Papers by Aslı Günay
Our article discusses the insights from original research conducted with design practitioners to ... more Our article discusses the insights from original research conducted with design practitioners to better understand the experiences of industrial design graduates as they are adopting new professional roles in user experience (UX) affiliated positions. We utilize narrative identity work as the theoretical frame to interpret the legitimation strategies of industrial designers while grounding their motivations, perceived competence, and fitness to a UX position. Such narratives support our arguments on the conscious efforts of designers toward the construction of a professional designer identity, which is stimulated by this role change.
Behaviour and Information Technology, 2022
Virtual Assistants (VAs) are at the forefront of state-of-the-art interactions for smart technolo... more Virtual Assistants (VAs) are at the forefront of state-of-the-art interactions for smart technologies at home. The prospective users’ prior to use perception of such assistants is crucial to discover new possibilities for design and to be able to elicit positive user experiences. However, this has not been investigated in detail within family life in emerging contexts though demand for their ownership increases. This study scrutinises potential users’ initial perceptions about the prospective and anticipated uses of VAs within family life in Turkey, as an emerging context, through in-depth interviews with 15 families. During the interviews, the participant families watched publicly available videos of four different VAs to elicit their perceptions. Results reveal that prospective users’ perceptions and expectations focus heavily on VAs’ possible effects on the family well-being, besides the concerns about usability and issues related to privacy, safety, and security. While proposing VAs for home use in such an emerging market, their potential positive effects on the family well-being should be promoted whereas perceived negative effects should be resolved by considering smartness, personality and trust dimensions. The study reveals relationships between these dimensions and perceptions of and expectations about VA use in home context in an emerging market.
International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 2021
The rapid growth of the user experience (UX) field has brought efforts to meet the increasing dem... more The rapid growth of the user experience (UX) field has brought efforts to meet the increasing demand for specialists by welcoming professionals from diverse disciplines, including industrial design (ID). UX field offers ID graduates extended professional possibilities, potentially appeasing the challenging conditions of the ID job market in Turkey. Although there are some educational efforts on getting prepared for a career in UX, how ID students perceive such a career path has not been investigated. For this purpose, this paper presents a survey study conducted with senior ID students to understand their perspectives regarding the likelihood of a career in UX. The findings outline the extent and reasons of their interest in UX, benefits of their educational background, and perceived readiness and individual efforts towards building a UX career. We discuss the potentials of ID background for UX, and present implications for design education and practice to better prepare students for a career in UX.
BMJ Open, 2021
Objectives: To systematically review the evidence base for a systems approach to healthcare desig... more Objectives: To systematically review the evidence base for a systems approach to healthcare design, delivery or improvement.
Design: Systematic review with meta-analyses.
Methods: Included were studies in any patients, in any healthcare setting where a systems approach was compared with usual care which reported quantitative results for any outcomes for both groups. We searched Medline, Embase, HMIC, Health Business Elite, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and CINAHL from inception to 28 May 2019 for relevant studies. These were screened, and data extracted independently and in duplicate. Study outcomes were stratified by study design and whether they reported patient and/or service outcomes. Meta-analysis was conducted with Revman software V.5.3 using ORs-heterogeneity was assessed using I 2 statistics.
Results: Of 11 405 records 35 studies were included, of which 28 (80%) were before-and-after design only, five were both before-and-after and concurrent design, and two were randomised controlled trials (RCTs). There was heterogeneity of interventions and wide variation in reported outcome types. Almost all results showed health improvement where systems approaches were used. Study quality varied widely. Exploratory meta-analysis of these suggested favourable effects on both patient outcomes (n=14, OR=0.52 (95% CI 0.38 to 0.71) I 2 =91%), and service outcomes (n=18, OR=0.40 (95% CI 0.31 to 0.52) I 2 =97%).
Conclusions: This study suggests that a systems approaches to healthcare design and delivery results in a statistically significant improvement to both patient and service outcomes. However, better quality studies, particularly RCTs are needed.
PROSPERO registration number CRD42017065920.
METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 2020
Design has turned towards positive psychology, noticing its potential beyond overcoming problems ... more Design has turned towards positive psychology, noticing its potential beyond overcoming problems and tracing possibilities to enhance quality of life. As a newly blossoming domain, design for well-being faces with challenges like correct translation of well-being concept and advancing a shared language. Calls are made for empirical research to test, discuss and expand on already introduced materials. This paper exemplifies a use case of an existing framework, the Design Well-Being Matrix, and builds on it by demonstrating alternate use opportunities considering designers’ needs from user research deliverables. The case involves the utilisation of the framework as an analysis, synthesis, and communication tool in a research on characteristics of digital health technologies that aim at enhancing the well-being of pregnant women.
Behaviour & Information Technology, 2015
Although the prominent concept of the last decade – user experience – maintains its significance ... more Although the prominent concept of the last decade – user experience – maintains its significance in diverse disciplines, especially design, its focus has changed to eliciting positive user experiences by pursuing new possibilities for consumer products rather than by solely seeking solutions to existing problems. Designers continue to aim for rich user experiences with a variety of products, but have neglected self-service (interactive) kiosks. Hence, this paper, after giving a brief overview of the positive psychology literature, demonstrates the dimensions of positive user experiences with self-service kiosks through an empirical study conducted on coffee vending machines and automated tellers.
Conference Proceedings by Aslı Günay
DRS2024, 2024
Picturebooks have often been studied in the children's literature field with a focus on child rea... more Picturebooks have often been studied in the children's literature field with a focus on child readers, but recent studies have begun to discuss the cross-age aspect that embraces wider audiences. This study explores the design space for a crossover multisensory picturebook that would also engage older adults via positive design approach. In this multidisciplinary study, we aimed to nurture the positive sides of aging by transforming lifelong experiences into narratives in the form of a picturebook that embodies memories and transfers heritage in an engaging way during shared reading. Within this scope, we conducted interviews and design evaluations with older adults in a care home. In this paper, we share reflections on the book-making process and discuss how picturebooks can support well-being. Additionally, we speculate on positive interactions that may arise from intergenerational shared reading experiences while adapting a media mainly geared towards children for older adults.
To confront the growing uncertainties and challenges on a global scale through design, this paper... more To confront the growing uncertainties and challenges on a global scale through design, this paper recommends using the sharing culture as a starting point. It establishes a connection between the sharing economy and impact-centred design by examining the components and scope of the sharing economy in existing literature. Exploring how this framework can be integrated into design education, the paper offers a comprehensive account of a course on impact-centred design, grounded on sharing economy. Throughout four years, this framework was applied to explore design solutions for addressing themes related to crisis response, disaster management, and collaborative consumption. We provide methods and deliverables to illustrate how the sharing economy and design thinking collaborate to uncover systems-level exchanges and interactions among stakeholders. Our discussions focus on the transformative influence of such design contexts on the role of the designer, the scale of the design's impact and the designer responsibility.
DRS Learn X Design 2023, 2024
Despite the disappearance of the COVID-19 pandemic measures, hybrid learning is still a viable al... more Despite the disappearance of the COVID-19 pandemic measures, hybrid learning is still a viable alternative to face-to-face education in many higher education institutions. Designing and carrying out hybrid design studio courses bring additional challenges for design instructors and students, such as feeling disengaged from the studio environment. Thus, it is essential to examine how such challenges could be addressed through course design. This paper presents a hybrid course in Basic Design with a focus on the course design, students' reflections on the course gathered through surveys, and instructors' observations. The findings indicate that the seamless integration of digital and physical worlds and the uncertainties stemming from the flexibility given to students are central concepts to deal with the scope challenges of hybrid design studios. The paper discusses the implications of these findings to guide instructors in planning and executing new hybrid design studio classes.
