Björn Fischer

Björn holds a PhD in technology and health, from the division of Technology in Health Care, KTH.   He has received a Master's degree in Innovation Sciences from Utrecht University, The Netherlands with distinction for 'outstanding achievement'; and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Industrial Engineering from University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

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Research interest

Björn's research interest lies in science and technology studies (STS), in particular the dynamics of innovation processes, digital transformation and emerging technologies. His current research predominantly draws on qualitative and ethnographic methods to explore the practices of  technology development in corporate organisations and their linkages to envisioned future markets. Previously he has been working in the project BCONNECT@Home, investigating how technologies can best match the lived realities and evolving needs of older users. Amongst others, Björn is also a member of the Socio-Gerontechnology Research Network.

Topics: Science and technology studies, actor-network theory, practice theory, ethnography, participatory design, anthropology, ageing and technology, sociology, marketing & strategy, digital transformation

Publications

Main author

• Fischer, Björn, Britt Östlund, and Alexander Peine. “Of Robots and Humans: Creating User Representations in Practice.”Social Studies of Science 50, no. 2 (2020): 221–44.
• Fischer, Björn, Alexander Peine, and Britt Östlund. "The Importance of User Involvement: A Systematic Review of Involving Older Users in Technology Design."TheGerontologist 60, no. 7 (2020): e513–e523.
• Fischer, Björn, Britt Östlund, and Alexander Peine "Design multiple: How different configurations of participation matter in design practice".Design Studies 74 (2021): 101016.
• Fischer, Björn; Östlund, Britt; Dalmer, Nicole K.; Rosales, Andrea; Peine, Alexander; Loos, Eugène; Neven, Louis; Marshall, Barbara. "Co-Design as Learning: The Differences of Learning When Involving Older People in Digitalization in Four Countries"Societies 11, no. 2 (2021): 66.
• Fischer, Björn, and Britt Östlund "Technology Development with Older People: The Role of “Unfettered Design”". InHuman Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Technologies, Design and User Experience. HCII 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 12207, edited by Q. Gao and J. Zhou, pp. 18-33. Cham: Springer, 2020

Other work

• Östlund, B., M. Choi, A. Spånt Enbuske, S. Kuoppamäki & B. Fischer (2020). "Robotizing care for older people what should be automized when robots enter home care?".Gerontechnology, 19(0), 1-5
• Östlund, Britt, Björn Fischer, et al. "Using Academic Work Places to Involve Older People in the Design of Digital Applications. Presentation of a Methodological Framework to Advance Co-design in Later Life" InHuman Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Technologies, Design and User Experience. HCII 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science,vol 12207, edited by Q. Gao and J. Zhou, pp. 45–58. Cham: Springer, 2020
• Fernández-Ardèvol, Mireia, Andrea Rosales, Eugène Loos, Alexander Peine, Roser Beneito-Montagut, Daniel Blanche, Björn Fischer, Stephen Katz, and Britt Östlund. "Methodological strategies to understand smartphone practices for social connectedness in later life." InHuman Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. Social Media, Games and Assistive Environments. HCII 2019. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 11593, edited by J. Zhou and G. Salvendy, pp. 46-64. Cham: Springer, 2019.

Supervision Work

I supervise Master theses including one or several of these topics: ethnography, social studies of technology and science, qualitative research, ageing, care.

Teaching

Developed new Master Course for new EIT Master's program Innovation Technology for Healthy Living:

CM2010 Sociocultural Perspectives to Innovative Technologies 7.5 credit