Design helps dismantle discriminatory norms

Originating in Sweden, norm-critical design is still a new academic discipline. Camilla Andersson’s PhD in design, MArch, is a pioneering work that is strengthening the new field.

‘I examined the norm-critical theory of power. For instance, once gender-discriminatory norms are made visible, we can begin to discuss the power those norms generate. That gave me the basis for laying the foundation for norm-critical design that addresses the dismantling of power structures,’ says Andersson.

Using empirical examples, Andersson shows how norms and power structures can be identified, analysed and challenged in organisations. Therein lies the impetus for change.

The need for physical strength in rescue work

The Swedish Fire and Rescue Service is having difficulty attracting women to join the force. One of the ingrained norms in the sector is the perception that to be competent, a rescue worker must possess masculine physical strength.

‘We looked at working conditions at fire stations and interviewed employees. We also examined public discourses about women being unfit for the job because they don’t have the strength required to ram doors open with an axe in an emergency.’

Andersson wanted to shift the focus from the gender of the person performing tasks that require physical strength to how these tasks are performed. She and her colleagues designed a ‘fire lock’ that connects to a fire alarm and automatically opens a door when it detects smoke and heat. The idea for the digital lock came from a homecare facility for the elderly.

‘The result was a physical object that opened eyes and also launched debate about the fact that by alter- ing working conditions and practices, we can overcome discriminatory norms against women.’

Client generator for homecare scheduling

Homecare workers for the elderly are often underpaid women with little education. In the project, conducted with SKL (currently SALAR), an organisation representing both public sector workers and employers in Sweden, Andersson sought to point out drawbacks in working conditions and to involve workers in improving them.

‘The care workers reported constant stress and lack of time caused by the route optimisation system they use to schedule home visits. The system did not take into account the fact that a visit cannot be completed in 5–10 minutes if, say, the elderly client has taken a fall. To compensate for this, the workers began to enter imaginary clients into the digital system so as to get extra time for care when needed.’

The managers were aware of the practice and condoned it but left the responsibility for manipulating the system to the care workers themselves.

‘We designed a “client generator” to demonstrate the absurdity of the situation caused by the use in homecare scheduling of a digital system developed for truck routing.’

The physical device made the heart of the matter abundantly clear for all to see. Making the problem visible demonstrated that the issue needed to be addressed at a structural level. For the workers, the materialisation of their innovation allowed their voices to be heard in discussions with management.

Camilla Andersson 10.2.2023: Materializing Norms: Norm-Critical and Speculative Explorations in Design

Approximately 200 doctors of technology, business, arts and philosophy graduate from Aalto University each year. The largest number of doctorates is completed in the technological fields, especially in computer science, engineering physics, and bioproduct technology.

Aalto University doctoral programmes are designed to be completed in four years when studying full time or in eight years if studying part time.

Doctoral theses can be interdisciplinary: they can include parts from other fields of research, for example, on art in a technology thesis or vice versa.

There are some 3 200 doctoral students representing 95 different nationalities. Approximately 1/3 of them are doctoral researchers working at Aalto.

Aalto University doctoral theses online: aaltodoc.aalto.fi shop.aalto.fi

Better care for older people

The management of social and health care services in Finland is often disjointed and piecemeal. For his doctoral thesis, D.Sc. Olli Halminen studied regional services for older people and investigated how their management might be improved. The data in the study consisted of register data on the use of social and health care services by people over age 75 in 65 Finnish municipalities. The thesis is in the field of industrial engineering and management.

In his study, Halminen devised a model of short- and long-term regional social and health service provision, which he then used to examine management practices that may increase cost-effectiveness.

The timely supply of services can introduce an effect of ‘slowing-down efficiency’ in healthcare. For example, high-quality home care and a functioning relationship with the health centre can avoid the need to adopt heavier and more expensive services. It could also prevent overloading of hospitals’ emergency clinics.

The criteria for access to round-the-clock care should be harmonised on the regional level, for both human and economic reasons.

Based on the data, Halminen was also able to calculate which diseases will take up more money and resources in the future. The greatest amount of money and resources will go towards caring for people with dementia. Social services currently account for 68 percent of the total cost of dementia care. As the population ages, resources should be shifted from healthcare to social services.

There are significant regional differences in the structure of social and health services in Finland. The welfare regions should establish unified care practices based on analytics to ensure that patients in similar situations receive similar care.

Olli Halminen 20.1.2023:

Analysing the performance of meso-level care systems including long and short term services

How’s the weather on Mars?

Probes on Mars have collected data on the conditions of the planet since 1976. For his doctoral thesis in space science and technology, M.Sc. Henrik Kahanpää studied measurements of the atmospheric pressure on Mars. Such measurements are important not only for understanding the conditions on Mars but also for modelling climate change on Earth.

At the Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kahanpää participated in the development of a pressure instrument for the Curiosity rover, sent to Mars by NASA in 2011. The Institute had also provided a barometric pressure device for the NASA’s Phoenix probe, landed on Mars in 2008. These instruments are based on technology developed by the Finnish company Vaisala Oyj.

Kahanpää investigated uncertainty factors affecting the pressure measurements and developed correction algorithms to compensate for them. His dissertation showed that the surface atmospheric pressure on Mars can be measured with an accuracy of approximately 0.5 percent by these instruments.

Comparison of the corrected pressure measurements of Phoenix with those of NASA’s Viking landers revealed that no significant changes had taken place in the Martian climate between 1976 and 2008.

Small-scale whirlwinds known as dust devils have been suspected to maintain the dustiness of the Martian atmosphere when no storms occur. By searching for signals caused by dust devils in Curiosity’s weather data, Kahanpää showed that only a few of such vortices are actually strong enough to lift dust from the ground, an observation that challenges previous assumptions. The information about dust devils will help in modelling the planet’s climate and in planning future landing sites for space missions.

Henrik Kahanpää 5.1.2023: On atmospheric pressure measurements and dust devils on planet Mars

This exhibition at the Finnish Museum of Photography showcased nineteen young artists who are new Master of Arts graduates from the Art and Media department. The photographs in the exhibition, held January to March 2023, were part of the graduates’ final thesis works. We present works from four artists.

Niko Tampio: Transitions

‘I don’t look back. And I don’t believe in coincidences. Transitions studies the themes of personal transition and growth through introspection. Displayed for the first time in public, these works have been influenced by the aesthetics of snapshot photography and its immediacy. This immediacy is what grants the photographs a feeling of raw emotion. Nevertheless, the works in the series are well-considered and thoughtfully composed. Photographed in Spain and in Finland between 2016 and 2022, they reflect intimate moments in mundane settings.’

Niko Tampio (b. 1989) works mainly with image and installation. His works are often in dialogue with space, and they shift between the themes of introspection and life. Tampio’s visual language has developed under the influence of Hollywood movies, the ocean and Jackson Pollock. His artistic practice is based on curiosity, observation and a deep interest in the human condition.