It is a fundamental Human-Computer Interaction problem to design a tangible programming environment for use by multiple persons that can also be individualised. This problem has its origin in the phenomenon that the meaning an object holds can vary across individuals. The Semiotics Research Domain studies the meaning objects hold. This research investigated a solution based on the user designing aspects of the environment at a time after it has been made operational and when the development team is no longer available to implement the user’s design requirements. Also considered is how objects can be positioned so that the collection of objects is interpreted as a program. I therefore explored how some of the principles of relative positioning of objects, as researched in the domains of Psychology and Art, could be applied to tangible programming environments. This study applied the Gestalt principle of perceptual grouping by proximity to the design of tangible programming environments to determine if a tangible programming environment is possible in which the relative positions of personally meaningful objects define the program. I did this by applying the Design Science Research methodology with five iterations and evaluations involving children. The outcome is a model of a Tangible Programming Environment that includes Gestalt principles and Semiotic theory; Semiotic theory explains that the user can choose a physical representation of the program element that carries personal meaning whereas the Gestalt principle of grouping by proximity predicts that objects can be arranged to appear as if linked to each other. / School of Computing / Ph. D. (Computer Science)

The challenges faced by mathematics education reflect the more immense difficulties of the schooling system as a whole. This thesis investigates such challenges in the light of an ethical learning foundation and aims for a transformation through the use of technologies as learning tools.  Interaction design methods are used to craft constructivist learning kits that aim to move mathematics students from passive receivers of knowledge to active learners. The proposed tools modify new technologies by adapting them to teachers’ and learners’ needs to be best suited for mathematics classroom adoption. Additionally, social, political, and economic issues that may hinder the adoption of constructivist learning are presented and critically discussed.  Finally, this thesis paves the way for future designers who aim to design mathematics educational kits by providing a design framework based on the learning theory and the design process presented in this thesis.

This thesis project explores how interactive technologies can facilitate a sense of social connectedness with others whilst remotely located. While studying the way humans use rituals for emotional management, I focused my interest on the act of commensality because it is one of the oldest and most important rituals used to foster togetherness among families and groups of friends. Dining with people who do not belong to the same household is of course hard during a global pandemic, just like many of the other forms of social interactions that were forcibly replaced by the use of technological means such as video-chat apps, instant messaging and perhaps an excessive use of social networking websites. These ways of staying connected, however, lack the subtleties of real physical interaction, which I tried to replicate with my prototype system, which consists of two sets of a lamp and a coaster which enable to communicate through light and tactile cues. The use of such devices creates a new kind of ritual based on the simultaneous use of the devices by two people, thus enabling a new and original form of commensality that happens through a shared synchronized experience.

Städer runt om i världen expanderar i allt snabbare takt för att möjliggöra morgondagens behov och efterfrågan, vilket sker inom ramen för hållbar utveckling i flera sammanhängande dimensioner. Samtidigt som digitaliseringen och nya postindustriella värdeskapande fortgår, vilket resulterar i en förskjutning av de fysiska resurserna. Många stadsmiljöer står därför inför paradoxen att ha för mycket utrymme men förlorat innehåll och bristande tillgänglighet. Stadens exponentiella dragningskraft måste därmed kunna förändras parallellt med samhället för att upprätthålla en kontinuerlig användning. En alternativ lösning är att effektivisera markutnyttjandet med hjälp av digitala verktyg för att möjliggöra multifunktionella byggnader och samutnyttjande av lokaler. Denna studie har därför som syfte att kartlägga effektivisering av markutnyttjande i form av samutnyttjande och multifunktionell svensk stadsplanering, därtill undersöka befintliga digitala verktyg för att främja detta. Genom en litteraturstudie samt en fallstudie erhålls information som blev utgångspunkterna för studiens analys och diskussion där slutsatser så småningom drogs. Litteraturstudien behandlar historia och definitioner kring multifunktionella byggnader och samutnyttjande av lokaler samt digitala verktyg inom stadsplanering i form av planeringsstöd system (PSS). Även deras förutsättningar och hållbara miljömål för att möjliggöra en mer yteffektiv markutnyttjande av svenska städer. Fallstudien inleds med en beskrivning och kartläggning av ett ledande PSS nämligen, Cityscope samt hur den fungerar. Därefter beskrivs förutsättningar och utmaningar gällande implementeringen av ett digitalt verktyg som Cityscope inom svensk stadsplanering, detta för att underlätta arbetet mot ett mer effektivt markutnyttjande. Med särskild inriktning på Boverkets arbete kring digitalisering av stadsplaneringen, vilket kompletterades med en intervju med planeringsarkitekten John Hellman på Boverket.  Studiens slutsats innefattar bland annat förståelsen för att uppnå positiv stadsutveckling genom att effektivisera markutnyttjande där flera faktorer måste samarbeta, däribland sambandet mellan offentligt och privat, analysering av klusterbildningar i städers flödessystem, medborgardeltagande och ett grundat förtroende mellan ingående parter. För en varaktig utveckling, governance och förtätning krävs det att fastighetsaktörer utvecklas mot att inkludera fler verksamheter i samma lokal och multifunktionellt byggande för att skapa goda förutsättningar för hållbara stadsdelar. Detta kan göras möjligt med hjälp av befintliga digitala verktyg som exempelvis Cityscope, men där fokus i framtiden ligger i att myndigheter inom stadsplanering måste sammanföra korrekt, konsekvent och opartisk stadsrelaterad data samt se över ingående lagstiftning för att möjliggöra mer yteffektiva städer. / Cities around the world are expanding at an ever faster pace to enable tomorrow's needs and demands, which takes place within the framework of sustainable development in several coherent dimensions. At the same time as digitalisation and new post-industrial values proceeds, this results in a shift in the physical resources. Many urban environments are therefore facing the paradox of having too much space but losing content and lack of accessibility. The city's exponential allurement thus needs to be able to change parallelly with society in order to maintain continuous use. An alternative planning solution is to streamline land-use with the help of digital tools to enable multifunctional buildings and shared use of premises. The purpose of this study is therefore to map the streamlining of land-use in the form of shared use and multifunctional Swedish urban planning, in addition, examine existing digital tools to promote this change. To achieve positive urban development by streamlining land-use, several different factors need to work together, including the connection between public and private, analysis of clusters in urban flow systems, citizen participation and a well-founded trust between parties. For lasting development, governance and densification, it is required that property actors develop towards including more businesses in the same premises and multifunctional construction in order to create good conditions for sustainable districts. This can be made possible with the help of existing digital tools such as Cityscope, but where the focus in the future is that authorities in urban planning must combine correct, consistent and impartial city data and review in-depth legislation to enable more space-efficient cities that could change in real time.