Research Briefs
Research briefs gather a set of papers for a panel-style session. An instigator starts the conversation after the authors deliver a short presentation to set the context.
Synergies & Transdisciplinary
Instigators: Mey Goh and Salma Ghulma
The authors discuss how moving from silo-disciplinary work into a transdisciplinary ecosystem can springboard radical transformation to cope with complex societal challenges. Their work emphasises how systemic design supports a plural and critical epistemology to bring together different communities, ways of knowing, worldviews, and methodologies; however, they also illustrate that tensions and conflicts between perspectives still slow the progress for a genuine collaboration ecosystem that reconciles differences and integrates discourses and approaches for knowledge mobilisation, and systems change.
Authors reference their papers together with their experience with complex projects involving multiple stakeholders, experimental methodologies, and a revival of disciplines (e.g., graphics and human factors) to overcome barriers and strengthen effective collaborations. They also highlight the need for transdisciplinary approaches, leveraging data, and diverse expertise to create targeted responses and urgent initiatives.
#12. Chris Moore
Seeing The Wood And The Trees: Exploring methodologies for extending a new “designerly way of knowing”
#120 Cecilia Landa-Avila, Gyuchan Jun, Antuela Tako, Patrick Waterson, Ian Hodgkinson and Siyuan Ji
Synergies between Sciences: Towards a systems-oriented inter/transdisciplinary model
#143 Simon Downs
Emergent Graphics
#198 Tincuta Heinzel
Materials as Systems: The case of advanced textiles as key actors in a systemic change
#213 Hazel Ingham, Ana Andrade, Chris Elliott and Meaghan O’Neil
Safer Governance of Complex Systems
Questions
How can we foster and sustain (un)conventional collaboration across disciplines and actors? How can we transcend and enrich disciplines without replacing them?
How can we develop collective sense-making, collective decision-making and collective change-making?
How do metaphorical understanding can shaping meaningful conversations and systemic interventions?
Climate Action
Instigators: Ian Hodgkinson and Aminah Ghulam-Nabi
Responsible innovation for a world that cares
In a world confronting escalating environmental crises, the imperative of climate action has never been more pressing. The authors consider responsible design and its symbiotic relationship with systems thinking in the pursuit of global environmental well-being. At its core, this theme envisions a world that cares—a society united by the understanding that collective care is paramount for a sustainable future. The panel assesses the role of education, policy innovation, technology information and communication and participation in cultivating this caring ethos. By amalgamating insights from diverse disciplines and impactful case studies from digital technologies, education and health, this panel spotlights the barriers and opportunities to transcend into meaningful systemic change.
#117 Marcia Tavares Smith, Bran Knowles, Kelly Widdicks, Gordon Blair, Gabrielle Samuel, Lucas Somavilla, Marina Jirotka, Carolyn Ten Holter and Federica Lucivero
Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts: Exploring a systemic design inspired responsible innovation framework for addressing ICT carbon emissions
#148 Stefania Sansoni and George E. Torrens
Graphic Design, Sustainability and Greenwashing: Understanding among students
#193 Mohd Shoaib, Antuela Tako, Armando Vargas-Palacios and Ramzi Fayad
A Systems Approach to Designing a Circular Economy of Small Medical Devices
Questions
What are the main tensions between climate action and your main discipline or domain?
Within the context of a world that cares for the environment, how can policymakers and industry leaders adopt systems thinking strategies to address interconnected challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, and social equity?
How can educational strategies encourage individuals and communities to embrace a global culture that prioritises regeneration and sustainability?
How feasible is the transition to a circular economy in sectors that often do not prioritise these outcomes (i.e., healthcare), and what indicators of environmental and financial impacts could support this transition?
Engagement
Instigators: Shichao Zhao and Eduardo Mendez-Gonzalez
Shaping hopeful futures
In an era of unprecedented global challenges, participative engagement could be key to catalysing positive societal transformations. Engagement can empower individuals and communities to actively co-create just and well-being futures.
The papers inspire new paradigms for addressing systemic inequities, enhancing community resilience, and propelling collective well-being by examining the synergistic relationship between engagement and systemic design. They explore case studies and unconventional propositions for an opportunity to deliver engagement-driven systemic design in various social contexts.
The authors emphasise creativity’s impact on community, technology, and societal issues, reflecting an evolving and multidisciplinary approach to solving contemporary challenges and envisioning hopeful futures.
#157 Sue Lattanzio
Music for Research Co-creation and Public Engagement
#18 Joanne Berry-Frith
How can an artist researcher develop a framework by testing play as a concept to advance relationships through art-science collaboration that leads to behavioural change?
#57 Cecilia Landa-Avila, Gyuchan Jun, Satheesh Gangadharan, Sarah Rabbitte and Amy Wilkins
Healthcare Research through Systemic Design: Mapping entangled systems to identify leverage scenarios to enhance care coordination for people with learning disabilities.
#166 Mersha Aftab
Unravelling the Spaghetti | Role of empathy in clarifying systemic tensions
#138 Holly Turpin and Eszter Hegymegi
The Bridge Homeless Triage Service Evaluation: Co-design and immersive digital storytelling
Questions
How can we foster fair citizen engagement to contribute to understanding complex issues and systemic change?
In what ways can creativity be harnessed as a tool to reshape power dynamics in participatory processes, ensuring more inclusive and equitable outcomes?
How can integrating systems thinking and creative design methodologies enhance multi-stakeholder engagement?
Health
Instigators: Thomas Jun and Niang Fu
Tensions between well-being, safety and pluralism
The authors delve into the intricate interplay of health priorities in a diverse world, focusing on perspectives from design, human factors, medicine, and behavioural economics. These papers examine the complexities where individual and collective health, safety measures, and cultural diversity intersect.
Key topics include reconciling individual autonomy with public health needs, addressing cultural disparities in healthcare design, navigating the ethical dimensions of emerging health technologies, ensuring equitable healthcare access, and trustful and effective technologies. These authors have contributed to the ongoing dialogue about shaping a healthcare framework that respects diverse values while promoting the well-being and safety of all.
#56 Antuela A. Tako, Antonina Mutoro, Milka Wanjohi, Calistus Wilunda, Thore Nitz, Gyuchan Thomas Jun, Patrick Waterson, Elizabeth Kimani and Paula Griffiths
Systems Thinking Approach to Support the Scale-Up of the Baby Friendly Community Initiative in Kenya
#306 Saydia Wesley, Peter McCulloch and Olivia Lounsbury
Co-designing to Reduce Failure to Rescue Rates: The RESPOND Study
#101 Haotian Yi, Thomas Jun, Diane Gyi and Samar Betmounit
Systems Thinking Approach to the Implementation of Digital Pathology and AI
#216 Juan Ignacio De La Torre Zapata, Tincuta Heinzel and Roberta Bernabei
AI Logic of Care: Enhancing smart bandages for diabetic chronic wounds management
#204 Haiou Zhu, Cees De Bont, Thorsten Gruber and Hua Dong
Mapping Health-Seeking Behaviours and Influences in Rural China: A behavioural systems approach
Questions
How can a systems thinking perspective shape strategies to foster systemic change that promotes equity and dismantles barriers and safety outcomes?
How can a systemic paradigm shift be initiated to reconcile the intricate interplay between individualised health aspirations, safety considerations, cross-cultural nuances, and the potential of AI technologies?
What radical collaboration is needed for a transformative healthcare paradigm shift?
Abstracts & Papers
The RSD12 Symposium Book of Abstracts has post-review versions of accepted papers. Pre-release copies of articles are available online via the RSD12-PAPERS production folder. Use the paper numbers as a reference.
