# Research Framework

## 1. Research questions / Hypothesis

#### **Research Questions**

1. How do capitalist agendas shape and reinforce mindless food consumption habits?
2. In what ways have modern consumption patterns distanced us from ancient, wild, or intuitive food decision-making?
3. Can interactive installations create friction that disrupts ingrained consumption behaviors?
4. How does an individual awakening in food consciousness contribute to a larger collective shift?

#### **Hypothesis**

If participants experience friction in their consumption choices through interactive installations, they will become more aware of how capitalist systems shape their eating habits, leading to a shift toward more intuitive, self-guided food choices.

## 2. Theoretical Framework

This project explores the role of **design fiction, speculative design, and diegetic prototypes** in disrupting capitalist food ideologies. Drawing from **gastrophysics, semiotics, and sensory ethnography**, it investigates how sensory disruption can provoke unlearning and challenge ingrained consumption habits. Influenced by **posthumanism, ecosocialism, and half-earth socialism**, the project prioritizes **personal agency and a bottom-up approach** to systemic change.

### 2.b. Resources and references

* **Dunne & Raby – *****Speculative Everything: Design, Fiction, and Social Dreaming***
  * This is the foundational text on speculative design and diegetic prototypes, aligning with my approach to provoking change through designed experiences.
* **Charles Spence – *****Gastrophysics: The New Science of Eating***
  * The book explores multisensory eating experiences, relevant to how sensory disruption can reshape perceptions of food.
* **Kate Soper – *****Post-Growth Living: For an Alternative Hedonism***
  * It tackles the relentless pursuit of economic growth and seeking a thoughtful, radical reimagining of prosperity that prioritizes ecological sustainability and collective well-being over consumerism.
* **Jón Þór Pétursson - *****“We are all consumers”: co-consumption and organic food***
  * The research paper analyses the motivations and emotional correlations to the way we consume in the world. It explores what would happen if producers think of themselves as consumers. 
  * <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15528014.2021.1882176>
* **Yi-Chieh Lin -&#x20;*****Sustainable food, ethical consumption and responsible innovation: insights from the slow food and “low carbon food” movements in Taiwan***
  * This paper examines two food initiatives in Taiwan that address broad social concerns that have informed changes in activists’ perceptions of food citizenship in relation to globalization.
  * <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15528014.2019.1682885>

## Research methods

1. **Participant Observation & Ethnography**
   * Use **sensory ethnography** techniques to document how participants react beyond verbal responses (e.g., body language, pacing, physical engagement).
2. **Semi-Structured Interviews & Verbal Reflections**
   * Ask participants about their expectations before interacting with the installation and their reflections afterward.
   * Questions could explore **how much they feel in control of their food choices** and whether the experience changed their awareness.
3. **Sensory Mapping & Multimodal Feedback**
   * Use alternative methods (drawing, movement, or sensory descriptions) to let participants express their experiences beyond words.
   * This could involve having them map their sensory reactions (e.g., color associations, textures they found unsettling, etc.).
4. **Experimental Prototyping & Iterative Testing**
   * Run multiple versions of my interventions to test which elements create the strongest **"waking up"** effect.
   * Adjust accordingly.