co-designing and coordinating two comparative projects on prostitution policies in Europe by focusing in particular on the epistemological workings underpinning their design and execution. We set out two main goals. The first is to shed light on what the epistemological and methodological issues we encountered reveal about the field of prostitution policy studies, an endeavor which can contribute to better comparative research in the field. The second goal is to relate the scope, developments, outcomes and expectations of the two projects to recent attempts to identify a “one-size-fits-all” model of prostitution regulation, and to interrogate whether transplanting it across Europe is a desirable outcome. Building on the lessons learned from the projects, we propose an approach to prostitution policy development that is reflective of the specific contexts within which the policies are meant to be applied.     

New forms of writing,new visual competencies

This article discusses two crucial issues in the social semiotics of visual communication. The first is the move from accounts of specific semiotic modes towards an integrated multimodal approach to visual communication in which the analysis of images becomes less central than the analysis of semiotic resources such as composition, movement and colour, which are common to a range of semiotic modes including images, graphics, typography, fashion, product design, exhibition design and architecture. The second is a new emphasis on the discourses, practices and technologies that regulate the use of semiotic resources, and on studying the take‐up of semiotic resources by users in relation to these regulatory discourses, practices and technology. Here, the article will discuss a number of semiotic ‘regimes’, including codification, tradition, expertise, best practice or role modelling, and technological control. The article ends with a discussion of the way normative discourses are built into the latest visual communication technologies (e.g. PowerPoint, HTML, Photoshop, Illustrator) and an affirmation of the need for a critical and well‐contextualised semiotics of visual technology.     

国家示范校中职“双师型”教师培养途径的研究——以广西玉林农业学校为例

立足国家示范校建设需要,针对中职“双师型”教师培养中存在的问题,从学校与教师两个层面设计“双师型”教师的培养途径,即在学校发展层面实施“双师型教师培养五大工程”,在教师发展层面实施“双师型教师培养四个主动方案”,为提升教师的教学、实践、科研等综合素质提供一个切实的举措,最终实现学校发展与教师自身发展的双赢。     

A Practical Approach to Public Sector Reform: Following the Dollar in Reforming Road Maintenance

This article presents a new approach to designing public sector reform programmes, which we call a capacity map (CM). This approach focuses on the flow of public funds from the point of ‘extraction’ through to their ‘disbursement’, with specific attention to ‘leakages’ in that overall system. The CM is a modest attempt to provide development partners and their partner governments with a relatively simple, but effective, tool that complements other oft‐used tools in the programme design process. To elucidate the CM approach, development partner attempts to support the establishment, or reform of, road maintenance regimes are focused on. The CM unpacks the process of road maintenance to identify leakages in the overall road maintenance system, thus enabling development partners to focus on institutional root causes beyond a singular focus on insufficient funds. It is contended that this tool enables the programme designer to develop focused interventions, whether in roads or other infrastructure projects, that move beyond ‘quick fixes’ that may avoid the difficult questions and hard choices that need to be made for sustainable institutional and policy reform.     

The ambient intelligence for the sake of accessibility in residential projects: a proper study to the Brazilian scene

The concept of Ambient Intelligence consists of intuitive interfaces embedded in everyday objects that interact with the user and function in an integrated and discrete generating and transmitting information. This article has as objective to present applications that when focused on accessibility criteria, can contribute to the work of architects during the design of residential projects. In Brazil, pioneering projects are already being developed and the use of Ambient Intelligence systems are already widespread, both by private and public, however much care technologies developed in other countries.     

Work situation operative model MOST: linking diagnosis and intervention to improve work conditions

This paper presents the model "Work Situation Operative Model" - MOST (after its Spanish acronym). It offers a comprehensive, systemic approach to analysing work stations and/or work processes, serving also as a framework for pursuing various ergonomic and occupational health and safety goals. Originally produced for a food sector company, the model has been extended and successfully applied in several industries in Colombia and Ecuador, including cement, oil, and paper industries. Based on a systemic understanding of work systems and tasks, the model not only allows different, commonly-used methods and tools for evaluating or assessing the risk of muscular-sketetal disorders to be included, but also supports occupational risk management strategies. Hence, one of its more important contributions relies on providing meaningful information that is useful for improving the work station and/or work process through design and re-design, by focusing on the interactions between all system elements.