Karmen's research and consultancy is currently focussed in five primary areas:
1. Human Contextual Requirements for the Design of Next Generation Interactive Technologies
The vision is to design environments which not only contribute to the overall human wellbeing, but implementations which go much further by enabling users to pursue the human search for awakened consciousness which evolves through being present and thereby experiencing presence.
The focus of research and consultancy in this area is on the design of user experiences to enable a deepening of the human experience instead of fragmentation. Principled-based design rooted in principles and values enhances the purpose and quality of users' inner and outer digital experiences. Therefore, the internet and developing interactive technologies can positively impact the core of human experiences such as presence, belonging and relationship.
2. Technology Foresight - Glimpses Into The Future
Technology foresight studies focus on the complexity in the interrelationships between the political, economic, technology, social, cultural and psychological dimensions as a basis for identifying long-term trends and future developments. The aim is to build a number of pictures about possible futures. These pictures enable us to develop sets of hypotheses from which we can create a range of future views and scenarios.
3. Technology Impact - On Society, Culture and Individuals
Impact studies focus on the interrelationships and interdependencies which result from the application of technology. The objective is to understand the sociocultural and psychological relationships with technology in a society and in a country. The focus is to determine how technologies have affected cultures in terms of user needs and desires, and also from the perspective of how the social, cultural and politico-economic forces have influenced the development and direction of technologies.
4. Psycognitive Socio-Cultural Analysis of Countries Cultures and Societies
The overall objective of these research studies is to identify and analyse the Psycognitive sociocultural characteristics for a culture, society or country. Here we examine how a country organises itself around various parameters, and the socio-behavioural fundamentals that underpin its culture. A Psycognitive examination of a culture also focuses on indicators which point to the 'character' of a country.
The identification of the characterological orientation of a country enables us to better understand how the culture influences behavioural strategies at both conscious and subconscious levels. The characterological models developed within the Psycognition theoretical framework form the basis for our analysis.
5. Psycognition - The Elicitation and Study of Subconscious Behaviours
The identification of how individuals' core beliefs are categorised around certain behavioural themes, and the types of unconscious strategies which operate within these, provides a basis for developing hypotheses about the forces which underlie individuals' behaviours and the likely strategies that will be adopted.
The methodological framework and models upon which Psycognition is based makes it a powerful diagnostic and predictive analytical tool.
Psycognition is intended for application areas where there is a requirement for a deeper understanding of what drives individuals, the strategies they adopt and their potential behaviours, particularly in critical situations. It has been applied to corporate environments, critical high profile situations, user requirements capture, and in cognitive adaptive system design.
For a brief description of Psycognition read this overview.