Starting with the earlier work of Don Ihde, postphenomenological studies in philosophy of technology have been documenting the many ways in which technologies shape human beings’ relationship to the world. More recently, Material Engagement Theory (MET), originating from cognitive archaeology, ofers descriptions of how human thinking and capacities have been shaped through creative material engagements with the world. Based on a recent collaboration by Ihde and Malafouris (2018), this study applies the joint framework of postphenomenology and MET to design research in light of the rising interest in design literature into relational ontologies and embodied practices. The study is built on data from seven case studies of practices in creative engagement with materials and tools, three out of which are reviewed in depth, namely: felt making, make-up, studio camera operation. The cases are analyzed through the joint theoretical lens to identify and describe the human-thing relations as observed in design. We describe such relations as creative and exploratory, materially and socially relational, reciprocally mediated, situated, embodied, and skilled. Our emphasis is on the first three of these six characteristics, emphasizing relationality, reciprocal mediation, and creativity in engagement, as signifcant contributions of the joint framework to understanding design, making and use in design research. Our conclusion includes a discussion of future research opportunities for studies based on the joint framework.

This study focuses on the interaction between user and product that is characteristic of the amateur computer repair practice, including maintenance, upgrade, part replacement, customization, and repair. Our discussion is based on data provided by semi-structured interviews and think-aloud sessions with participants with diverse levels of repair experience with computers. The data indicates key findings for sustainability studies that aim to contribute to current discussions on design for sustainable behaviour by providing a snapshot of the amateur repair behaviour. The study revealed three important findings. First, since repair is a practice that features particular elements such as skills, settings, implicit and explicit rules, amateur repairers are users who sustain and develop the practice. They have particular identities and a perspective that is characteristic to amateur computer repair practice. Second, repair practice helps to transform product characteristics, both materially and from the point of view of the practitioners, as largely independent from how the product is designed. Third, the implicit and explicit rules are distributed via online and offline networks. Through these networks, knowledge and tools are shared among the practitioners. In conclusion, a comprehensive understanding of amateur computer repair practice might contribute to the Design for Sustainable Behaviour (DfSB) studies and sustainable system design

Nesnelerin iç yüzüyle etkileşim, nesneyi kullanıcı olarak bilmenin ötesini bilmeye yol açar. Tamir sayesinde kullanıcı için nesnenin sahip olduğu “kara kutu” karakteri bozulabilir. Bu araştırmanın amacı; kullanıcının nesnenin altyapısıyla karşılaşması ve bu karşılaşma deneyimi sırasında yaşadığı perspektif değişimini ortaya koymaktır. Çalışma kapsamında masaüstü veya dizüstü bilgisayarların amatör tamiriyle uğraşan katılımcılarla yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler ve tamir esnasında sesli düşünme protokolü kullanılarak gözlemler yapıldı. Araştırma sonunda amatör bilgisayar tamircisi kimliğine, tamir ekosistemine ve bilgisayar tamiri pratiğinin diğer bileşenlerine dair bulgular edinildi. Teknolojik nesneleri kullanıcı için birer kara kutuya dönüştüren veya tamir ile karakutunun açılmasını kolaylaştıran etkenler, tamir pratiğinin bileşenleri olarak tespit edildi.