Design Talk (dot IE)

Design Talk. A podcast for learning about the business of technology design and management. Listen to stories, panels, interviews and discussions about technology and design in-the-wild: the good, the beautiful, and the useful. Whether you've got one big idea, you think of yourself as an organisation designer, product designer, creator, or entrepreneur. Each episode offers a take on how people design, strategise, organise, and develop technology. We want to dig into the essence of design, discover the backstory to technologies, and unpack the design attitude. We started this podcast for you, because you are interested in tinkering, in making, and how ideas become 'things', and because we are all, in some way, involved in designing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Design Talk (dot IE) is a technology podcast hosted by Allen Higgins, with 199 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Allen Higgins hosts Design Talk (dot IE), a technology show with 199 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #276

  0276 - The 4Rs of Research with Pamela Abbott

  Jul 12, 202646 minS13

  In this episode I talk with Pamela Abbott from the University of Sheffield about a paper she coauthored with Salihu Dasuki and Andrea Jimenez and published by the Information Systems Journal in 2025. The paper is titled "The 4Rs: A collective reflexive methodology for realising critical self-transformation in ICT4D research practice." This part of the talk focuses upon being "in between", a concept she and her colleagues have developed to better understand the role and experience of being a researcher studying and developing complex infrastructure initiatives involving and impacting people from the Global South. I also ask Pamela what was the best research environment she has encountered thus far and what made it so good? Notes, extra questions, and further reading: Abbott, P. Y., Dasuki, S., & Jimenez, A. (2025). The 4Rs: A collective reflexive methodology for realising critical self-transformation in ICT4D research practice. Information Systems Journal, 35(3), 855–906. https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12561 Disclosure: this project benefited from seed-funding grant that Paul Dylan-Ennis and Allen Higgins received under the Research Culture Local Actions Initiatives and Measures (ReCLAIM) initiative at UCD and supported by the Wellcome Trust. Acknowledgements Music  Title: Earl Grey Artist: Benjimanji  (2016) Source:   https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Benjimanji/Benjimanji/01_Earl_Grey/ License: CC-BY - an Attribution License. Cover Art  Title: Selfie in the University Club Artist: Allen Higgins Source: Pamela_pod.pptx License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Podcast License Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0  The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #275

  0275 - Talking about reading groups with Adam Kelly

  Jun 30, 202635 minS13

  In this episode I talk with Adam Kelly about ACADEMIC reading groups, which I think we’ll DISCOVER, are a whole lot different to book clubs. Adam is an Associate Professor of English in UCD’s School of English, Drama and Film. He has written books himself and published special editions and edited collections and proceedings, (which, for our audience, are books too), and written numerous journal articles, conference papers and reviews (publications that are a bit like books but shorter). OBVIOUSLY you know a thing or two about WRITING (we might talk about that in depth some time)… But, what about this other THING, READING, you must also be very good at it too? Have reading groups had much of an IMPACT on your academic intellectual DEVELOPMENT? We’re talking about READING groups. But when the group meets, you don’t sit around READING do you? Why don’t we call them TALKING groups? So, what is a reading group? What’s it good for?  How does the thing you’re reading impact the way you organize the gathering? (monograph, selected chapters, collection of articles, scripts, interpreting artefacts like designs, cases) Must you decide all the readings in advance? (you invited members to offer readings, gave them agency, value of doing it this way?) Where does the audience come from? Relatedly, what about the angle of disciplinary versus inter-disciplinary? Room for both? Thoughts on pace? (weekly, fortnightly, monthly) Are deliverables or traces important? (artefacts like blogs, pods, websites). I know some people hope that each topic would be written up. Is that too much to expect? Reading group lifetime - what to do when they run out of steam? Acknowledgements Music  Title: Menehune Dance  Artist: James Pants Source:   https://freemusicarchive.org/music/James_Pants/Bonus_Beat_Blast_2011/39_james_pants-menehune_dance/ License: CC-BY. Creative Commons Attribution License.  Cover Art  Title: Meitheal Machnaimh 275 Artist: Allen Higgins Source: AdamKelly_pod.pptx License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Podcast License Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0  The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 By taking part you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #274

