4S/EASST Joint Conference 2012, October 17-20, 2012Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Design and displacement

Michel PUECH

Philosophical bases for the acceptability of Universal Design

Oct. 20, 2012

funding : ETOS (Éthique, Technologie, Organisations, Société)Telecom ParisTech, Paris, France

mic hel .pue ch @

p aris -so rbo nn e.fr

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“There is a danger that Design may be perceived as a top-down framing and shaping of devices and environments, conveying a tinge of technocracy and paternalism that does not fit in the picture we have of the new sets of common values. It is crucial to consider how UD will fit into the emergent values of the 21st century”

introduction

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introduction

my point

in the immaterial (digital) world

access is a core value and is currently reshaping the entire system of values

in the material world

we are more reluctant to implement access as a universal value and right

→ a question in technoethics about the coevolution and merging of digital and “real-world” values

→ (?) the constant effort of “control and command” incumbents to delay change and maintain the top-down management of human affairs

→ conflicts with the bottom-up, collaborative and micro-action oriented emergent spirit of the digital age – and particularly the acceptability trigger

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e-values

immaterial affluence (e-affluence): access as a right!

Jeremy RIFKIN, The age of access (2000) → The empathic civilization (2009)

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e-values

4 emergent e-values:

facilitation

transparency

collaborative processes

end-user design and generativity

ZITTRAIN Jonathan, The future of the Internet - and how to stop it, Yale UP, 2009: "Generativity is a system's capacity to produce unanticipated change through unfiltered contributions from broad and varied audiences." (p. 70)

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e-values

compare the e-values with the 7 principles of UD

(next slide)

apply these principles to the user's experience on the website Amazon

possibly with MS Windows accessibility tools for the impaired

compare with the “brick and mortar” bookshop in the nearby city

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e-values

1. Equitable Use: The design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.

2. Flexibility in Use: The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

3. Simple and Intuitive: Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.

4. Perceptible Information: The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities.

5. Tolerance for Error: The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

6. Low Physical Effort: The design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.

7. Size and Space for Approach and Use: Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user's body size, posture, or mobility.

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 material world

material affluence: access as a right?

the societal influence of online valuesnotion of user-experts in UD

technology perceived as a transparent facilitative environment

but: neglect of material access as a rightthe all too easy neglect of the real world, a common ethical flaw

the lack of ethical care for the ordinary

“environments that can be accessed, understood and used regardless of age, size and ability”: we made it real in the virtual, what's next?

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acceptability

the ethics of acceptability

recent societal upheavalsthe Indignados, Anonymous, 99%, Occupy movements...

there seems to be only one trigger to mobilize social energy: unacceptability

the non-acceptability of non-accessa good candidate for a transversal common value real-world/e-world

a good trigger to mobilize social energy

a legitimate case for public action, when confronted to the unacceptable

from Californian to Scandinavian spirit, in the transition e-values / material implementation

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inspirations

implementing the acceptability of UD, free-style inspirations

                                      ↔                           ↔

facilitation and transparency

ramps/stairs // icons/console

voice recognition commands on new generation smartphones - not adding a special access but managing a single inclusive access (non-suppressive) – the universal and the global are no special feature but rather transparent ordinary use

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inspirations

collaborative processes

how can every person feel involved in the co-conception of her material environment?

→ a wiki-environment

contributive, from disseminated initiatives, using disseminated e-devices to collect and compile micro-assessments and suggestions

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inspirations

end-user design and generativity

my favorite idea in UD:

every human is not a young (rich) anglophone male in perfectly good health

→ apply it not only to the user-end, but to the designer-end:

the designer is not a young (rich) anglophone male in perfectly good health

they could have trouble finding a job

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inspirations

just imagine...

think again: he is (was) a young (rich) anglophone male in perfectly good health

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inspirations

imagine a material environment mostly designed by old (poor) sick ladies from Asia or Africa...

it would terminate the automobile civilization, for one thing

when joining a party of best-world-designers, use this test: “where is the old poor sick Asian/African lady?”

→ it gives a feeling of the tension between Universal and Design, doesn't it?

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online access...

http://michel.puech.free.frthis presentation

more

a forum