Principles of Anti-Discriminatory Design

2013

The theme of ICIS 2013 in Milan is "Reshaping Society through Information Systems" (http://icis2013.aisnet.org/). One aspect of reshaping society that has been recently discussed in central Europe is that of social inclusion (http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=750&langId=en). Yet, after decades of research and ambitious political programs, we still observe an imbalanced treatment toward groups of different gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and social background. Such an issue raises questions about the degree to which information systems can help to overcome such imbalance; for instance, if design principles can be formalized in order to reshape the information systems design into a different, more-inclusive direction. We contend that IS falls short in tackling this issue. In this panel, Shirley Gregor, Fred Niederman, Eileen Trauth, and Cathy Urquhart reflect on the multiple aspects of social inclusion in the design and the resulting shape of Information Systems. This panel intends to deliver more in-depth results than merely advocating a stance for more diversity in the IS workforce. Building on the principles of Design Science, we believe that our discipline can help reshape the digital economy. As a key takeaway, the panel provides guidance on the impact of gender in IS theorizing as a demonstration example, and reflect on the trend towards Social Design in the IS research community.

Housing Studies, 2004

This paper documents work from the EPSRC 'EQUATOR' and 'Dependability Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration on Computer Based Systems' (DIRC) concerned with the appropriate design of dependable assistive technology to enable older and disabled people to maintain a quality of life within their own homes. Technology, especially so-called "smart home" technology, can only be used to assist people if it is effectively designed. Designers are therefore required to consider certain key questions such as what situation they are designing for, what solutions should do, and who should use them. The focus in this paper is on understanding and identifying user needs and system requirements for dependability in the complex challenge of inclusive design. The feature of inclusive design we address is the new emphasis on the user, a living, breathing person situated in real world settings along with others, rather than some designer's abstraction. The acceptance or rejection of assistive technology relies on the users perceptions of the designed technology as well as the appropriateness of the technology designed. Consequently, this paper suggests that despite highly imaginative views of future technologies, getting such dreams to work generally means they must, at some point, meet the real world and engage with the needs of users if they are to be sufficiently grounded. Given this emphasis on users the highly personal character of domestic settings presents conventional research techniques with obdurate problems that can make research practically and ethically difficult. Researching domestic spaces and domestic values requires different methods to understand the unique needs and experiences of residents. Accordingly, we report on our experiences of using observational studies and adapting 'cultural probes' to foster an ongoing dialogue with the members of our user groups, to gain insights into their needs and generate design relevant information and inspiration. We discuss how such information might feed into dependable design through consideration of a model of dependability.

2005

In order to create effective inclusive designs, we need to address many questions -not only issues of design itself, but also questions surrounding the design process: methodological, ethical and practical. If we are to address these effectively, we need to identify them, consider the options and think through their implications. Nowhere is this more true than in the development of technology for older people, an increasingly important area in the light of the increasingly aging population. This paper presents some first steps in the exploration of these issues in this context, mapping out a space of the issues and discussing each of them in greater depth. We report on views expressed at workshops on inclusive design and the older population held during 2004, particularly one run at HCI 2004, involving 24 participants from academia, industry and the older population.

Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2021

We conceptualize Digital Design Marginalization (DDM) as the process in which a digital interface design excludes certain users and contributes to marginalization in other areas of their lives. Due to non-inclusive designs, many underrepresented users face barriers in accessing essential services that are moving increasingly, sometimes exclusively, online-services such as personal finance, healthcare, social connectivity, and shopping. This can further perpetuate the "digital divide," a technology-based form of social inequality that has offline consequences. We introduce the term Marginalizing Design to describe designs that contribute to DDM. In this paper, we focus on the impact of Marginalizing Design on older adults through examples from our research and discussions of services that may have marginalizing designs for older adults. Our aim is to provide a conceptual lens for designers, service providers, and policy makers through which they can use to purposely lessen or avoid digitally marginalizing groups of users.

