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Article
Publication date: 7 September 2018

Raymond P. Fisk, Alison M. Dean, Linda Alkire (née Nasr), Alison Joubert, Josephine Previte, Nichola Robertson and Mark Scott Rosenbaum

The purpose of this paper is to challenge service researchers to design for service inclusion, with an overall goal of achieving inclusion by 2050. The authors present service…

6278

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to challenge service researchers to design for service inclusion, with an overall goal of achieving inclusion by 2050. The authors present service inclusion as an egalitarian system that provides customers with fair access to a service, fair treatment during a service and fair opportunity to exit a service.

Design/methodology/approach

Building on transformative service research, a transformative, human-centered approach to service design is proposed to foster service inclusion and to provide a platform for managerial action. This conceptual study explores the history of service exclusion and examines contemporary demographic trends that suggest the possibility of worsening service exclusion for consumers worldwide.

Findings

Service inclusion represents a paradigm shift to higher levels of understanding of service systems and their fundamental role in human well-being. The authors argue that focused design for service inclusion is necessary to make service systems more egalitarian.

Research limitations/implications

The authors propose four pillars of service inclusion: enabling opportunity, offering choice, relieving suffering and fostering happiness.

Practical implications

Service organizations are encouraged to design their offerings in a manner that promotes inclusion and permits customers to realize value.

Originality/value

This comprehensive research agenda challenges service scholars to use design to create inclusive service systems worldwide by the year 2050. The authors establish the moral imperative of design for service inclusion.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 February 2021

Furkan Ulu, Ravi Pratap Singh Tomar and Ram Mohan

PolyJet technology allows printing complex multi-material composite configurations using Voxel digital designs' capability, thus allowing rapid prototyping of 3D printed…

Abstract

Purpose

PolyJet technology allows printing complex multi-material composite configurations using Voxel digital designs' capability, thus allowing rapid prototyping of 3D printed structural parts. This paper aims to investigate the processing and mechanical characteristics of composite material configurations formed from soft and hard materials with different distributions and sizes via voxel digital print design.

Design/methodology/approach

Voxels are extruded representations of pixels and represent different material information similar to each pixel representing colors in digital images. Each geometric region of a digitally designed part represented by a voxel can be printed with a different material. Multi-material composite part configurations were formed and rapidly prototyped using a PolyJet printer Stratasys J750. A design of experiments composite part configuration of a soft material (Tango Plus) within a hard material matrix (Vero Black) was studied. Composite structures with different hard and soft material distributions, but at the same volume fractions of hard and soft materials, were rapidly prototyped via PolyJet printing through developed Voxel digital printing designs. The tensile behavior of these formed composite material configurations was studied.

Findings

Processing and mechanical behavior characteristics depend on materials in different regions and their distributions. Tensile characterization obtained the fracture energy, tensile strength, modulus and failure strength of different hard-soft composite systems. Mechanical properties and behavior of all different composite material systems are compared.

Practical implications

Tensile characteristics correlate to digital voxel designs that play a critical role in additive manufacturing, in addition to the formed material composition and distributions.

Originality/value

Results clearly indicate that multi-material composite systems with various tensile mechanical properties could be created using voxel printing by engineering the design of material distributions, and sizes. The important parameters such as inclusion size and distribution can easily be controlled within all slices via voxel digital designs in PolyJet printing. Therefore, engineers and designers can manipulate entire morphology and material at each voxel level, and different prototype morphologies can be created with the same voxel digital design. In addition, difficulties from AM process with voxel printing for such material designs is addressed, and effective digital solutions were used for successful prototypes. Some of these difficulties are extra support material or printing the part with different dimension than it designed to achieve the final part dimension fidelity. Present work addressed and resolved such issued and provided cyber based software solutions using CAD and voxel discretization. All these increase broad adaptability of PolyJet AM in industry for prototyping and end-use.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 November 2023

Chiara Tagliaro, Alessandra Migliore, Erica Isa Mosca and Stefano Capolongo

This paper aims to explore how the scientific literature and company reports have addressed inclusive workplace design and strategies to date.

1340

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore how the scientific literature and company reports have addressed inclusive workplace design and strategies to date.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper adopts a scoping review to answer the following question: To what extent is inclusion present in workplace design and related strategies? An analysis of 27 scientific papers and 25 corporate social responsibility reports of the highest-ranked companies in the Great Place to Work global ranking disentangles the main aspects related to workplace design and strategies for promoting inclusion.

Findings

This paper opens avenues for four macro-categories of diversity (psycho-physical aspects; cultural aspects; socio-economic conditions; and ability, experience and strengths) to support the development of inclusive workplace design and strategy. Besides, multiple spatial scales emerged as material and immaterial elements of the workplace encountering inclusion and diversity.

Originality/value

Nowadays, the workforce is becoming more diverse. Although diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) has become key to many organizations, it remains unclear how DE&I principles are applied in workspace design and strategies. This scoping review provides a novel perspective on the topic by integrating scientific knowledge and practice-based approaches which still address this matter independently.

