Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design
Digital technologies offer new ways to ensure that animals can lead a good life in managed settings. As interactive enrichment and smart environments appear in zoos, farms, shelters, kennels and vet facilities, it is essential that the design of such technologies be guided by clear, scientifically-g...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-06-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.885973/full |
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author | Sarah Webber Mia L. Cobb Mia L. Cobb Jon Coe |
author_facet | Sarah Webber Mia L. Cobb Mia L. Cobb Jon Coe |
author_sort | Sarah Webber |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Digital technologies offer new ways to ensure that animals can lead a good life in managed settings. As interactive enrichment and smart environments appear in zoos, farms, shelters, kennels and vet facilities, it is essential that the design of such technologies be guided by clear, scientifically-grounded understandings of what animals need and want, to be successful in improving their wellbeing. The field of Animal-Computer Interaction proposes that this can be achieved by centering animals as stakeholders in technology design, but there remains a need for robust methods to support interdisciplinary teams in placing animals' interests at the heart of design projects. Responding to this gap, we present the Welfare through Competence framework, which is grounded in contemporary animal welfare science, established technology design practices and applied expertise in animal-centered design. The framework brings together the “Five Domains of Animal Welfare” model and the “Coe Individual Competence” model, and provides a structured approach to defining animal-centric objectives and refining them through the course of a design project. In this paper, we demonstrate how design teams can use this framework to promote positive animal welfare in a range of managed settings. These much-needed methodological advances contribute a new theoretical foundation to debates around the possibility of animal-centered design, and offer a practical agenda for creating technologies that support a good life for animals. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:08:59Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-91c8cf1bdd864a95a24c485feed9bafa |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2297-1769 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-12T10:08:59Z |
publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | Article |
series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
spelling | doaj.art-91c8cf1bdd864a95a24c485feed9bafa2022-12-22T03:37:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692022-06-01910.3389/fvets.2022.885973885973Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology DesignSarah Webber0Mia L. Cobb1Mia L. Cobb2Jon Coe3Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, AustraliaFaculty of Engineering and Information Technology, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, AustraliaFaculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, Animal Welfare Science Centre, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, AustraliaJon Coe Design, Healesville, VIC, AustraliaDigital technologies offer new ways to ensure that animals can lead a good life in managed settings. As interactive enrichment and smart environments appear in zoos, farms, shelters, kennels and vet facilities, it is essential that the design of such technologies be guided by clear, scientifically-grounded understandings of what animals need and want, to be successful in improving their wellbeing. The field of Animal-Computer Interaction proposes that this can be achieved by centering animals as stakeholders in technology design, but there remains a need for robust methods to support interdisciplinary teams in placing animals' interests at the heart of design projects. Responding to this gap, we present the Welfare through Competence framework, which is grounded in contemporary animal welfare science, established technology design practices and applied expertise in animal-centered design. The framework brings together the “Five Domains of Animal Welfare” model and the “Coe Individual Competence” model, and provides a structured approach to defining animal-centric objectives and refining them through the course of a design project. In this paper, we demonstrate how design teams can use this framework to promote positive animal welfare in a range of managed settings. These much-needed methodological advances contribute a new theoretical foundation to debates around the possibility of animal-centered design, and offer a practical agenda for creating technologies that support a good life for animals.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.885973/fullanimalsanimal-computer interactionanimal-centric designanimal welfareanimal technologyinteraction design |
spellingShingle | Sarah Webber Mia L. Cobb Mia L. Cobb Jon Coe Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design Frontiers in Veterinary Science animals animal-computer interaction animal-centric design animal welfare animal technology interaction design |
title | Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design |
title_full | Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design |
title_fullStr | Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design |
title_full_unstemmed | Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design |
title_short | Welfare Through Competence: A Framework for Animal-Centric Technology Design |
title_sort | welfare through competence a framework for animal centric technology design |
topic | animals animal-computer interaction animal-centric design animal welfare animal technology interaction design |
url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.885973/full |
work_keys_str_mv | AT sarahwebber welfarethroughcompetenceaframeworkforanimalcentrictechnologydesign AT mialcobb welfarethroughcompetenceaframeworkforanimalcentrictechnologydesign AT mialcobb welfarethroughcompetenceaframeworkforanimalcentrictechnologydesign AT joncoe welfarethroughcompetenceaframeworkforanimalcentrictechnologydesign |