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This thesis aimed to explore factors, which players consider when choosing their protagonist's gender and what impact that choice has on gameplay. We used two popular games as reference: “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey“ (Ubisoft Quebec, 2018) and “Baldur's Gate 3” (Larian Studios, 2023). This study was conducted by interviewing participants and sending out surveys among the two games’ communities with a total of 493 participants sharing their answers. The sample group mainly consisted of players from several European countries and the United States of America, with 280 identifying as male, 181 as female, and 32 as non-binary. It was found that the majority of players agreed that visual character customization and gender choice did provide them a greater sense of immersion. Furthermore, the storyline seemed to be a framing factor influencing player choices by offering a setting players carefully considered when designing/choosing their protagonists. These results can be of use to game designers who wish to gain an understanding of players’ gender choices and impacts on their role-playing-game gameplay experience. Additionally, further research is suggested to get a deeper understanding of outlying factors that players might consider when choosing a character.

If we look at the construction industry, particularly the modular single-family construction industry, we often see that the design stage is distinctly separate from the construction and fabrication stages. This separation has been occurring for some time now, however, there is often a noticeable lack of understanding of the constraints in linking architectural design to modular construction for single-family housing. In addition, no framework exists which seeks to support overcoming these constraints for the architectural design process while simultaneously bringing knowledge of fabrication, materials selection, and modular construction to the early stage of design. Also, there is a lack of knowledge of fabrication and modular construction constraints by many architects. This research intended to focus upon mapping the design and manufacturing processes for a specific scale of projects: residential single-family units. The research also aimed to understand the relationships among design, the role of emerging technologies, and manufacturing within the modular home construction industry in order to develop a design process that is based upon mass customization, rather than mass production. Thus, qualitative research methods based upon a grounded theory approach were used for evaluating, capturing, and structuring knowledge. To achieve the greatest possible amount of useful information, case studies of on-site visits to manufactured housing production facilities and structured, in-depth, open-ended interviews of architects, engineers, production managers, business managers, and other knowledge-holders within the manufactured modular housing industry were performed. The aim of this research was to map the design and modular homes manufacturing processes in an effort to better understand the relationships between these two domains. The Integration Definition (IDEF0) for Function Modeling was used as a graphical presentation technique. The goal of using such a graphical technique was, first, to understand and analyze the functions of the existing "As-is" design-manufacture communication process; and second, to enhance and improve the communication and productivity performances among people working in the design, manufacturing, and production sectors. Using this graphical modeling method assisted with mapping the design and modular manufacturing processes, including organizations, teams, decisions, actions, and activities. Through this mapping process, strategies to improve the emergent relationships were proposed as a new "To-be" design and manufacturing framework for modular single-family housing projects. / Ph. D.

Esta pesquisa aborda como problema principal, a falta de participação do usuário de Habitação de Interesse Social (HIS) na definição da sua moradia. O modelo atual do processo de provisão da habitação é baseado, principalmente, no sistema de produção em massa, resultando em unidades habitacionais padronizadas que não atendem às necessidades de seus usuários. Dentro deste cenário, a Customização em Massa (CM), tem sido investigada e apontada como uma estratégia promissora para solucionar este problema. A CM é definida como uma síntese de dois sistemas, aparentemente concorrentes: o da produção em massa com a customização individual de bens ou serviços. A participação do cliente na configuração do seu produto é uma condição essencial no conceito da CM, para o atendimento de suas necessidades e desejos. Para viabilizar essa participação, é necessária a utilização de ferramentas que permitam aos clientes configurarem seus produtos, a partir de opções disponibilizadas pelo fabricante. Especificamente no setor da construção civil, estas ferramentas ainda precisam ser desenvolvidas e experimentadas. Neste contexto, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é desenvolver um instrumento funcional que apoie os usuários, nas decisões da customização da sua habitação, em processos participativos de projetos de HIS. A pesquisa utiliza a abordagem da Design Science Research, a qual orienta para que, após a compreensão da questão central, seja proposto um artefato aplicável em soluções práticas. Os resultados obtidos com a aplicação do artefato desenvolvido demonstraram que o mesmo pode ser utilizado, não apenas na CM, mas também em outros processos de projetos participativos. A principal contribuição desta pesquisa está na originalidade das características paramétricas do modelo físico proposto. / This research approaches, as a main problem, the lack of user participation in Social Housing regarding the definition of its dwelling. The current model of housing provision process is based, mainly, on the mass production system, resulting in standardized housing units that do not satisfy the needs of users. Within this background, the Mass Customization (MC), has been investigated and identified as a promising strategy to solve this problem. The MC is defined as a synthesis of two systems, seemingly competitive: the mass production with the individual customization of goods or services. The customer participation in his product configuration is an essential condition in the concept of MC to fulfill his needs and desires. In order to enable this participation, the use of tools is required to enable customers to configure their products, from options, provided by the manufacturer. Specifically, in the civil construction sector these tools still need to be developed and experienced. In this context, the main objective of this research is the development of a functional device that can support users in their decisions of housing customization in participatory processes of Social Housing projects. The research uses the Design Science Research approach, which after understanding the central issue, recommends the development of an artifact and its application in practical solutions. The results obtained by applying the developed artifact demonstrated that the latter can be used, not only in MC, but also in other participatory design processes. The main contribution of this research is the originality of the parametric features of the proposed physical model.