IASDR2023: Life Changing Design, 2023
Voice, as one of the most natural means of communication for the elderly given their declining ph... more Voice, as one of the most natural means of communication for the elderly given their declining physical and cognitive abilities, has the potential to reduce interaction barriers with newly emerging technologies. In parallel to this, studies focusing on the elderly as a user group have escalated in academia due to events such as the increasing ageing population and global epidemics like COVID-19. However, the focus has been mostly on their declining mental and physical abilities. This paper aims to investigate the hedonic aspects of Voice-based Conversational Agents (VCAs) for the elderly. In this respect, we conducted in-depth interviews with 13 participants, 9 of whom were elderly over the age of 75, and 4 of whom were caregivers, to examine the daily life practices and values of the elderly together with possibilities of VCAs to create positive experiences in their lives. This paper presents the perspectives of the elderly on VCAs by taking into consideration their perspectives on life and technology. In the end, the paper makes suggestions on which design decisions can support the positive hedonic aspects in the lives of the elderly. Our main finding shows that VCAs can provide a positive experience for the elderly beyond a pragmatic approach if they can be integrated into their daily routines and increase their relatedness with people without harming the areas where they feel competence and autonomy.
DIS'21, 2021
This paper presents a systematic review of online health communities (OHCs) published between 200... more This paper presents a systematic review of online health communities (OHCs) published between 2009 and 2020 in the ACM Digital Library. Aiming to consolidate the current issues, design knowledge, challenges, and tensions in OHCs, our analysis identified four high-level aspects related to the use and design of OHCs: (1) temporal: OHCs as transition spaces, (2) spatial: bridging experiential knowledge with medical expertise, (3) technological: exchanging and locating peer support, and (4) tension dimensions in OHCs. We further discuss methodological improvements and computing opportunities for OHC research and how to increase OHC members' agency in such a medically dominated context. These findings have the potential to inform future OHC designs and help researchers and designers position future contributions.
ICED'21
Design, delivery and improvement processes in healthcare is of great challenge due to increasing ... more Design, delivery and improvement processes in healthcare is of great challenge due to increasing pressures on healthcare systems alongside inherent complexities, resulting in limited benefits or unforeseen consequences. A recent Systems Approach framework has aimed at responding to the calls about implementing a more holistic approach. Though being an approach in its own right that can iteratively and systematically structure, guide, and/or facilitate design and improvement projects in healthcare, it can also augment existing approaches that have already place in healthcare designers' and improvement practitioners' agendas. Thus, the objective of this paper is to compare and contrast the questions, activities, and tools of the Systems Approach with processes of other major improvement approaches in healthcare to demonstrate their coverages, overlaps, and extended and new opportunities to pursue in the light of the Systems Approach.
This paper presents user experience (U) modelling as an educational goal, outlining and grounding... more This paper presents user experience (U) modelling as an educational goal, outlining and grounding on the growing need for trained U professionals and opportunities for expanding design expertise in this direction; and emphasises the importance of developing a sustained teaching agenda to address the requirements of the contemporary professional practice. After an overview of use and types of models in U , we offer U modelling as a teaching tool to equip design students with the theoretical and applied knowledge and skills relevant in user experience research (U) and design process. rom this point of view, we demonstrate how we utilised U modelling in graduate level industrial design education and illustrate examples from student works. We discuss applications of this approach by offering the use of modelling as a tool for analysing and communicating user experiences, as well as an apparatus to shape the process of transferring user insights into design implications.
The last two decades have given a new lease of life to the interpretation of users' interactions ... more The last two decades have given a new lease of life to the interpretation of users' interactions with products in human-computer interaction (HCI) and design domains. As a fast growing field, user experience (UX) brought along multifarious endeavors to frame this new field's definition and components. In the midst of this burgeoning field, many design related domains started to embrace the terms experience, services, and systems rather than a mere product focus. Academia's efforts to define what UX really is, influenced the practice by trying to investigate how UX can be put in action. Hence, growing demand from industry created a need for fully trained and specialized UX designers, turning the attention back again to academia. Although one of the most critical components of UX is research to understand users, their interactions, environments, and even the invisible factors; selecting and applying appropriate methods and tools are of high challenge due to concomitant dependence of experiences on subjective perceptions, contextual ties, and timewise conditions. In this light, we have devised a course to be integrated into design education at graduate level with the aim of teaching how to comprehend, interpret, and communicate UX to present input for the design process with a special approach. The particular approach is "modelling UX" because designing for experience and evaluating the success of design output, as well as bethinking scientific improvements and improving the practice, entail investigating experiences with opportune research methods. After delineating background for devising a UX course, this paper dwells on the objectives, content, structure, and outputs of our course; which would be a scaffolding resource for efforts to integrate UX research into design education.
