Published papers

Making activities have been shown to offer potential for inclusive access to digital literacy amongst marginalized groups, but research exploring such approaches with older adults is still scarce. Our study introduces an electronic-card-making workshop, co-developed with Japanese older women to foster engagement aligning with their purpose, physical and cognitive skills. The workshop was initially delivered to 14 women. Following initial success, 4 participants decided to deliver a second workshop, with the support of our team, for 15 local children. We present findings from both these workshops unpacking how women's motivation for engaging in eMaking revolved around the idea of sharing, both through displaying created artefacts and the transmission of knowledge, how their learning consolidated around implicit actions and was supported by the creation of escalation strategies when they felt that demands exceeded their level of proficiency. Based on our results, we propose guidelines for inclusive eMaking involving novice older women.

We present TangiBuild, a smart tangible manipulative designed to create interactive learning experiences around 3D structures that leverage children’s natural familiarity with traditional tools while integrating technology for effective scaffolding. TangiBuild aims to enhance children’s grasp of structural stability, an abstract STEM concept, through engaging hands-on activities supported by real-time feedback and guided exploration. By combining the physical advantages of tangible interfaces with the layered guidance of scaffolding principles, TangiBuild bridges the gap between physical manipulatives and virtual tools. Iterative workshops involving a total of 82 children aged 6–12 revealed that TangiBuild fosters exploration of STEM concepts by enabling participants to improve 3D structures using feedback iteratively. These findings demonstrate how TangiBuild’s interactive activities help children acquire and apply abstract concepts in real-life contexts. By encouraging active participation, guided learning, and creativity, TangiBuild promotes innovative approaches to STEM learning.

As the global aging population grows and technology advances rapidly, integrating technology into community-based initiatives for older adults has become an increasingly important topic among HCI researchers. This research explores the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools in the co-creation and maintenance of a community gardening program involving researchers, older adult residents, and supporting organizations. A follow-up study, conducted eight months after the program's initiation assessed its sustainability, revealing how stakeholders navigated diverse ICT preferences and challenges by employing a hybrid communication system that integrated both digital and face-to-face methods to foster collaboration and sustain the initiative. This research contributes to the understanding of community preferences and needs, and the importance of contextualizing technology use within Japanese local community for collaborative community development.

In addition to trained work skills, employed individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) possess unique competencies that are often insufficiently supported or overlooked by both themselves and their work environments. This study proposes using reflective practices to help employees with IDs and employers rediscover competencies beyond job-related skills. To facilitate participation, we employed personalized crafting with iron beads, supported by a custom-developed application integrated with text-to-image generative AI. We conducted two workshops involving 5-7 employees with IDs to explore and enhance our approach to competency discovery. In the first workshop, facilitators manually created templates for participants, while in the second, we leveraged an AI-assisted application for self-creation of personalized templates. Findings from group discussions reveal (1) the development of a framework that positions AI-enhanced crafting activities as an effective way for uncovering and fostering competencies, and (2) insights into reflection on self-concept as a foundation for competency development.

This research implies a service application providing pedestrians of modern cities with the audio approach. The mobile audio service Barsonar enhances the night-time strolling in alleys, lanes, or backstreets; in other words bar-hopping or pub-crawling. The pedestrians can search for a bar/pub in nocturnal cities as if using a fish-sonar on a boat out in the sea fishing, and decide on the direction to head and the destination to drink out. Barsonar provides a real-time bustle map along with an aural navigation through your mobile. This paper presents an initial paper prototype that investigates the customer journey the service shall provide, and also indicates potentials for how an aural flaneur experience and the soundscape for metropolitan cities that can act as third places shall be in the era of drastic change.

