| NSF Org: |
IIS Division of Information & Intelligent Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 1, 2022 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | November 9, 2022 |
| Award Number: | 2224258 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Dan Cosley
dcosley@nsf.gov (703)292-8832 IIS Division of Information & Intelligent Systems CSE Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering |
| Start Date: | November 15, 2021 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $615,984.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $52,543.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
201 OLD MAIN UNIVERSITY PARK PA US 16802-1503 (814)865-1372 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
State College PA US 16802-1503 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | HCC-Human-Centered Computing |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.070 |
ABSTRACT
This study concerns the evolving collection of information technology practices that have been grouped under the umbrella of "making," which includes end-user experimentation with emerging forms of hardware and software such as open hardware, digital fabrication, Internet of Things, and more. "Making" has been widely envisioned to enable a transition from tinkering to prototyping and entrepreneurship and, finally, to help revive manufacturing industries in the United States. Making in the US remains largely a hobbyist practice, and the transition from making-as-hobby to a new wave of economy-building technology innovation is not easy. Yet it can be done and indeed is already being done in other parts of the world, including the cities of Shenzhen, China and Taipei, Taiwan. Through empirical research, hands-on design workshops and international comparison, this project will examine and document successful pathways from making as hobby to socioeconomic driver, and how they are supported by technological, policy, economic, and pedagogical infrastructures.
Broadly, this research will provide a contribution to studies of technology innovation in regions beyond more familiar technology hubs like Silicon Valley: Asia and the American Midwest. It will contribute to discussions that place models of technology innovation and design in relationship to local histories, cultures, and sociopolitical contexts. This includes debates around non-linear stories of technological progress, creativity, and design. This research will also contribute to a growing body of research focused on investigating the tools, techniques, and social organization of maker collectives, hackerspaces, and repair practices by providing both an ethnographic foundation and technological insights for emerging issues concerning making's transition into production and entrepreneurialism. Making provides the means, tools, and educational culture for developing novel and multidisciplinary approaches in STEM learning. Computation when taught through hands-on making has the potential to open up STEM fields and careers to underrepresented groups and minorities. Prior research has documented, however, that challenges remain; for instance the number of women in makerspaces remains low and professional maker communities are only indirectly brought into STEM education. This project will contribute to a broader national interest in transforming hands-on making into a sustainable model by facilitating interdisciplinary and international collaborations and engaged learning inclusive of the sciences, technology, engineering, arts and design as well as industry and expert amateurs.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
In this project, we studied makers around the world, especially focusing on those in Asia and in the American Midwest. "Makers" refers to those who engage in fabrication and prototyping, commonly using a mix of new digital fabrication tools, such as 3D printers and CNC routers, and traditional shop tools. Maker practices are associated with bottom-up innovation and through it, economic development.
The primary goal of the research was to understand these practices as they unfolded in different regions and to cross-pollinate their best practices with the intention of furthering their societal benefits, particularly in the American Midwest.
A key finding of the research was that although much of the language of making and the maker movement is about democratizing the envisioning and subsequent prototyping of new products, making was also tied up in governments, particularly local governments, but also--as in the case of DARPA supporting high school robotics competitions--national governments. The connection to governments tied the global phenomenon of the maker movement to local aspirations. This in turn led to specialized maker spaces and practices, with some examples including making sustainable futures (Taiwan), revitalizing public and particularly youth interest in agriculture (Indiana), the clarification and pursuit of regional advantage (e.g., IoT device manufacturing in Taiwan), and the role of making to support former inmates' productive return to the workforce (Indiana).
A clear research implication of this work is to resist the universalizing and generic language of makerspaces and the maker movement, and instead to work with governments, makers, universities, and other institutional stakeholders (e.g., Farm Bureaus), to ensure the fit of a given makerspace in its local community and region, leveraging the distinctive advantages of that region. Doing so will vastly increase the likelihood that the makerspace will take off, and thereby contribute to its broader impacts, which certainly can include economic development, but which we found can also include societal benefits such as the following: the formation of positive regional and national identities, contributions toward social goods (e.g., sustainable design, inclusive computing practices, women's health), aiding specific groups (e.g., former inmates), generating youth interest in STEM, and preparing the future workforce.
A research benefit is that this work provides glimpses into the future of work itself. For example, this project tracked makers in Taiwan who formed an active distribution list that for several years actively discussed the future of IoT, a discussion that tightly coupled Taiwan's specific manufacturing capacities with economic development and other social goals on the island. Given the specific manufacturing capacities in the American Midwest, including auto manufacturing and agriculture, the work provided glimpses of ways that making could drive innovation and evolve future practices in those domains, which we pursued by engaging stakeholders including the Indiana Farm Bureau, the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, local makerspaces, the Purdue University Farm Extension, and others.
Last Modified: 04/22/2024
Modified by: Jeffrey Bardzell
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