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Photosystem I and II (PSI and PSII) work together to convert solar energy into chemical energy. Whilst a lot of research has been done to unravel variability of PSII fluorescence in response to biotic and abiotic factors, the contribution of PSI to in vivo fluorescence measurements has often been neglected or considered to be constant. Furthermore, little is known about how the absorption and emission properties of PSI from different plant species differ. In this study, we have isolated PSI from five plant species and compared their characteristics using a combination of optical and biochemical techniques. Differences have been identified in the fluorescence emission spectra and at the protein level, whereas the absorption spectra were virtually the same in all cases. In addition, the emission spectrum of PSI depends on temperature over a physiologically relevant range from 280 to 298 K. Combined, our data show a critical comparison of the absorption and emission properties of PSI from various plant species.

Wall construction and protective finishes are a vital element in maintaining hygiene regimes in the food industry. Each prospective material brings with it design requirements and design limitations related to its nature, and the intention in this section is to discuss the options available today.

Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques applied to project activities in order to roll out products / services to meet / exceed the needs and expectations of stakeholders. Project management has been popular within the Information Technology department of organizations for quite some time, and the approach for tackling the tasks involved is demanding. In that sense, getting the right and qualified human resource for handling such projects is one of the key success factors, for achieving results. Really dedicated and experienced IT professionals are scarce globally, and as the profession is also quite new to most people, there is a shortage of staff. In addition is the fear of not achieving objectives / goals if one ventures into it. However, with globalization being the norm currently, and multi-national organizations spreading / moving out to countries with less / cheaper labour costs, there is the need to get people to specialize in handling projects successfully. Executing IT projects successfully is the bane of most organizations, as the activities are technical and, in addition involve huge costs of expenditures.

Light drives photosynthesis. In plants it is absorbed by light-harvesting antenna complexes associated with Photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII). As PSI and PSII work in series, it is important that the excitation pressure on the two photosystems is balanced. When plants are exposed to illumination that overexcites PSII, a special pool of the major light-harvesting complex LHCII is phosphorylated and moves from PSII to PSI (state 2). If instead PSI is over-excited the LHCII complex is dephosphorylated and moves back to PSII (state 1). Recent findings have suggested that LHCII might also transfer energy to PSI in state 1. In this work we used a combination of biochemistry and (time-resolved) fluorescence spectroscopy to investigate the PSI antenna size in state 1 and state 2 for Arabidopsis thaliana. Our data shows that 0.7 ± 0.1 unphosphorylated LHCII trimers per PSI are present in the stroma lamellae of state-1 plants. Upon transition to state 2 the antenna size of PSI in the stroma membrane increases with phosphorylated LHCIIs to a total of 1.2 ± 0.1 LHCII trimers per PSI. Both phosphorylated and unphosphorylated LHCII function as highly efficient PSI antenna.

General ontology is a prominent theoretical foundation for information technology analysis, design, and development. Ontology is a branch of philosophy which studies what exists in reality. A widely used ontology in information systems, especially for conceptual modeling, is the BWW (Bunge–Wand–Weber), which is based on ideas of the philosopher and physicist Mario Bunge, as synthesized by Wand and Weber. The ontology was founded on an early subset of Bunge’s philosophy; however, many of Bunge’s ideas have evolved since then. An important question, therefore, is: do the more recent ideas expressed by Bunge call for a new ontology? In this paper, we conduct an analysis of Bunge’s earlier and more recent works to address this question. We present a new ontology based on Bunge’s later and broader works, which we refer to as Bunge’s Systemist Ontology (BSO). We then compare BSO to the constructs of BWW. The comparison reveals both considerable overlap between BSO and BWW, as well as substantial differences. From this comparison and the initial exposition of BSO, we provide suggestions for further ontology studies and identify research questions that could provide a fruitful agenda for future scholarship in conceptual modeling and other areas of information technology.

International audience; The Dutch government has set an objective to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions to 116 Mton CO2-equivalent in 2030. The agriculture sector aims for 11–23 Mton of GHG emission by 2050 and thus contributes to this objective. For this sector, the major contributor to the GHG emission in the Netherlands is the dairy sector. Before any mitigation strategies can be enrolled, some key facts need to be measured regarding the GHG emission on a farm. One of these key facts is the establishment of the baseline of GHG emission on a farm (and per cow). For this, we previously have built an infrastructure to measure and collect methane and carbon dioxide (near) real-time on a farm. The next challenges, addressed in the current study, were to (1) combine the private methane data, collected real-time through the infrastructure, with open source weather information, and (2) visualize both data streams for farmers, by developing an application that can be viewed on a web or mobile phone platform.

This paper presents a new simulation tool, Dig It, Design It, which allows the archaeologist to easily design an optimal subsurface sampling program for the detection of buried artefacts. The design of such a program rests upon the relationship between the sampling methodology and the characteristics of the artefact concentrations under study, principally their size, density and density distribution. While the need to consider this relationship has been previously established, a model which automatically performs these calculations had not yet been designed. Dig It, Design It is the first model to be presented which considers artefact site properties and detection probabilities to produce an optimal sampling strategy for the archaeologist, and to provide the detection probabilities for artefact sites with different properties. The model is available online, is very easy to use, and no mathematical knowledge is required. Dig It, Design It thus has the potential to dramatically increase the use of statistically defensible sampling programs within the archaeological community.

Copyright © 2018 by Association for Information Science and Technology Many authors have proposed guidelines for online browsing systems, however recently empirical research has added depth to these requirements. There has also been a spate of development in online browsing systems, particularly for library shelf browsing. These strands of research are clearly in service of providing better browsing options in an increasingly online library environment, however they have not yet been brought together. In this paper we use a recent empirical study and a survey of the literature to generate a comprehensive list of requirements for browsing interfaces. We will then compare that list to the interface features of a range of different book browsing interfaces, demonstrating why they may be more or less effective, and signpost development of more effective online browsing.

Six scholars provide their perspectives in response to Lee and Hannafin’s (Educational Technology Research and Development 64: 707–734, 2016) article describing the Own It, Learn It, Share It design framework. The framework combines constructivist, constructionist, and self-determination theories to address student-centered learning.

The implementation of the GDPR that aims at protecting European citizens’ privacy is still a real challenge. In particular, in Big Data systems where data are voluminous and heterogeneous, it is hard to track data evolution through its complex life cycle ranging from collection, ingestion, storage and analytics. In this context, from 2016 to 2021 research has been conducted and several security tools designed. However, they are either specific to particular applications or address partially the regulation articles. To identify the covered parts, the missed ones and the necessary metrics for comparing different works, we propose a framework for GDPR compliance. The framework identifies the main components for the regulation implementation by mapping requirements aligned with GDPR’s provisions to IT design requirements. Based on this framework, we compare the main GDPR solutions in the Big Data domain and we propose a guideline for GDPR verification and implementation in Big Data systems.

The rise of social media has fostered increasing instances of deviant behavior. Arguably, the most notable of these is cyberbullying (CB), which is an increasing global concern because of the socia...

While several societal and economic factors have necessitated more team-based care delivery, it remains a challenge to implement it in practice. Health information technology (IT) can support team-based care delivery, but there is currently a gap between the workflow of teams and the technology that we design to support it. To address this gap, we first formalize team-based workflows according to structural and behavioral aspects. Then, we describe collaborative workflows, and considerations for health IT design to support collaborative workflows. Health IT design for collaborative workflow goes beyond just automating the task at hand, as collaborative workflows are a social construction between data, people and processes; and we need to understand how these connections form prior to introducing technology to automate it. Collaborative workflows are not static, but rather dynamic processes. Health IT design therefore needs to be flexible so that it can evolve along with the collaborative processes that it is automating.

It is indeed an honour to be invited to contribute the inaugural Trevor Kletz & Sam Mannan Guest Perspective on Process Safety. Unfortunately I did not ever meet Trevor, though I worked at a plant he was a design consultant on, but I worked with Sam for several years, together focused on how we could improve process safety outcomes. For this paper I want to write about a key area in process safety that I believe underpins everything we do. If we get it really wrong, we can't come back from the brink. If we get it a little wrong, we can usually recover, with a lot of work and effort. If we get it right, things just work. So, what am I talking about, is it design, maintenance, operations? No, I am talking about leadership. This underpins everything else we do in process safety yet is an oft neglected aspect. I think this is a fitting start to this series, because both Trevor and Sam believed in effective communication, which is a key element of leadership. I hope it will set the scene for future articles to incorporate aspects of leadership when others will delve into more detailed topics.

A clamper-based capsule robot (CCR) capable of exploring a compliant tube is promising for a minimally invasive medical application. It is composed of a locomotion unit and some functional modules (e.g., camera and telemetry circuit) at both ends; and the locomotion unit consists of a linear mechanism, a fixed clamper, and a free clamper that can be linearly moved by the linear mechanism. For the CCR design and optimization, analyzing the interaction between the CCR and the compliant tube is necessary. For this reason, this article conducts a quantitative locomotion analysis of the CCR in the compliant tube. Based on a minimum displacement assumption and by analyzing the tube deformation induced by each CCR locomotion gait, a model correlating the CCR locomotion efficiency with it design parameters was built. Then, the correctness of the model was validated in an intestine-constructed compliant tube. With the validated model, the influence of the design parameters on the CCR locomotion efficiency was analyzed to derive the design rules. In addition, a quantitative comparison between the locomotion efficiencies of the CCR and a previously developed inchworm-like capsule robot was conducted, showing that the CCR can enable a more efficient exploration for the compliant tube.

Designing participation over time is a challenge that is regularly discussed in the fields of Participatory Design (PD) and Codesign. This paper describes two living labs-cases concerned with designing IT during long-term engagements with communities. Both labs aim to enable participatory exchanges after the designer leaves and are thus confronted with challenges that transcend the time of the traditional design ‘project’. We addressed these challenges via defining the IT design process as scripting, which is a process that better articulates the participants’ different voices and timelines. In this process three types of scripts are made, supported by the facilitator role: personal scripts as portrayals of individuals’ views on issues in the community and timelines to address these; community scripts aspiring to combine personal scripts into pluralistic views on the community and scripts for action as ways to rehearse how the community might unfold after the designer leaves. Key to this approach is that diverse people’s views and timelines play a role in co-constructing IT platforms that support participation in the community over time. By creating IT tools that are enabled by and support scripting, designing for participation over time becomes a pluralistic endeavour. FP7, Marie Curie

Participatory Design has recently seen growing interest in developing critical forms of reflexivity able to disentangle the complexity of participatory ensembles. This article makes a methodological contribution to this endeavour. Drawing on socio-cognitive analyses of collaborative design, it proposes the frame of ‘interaction spaces’ as a scaffolding tool for conducting retrospective analyses of participatory design processes. The paper uses the ‘interaction spaces’ frame to analyse the three years of collaborative activities of the CIVIS Project. Through a longitudinal and multi-dimensional account of participatory dynamics involved in the designing, prototyping and testing of an IT platform for home energy management, the frame evidences how participatory configurations evolve over time; it makes clearer the characteristics of participation as partial and overtaken; and it identifies moments of cross-participation as potential basis for the boundary-spanning of design issues.

Career orientations of students of final years as a structural component of career design process, the basis of the purposes and plans which are embodied subsequently in process of employment and professional self-realization are considered in the article. The factors complicating career design process by graduates of institute of higher education are also revealed. Results of empirical research of career orientations of students of final years at the initial stage of it design are presented.

Background and significance. It is increasingly recognized that some patients self-manage in the context of social networks rather than alone. Consumer health information technology (IT) designed to support socially embedded self-management must be responsive to patients’ everyday communication practices. There is an opportunity to improve consumer health IT design by explicating how patients currently leverage social media to support health information communication.Objective. The objective of this study was to determine types of health information communication patterns that typify Facebook users with chronic health conditions to guide consumer health IT design.Materials and methods. Seven hundred participants with type 2 diabetes were recruited through a commercial survey access panel. Cluster analysis was used to identify distinct approaches to health information communication both on and off Facebook. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods were used to identify demographic and behavioral differences among profiles. Secondary analysis of qualitative interviews (n = 25) and analysis of open-ended survey questions were conducted to understand participant rationales for each profile.Results. Our analysis yielded 7 distinct health information communication profiles. Five of 7 profiles had consistent patterns both on and off Facebook, while the remaining 2 demonstrated distinct practices, with no health information communication on Facebook but some off Facebook. One profile was distinct from all others in both health information communication practices and demographic composition. Rationales for following specific health information communication practices were categorized under 6 themes: altruism, instrumental support, social support, privacy and stigma, convenience, and Facebook knowledge.Conclusion. Facebook has been widely adopted for health information communication; This study demonstrates that Facebook has been widely adopted for health information communication. It also shows that the ways in which patients communicate health information on and off Facebook are diverse.