The pursuit of empowerment and democratization in the maker movement necessitates a stronger focus on inclusivity towards individuals with disabilities. Despite advancements in maker technologies and environments, a gap persists in exploring the accessibility of creative craft practices. This collaborative study was carried out with a company dedicated to inclusive employment focused on understanding the challenges of beginners with intellectual disabilities approaching the use of iron beads as a creative crafting medium. Leveraging insights from a workshop involving five company employees, we developed the BeadMuse AI-a web application system that enriches the crafting experience by tuning into users' interests to produce custom templates that align with individual strengths and preferences. Preliminary evaluation shows the potential for BeadMuse Al to support independent crafting among disabled employees, with potential for broader applications.

This study focuses on designing and implementing adaptive fabric art workshops within a collaborative art creation environment tailored for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Conducted in an inclusive gallery setting, these workshops aimed to enhance self-expression for individuals with intellectual disabilities through simplifed art-making processes and user-friendly materials and tools. Following these workshops, the created artworks were exhibited at the gallery. Based on refections with stakeholders, we suggest the development of online sharing platforms that could facilitate ongoing learning and collaboration for supporters, ultimately promoting inclusivity and accessibility in community art activities for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

What does it mean to invite vulnerable communities to the table in times of crisis not just as subjects, but as co-designers, in ways that facilitate nourishing and care-full relations? In this paper, we present the case of an online design sprint involving two groups of diverse participants in London and Tokyo as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded. This modified design sprint model, which we describe as a 'care-full design stroll', integrated co-design approaches with ethics of care to offer remote cultural experiences aimed at addressing inequalities of access and inclusion faced by the arts and cultural sectors in Japan and the UK. We analyse data from ethnographic observations, interviews and surveys in both nations to illustrate the challenges and opportunities of facilitating design sprints online. Our findings show how care-full co-design, underpinned by concepts of thinking-with and working-alongside, can be facilitated in online-only and/or limited terrains, in ways that nourish cultural organisations and their publics in times of great uncertainty. We conclude with a set of six design principles which provide practical recommendations for the effective facilitation of future care-full co-design sprints for groups working in a variety of settings.

Engaging individuals in creating physical representations of personal data facilitates storytelling and collaborative reflection. However, its potential to encourage older adults to share their personal stories remains underexplored. This study introduces a craft-centered data physicalization approach where participants create tangible representations of their emotions and experiences related to community events, involving both event attendees and event organizers, through a series of workshops. This collaborative crafting process encourage group discussions and collective reflections on past experiences, enabling participants to express thoughts and feelings that would otherwise remain unspoken. Our work contributes a practical workshop approach that merges craft practice with data physicalization to support deep social expressions and connections among older adults.

Researchers often encounter challenges in co-designing with individuals with intellectual disabilities, and can be uncertain about how to manage collaboration effectively and fairly. This paper introduces a co-creation personalized pixel crafting activity, positioning individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) as primary contributors and researchers as supportive facilitators. Utilizing iron beads crafting, this approach draws on the personal narratives of ID participants to generate digital pixel art templates for collaborative crafting endeavors. The aim is to naturally develop empathy-building among groups, seeking to foster a deeper, more intuitive understanding and connection between researchers and ID individuals, highlighting the potential of creative collaboration to bridge communication gaps and enhance mutual empathy.

This research investigates the use of collage-making as a tool to enhance self-reflection in older adults. The study demonstrates that participants engaged deeply in the process, achieving varying levels of reflection. However, there was hesitancy towards using digital tools directly. A potential solution is to combine analog activities with a digital archive for improved user engagement. Future work could focus on refining this approach and exploring other ways to integrate technology in self-reflective practices for older adults

Individuals with profound intellectual disabilities (ID) often experience limited physical activity due to a lack of accessible exercise programs and difficulty understanding abstract health concepts. This study presents a preliminary qualitative exploration of Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) in this population. Six participants engaged in a large-scale, collaborative art workshop designed to encourage physical movement through creative expression. We categorized participants' existing FMS and investigated how art-making could serve as a motivating medium for further FMS development. Through observational data and caregiver feedback, we identified current FMS competency and concluded design recommendations for the HCI community. Our findings highlight the importance of low-cognitive-load, embodied activities and inclusive design strategies that foster both movement engagement and creative participation.