Another Set Back...

Irb, this is getting a bit out of hand.

3rd Thesis Meeting

Today was my second group thesis meeting. It was very helpful for figuring out some solutions to my procedural/IRB problems. 


During the meeting, I discovered I should better understand what my goals are from the user research. Here is a timeline and guide for conducting my research:

Hopefully I can fulfill all the phases of this guide during the fall semester!

IRB Pains

IRB still hasn't contacted me about my application. I have been waiting for seven weeks!
I also have changed a lot of the procedures I plan on conducting. I need to resubmit my application and get permission from an apartment management to conduct user research within their building. 


I have sent emails to several apartment building managers, none have responded... I'm getting pretty worried about it. This problem will be solved, hopefully sooner than later! I will update when I get back on track.

Jesse Schell on Pervasive Gaming

Carnegie Mellon's Jesse Schell gave a great Talk on the future of pervasive gaming.

The lecture focused on a more marketable type of pervasive gaming that just uses a point system on various products to encourage people to use them. I was hoping he would talk  more about game mechanics and give more of a guide for creating pervasive games. He only described a simple point system for products and services. These types of game mechanics seem too obvious for what I want to do. I want my thesis's game to be more subtle, almost like ambient gaming.

Some Interesting Organizations that have been involved with Public Games

Thinkpublic


Play Makers


Come out and Play


chicag0


Games for Change


Ludocity

2nd Thesis Meeting

Here are some photos and documents that culminated from our second group meeting:

Fun Theory

The Fun Theory projects, sponsored by Volkswagon is pretty inspiring for my first round of prototyping. The Fun Theory basically states that:

"something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better."

Here are some of the fun theory videos:

It's great to find some validation!

Apparently people agree with my opinion that Pittsburgh's downtown needs improvement...
PPS.org put Pittsburgh's downtown plaza (PPG plaza) in the Hall of Shame
According to PPS, "PPG Plaza is nothing more than a sidewalk on steroids."
Also, Here is a paper on New Urbanism using Pittsburgh as a case study!

Downtown Observations

Here are some images and notes from some time I spent in front of Roosevelt Arms Apartments in downtown Pittsburgh.

 

 

  

Placemaking

PPS (Project for Public Spaces) is a great source that focuses on building meaningful & sustainable city communities. Their Placemaking Blog inspires solutions to the broader questions of my thesis.




Here is an excerpt from their website:
"When people think about great cities, it’s often the intangible qualities—vitality, sense of place, and positive experiences—that they remember most. 
PPS’s program for Downtowns works with citizens and municipalities to strengthen these qualities in their own downtowns. By using a Placemaking approach, communities quickly develop a vision for their downtown public spaces and a strategy for implementing that vision."
Here is an image from one of the articles:

1st Thesis Meeting

A few notes from my first thesis meeting: