Situating Design Research within Social Framework

This paper explores the expertise in industrial (product) design and contribution of knowledge generated trough the design research. Within this approach the research is situated within the social structure that constitutes people, activity, context and culture where an artifact is seen to be a mediator for the generation of new knowledge and its application. The paper concludes about the importance of research and practice integration and points out that situating the research around the artifacts, as mediators of knowledge, is transferable to Human-Computer Interaction field and any other area of the design research

Microfinance outcomes in the Philippines

Recent reports from Bangladesh about the Grameen Bank (GB) having to seriously review its policies and restructure its procedures have not stopped countries like the Philippines from making a success of Grameen Bank Replicas (GBRs). Women across Asia continue to benefit from microfinance initiatives and are motivated to move out of poverty through the influence of the GB and other microfinance institutes. This paper addresses specifically the microfinance activities in the Philippines and reports on some of the issues surrounding the successes and setbacks of programs in that country.