Details

Journal of Corporate Real Estate , vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-001X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 July 2021

Cheryl Nakata and S. Cem Bahadir

The purpose of this study is to determine how design should be managed to develop truly innovative products and services. Three management levers were examined: design leadership…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to determine how design should be managed to develop truly innovative products and services. Three management levers were examined: design leadership, design inclusion and design thinking.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was carried out as a survey of innovation managers in the USA. The survey measures were developed from the design and innovation literature. Over 300 managers participated in the survey, and their responses were analyzed by using multiple regressions and other statistical tools.

Findings

All three aspects of design that were studied – leadership, team inclusion and thinking – were found to significantly and positively impact new product and service innovativeness. Of these factors, the most important contributor to innovativeness was design thinking, with having more than three times the impact of the other two. Also, firms that are large, publicly held and technology-intensive are on average more innovative.

Practical implications

To increase the innovativeness – or novelty, interest in and influential – of new products and services, managers should appoint designers as leaders on innovation project, include designers in development teams and above all integrate the design thinking process in organizations.

Originality/value

This study determines that design leadership, inclusion and thinking increases the innovativeness of new products and services.

Details

Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 43 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0275-6668

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 September 2023

Nikhita Tuli, Ritu Srivastava and Harish Kumar

Access to services for consumers with disabilities (CwD) has gained increased attention from researchers and service providers in recent years. Consequently, ensuring that…

Abstract

Purpose

Access to services for consumers with disabilities (CwD) has gained increased attention from researchers and service providers in recent years. Consequently, ensuring that services are designed and maintained in a manner that is more inclusive and accessible to CwD has become imperative. However, academic literature is fragmented and thus, this study aims to provide a state-of-the-art synthesis for further theoretical development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study reviews 77 relevant articles in the domain using a multidisciplinary review following the PRISMA protocol, and a thematic analysis was conducted.

Findings

The study thoroughly synthesizes the theories, contexts and methods used in the extant literature. Next, the study presents a new theoretical framework with four broader dimensions: beyond regulations, towards accessibility, value co-creation, inclusion of CwD and role of stakeholders. Furthermore, it highlights the related sub-dimensions attributed to the service design stages (planning, usage and post-usage). Based on this, the study offers critical avenues for future research using the Double Diamond framework.

Originality/value

The study contributes significantly to service design literature for CwD and transformative service research by developing a new consolidated theoretical framework. The findings should direct service providers towards better service designs in related fields. Socially, the study has implications for promoting accessibility and inclusion for CwD, while providing them the freedom of choice.

Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2016

Soledad Analía Ayala and María Cecilia Vila

The present paper analyzes the implementation of Open Digital Television (Televisión Digital Abierta or TDA) in Argentina. It takes up a sociotechnical standpoint and considers…

Abstract

Purpose

The present paper analyzes the implementation of Open Digital Television (Televisión Digital Abierta or TDA) in Argentina. It takes up a sociotechnical standpoint and considers TDA as a public policy designed to foster social inclusion.

Methodology/approach

The ideas presented in this paper are derived from a sociotechnical perspective, both at a theoretical and at a methodological level. The main postulates of this perspective are based on constructivist criteria; they explain outcomes as a result of the constant interplay of technical and social realities. Thus, this relation is intrinsic and continuous. We work with the concept of technology in its broadest sense. That is to say, TDA is not seen as just a mass communication infrastructure, but as a technology which involves knowledge, production practices, and content broadcasting, as a result of the interrelation of cultural, political, social, economic, scientific, and technological factors. The study of TDA in Argentina as a public policy for social inclusion shows how the constant sociotechnical interrelations have to be taken into account (technical standard, antenna features, social actors involved, produced content, etc.) throughout the whole process, from the conception and design of public policies to their implementation, but mainly at the stage of results analysis.

Findings

We concluded that throughout the implementation of the TDA public policy, a determinist view of technology prevailed. This can be seen in relation to both the role of television as a medium for social inclusion and the actions regarding the role of the user. The idea of viewer in the traditional sense prevailed over the idea of an active user. This stage provides significant data to assess the range and the limitations of the current public policy, and to think of improvements to implement in the future. These observations suggest a new challenge lying on the horizon: to construct a new concept of television; that is, to analyze TV as a social actor that is crucial for social inclusion rather than simply a medium of mass communication.

Practical implications

The sociotechnical perspective sheds light on the actors involved in the development, implementation, and production of a public policy designed for social inclusion. It focuses both on the government plan and the usage practices of the users themselves. The approach we propose for the study of the relation between technology and public policy is consistent with the notion of an active government.

Originality/value

The value of this paper lies in its theoretical and methodological approach, since a sociotechnical analysis grounded on relativism is a different view to the one that is dominant in studies in the field of communication and public policies. This view offers innovative insights into the problems regarding TDA by exploring the interrelations between actors and the power relations embedded in the public policy.