IADIS International Conferences Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction and Game and Entertainment Technologies, 2013
UTAK2016 2. Ulusal Tasarım Araştırmaları Konferansı: Sorumluluk, Bağlam, Deneyim ve Tasarım, 2017
Sağlık, yaşamla ve hayat kalitesiyle doğrudan ilişkili olduğundan, sağlıklı yaşam sürmek de tartı... more Sağlık, yaşamla ve hayat kalitesiyle doğrudan ilişkili olduğundan, sağlıklı yaşam sürmek de tartışmasız yaşamdaki öncelikli gayelerin başında yer almaktadır. Hamilelik döneminde ise hamilenin bedeni iki yaşama kaynaklık ettiğinden özellikle bu dönemdeki sağlık önemli bir insan hakları konusu olarak ele alınmakta ve iyilik halini artırmak daha çok önem kazanmaktadır. Tüm bu önemine rağmen anne ve bebek sağlığına yönelik hizmetlere erişimde kişisel, ekonomik, bürokratik, eğitimsel ve bölgesel birçok engel bulunmaktadır. Ancak, hızla gelişmekte olan bilgi ve iletişim teknolojileriyle birlikte bariyerler aşılmaya çalışılmakta, bu da sağlık alanında dönüşümleri beraberinde getirmektedir. Mobil teknolojiler hastane ortamından bağımsız olarak kişilere istedikleri zaman ve yerde kişisel sağlık servislerine erişme imkanı sunmaktadır. Dünya Sağlık Örgütü de (DSÖ) mobil sağlık (m-sağlık) teknolojilerinin hamilelik sürecinde kullanımını desteklemekte ve önemini vurgulamaktadır, ama ne yazık ki hamileliğe yönelik mobil uygulamaların hamilelerin gündelik yaşamlarına entegrasyonu tam olarak sağlanamamaktadır. Bu noktadan yola çıkarak, doktora çalışması kapsamında, hamileliğinin farklı üç aylık dönemlerinde (üç trimester) bulunan otuz üç hamilenin mobil uygulama kullanım deneyimleri altı hafta boyunca takip edilmiştir. Çalışmada kullanılan farklı yöntemler ve araçlar katılımcıların sadece fiziksel değil, zihinsel ve duygusal gereksinimlerini de ortaya çıkarmakta yararlı olmuştur. Dolayısıyla, yöntemin çok boyutluluğunun ilerideki tasarım araştırmalarına ve tasarımlara önemli katkısının olacağı düşünülmektedir. Sonuçlar, içerik çözümlemesi yöntemiyle analiz edilmiş ve hamilelerin uygulama kullanım deneyimlerini etkileyen temel içerik ve etkileşim boyutları ortaya koyulmuştur. Bulgular, hamileliğe yönelik mobil uygulamaların geliştirilmesinde ve mutluluk verici deneyimler sunmalarında yön gösterici olacak, böylelikle mobil uygulamaların hamilelerin gündelik yaşamlarına pürüzsüz entegrasyonunu sağlamaya katkı sağlayacaktır. Bu bildiride, yapılan çalışmanın yöntemi tartışılacaktır.
