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Becky Mallaband

Lecturer in User Centred Design, Aston University

I am a lecturer in Product Design and have been based at Aston University, in the Mechanical Engineering and Design department since December 2015, having previously been a Research Associate and Lecturer in the Loughborough Design School. My area of expertise is User Centred Design, and the majority of my research thus far has been conducted within the energy domain.

My research interest is twofold, firstly, investigating challenges from a functionality matching approach. Understanding the need for not only behaviour change, but also for new technology to match and benefit the current habits and behaviours of users. This requires an in-depth understanding of how to research people, but also to work across disciplines, often translating information between engineers, users and stakeholders.

The second area of research development is within this discipline gap, where there is a unique opportunity to develop best practice and tools for cross-disciplinary work within this sociotechnical area, particularly within the energy demand domain.

My background enables me to represent the needs of people in all types of research. This might mean translating technical information so that it is easier for users to understand or gathering and analysing information from users which can then be used within the design of products or systems.

The design tricks that made the Nokia 3310 world-beating

Feb 17, 2017 02:06 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

The Nokia 3310 mobile phone has near iconic status. Released in 2000, it is among the best-selling phones of all time, with 126m units produced. It was renowned for being virtually indestructible and for launching many of...

Economy

Russia Stocks Close Flat as MOEX Hits 1-Month High

Russian equities ended Saturdays session flat, with the MOEX Russia Index holding steady and touching a fresh one-month high despite muted market activity. Investors saw little movement across major sectors, as several key...

Vietnam’s November Trade Sees Monthly Decline but Strong Year-on-Year Growth

Vietnam recorded a notable month-on-month decline in trade activity in November, according to new data from the National Statistics Office (NSO). Exports fell 7.1% from October, reaching $39.07 billion, while imports...

Austria’s AA Credit Rating Affirmed as Fitch Highlights Stable Outlook

Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed Austrias Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating at AA with a Stable Outlook, underscoring the countrys strong economic fundamentals despite rising fiscal pressures. According to the...

Fed Meeting Sparks Division as Markets Brace for Possible Rate Cut

The upcoming Federal Reserve meeting is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched and contentious in years, with investors focused on how divided policymakers are over a potential interest-rate cut and the signals...

U.S. Stocks Rise as Cooler Inflation Boosts Hopes for Fed Rate Cut

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday as a softer inflation reading strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve could move forward with an interest-rate cut next week. The SP 500 climbed 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial...

Politics

Zelenskiy Describes “Substantive” Call With Trump Envoys as Ukraine, U.S. Explore Peace Path

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that he held a long and substantive phone call with U.S. President Donald Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, emphasizing that...

U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth Defends Second Strike on Suspected Drug Boat Amid War-Crime Concerns

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reaffirmed his support for a September 2 second strike on a suspected drug-running vessel in the Caribbean, saying at the Reagan National Defense Forum that he fully backs the decision...

Hong Kong Elections Proceed as Voter Turnout Scrutinized Amid Public Anger Over Deadly Fire

Hong Kongs upcoming Legislative Council election on Sunday is drawing intense attention to voter turnout as the city continues to mourn the deadliest fire it has seen in nearly 80 years. The tragedy, which claimed at least...

Qatari PM Says Gaza Truce Negotiations Reach “Critical Moment” as Mediators Push for Lasting Ceasefire

Negotiations to solidify the U.S.-backed truce in the Gaza war have entered a critical phase, according to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. Speaking at the Doha Forum, he emphasized that...

Trump Urges Hall of Fame Induction for Roger Clemens Amid Renewed Debate

U.S. President Donald Trump is once again weighing in on Major League Baseball controversies, this time calling for legendary pitcher Roger Clemens to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Clemens, a...

Science

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage

U.S. President Donald Trump and German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA have announced a groundbreaking deal aimed at lowering the cost of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments while boosting access to fertility care in...

Technology

Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns

Taiwans political landscape heated up after the government announced a plan to suspend access to the Chinese social media platform Rednoteknown as Xiaohongshufor one year. The interior ministry said the proposed ban stems...

EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp

The European Commission is reportedly preparing to launch a new antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) over the companys recent rollout of artificial intelligence features within WhatsApp....

Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly explored raising significant capital to acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that could have created direct competition with Elon Musks SpaceX. According to a report from the...

Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation

Wikipedia is seeking additional licensing deals with major technology companies to address the growing financial burden caused by artificial intelligence firms heavily scraping its platform, according to co-founder Jimmy...

Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature

Firelight reaches 25M XRP deposit cap within hours of launch; ushers in a new era for decentralized XRP staking. A new XRP staking platform, Firelight, has officially launched on the Flare blockchain, marking the first...