research-article

Sustainable Making? Balancing Optimism and Criticism in HCI Discourse

Authors:

Shaowen Bardzell,

Jeffrey BardzellAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), Volume 22, Issue 3

Article No.: 15, Pages 1 - 27

https://doi.org/10.1145/2699742

Published: 01 June 2015 Publication History

Abstract

We examine the recent move from a rhetoric of “users” toward one of “makers,” “crafters,” and “hackers” within HCI discourse. Through our analysis, we make several contributions. First, we provide a general overview of the structure and common framings within research on makers. We discuss how these statements reconfigure themes of empowerment and progress that have been central to HCI rhetoric since the field's inception. In the latter part of the article, we discuss the consequences of these shifts for contemporary research problems. In particular, we explore the problem of designed obsolescence, a core issue for Sustainable Interaction Design (SID) research. We show how the framing of the maker, as an empowered subject, presents certain opportunities and limitations for this research discourse. Finally, we offer alternative framings of empowerment that can expand maker discourse and its use in contemporary research problems such as SID.

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Lebloch KRafetseder A(2024)Laying foundations for a “Right to Improve”Frontiers in the Internet of Things10.3389/friot.2024.13212633Online publication date: 19-Feb-2024
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Jensen VLaursen KJensen RSmith R(2024)Imagining Sustainable Energy Communities: Design Narratives of Future Digital Technologies, Sites, and ParticipationProceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642609(1-17)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Index Terms

Sustainable Making? Balancing Optimism and Criticism in HCI Discourse
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Computing / technology policy

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cover image ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction Volume 22, Issue 3

June 2015

151 pages

ISSN:1073-0516

EISSN:1557-7325

DOI:10.1145/2785963

Editor:
Shumin Zhai
Google, Inc.

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Copyright © 2015 ACM.

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Publication History

Published: 01 June 2015

Accepted: 01 November 2014

Revised: 01 October 2014

Received: 01 March 2014

Published in TOCHI Volume 22, Issue 3

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Norouzi BIivari NKinnula MMilara I(2024)Challenges in starting to design and make togetherInternational Journal of Human-Computer Studies10.1016/j.ijhcs.2023.103185183:COnline publication date: 14-Mar-2024
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