This paper contributes to the discourse on HCI and political economy, further developing theoretical concepts of strategies and tactics by drawing on the original work of French scholar Michel de Certeau. Strategies and tactics are developed and used as a lens to reflect and understand decisions made throughout an IT design process oriented toward infrastructuring social collaboration among people who are struggling financially. We demonstrate this by presenting the case of Commonfare, an EU funded project, and we focus, in particular, on the relationships between specific research and pilot project consortium partners. We explore decisions and actions that take place over four months between two milestones of the project – the first platform release, and a general assembly.

In order to solve the complicated problems faced by the spread of diversified information devices and changes in the user environment in recent years, the importance of training creative talent as well as the need for interdisciplinary convergent approach have emerged. As a future technology development project, convergence education with the design sector for training creative talent in the IT field is also urgent. In this study, we recognized the importance and problems of the convergent approach between IT and design sector by examining the convergence theory and cases with a focus on effective creativity development and sought a new direction for convergence education in the future by investigating the awareness on the convergent approach of college students and analyzing the results. This will be able to have significance as a basic study for discovering creative and innovative convergent talent in the IT and design sector in the future and strengthening basic competence.

Through the analysis of the needs of different users, the integrated use of three layers B / S structure, HT M L and A SP programming technology, S Q L database technology and the II S platform. It design a set of significant characteristics of openness, interactivity, flexibility, generality of network teaching system meets the requirements of colleges and universities.

Objective Electronic health records (EHR) hold great promise for managing patient information in ways that improve healthcare delivery. Physicians differ, however, in their use of this health information technology (IT), and these differences are not well understood. The authors study the differences in individual physicians' EHR use patterns and identify perceptions of uncertainty as an important new variable in understanding EHR use. Design Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and direct observation of physicians (n=28) working in a multispecialty outpatient care organization. Measurements We identified physicians' perceptions of uncertainty as an important variable in understanding differences in EHR use patterns. Drawing on theories from the medical and organizational literatures, we identified three categories of perceptions of uncertainty: reduction, absorption, and hybrid. We used an existing model of EHR use to categorize physician EHR use patterns as high, medium, and low based on degree of feature use, level of EHR-enabled communication, and frequency that EHR use patterns change. Results Physicians' perceptions of uncertainty were distinctly associated with their EHR use patterns. Uncertainty reductionists tended to exhibit high levels of EHR use, uncertainty absorbers tended to exhibit low levels of EHR use, and physicians demonstrating both perspectives of uncertainty (hybrids) tended to exhibit medium levels of EHR use. Conclusions We find evidence linking physicians' perceptions of uncertainty with EHR use patterns. Study findings have implications for health IT research, practice, and policy, particularly in terms of impacting health IT design and implementation efforts in ways that consider differences in physicians' perceptions of uncertainty.

This study aims to identify the role of E-commerce on the auditing practices in the Jordanian banking sector. The sample of this study consisted of 120 selected from five banks in the north region in Jordan. These banks are: The Housing Bank for Trade and Finance, Union Bank, National Bank of Jordan, Arab Bank and Capital Bank, whereas a questionnaire was designed and distributed to them. A total of (100) questionnaire was retrieved that are valid for statistical analysis formed about 83.3% of overall distributed questionnaires; and the questionnaires have been analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The results of the study indicate that there is a significant role of E-commerce in auditing process in the Jordanian commercial banks, beside that it was revealed that Jordanian commercial banks face many types of E-commerce risks associated with auditing, and the most risk that they faced was the lack of the auditors knowledge on the concepts of information technology and how they are used in auditing. This study recommended the Jordanian commercial banks to conduct training courses for their auditors regarding the concepts of information technology, how to use them in auditing and the nature of the websites and how it design.

Firms developing collaborative innovation from IT-enabled inter-organisational relationships (IORs) are faced with both technological and relational challenges. Drawing on knowledge-based view, this paper first proposes a model to integrate IT design with relationships governance, then investigates and compares the technological and relational antecedents of collaborative innovation for focal firms in IT-enabled IORs, and finally explores the competitive performance impact of collaborative innovation. The research model is evaluated with data collected from 191 Chinese firms that digitally collaborate with their distributors. The findings suggest that digital platforms capability and two governance mechanisms (i.e., contractual governance and relational governance) work together to influence collaborative innovation, which in turn enables focal firms to obtain competitive performance. This study provides theoretical and practical implications for collaborative innovation literature by discovering the different impacts of IT design and governance mechanisms on collaborative innovation in the context of IT-enabled IORs.