Details

Communication and Information Technologies Annual
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-481-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 February 2024

Christine de Largy, Deirdre Anderson and Susan Vinnicombe

This study aims to deepen our understanding of how inclusionary practices are used within organizations and how they satisfy specific inclusion needs.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to deepen our understanding of how inclusionary practices are used within organizations and how they satisfy specific inclusion needs.

Design/methodology/approach

We adopt a qualitative research design, reporting on data from semi-structured interviews conducted with 15 diversity and inclusion (D&I) directors/leads and using a thematic approach to analysis.

Findings

Our study expands understanding of inclusion practices, showing that they are not uniformly implemented and that practices may satisfy both needs to belong and differences valued, with interviewees prioritizing belonging. Well-being and career development are seen as important inclusion practices demonstrating support and appreciation of difference, thus as inputs, not outputs, of inclusion challenging existing assumptions. Inclusionary practices are malleable, and their impact depends critically on the leaders involved and their commitment to EDI.

Originality/value

Our study shows how practices satisfy inclusion needs and that the implementation of practices varies depending on the leaders involved.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 October 2021

Sarah Dodds and Nitha Palakshappa

The purpose of this research is to explore the role of identity for consumers with disabilities in a retail context. Understanding disability identity is critical to ensuring…

1013

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to explore the role of identity for consumers with disabilities in a retail context. Understanding disability identity is critical to ensuring inclusion in service environments. Despite the growing call to understand the role of identity in consumer services, research on disability identity and the impacts of identity on service inclusion remains minimal.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative methodology generated data through personal narratives from people with disabilities revealing deep insights into the complexity of identity in a fashion retail context.

Findings

Emergent themes detail five consumer disability identities – authentic unique self, integrated self, community self, expressive self and practical self – seen when viewing service experiences from the perspective of people with lived experience of disability. Individual and collective agency also emerged as key themes that enable people with disabilities to feel a sense of inclusion.

Originality/value

This research explores the service experiences of people with disabilities in a retail context through a disability identity lens. The authors contribute to service literature by identifying five consumer disability identities that people with a disability adopt through their service experience and present a typology that demonstrates how each identity impacts on agency, with implications for service inclusion.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 36 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 June 2023

Maria Dodaro and Lavinia Bifulco

The purpose of this paper is to explore two financial inclusion measures adopted within the local welfare context of the city of Milan, Italy, examining their functioning and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore two financial inclusion measures adopted within the local welfare context of the city of Milan, Italy, examining their functioning and underpinning representations. The aim is also to understand how such representations take concrete shape in the practices of local actors, and their implications for the opportunities and constraints regarding individuals' effective inclusion. To this end, this paper takes a wide-ranging look at the interplay between the rise of financial inclusion and the individualisation and responsibilisation models informing welfare policies, within the broader context of financialisation processes overall.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on the sociology of public action approach and provides a qualitative analysis of two case studies, a social microcredit service and a financial education programme, based on direct observation and semi-structured interviews conducted with key policy actors.

Findings

This paper sheds light on the rationale behind two financial inclusion services and illustrates how the instruments involved incorporate and tend to reproduce, individualising logics that reduce the problem of financial exclusion, and the social and economic vulnerability which underlies it, to a matter of personal responsibility, thus fuelling depoliticising tendencies in public action. It also discusses the contradictions underlying financial inclusion instruments, showing how local actors negotiate views and strategies on the problems to be addressed.

Originality/value

The paper makes an original contribution to the field of sociology and social policy by focusing on two under-researched instruments of financial inclusion and improving understanding of the finance-welfare state nexus and of the contradictions underpinning attempts at financial inclusion of the most vulnerable.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 44 no. 13/14
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 March 2021

Cristian Campagnaro

In the transition to more inclusive societies, design, far beyond traditional design domains dealing with form shaping, can contribute to organizational and social transformation…

Abstract

In the transition to more inclusive societies, design, far beyond traditional design domains dealing with form shaping, can contribute to organizational and social transformation (Jones & Van Patter, 2009) through projects for new meanings, new services and new processes. In this sense, the chapter aims to discuss the practice of ‘Costruire Bellezza (Crafting Beauty), an experiment (Binder & Redström, 2006) of design for social inclusion. It focuses on both the empowerment of homeless people (Sen, 1999) and the development of skills – mainly relational – of university students (Margolin & Margolin, 2002) via Design Anthropology–led creativity. Participants include researchers, homeless people, students in design and social sciences, social workers, educators and creative talents. Through regularly organized ‘design initiatives’ (Manzini, 2015, p. 91) they as a group work on projects, languages and co-creation processes. Design and Anthropology shaped this strong relational and community-based apparatus of collaborative experiences thanks to which all participants' backgrounds are valued. The participatory experience becomes the context where experiments are carried out to develop more effective services for homeless people and new models of active and responsible citizenship.

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