Books by Aslı Günay
![Research paper thumbnail of [Book Chapter] Mobile Health Integration in Pregnancy](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/100482927/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Current and Emerging mHealth Technologies, 2018
Healthcare is one of the primary matters in human life. It becomes a more significant period duri... more Healthcare is one of the primary matters in human life. It becomes a more significant period during pregnancy, as a woman’s body is resourcing for two lives. Pregnancy is a challenging period, since pregnant women not only undergo unexpected physical and psychological changes, but they also have continuous concerns, because childbirth and motherhood alter their lives in distinct ways. Hence, they are in need of a diverse support. Pregnancy experiences have started to change in parallel to the changes in the information and communication technologies. Traditional health management has been redefined with the mobile technologies, and smartphones and applications have taken the lead. Increasing numbers of pregnancy applications have entered to the market with far-reaching benefits, yet they fell short to be integrated into the daily lives of pregnant women. In order to realize the acceptance, adoption, and smooth integration of mobile health (mHealth) into the daily lives of pregnant women, pregnancy technologies should not be merely information providers, decision-makers, or problem solvers. In fact, they should go beyond that by making pregnant women feel better and enhancing their wellness holistically. In this chapter, pregnant women’s interactions with mobile pregnancy applications were reported conducting the study with 33 pregnant women in different trimesters. Results presented that needs, concerns, and expectations may change according to different pregnancy trimesters and pregnant women types. Based on the results of the study and positive psychology literature, design implications and information, communication, and interaction qualities for pregnancy applications were discussed in relation to positive user experience dimensions with mobile pregnancy technologies that can provide more satisfactory and happy user experiences.
![Research paper thumbnail of [Book Chapter] Changing Paradigms In Our Interactions with Self-Service Kiosks](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/65988996/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Human-computer interaction and holistic user experiences are considered crucial concepts in the d... more Human-computer interaction and holistic user experiences are considered crucial concepts in the design of interactive products, where interactive self-service kiosks require a special attention, as they are different than any other type of consumer and personal products. The public nature of self-service kiosks suggests that social context may have an important role in understanding experience of users when interacting with such products. Yet, this is hardly reflected in the development of self-service kiosks in which usefulness and functionality are still the basic, and usually the only, concerns. This limited discussion hinders innovation when redesigning this type of products. This chapter firstly studies the major factors affecting users' interactions with self-service kiosks, follows with the influence of presence or absence of other people on user experience with interactive self-service kiosks looking at the relationships between different social contexts, feelings, and task performances, and then elaborates more in detail on task performances. The studies conducted to explore these relations reveal that interactions with interactive self-service kiosks are specialized according to different task qualities that these kiosks serve for as well as the social context, which highlight the necessity to take into account the inseparable context during the design of these self-service kiosks. They emphasize that not only the product interface, but also other product features, product body and context should be shaped by these task qualities and social context. Hence, suggested design implications go beyond traditional usability and technical issues, considering social context as a key issue to address to bring innovative self-service kiosk designs.
Thesis Chapters by Aslı Günay
Traditional health management issues are being redefined with diverse mobile technologies, and sm... more Traditional health management issues are being redefined with diverse mobile technologies, and smartphones and applications have taken the lead. Particularly, increasing numbers of pregnancy applications have entered the market with far-reaching benefits; yet, they fall short to be integrated into daily lives of pregnant women, which implies that mobile health (m-health) technologies should not be merely information providers, decision makers, or problem solvers. In fact, they should go beyond by making pregnant women feel happy and enhancing their wellness holistically. Certain benefits of and trends about m-health use during pregnancy have been exemplified in literature; however, detailed characteristics of them have not been identified.
This dissertation identifies the changes in daily experiences of pregnant women, in general, and characteristics of mobile pregnancy technologies that can enhance their wellness and happiness, in specific, with a user research conducted with pregnant women in three different trimesters. The study involved the usage of a pregnancy application during six weeks, accompanying with multiple in-depth interviews with each pregnant woman. The results have shown that needs and expectations change according to different trimesters and pregnant women types. Correspondingly, positive user experience dimensions with mobile pregnancy technologies and their conceptual relationships, as well as content, interaction, appearance, and function related characteristics and scopes of mobile pregnancy technologies have been revealed paying attention to wellness dimensions during pregnancy. Moreover, feeding from the results of the study and positive psychology literature, design descriptions have been delivered that would focus on the wellness and happiness of different pregnant women.
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Papers by Aslı Günay
Design: Systematic review with meta-analyses.