This paper focuses on evaluation in Participatory Design (PD), and especially upon how the central aims of mutual learning, empowerment, democracy and workplace quality have been assessed. We surveyed all Participatory Design Conference papers (1990-2014) and papers from special journal issues on PD, focusing on systematic, explicit evaluations. The survey resulted in 143 papers of which 66 were deemed relevant. Of these, 17 papers deal with evaluation of the above mentioned aims. Based on evaluation theory, we propose seven key questions through which to characterize evaluations in PD and analyze the 17 papers. Our analysis reveals that formal evaluations of PD's aims are rare; generally lack details on methods; are researcher- and not participant-led, and that a corpus of work around evaluations needs to be developed. We suggest more explicit, systematic evaluations of PD's central aims to enhance accountability, learning and knowledge building, and to strengthen PD internally and externally.

IT professionals in these days need to obtain multidisciplinary skill sets in order to succeed in their career. Design skill is considered as one of important characteristic for IT professionals. Many researches addressed design skill sets differently. This results in an increasing numbers of design skill items, in which some of those items have their meaning slightly different from each other. These long lists of design skill items can cause to long range of questionnaire. This study evaluates three techniques used for items selection which help reducing the number of skill items but with expect to remain their value within the selected items. The comparative studies used in this work are random selection, statistics selection, and effective coverage-based selection. The study found that the proposed technique provides the most satisfy result comparing to the other two techniques. According to this, the reduction rate by using this model is better than random and statistics algorithms about 47.83% and 34.78% respectively. Moreover, the percent coverage by using the proposed model is higher than the traditional methods approximately 13–26 %.

We explore ways by which teachers act as intermediaries in information technology (IT) design with children through analyzing three of our design projects conducted with schoolchildren and their teachers. In our projects the teachers acted as informants and evaluators, but not as IT design partners, albeit they had a lot of decision-making power as steering-group members of the projects. The teachers offered valuable understanding of children through their general knowledge about child development and their knowledge of their class. Teachers also acted as valuable facilitators in the design process, enhancing children’s participation in the design process. They also acted as advocates of children and their learning. They considered children’s learning goals and fit with the curriculum and developed their own skills and knowledge to serve children’s learning. Occasionally, they also acted as advocates of children’s interests more generally; however, not in the sense of critical tradition.

A study by Phoenix utility has provided very promising results to help it design and implement TOU pricing strategies that can dramatically change/improve its system load profile. It has also provided insight and deeper understanding that has led SRP to view these TOU options as a portfolio where it can actually optimize customer participation in TOU pricing programs.

En el actual entorno de continua evolucion de las tecnologias de la informacion y las comunicaciones (TIC), y como respuesta a los conceptos referentes al Gobierno de las Tecnologias de la Informacion (TI), en el presente trabajo se define y disena un metodo que posibilite el cambio en una organizacion hacia los nuevos paradigmas de diseno y gestion de las TI, y sobre todo en su interaccion con las redes interorganizacionales. La aplicacion del metodo definido sobre la organizacion del servicio de las tecnologias de la informacion de una Universidad ha posibilitado la integracion de distintas herramientas (por ejemplo modelo GTI4U, Modelo de Madurez, Metodologia de Modelizacion Empresarial) en el proceso de gobierno de las TI, merced a la modelizacion de los procesos de negocio y los flujos relacionados con ello. Palabras clave : modelizacion empresarial, metodo para el gobierno de las TI. Method for IT governance based on enterprise modeling Abstract : Nowadays, the evolving environment and continuous evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and as a response to the concepts relating to IT governance, this paper defines and designs a method that facilitates the change in an organization towards the new paradigms of IT design and management, and deals mainly in their interaction with inter-organization networks. The application of the defined method on the organization of the information and communications service of a University has facilitated the integration of different tools (for example GTI4U model, Maturity Model, Enterprise Integration Methodology) in the IT governance process, thanks to the modelization of the business processes and the flows related with this. Key Words : enterprise modelling, method for IT governance.