Esta pesquisa aborda como problema principal, a falta de participação do usuário de Habitação de Interesse Social (HIS) na definição da sua moradia. O modelo atual do processo de provisão da habitação é baseado, principalmente, no sistema de produção em massa, resultando em unidades habitacionais padronizadas que não atendem às necessidades de seus usuários. Dentro deste cenário, a Customização em Massa (CM), tem sido investigada e apontada como uma estratégia promissora para solucionar este problema. A CM é definida como uma síntese de dois sistemas, aparentemente concorrentes: o da produção em massa com a customização individual de bens ou serviços. A participação do cliente na configuração do seu produto é uma condição essencial no conceito da CM, para o atendimento de suas necessidades e desejos. Para viabilizar essa participação, é necessária a utilização de ferramentas que permitam aos clientes configurarem seus produtos, a partir de opções disponibilizadas pelo fabricante. Especificamente no setor da construção civil, estas ferramentas ainda precisam ser desenvolvidas e experimentadas. Neste contexto, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é desenvolver um instrumento funcional que apoie os usuários, nas decisões da customização da sua habitação, em processos participativos de projetos de HIS. A pesquisa utiliza a abordagem da Design Science Research, a qual orienta para que, após a compreensão da questão central, seja proposto um artefato aplicável em soluções práticas. Os resultados obtidos com a aplicação do artefato desenvolvido demonstraram que o mesmo pode ser utilizado, não apenas na CM, mas também em outros processos de projetos participativos. A principal contribuição desta pesquisa está na originalidade das características paramétricas do modelo físico proposto. / This research approaches, as a main problem, the lack of user participation in Social Housing regarding the definition of its dwelling. The current model of housing provision process is based, mainly, on the mass production system, resulting in standardized housing units that do not satisfy the needs of users. Within this background, the Mass Customization (MC), has been investigated and identified as a promising strategy to solve this problem. The MC is defined as a synthesis of two systems, seemingly competitive: the mass production with the individual customization of goods or services. The customer participation in his product configuration is an essential condition in the concept of MC to fulfill his needs and desires. In order to enable this participation, the use of tools is required to enable customers to configure their products, from options, provided by the manufacturer. Specifically, in the civil construction sector these tools still need to be developed and experienced. In this context, the main objective of this research is the development of a functional device that can support users in their decisions of housing customization in participatory processes of Social Housing projects. The research uses the Design Science Research approach, which after understanding the central issue, recommends the development of an artifact and its application in practical solutions. The results obtained by applying the developed artifact demonstrated that the latter can be used, not only in MC, but also in other participatory design processes. The main contribution of this research is the originality of the parametric features of the proposed physical model.

People are not always rational, rely on heuristics and are influenced by situational factors being conducive to biased decisions. Hence, the decision outcome cannot be explained by consumers’ preferences exclusively. This offers opportunities to service managers to steer the decision outcome into a desirable direction by a beneficial design of situational factors. In contrast to the discussed opportunities, situational factors can also become a pitfall for researchers and managers. I show that situational factors may compromise the validity of research results based on self reports in a service context, because the reported scores of research participants may be biased. Three perspectives related to service management are distinguished in this thesis: First, the customer independently of the service provider; second, the interaction of customer and service provider; third, the service provider independently of the customer. From the perspective of the customer, I investigate the impact of different defaults in a customization process on the decision outcome of different types of customers. From the perspective of the customer and service provider interaction, I point out a new solution to overcome a dilemma related to service productivity. Finally, from the perspective of the service provider, the possible contamination of service related constructs by socially desirable responding is examined.

People are not always rational, rely on heuristics and are influenced by situational factors being conducive to biased decisions. Hence, the decision outcome cannot be explained by consumers’ preferences exclusively. This offers opportunities to service managers to steer the decision outcome into a desirable direction by a beneficial design of situational factors. In contrast to the discussed opportunities, situational factors can also become a pitfall for researchers and managers. I show that situational factors may compromise the validity of research results based on self reports in a service context, because the reported scores of research participants may be biased. Three perspectives related to service management are distinguished in this thesis: First, the customer independently of the service provider; second, the interaction of customer and service provider; third, the service provider independently of the customer. From the perspective of the customer, I investigate the impact of different defaults in a customization process on the decision outcome of different types of customers. From the perspective of the customer and service provider interaction, I point out a new solution to overcome a dilemma related to service productivity. Finally, from the perspective of the service provider, the possible contamination of service related constructs by socially desirable responding is examined.

