430
P. J. Wolff, III
of communications and engagement and to develop strategies that encourage faceto-face collaboration and build trust and effective working relationships throughout
the typical years-long cycle of campus-based research.
10 There appears to be a need
to reduce the social distance between the team members and between the ongoing
research and the greater community. In fact, strategic business leaders often emphasize the importance of team design, launch, and process management (Swaab et al.
2012), and these ideas could be directly applied by those managing or participating
in living lab research.
Perhaps new insights into the proposed innovation tools also may be found by
examining the way in which the use of comics has shifted from the back shelves of
newsstands into a respected form of culture, as evidenced in celebrated graphic novels (Persepolis, Watchmen, Maus, Asterios Polyp), a Tony Award–winning Broadway
show (Fun Home), adaptations of classic works (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Diary
of Anne Frank), biographies (March: Book One/Two), television series (Our Cartoon President, Archer) and worldwide, blockbuster action movies (Black Panther,
The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Wonder Woman). One now can even study comics
and graphic novels through specialized courses offered at many U.S.-based institutions, and also pursue an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree in the field of
sequential arts. Are there ways to apply this powerful form of expression to inform
the narratives that are shared on the LACs and the Discover Living Lab Web App, or
to imagine a new type of immersive case-study format for campus-based research?
It would appear that the action-based narrative in living lab research would provide a
unique opportunity to choreograph and shape time, as Art Spiegelman (Maus) contends (Ball and Kuhlman 2010), or to convey complex ideas and processes through
time, with duration, motion, and an “all-at-oneness” (McGuire 2014). Imagine the
power of applying Marjane Satrapi’s (Persepolis) concept of “narrative drawing” to
the storytelling process of living labs, in which images are not simply illustrative but
part of the storytelling, which requires a degree of completion/participation from the
audience/reader. Might this art form help to inspire natural curiosities about the scientific process and the use of the campus as a test bed in real-world environs? Might
the intentional use of boundary objects, such as the new tools described herein, help
to bridge between participant perspectives, philosophical paradigms and even across
varying research methods utilized by those working in living lab realms?
10 Concluding Thoughts
This study of the living lab transactions illuminated challenges in defining terms,
identifying opportunities for team building, and communicating the stories of living
lab research. But it was the act of combining the observations with the imagination
10 Social distance is the degree of emotional connection people have with each other. Groups with
low levels of social distance feel close and congenial, while those with high levels of social distance
face greater challenges in developing satisfying interactions (Neeley 2015).
P. J. Wolff, III
of communications and engagement and to develop strategies that encourage faceto-face collaboration and build trust and effective working relationships throughout
the typical years-long cycle of campus-based research.
10 There appears to be a need
to reduce the social distance between the team members and between the ongoing
research and the greater community. In fact, strategic business leaders often emphasize the importance of team design, launch, and process management (Swaab et al.
2012), and these ideas could be directly applied by those managing or participating
in living lab research.
Perhaps new insights into the proposed innovation tools also may be found by
examining the way in which the use of comics has shifted from the back shelves of
newsstands into a respected form of culture, as evidenced in celebrated graphic novels (Persepolis, Watchmen, Maus, Asterios Polyp), a Tony Award–winning Broadway
show (Fun Home), adaptations of classic works (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Diary
of Anne Frank), biographies (March: Book One/Two), television series (Our Cartoon President, Archer) and worldwide, blockbuster action movies (Black Panther,
The Avengers, Fantastic Four, Wonder Woman). One now can even study comics
and graphic novels through specialized courses offered at many U.S.-based institutions, and also pursue an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree in the field of
sequential arts. Are there ways to apply this powerful form of expression to inform
the narratives that are shared on the LACs and the Discover Living Lab Web App, or
to imagine a new type of immersive case-study format for campus-based research?
It would appear that the action-based narrative in living lab research would provide a
unique opportunity to choreograph and shape time, as Art Spiegelman (Maus) contends (Ball and Kuhlman 2010), or to convey complex ideas and processes through
time, with duration, motion, and an “all-at-oneness” (McGuire 2014). Imagine the
power of applying Marjane Satrapi’s (Persepolis) concept of “narrative drawing” to
the storytelling process of living labs, in which images are not simply illustrative but
part of the storytelling, which requires a degree of completion/participation from the
audience/reader. Might this art form help to inspire natural curiosities about the scientific process and the use of the campus as a test bed in real-world environs? Might
the intentional use of boundary objects, such as the new tools described herein, help
to bridge between participant perspectives, philosophical paradigms and even across
varying research methods utilized by those working in living lab realms?
10 Concluding Thoughts
This study of the living lab transactions illuminated challenges in defining terms,
identifying opportunities for team building, and communicating the stories of living
lab research. But it was the act of combining the observations with the imagination
10 Social distance is the degree of emotional connection people have with each other. Groups with
low levels of social distance feel close and congenial, while those with high levels of social distance
face greater challenges in developing satisfying interactions (Neeley 2015).