In this article the argument is that in order to find women who participate in the design of IT, it is not enough to analyze gendered divisions of labor in terms of professional belongings but also to analyze the practices behind the professional categories that are involved in IT design. The purpose of the article is to explore how actors in various ways were configured during an IT design project. The article is based on an IT design project, and the empirical material for the study was gathered through the use of ethnographic methods, and analyzed diffractively. This analysis showed that the boundaries between actors shifted, that the actors were placed in several different positions, and that what was done in practices did not always fit with the formal positions. The analysis made it possible to see that in this IT design project, women were important participants on which the whole project depended. If this project is representative also for other IT design projects, the problem of women as outsiders of IT design could be rephrased, and the problem is no longer that women are not included in IT design, but that their participation does not always become visible.

The systems view is presented as a complement to the more traditional scientific approach to help reduce and mitigate risk in high risk systems. Implications for this systemic approach are described, principally in the areas of control and information. Most generally, we investigate how high risk systems use information to maintain control, and how IT systems should be designed to support this activity. Two variations in the systems view-the objective and constructive-are distilled and compared, and for each, the implications for crisis IT systems design are discussed. The limitations of the two variations of the systems view are presented, as is a brief annotated bibliography for further reading about the systems view.

Science programming can be daunting for after school educators and para-educators. These two resources insure science is fun for both youth and educators! Design It! Design Engineering in After School Programs (2002), and Explore It! Science Investigations in Out-of-School Programs (2006) encourage the love of science learning through an exploratory format that is grounded in cooperative learning. Each of the two programs contain multiple projects using readily available and affordable materials. Design It! includes project topics such as Gliders, Spinning Toys, and Trebuchets. Explore It! includes project topics such as Wiring a House, Soda Science, and Balancing Toys.

PurposeThis paper aims to present lessons learned in applying 2nd‐order cybernetics – specifically Maturana and Varela's “biology of cognition” – to the actual design of interactive decision support systems.Design/methodology/approachThis consists of a review of the rationale and bases for applying 2nd‐order cybernetics in interactive IT design, the challenges in moving from theory to praxis, illustrative examples of tactics employed, and a summary of the successful outcomes achieved.FindingsThe paper offers conclusions about the general applicability of such theories, two sample applications devised for actual projects, and discussion of these applications' perceived value.Research limitations/implicationsThe applications described are not claimed to represent a complete toolkit, and they may not readily generalize beyond the scope of interactive information systems design. On the other hand, the examples offered demonstrate that 2nd‐order cybernetics can constructively inform such designs – advancing the focus of discussion from theory‐based advocacy to praxis‐based recommendations.Practical implicationsThe paper presents illustrative examples of the exigencies entailed in moving 2nd‐order cybernetics ideas forward from theory to praxis and specific tactics for doing so.Originality/valueThis paper addresses the persistent deficiencies in both concrete examples and guidance for practical applications of 2nd‐order cybernetics theories. It will hopefully stimulate similar attempts to demonstrate such theories' practical benefits.

Identifying user needs is important as use of interaction technologies have grown and influence leisure time and work. This paper presents methods for identifying and operationalising needs in desi ...

PurposeTo give an overview of the papers contained in this Special Issue.Design/methodology/approachLooks at how each of the papers reflects the theme of the Special Issue, “Complexity and IT design and evolution”.FindingsThe collection of papers in this Special Issue addresses complexity, drawing on multi‐faceted, multi‐theoretical lines of inquiry.Originality/valueFrameworks from complexity science, institutional theory, social science, philosophy, and recent thinking in science and technology studies (STS) are used as theoretical lenses to conceptualize and analyze complexity in IS and to offer ways to mitigate it.

With the rapid penetration of digital interfaces into all aspects of everyday life, the need for understanding the aesthetic aspects of interaction between humans and computers has come into focus. Various positions suggest that aesthetics offers IT design and research an enhanced analytical foundation going beyond the traditional use-oriented principles of HCI and usability. However, this new body ofliterature employs different notions of aesthetics, resultingin a blurred picture. This article reviews the contributions of aesthetics to IT design and research, which we refer to as the aesthetic turn. Based on a thorough literature review, we propose a division of the field into four overall approaches: the cultural, the functionalistic, the experience-based and the techno-futuristic. Finally we discuss the prospects and pitfalls of approaching research and design of digital interfaces from aesthetic stances.