Vikram Parmar

Tangible user interface for increasing social interaction among rural women

The paper presents a case of tangible user interface (TUI), which has been designed using traditional metaphors to access personal health information through an ICT based health system. An evaluative study of the designed TUI was conducted with (n=175) rural women in western India. The interaction with TUI was compared with previously designed customized iconic keyboard of an existing personal health information system. The results from the study illustrate that proposed TUI increased social interaction due to enhanced product engagement, product attachment, and community decision-making. As a consequence of increased social interaction, sensitive health information has been disseminated successfully to the rural women.

Shaping social beliefs: A community sensitive health information system for rural India

This paper presents critical issues concerning the community sensitive personal health information system in rural India, from an industrial design perspective. Literature in current ICT based applications, point to the fact that, current efforts related to personal health information dissemination have gained limited acceptance at community level among rural population. This is probably due to limited understanding of community sensitive information needs, societal structure and user beliefs of the rural community. To understand the underlying social values and users beliefs related to personal health information (PHI), a preliminary study including field interviews and review of currently deployed ICT projects was conducted. This paper presents the preliminary results, indicating several social and design challenges towards the development of a PHI system. Further the paper proposes a design framework, which includes design as a primary tool to shape existing user beliefs to positively influence the technology acceptance process of PHI system.

Responsible Design and Product Innovation from a Capability Perspective

This chapter is about designing responsible technological product innovations for the multidimensional poor people in developing countries, to improve their livelihoods and make available to them better products. Attention for this so-called ‘design for development’ has already been raised in the 1970s. However, despite several design efforts for the poor, significant efforts are still required. To advance socially responsible design, we suggest the integration of Sen’s capability approach into the product design process. This approach focuses on enhancing people’s real opportunities, their capabilities. In this paper we take a capability perspective towards a technological product designed for and implemented in rural India, to explore the potential, the advantages and disadvantages of using a capability perspective when designing and innovating for the multidimensional poor. We conclude that the capability approach can offer designers a comprehensive and holistic view which aids them to better understand the context and to better predict the consequences of their product innovations. The approach therefore appears promising to support product designers in their efforts to influence the change that the multidimensional poor need in their societies and in their lives.