We test our hypotheses on 186 participants designing their own scarves with an MC toolkit. After completing the process, they submitted binding bids for "their" products in Vickrey auctions. We therefore observe real buying behavior, not merely stated intentions. We find that the subjective value of a self-designed product (i.e., one's bid in the course of the auction) is indeed not only impacted by the preference fit the customer expects it to deliver, but also by (1) the process enjoyment the customer reports, (2) the interaction of preference fit and process enjoyment, and (3) the interaction of preference fit and perceived process effort. In addition to its main effect, we interpret preference fit as a moderator of the valuegenerating effect of process evaluation: In cases where the outcome of the process is perceived as positive (high preference fit), the customer also interprets process effort as a positive accomplishment, and this positive affect adds (further) value to the product. It appears that the perception of the self-design process as a good or bad experience is partly constructed on the basis of the outcome of the process. In the opposite case (low preference fit), effort creates a negative affect which further reduces the subjective value of the product. Likewise, process enjoyment is amplified by preference fit, although enjoyment also has a significant main effect, which means that regardless of the outcome, customers attribute higher value to a self-designed product if they enjoy the process. The importance of the self-design process found in this study bears clear relevance for companies which offer or plan to offer MC systems. It is not sufficient to design MC toolkits in such a way that they allow customers to design products according to their preferences. The affect caused by this process is also highly important. Toolkits should therefore stimulate positive affective reactions and at the same time keep negative affect to a minimum. (authors' abstract)

In this study, ninety costumes from the LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule, 2008, 2011; Sumo Digital 2014) franchise were analyzed in order to answer the question on how the LittleBigPlanet series have represented diversity of different genders through the available costumes to a seemingly gender neutral character. This is done by dividing the costumes into three categories: feminine, masculine and neutral. The costumes are categorized according to set criteria, and in the results it is revealed that there are mostly feminine costumes, even though the difference is minor. The study also analyses how different gender-coded costumes in the LittleBigPlanet series are portrayed, and several traits are found to be reoccurring. Finally, it is discussed whether having portrayed stereotypical body images were suitable for the age of their audience, and it is also stated that the costumes of the LittleBigPlanet franchise are generally diversified. / I denna undersökning analyserades nittio kostymer från LittleBigPlanet-serien (Media Molecule, 2008, 2011; Sumo Digital 2014). Syftet är att besvara frågan om hur LittleBigPlanet serien har representerad mångfald av kön genom de tillgängliga kostymerna för en till synes könsneutral karaktär. Detta görs genom att dela upp kostymerna i tre kategorier: feminina, maskulina och neutrala. Kostymerna är kategoriserade enligt satta kriterier, och resultaten avslöjar att det är huvudsakligen feminina kostymer, även om skillnaden inte är särskilt stor. Studien analyserar även hur olika könskodade kostymer i LittleBigPlanet-serien är porträtterande, och flera egenskaper visar sig upprepas. Slutligen diskuteras om det är lämpligt för kostymerna att porträttera stereotypiska kroppsbilder i spelen med tanke på deras spelares ålder, och det påstås även att kostymerna i LittleBigPlanet-serien är någorlunda mångsidiga.

Today’s increasing information supply raises the needfor more effective and automated information processing whereindividual information adaptation (personalization) is onepossible solution. Earlier computer systems for personalizationlacked the ability to easily define and measure theeffectiveness of personalization efforts. Numerous projectsfailed to live up to the their expectations, and the demand forevaluation increased. This thesis presents some underlying concepts and methodsfor implementing personalization in order to increase statedbusiness objectives. A personalization system was developedthat utilizes descriptions of information characteristics(metadata) to perform content based filtering in anon-intrusive way. Most of the described measurement methods forpersonalization in the literature are focused on improving theutility for the customer. The evaluation function of thepersonalization system described in this thesis takes thebusiness operator’s standpoint and pragmatically focuseson one or a few measurable business objectives. In order toverify operation of the personalization system, a functioncalled bifurcation was created. The bifurcation functiondivides the customers stochastically into two or morecontrolled groups with different personalizationconfigurations. Bygiving one of the controlled groups apersonalization configuration that deactivates thepersonalization, a reference group is created. The referencegroup is used to measure quantitatively objectives bycomparison with the groups with active personalization. Two different companies had their websites personalized andevaluated: one of Sweden’s largest recruitment servicesand the second largest Swedish daily newspaper. The purposewith the implementations was to define, measure, and increasethe business objectives. The results of the two case studiesshow that under propitious conditions, personalization can bemade to increase stated business objectives. Keywords:metadata, semantic web, personalization,information adaptation, one-to-one marketing, evaluation,optimization, personification, customization,individualization, internet, content filtering, automation. / <p>QCR 20161027</p>