  0274 - Techno-colonization with Simeon Vidolov and Stefan Klein

  May 14, 20261h 29mS13

  Professor Stefan Klein and Dr. Simeon Vidolov present their paper, "Techno-colonization of scholarly communication: A call to reclaim control".  This paper contributes to wider research into how extractive publishing systems have colonized scholarly communication to gain not only infrastructural control but increasingly epistemic control as well. For far too long, big publishing companies have trapped academics in a vicious circle of parasitic business models employing monopolistic pricing and arbitrary gate-keeping where researchers provide the labour, only for corporate giants to end up owning the published element of scientific intellectual property (often publicly funded) and consequently, control the visibility of research outputs. These companies have moved beyond publishing; they are now providers of critical, AI and data-analytics enabled research infrastructures. They are reshaping scientific knowledge production, academic values and increasingly claim epistemic authority. That such a system can be used to publish research so critical of its inherent structure is both ironic and potentially positive. The authors call for each of us to reject the role of passive participant in our own exploitation. They conclude by calling for us to devise ways to dismantle these corporate infrastructures and reclaim the autonomy of the scientific community. Whether you are a student, a researcher, or a faculty member, join us to discuss how we can build a future for academia that prioritises collective knowledge over commercial surveillance. The underlying paper(s) are both Open Access, links below: ·       Vidolov, S., & Klein, S. (2026). Techno-colonization of scholarly communication: A call to reclaim control. Organization, Article 13505084261416192. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505084261416192 ·       Ngwenyama, O., Klein, S., & Rowe, F. (2026). Platform Capture of Scientific Knowledge Production: Publishers’ Dominance, Generative AI and Subsumption of Academic Labor. European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS). https://doi.org/10.1080/0960085X.2026.2642660  Biographies Simeon Vidolov is a Faculty Member in the J.E. Cairnes School of Business at the University of Galway. His research examines how digital technologies transform ways of working and organizing, with a focus on embodied and affective experiences. His work challenges dominant narratives of technological progress and interrogates the harmful and often normalized consequences of contemporary digital infrastructures for individuals, organizations, and society. Stefan Klein is Professor emeritus for Interorganizational Systems at the School of Business and Economics, University of Münster, Germany. His main research areas are information infrastructures, the transformation of work, risks of digitalization, and digital capitalism. He studies practices of technology use and organizational transformation from an individual to an industry level. The event was held on 6 May 2026 in University College Dublin, Ireland. Acknowledgements Music  Title: Story Artist: Meydän Source: https://bit.ly/2P5CSCv​ License: CC BY Cover Art  Title: Smurfit-Zartis Artist: Photo credit: Allen Higgins. Used with permission. Source: SimeonStefan-seminar.pptx License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Podcast License Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0  The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 By taking part, you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #273

  0273 - The Sanctuary Hypothesis by Jean-Fabrice Lebraty

  May 11, 202650 minS13

  CITO Seminar: The Sanctuary Hypothesis in Information Systems — Blockchain and AI as Strategic Havens for Non-Dominant Organisations Guest: Jean-Fabrice Lebraty  Host: Donncha Kavanagh  Recorded on Tuesday, September 23, 4:00 - 5:00pm in Q2.33 Lochlann Quinn School of Business, UCD Belfield Campus. Abstract   This talk introduces a theory of dominant vs non-dominant organisations in digital ecosystems. Dominant actors shape standards, data flows, and platform rules; non-dominant actors operate under asymmetric dependency and limited control over technological stacks. I argue that, for the non-dominant, the core IS problem is not efficiency but survivability—the capacity to endure adverse, shifting, or hostile digital environments. Survivability requires a digital sanctuary: an infrastructure and set of practices that preserve critical informational assets beyond the reach of dominant gatekeepers. I then present two sanctuary technologies. First, blockchain, leveraging immutability, persistence, and verifiable anchoring to secure records and proofs against unilateral alteration. Second, AI via model-level embedding, where strategic data placement in training corpora and model fine-tunes creates durable informational traces and capabilities resilient to upstream platform changes. I conclude with design principles and governance implications for building and stewarding such sanctuaries.   Keywords: digital sanctuary; survivability; blockchain; AI/model embedding   Bio Jean-Fabrice LEBRATY is a Full Time Professor of Management Sciences at iaelyon School of Management (Jean Moulin University Lyon 3). He specialises in information systems management. His research focuses on decision-making in extreme contexts, crowdsourcing, social networks, and innovative technologies such as blockchain or AI. Since April 2023, he is in charge of the Magellan research laboratory, which comprises 80 researchers and 50 doctoral candidates. Notes: Jean-Fabrice Lebraty (at Jean Moulin University Lyon 3) https://iae.univ-lyon3.fr/lebraty-jean-fabrice A cross-pod release with CITO Conversations (on the  web ,  Spotify  or  Apple Podcasts ) Acknowledgements Music  Title: Moody Break  01 Artist: Allen Higgins Source:  a-Wed10Oct2024 License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Includes samples from Ableton Live by Ableton AG and by KORG Inc. Cover Art  Title: Room Q233 Photo credit: Allen Higgins. Source: Jean-Fabrice-seminar.pptx License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Podcast License Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0  The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 By taking part, you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #272

