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A reflection on interdisciplinarity research in universal design toward sustainability

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Abstract

The concept of universal design (UD) is growing from its devised domain of accessibility, thus becoming a stimulating research topic reaching further beyond the field of human/computer interaction. An inspiring characteristic of the universally designed end product and its value to the user would be its nature of sustainability. However, the many factors of that quality are yet to be fully learned by the practice and application of UD. One way to resolve this problem is to expand the UD research toward interdisciplinary practice. In this paper, the status of UD and its relationship to sustainability in terms of its possibility and perspective with interdisciplinary research are analyzed. A framework unfolds which explains and argues how interdisciplinary research could help UD advance toward the aim of sustainability. The proposed theoretical framework would open new research opportunities to expand the UD concepts along the path of creating holistic values on sustainability.

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  1. Department of Informatics and Media, Uppsala University, Box 513, 751 20, Uppsala, Sweden

    Moyen Mohammad Mustaquim

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Mustaquim, M.M. A reflection on interdisciplinarity research in universal design toward sustainability. Univ Access Inf Soc 16, 73–83 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-015-0425-0

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