AI Research Analysis
Ethics, Power, and Tensions: Rethinking Participation-Based Design for Sensitive Contexts
This workshop addresses the vital aspect of designing computing technology in challenging circumstances, exploring the complexities of participatory and engagement-driven approaches (PEDAs) in sensitive and marginalized contexts. It aims to foster ethical participation, centering care, inclusion, and researcher well-being.
Executive Impact & Key Takeaways
The shift towards ethical, context-aware participatory design can significantly enhance project outcomes and foster more equitable technology solutions in challenging environments.
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Research Collaborations Enhanced
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Ethical Participation Strategies Developed
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Improved Impact on Marginalized Communities
Deep Analysis & Enterprise Applications
Select a topic to dive deeper, then explore the specific findings from the research, rebuilt as interactive, enterprise-focused modules.
Personal Involvement in Research
How do researchers' identities, emotions, and experiences shape participatory work? How does having shared or differing identity dimensions affect research? This theme critically examines the subjectivity of research and its profound impact on outcomes and community engagement.
Ethical Risks & Responsibilities
How can researchers engage with communities without putting themselves at risk? For example, how should one work with women facing domestic violence in ways that do not further expose them to harm or retaliation? How do researchers ensure their own safety (physically, emotionally, and psychologically) when working in high-risk contexts?
Adapting & Appropriating Methods
How can participation-based approaches be adapted to different contexts while ensuring safety, agency, and fit for diverse communities (e.g., using playful, non-verbal methods with children)? This includes tailoring methods to address specific vulnerabilities and cultural nuances.
Giving Back & Design Justice
How can researchers ensure that communities benefit from research rather than being extracted from? For example, when researchers use the stories and experiences of abuse survivors, how can they give credit to participants and ensure they also benefit from their participation?
Ethical Engagement
Key to Meaningful Participatory Design in Sensitive Contexts
The workshop emphasizes that ethical and responsible engagement with vulnerable populations is not just an obligation but a vital lens for understanding computing's role in crisis. It centers care, inclusion, and researcher well-being, fostering mutual learning and tangible output like zines to address power imbalances and extractive participation.
Enterprise Process Flow
Introductions & PEDAs Overview
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Present Positionality Zines
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Thematic Breakout Discussions
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Sharing Across Topics
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Refinement or Rotation
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Collective Reflection & Next Steps
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The Zine-Making Workshop Approach
This workshop leverages zine-making as a core activity to foster ethical and reflective participation. Zines, being lo-fi, self-published booklets, provide a lightweight and accessible medium for participants—researchers, practitioners, and activists—to physically manifest thoughts, share subjective stories, and discuss challenges collaboratively. This approach ensures that personal experiences and researcher well-being are front and center, promoting mutual learning and community-driven insights beyond traditional academic outputs. It also enables tangible outputs for dissemination.
- Facilitates personal narrative sharing in a low-stakes format.
- Promotes mutual learning and community-driven insights.
- Creates tangible, shareable outputs (zines).
- Addresses power dynamics by centering individual experiences and well-being.
Quantify Your AI Impact
Estimate the potential time and cost savings by implementing ethically sound participatory design principles in your organization.
Estimated Annual Savings
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Annual Hours Reclaimed
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Ethical Design Implementation Roadmap
A structured approach to integrating ethical participatory design into your research or organizational practices, ensuring sustainable and impactful outcomes.
Phase 1: Needs Assessment & Ethical Framework Development
Understand the specific context and sensitive issues. Identify key stakeholders and vulnerable populations. Establish clear ethical guidelines and consent protocols tailored to the context, drawing on frameworks like Design Justice.
Phase 2: Participatory Method Co-Design & Pilot
Collaborate with target communities to co-design appropriate participatory methods (e.g., zine-making, storytelling). Pilot these methods with a small group to test effectiveness, cultural fit, and safety, ensuring iterative refinement.
Phase 3: Full-Scale Implementation & Continuous Feedback
Roll out the refined participatory design process across the project. Implement continuous feedback mechanisms and regular reflection sessions for researchers and participants to address emerging challenges and power dynamics.
Phase 4: Impact Evaluation & Knowledge Dissemination
Evaluate the project's ethical impact and benefits to the community. Disseminate findings responsibly, ensuring participants are credited and benefit from the research outcomes. Plan for long-term sustainability and follow-up engagement.
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