  0272 - Beyond Compliance with Liam Brady and Thomas Hamill

  May 11, 202648 minS13

  Hosted by Sean Lynch and Akshara Jonna.  In this episode, the Design Thinking class talk with Liam Brady and Thomas Hamill from the UCD Estate Services team about the complexities of modern campus design, focusing on accessibility features that go "beyond compliance" and how these lessons are applied to the wider campus day-to-day. We take a look inside the design process for the new O’Connor Centre for Learning on UCD’s Belfield campus, from the preliminary brief to the final commissioning. ·       On to the subject for today, the new O’Connor Centre for Learning. Can you walk us through the story of this building ‘as a project’, the  "Before, During, After" ? ·       Would you say that buildings like the Moore Centre (where we are right now) and the O’Connor are high-tech buildings? In what way? How? ·        Going Beyond Part M:  You’ve talked about how building regulations (Part M) provide a baseline for accessibility. How did you move from simple compliance to a design that truly fosters "belonging" for all users? ·       You mentioned a distinction between "features" and "design elements". How do we ensure accessibility is baked into the architecture rather than just bolted on as an afterthought? ·       Does user feedback from the wider campus influence the "Fixes" and "Audits" of new projects? ·       The Logistics of Mobility (MOB): From toilets and doors to steps and lighting - what are the small details that make the biggest difference in a student's daily experience? ·       In class we have heard that designers should focus on the "smile" (the U-shaped curve) rather than the "sad face" (the standard bell curve). In the context of the O’Connor Centre, how did you practically shift the team's focus toward the extremes of the population rather than just the "average" student? ·       The Paradox of Safety: A significant portion of your work involves "features we hope are never used," like fire refuge points, emergency intercoms, and smoke-filled space lighting. How can we ensure these features work, are intuitive and accessible during a high-stress emergency? ·       Curb cutouts and retrofitting the "Smile": It’s one thing to build the O’Connor Centre from scratch with these curves in mind, but how do you apply the "smile curve" logic to the "day-to-day" maintenance and "fixes" of older, more "complicated" UCD buildings? ·       Audit to Action: Can you talk about how "Audits" can be used as productive levers to rebalance our design focus? ·       Any questions from the audience? Thank you both for taking the time to talk with us today. Notes: UCD Estate Services project page -  https://www.ucd.ie/estates/operations/ucdoconnorcentreforlearning/ RKD profile page for the UCD O’Connor Centre for Learning -  https://rkd.ie/work/ucd-centre-for-future-learning/ From the Government of Ireland, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage -  Building Regulations Part M: Access and Use requirements OHAC - O’Herlihy Access Consultancy - https://www.accessconsultancy.ie  Acknowledgements Music  Title: Story Artist: Meydän Source: https://bit.ly/2P5CSCv​ License: CC BY  Cover Art  Title: Teleport into O’Connor Artist: Allen Higgins. Photos prompt merged with Gemini. Classroom in sharp focus overlaid into the O’Connor atrium space in bokeh effect. Source: TomLiam-seminar.pptx License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Podcast License Design Talk (dot IE) CC BY-NC-SA 4.0  The license can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 By taking part, you give permission for your voice to be recorded, for the recording to be edited, and for it to be posted and published as a podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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