2011

Abstract Although “User-Centred”,“Participatory”, and other similar design approaches have proved to be very valuable for mainstream design, their principles are more difficult to apply successfully when the user group contains, or is composed of, older and/or disabled users. In the field of design for older and disabled people, the “Universal Design”,“Inclusive Design” and “Design for All” movements have encouraged designers to extend their design briefs to include older and disabled people.

Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

Gender-blind design hinges upon an assumption that designing equally is the same as designing for equality. That, however, is inaccurate, as gender-blindness is merely a synonym for neutrality. Neutrality, because it lacks a concerted effort to subvert, favors hegemonic values and epistemologies, which counters the purported aim of equality. Supposedly objective methods of analysis, such as data gathering and interpreting, are not deprived of this hegemonic bias either. As such, through an acknowledgment of ethics, the designer must recognize that they are, indeed, imbuing their values into their designs, which bears influence on the ways in which the user interacts and interprets those designs, a notion which is especially relevant to a field concerned with user experience. This may be done deliberately or by accident, but it is always inevitable. Ethics is, in this way, inextricable from the design process, and, thus, the present article aims to propose that designing for equality requires the designer to act as an ethical agent-responsibly, consciously, and knowingly-especially if one hopes to avoid a design which embodies and communicates oppressive notions. In particular, within the purview of ethics, and by making use of some case-studies and examples, it argues that designing toward gender equality requires not the more typical gender-blind approach, but rather one which is specifically genderconscious. Further, this article also offers some suggestions as to how we might begin to act as ethical design agents and implement marginalized epistemologies into the design process. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Interaction design; Interaction design theory, concepts and paradigms.

Applied Ergonomics, 2014

Inclusive design has unique challenges because it aims to improve usability for a wide range of users. This typically includes people with lower levels of ability, as well as mainstream users. This paper examines the effectiveness of two methods that are used in inclusive design: user trials and exclusion calculations (an inclusive design inspection method). A study examined three autoinjectors using both methods (n ¼ 30 for the user trials). The usability issues identified by each method are compared and the effectiveness of the methods is discussed. The study found that each method identified different kinds of issues, all of which are important for inclusive design. We therefore conclude that a combination of methods should be used in inclusive design rather than relying on a single method. Recommendations are also given for how the individual methods can be used more effectively in this context.

2018

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects intermediaries from liability for distributing third-party user content. Courts have read Section 230 broadly, creating an immunity for intermediaries who do all but “materially contribute” to the user content they distribute. That is, courts have read the statute’s protections to cover services that augment user content, but not services that demonstrably help to develop the alleged illegal expressive conduct. Many believe that the internet would not be as dynamic and beguiling today were it not for the protection that Section 230 has been construed to provide for online intermediaries. Members of Congress worried the intermediaries would be “chilled” by the fear that they could be held legally responsible for content posted by users. Today, however, Section 230 doctrine has also had a perverse effect. By providing intermediaries with such broad legal protection, the courts’ construction of Section 230 effectively underwrites c...

The adoption of inclusive design principles and methods in the design practice supports the equity of use of everyday products by as many people as possible irrespective of their age, physical, sensorial and cognitive capabilities. Although the intention is valuable, inclusive design approaches have not yet been widely applied in industrial context. This paper analyses the findings of an empirical research study conducted with industrial designers and product managers. The research indicates some of the hindrances to the adoption of inclusive design, such as the current way the market is considered and targeted, and; the way the designers’ research strategy and activities are driven by the project’s brief and budget. This paper proposes a way to improve the current industrial mode by strategically supplying clients, designers or both with information about inclusivity.

Proceedings on the 2000 conference on Universal Usability - CUU '00, 2000

It is known that many products are not accessible to large sections of the population. Designers instinctively design for able-bodied users and are either unaware of the needs of users with different capabilities, or do not know how to accommodate their needs into the design cycle.