LITERATURE REVIEW

I was talking with Hazel this morning and we found that would be a good idea to create here an instance to share useful literature for our Master's projects. All of us are aiming to helping through the wide concept of design, so I feel that would be useful to share some sources of knowledge, inspiration, reflexion, etc… I will start below with the list of some sources that I have been checking. Please, feel free to re-organize the contents and ADD INFORMATION TO SHARE! 
Daniela V.

EDUCATION/LEARNING

1. Lave, J.  "Situating learning in communities of practice" http://www.udel.edu/educ/whitson/files/Lave,%20Situating%20learning%20in%20communities%20of%20practice.pdf

2. Gardner, H. "Frames of Mind: the Theory of Multiple Intelligence" http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9970587

3. Ken Robinson en TED 2006

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib-j87eAnCU

DESIGN / CRAFT

1. Papanek, Victor (1971). Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change, New York, Pantheon Books


2. http://www.futurecraft.dundee.ac.uk/

3. Tim Brown on TED:
http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_urges_designers_to_think_big.html 


4. John Thackara (2006) In the bubble - designing in a complex world


5.  Jonathan Chapman (2005) Emotionally Durable Design - objects, experiences and empathy

6. Jonathan Chapman and Nick Gant (2007) Designers, Visionaries and other stories - a collection of sustainable design essays

LIFE

1. Maturana, H. and Varela, F. (1988). The Tree of Knowledge. New Science Library, Shambhala, Boston. p 242

http://www.scribd.com/doc/11543490/Maturana-Varela-The-Tree-of-Knowledge-Notes

2.  Rob Hopkins (2008) The Transition Handbook  - from oil dependency to local resilience 
also at http://transitionculture.org/

reflections

The Thursday afternoon session was about being reflective.  This is not a new concept for me - having a background in Buddhist and Shiatsu practice, I am used to this aspect of life and work, but what I found interesting was the whole idea of pushing forward knowledge. I have always been keen to cover new ground and make new connections, but it has never been explicit in my thinking and work. 

I was particularly interested in the difference between reflection in action and deflection on action. The first is all about being aware of what you are doing while you are doing it, thus having the ability to change your behaviour.  As Tom said himself, it is being mindful – again a term used frequently in Buddhism and something that requires regular practice as so much of our daily life happens out of awareness. The example of a golfer adjusting their grip gives a lovely clean, clear example of reflection in action, but in modern, busy lives, it often doesn’t feel this way – when doing umpteen things at the same time or rushing from task to task, how can we be fully aware of just what we are doing?  

Reflection on action – reflection after the event – has its own challenges including complete honesty, which is where seeking feedback and keeping an open mind is so important.  Having the ability to change our habits and accept when we might be wrong.  Buddhism uses the phrase ‘beginner’s mind’ to suggest a way of approaching something without any preconceived ideas or judgements - as Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi said "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few." Hmm, very wise…

Sarah