Rural HCI - Bert Bongers - Xs4all

programs, creative practices, and entrepreneurialinitiatives. This study will trial technology innovations ina Living Lab setup to explore the new role of culturalinstitutions in the knowledge economy with a specificfocus on regional Queensland.Effective participation and community engagement indecision making about the future requires informedchoice. Choice requires literacy. Libraries and other partsof the cultural and creative industries sector have a role toplay therefore in:- building capacity to increase literacies to interpretlocal knowledge and implications of global affairs;- disseminating information and facilitating support ina peer to peer fashion;- building scale to engage in conversations, be heardand take action, and;- raising public interest in the global-local nexus ofissues that affect our ability to create and shape asustainable and prosperous future.These are the benefits of the research to the end users thatwill be developed in an iterative approach with work-inprogressbeing released in half-yearly cycles.THE EDGEThe Edge (http://edgeqld.org.au) is a particularly relevantand insightful case study for this program of research,because it allows to test theoretical and conceptual pointsin a real-world environment. The Edge is the QueenslandGovernment’s flagship Digital Culture Centre – aprototype concept of the State Library of Queensland toexplore new technology and new technological practiceand their applicability to libraries in the 21st century, inthe knowledge economy, and in the Queenslandinnovation system. The Edge underlines the library’sclaim to become a cultural and knowledge destination.Although open to all, The Edge has been predominantlydesignated as a place for young Queenslanders forexperimentation and creativity, giving themcontemporary tools to explore critical ideas, sustainabilityinitiatives, new design practices, and media making. As acornerstone of the Queensland Government’s arts culture+ me Children and Young People in Arts Action Plan2008 – 2011 [1], The Edge is guided by an explicit focuson participation, engagement and collaboration with andthrough young people.We want to explore new engagement activities that arestrategically positioned to assess the added value that TheEdge can provide to the Queensland society as a newprototype library space. The project will benefit The Edgeby expanding its outreach beyond Brisbane andincreasing the scope and scale of its programming byoffering stimulus events and recruiting visitors andstudents with promise as catalysts or residents. It willhelp The Edge to meet their goal of moving from an“engagement for” to an “engagement through youngpeople” model. Additionally, The Edge subscribes to awhole-of-state remit, and so exploring opportunities thatreach into Queensland's regional centres and rural areas isof great interest to them.RESEARCH OBJECTIVESThe following research objectives were discussed in moredetail at the Healthy Cities conference 2011 [5].Objective #1: People, and the Challenge of CreativityThis study will explore the opportunities of urbaninformatics to design and develop tools, methods andapplications that foster participation, the democratisationof knowledge, and new creative practices. Targetingsocial inclusion and systemic disadvantage, one of thestudy’s goals is to explore new ways to increase access tothese applications and associated literacy skills for all, inorder to enable more people to bring about significantchanges in society, specifically to employ humancreativity to address concerns relating to regionaldevelopment and economic prosperity.Objective #2: Technology, and the Challenge ofInnovationThis study will examine how methods and applications ofurban informatics can be designed and combined todevelop and test tools and resources that support user-ledinnovation with a view to promote an innovation cultureand knowledge economy in regional centres and areas ofQueensland.Objective #3: Place, and the Challenge of EngagementThis study will establish and test the creation of siteswithin library spaces that are dedicated to place-basedapplications of urban informatics with a view to delivercommunity and civic engagement strategies. Embracingboth new technology and new technological practice,these library spaces may be better described as ‘ideasstores,’ ‘digital culture hubs,’ ‘knowledgeclearinghouses,’ or ‘innovation incubators.’ The studywill evaluate how these sites can enable libraries to addvalue to new stakeholder groups that may previously nothave considered libraries to offer much for them, such asfuture prospects and pathways for people experiencingsystemic disadvantage, and new sources and outlets ofcommercial innovation for local businesses.APPROACHThe research methodology comprises an initialethnographic phase of immersion (A); three iterativeaction research cycles which involve design studiosutilising use scenarios and human-centred design methods(B) as well as rapid prototyping and testing (C); and afinal evaluation (D). Each of the three action researchcycles is dedicated to one of the three aims of the studyon Creativity, Innovation, and Engagement. Datacollected will include visitor observations during regularactivities at The Edge and in Goondiwindi (as part of anew RDA funded infrastructure development project, seeFig. 1) as well as during workshop activities, in-depth andgroup interviews, creative outcomes from the designstudios and workshops, usability test results, and usagelog files from servers hosting web or mobile applicationsdeveloped as part of the study.PHASE A: Immersion and Living Labs SetupThe centrepiece of the proposed study’s methodology willbe the setup of ‘Living Labs’ both at The Edge and inGoondiwindi which aim to involve visitors, users andstudents as public actors rather than passive receivers.2