Methods: Included were studies in any patients, in any healthcare setting where a systems approach was compared with usual care which reported quantitative results for any outcomes for both groups. We searched Medline, Embase, HMIC, Health Business Elite, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and CINAHL from inception to 28 May 2019 for relevant studies. These were screened, and data extracted independently and in duplicate. Study outcomes were stratified by study design and whether they reported patient and/or service outcomes. Meta-analysis was conducted with Revman software V.5.3 using ORs-heterogeneity was assessed using I 2 statistics.
Results: Of 11 405 records 35 studies were included, of which 28 (80%) were before-and-after design only, five were both before-and-after and concurrent design, and two were randomised controlled trials (RCTs). There was heterogeneity of interventions and wide variation in reported outcome types. Almost all results showed health improvement where systems approaches were used. Study quality varied widely. Exploratory meta-analysis of these suggested favourable effects on both patient outcomes (n=14, OR=0.52 (95% CI 0.38 to 0.71) I 2 =91%), and service outcomes (n=18, OR=0.40 (95% CI 0.31 to 0.52) I 2 =97%).
Conclusions: This study suggests that a systems approaches to healthcare design and delivery results in a statistically significant improvement to both patient and service outcomes. However, better quality studies, particularly RCTs are needed.
PROSPERO registration number CRD42017065920.
Conference Proceedings by Aslı Günay
Books by Aslı Günay
Thesis Chapters by Aslı Günay
This dissertation identifies the changes in daily experiences of pregnant women, in general, and characteristics of mobile pregnancy technologies that can enhance their wellness and happiness, in specific, with a user research conducted with pregnant women in three different trimesters. The study involved the usage of a pregnancy application during six weeks, accompanying with multiple in-depth interviews with each pregnant woman. The results have shown that needs and expectations change according to different trimesters and pregnant women types. Correspondingly, positive user experience dimensions with mobile pregnancy technologies and their conceptual relationships, as well as content, interaction, appearance, and function related characteristics and scopes of mobile pregnancy technologies have been revealed paying attention to wellness dimensions during pregnancy. Moreover, feeding from the results of the study and positive psychology literature, design descriptions have been delivered that would focus on the wellness and happiness of different pregnant women.
Design: Systematic review with meta-analyses.
Methods: Included were studies in any patients, in any healthcare setting where a systems approach was compared with usual care which reported quantitative results for any outcomes for both groups. We searched Medline, Embase, HMIC, Health Business Elite, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO and CINAHL from inception to 28 May 2019 for relevant studies. These were screened, and data extracted independently and in duplicate. Study outcomes were stratified by study design and whether they reported patient and/or service outcomes. Meta-analysis was conducted with Revman software V.5.3 using ORs-heterogeneity was assessed using I 2 statistics.
Results: Of 11 405 records 35 studies were included, of which 28 (80%) were before-and-after design only, five were both before-and-after and concurrent design, and two were randomised controlled trials (RCTs). There was heterogeneity of interventions and wide variation in reported outcome types. Almost all results showed health improvement where systems approaches were used. Study quality varied widely. Exploratory meta-analysis of these suggested favourable effects on both patient outcomes (n=14, OR=0.52 (95% CI 0.38 to 0.71) I 2 =91%), and service outcomes (n=18, OR=0.40 (95% CI 0.31 to 0.52) I 2 =97%).
Conclusions: This study suggests that a systems approaches to healthcare design and delivery results in a statistically significant improvement to both patient and service outcomes. However, better quality studies, particularly RCTs are needed.
PROSPERO registration number CRD42017065920.
This dissertation identifies the changes in daily experiences of pregnant women, in general, and characteristics of mobile pregnancy technologies that can enhance their wellness and happiness, in specific, with a user research conducted with pregnant women in three different trimesters. The study involved the usage of a pregnancy application during six weeks, accompanying with multiple in-depth interviews with each pregnant woman. The results have shown that needs and expectations change according to different trimesters and pregnant women types. Correspondingly, positive user experience dimensions with mobile pregnancy technologies and their conceptual relationships, as well as content, interaction, appearance, and function related characteristics and scopes of mobile pregnancy technologies have been revealed paying attention to wellness dimensions during pregnancy. Moreover, feeding from the results of the study and positive psychology literature, design descriptions have been delivered that would focus on the wellness and happiness of different pregnant women.