Aykut Coşkun

This research explores how liminality is experienced and expressed through everyday food practices. We conducted five semi-structured group interviews with university students (N=16), as a group experiencing ongoing transitions. The interviews were combined with a photo-sharing activity in which participants brought images of foods connected to their home, current living environment, and "in-between" experiences. Using the thematic analysis method, we derived three themes indicating that students experience liminality through changing roles and fragile routines that reshape eating practices and the meanings attached to food. Food also helps them mediate these experiences by responding to the transition with familiar tastes, memories, and relationships to rebuild stability and belonging. Inspired by these themes, we offer three design recommendations for transitional human-food interactions.

Motivated by the inextricable link between nature and climate change, interaction design for children’s nature engagements and their connection with nature has seen growing interest in Child Computer Interaction (CCI). However, designing for children’s nature engagement and connection entails distinctive complexities particularly for designers new to this domain. This paper investigates these complexities through a case study documenting the design journey of a team of novice designers, systematically and critically examining the practices, dilemmas, and criteria that emerged during their design process. Our analysis contributes three overarching design complexities designers faced: ‘discord between designer assumptions and children’s experiences’, ‘divisions of space’ and ‘technology and nature bifurcation’. Our work also shows that nature theories raise new challenges in the maintenance of ontological coherence as relational and human-centred lenses are both considered. Drawing from these findings, and examining how designers navigated these challenges, we propose implications for future design practice.

Food waste in the food service industry is a pressing issue. Tackling this issue requires innovative solutions that consider the perspective of diverse stakeholders. Previous studies have primarily focused on specific stakeholder groups and service types, neglecting the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Furthermore, studies investigating the stakeholder perspectives in non-western contexts are nascent. This study aims to address this gap by examining food waste from the perspectives of diverse stakeholders in the Turkish food service industry and to guide the design of future interventions. Through 31 semi-structured interviews with managers, chefs, cooks, waiters, service personnel and customers, the study reveals the causes, strategies and barriers pertaining to food waste in the food service industry. It further identifies four novel themes emphasizing the intricate relationship between stakeholders: (1) the hierarchical nature of responsibility towards food waste, (2) the vicious cycle of offering treats and creating waste, (3) the life cycle of a restaurant and (4) the boundaries between stakeholders as a challenge for action. Based on these insights and themes, the article proposes three design implications for technologies mitigating food waste in the food service industry: towards participatory responsive menu planning, designing for open communication and designing for cooperation among food service businesses.