The ultimate aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that the effect of applying a corrective structure to fiduciary obligations is edifying. Corrective justice is a bipolar relationship where each of the poles refers to individuals conceptually linked through the legal relationship between them. Because corrective justice is bipolar, the upshot of such an approach ought to result in the promise of greater integrity and clarity flowing from a renewed interest in the relationship between fiduciary and principal. Underlying this polishing of the fiduciary relationship is the long-held ambition for the fiduciary relationship not to suffer from ambiguity as a symptom of its expansion beyond the sphere of trusts.

The ultimate aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that the effect of applying a corrective structure to fiduciary obligations is edifying. Corrective justice is a bipolar relationship where each of the poles refers to individuals conceptually linked through the legal relationship between them. Because corrective justice is bipolar, the upshot of such an approach ought to result in the promise of greater integrity and clarity flowing from a renewed interest in the relationship between fiduciary and principal. Underlying this polishing of the fiduciary relationship is the long-held ambition for the fiduciary relationship not to suffer from ambiguity as a symptom of its expansion beyond the sphere of trusts.

Guidelines focusing on web interface design allow for the dissemination of complex and multidisciplinary research to communities of practice. Motivated by the desire to better understand how research evidence canbe shared with the web design community, this dissertation investigates the role guidelines play in the design process, the attitudes designers hold regarding guidelines, and whether evidence based guidelines can be consistently interpreted by designers. Guidelines are a potential means to address the knowledge gap between research and practice, yet we do not have a clear understanding of the relationship between research evidence, guideline sets and web design practitioners. In order to better understand how design guidelines are used by designers in the practice of web interface design, four sequential studies were designed; the application of a guideline subset to a design project by 16 students, the assessment of ten health information websites by eight designers using a guideline subset, a web based survey of 116 designers, and interviews with 20 designers. The studies reveal that guideline use is dependent on the perceived trustworthiness of the guideline, its source and the alignment between guideline advice and designer experience. The first two studies found that guidelines are inconsistently interpreted. One third of the guidelines used in the second study were interpreted differently by participants, an inconsistency which represents a critical problem in guideline use. Findings showed no difference in the characteristics of guidelines which were consistently interpreted and those for which interpretation was the most inconsistent. Further, research evidence was not a factor in guideline use, less than half the designers are aware of evidence-based guideline sets, and guidelines are predominantly used as memory aids. Ultimately alternatives to guidelines, such as checklists or pattern libraries, may yield the best results in our efforts to share research knowledge with communities of practice.

Guidelines focusing on web interface design allow for the dissemination of complex and multidisciplinary research to communities of practice. Motivated by the desire to better understand how research evidence canbe shared with the web design community, this dissertation investigates the role guidelines play in the design process, the attitudes designers hold regarding guidelines, and whether evidence based guidelines can be consistently interpreted by designers. Guidelines are a potential means to address the knowledge gap between research and practice, yet we do not have a clear understanding of the relationship between research evidence, guideline sets and web design practitioners. In order to better understand how design guidelines are used by designers in the practice of web interface design, four sequential studies were designed; the application of a guideline subset to a design project by 16 students, the assessment of ten health information websites by eight designers using a guideline subset, a web based survey of 116 designers, and interviews with 20 designers. The studies reveal that guideline use is dependent on the perceived trustworthiness of the guideline, its source and the alignment between guideline advice and designer experience. The first two studies found that guidelines are inconsistently interpreted. One third of the guidelines used in the second study were interpreted differently by participants, an inconsistency which represents a critical problem in guideline use. Findings showed no difference in the characteristics of guidelines which were consistently interpreted and those for which interpretation was the most inconsistent. Further, research evidence was not a factor in guideline use, less than half the designers are aware of evidence-based guideline sets, and guidelines are predominantly used as memory aids. Ultimately alternatives to guidelines, such as checklists or pattern libraries, may yield the best results in our efforts to share research knowledge with communities of practice.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Environmental Design and Planning / Stephanie A. Rolley / Creativity is vital to the design professions although there is a not a common understanding among designers about the nature of creativity. Designers need a model of creativity that helps place the importance of creativity in the design process and informs educators about how to better enhance creativity in their students. Merrill’s Model of Creativity in Design (Merrill & Rolley 2012) was developed by the researcher and served as the framework for exploring the effect of an academic intervention on the creativity of college freshman design students in order to answer the question: Does participating in an academic intervention affect the creativity of first-year, three-dimensional design students, as measured by the Figural Torrance Test of Creative Thinking? A mixed methods approach allowed development of a rich field of data for analysis as well as a body of student work and experiences. Design students were taught creativity techniques in addition to completing short exercises during a one-hour weekly seminar class, Design Thinking and Creativity. These students were compared to a control group of students utilizing a modified Solomon four-group non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental research design, adapted from Campbell and Stanley (1966). A paired t-test compared post-test scores between the treatment group (n=70) and the control group (n= 18). Qualitative data was also collected including a demographic survey, a Creative Self-Assessment, and interviews. The treatment group, on average, (M=113.53, SE=1.82) scored significantly higher than the control group on the post-test administration of the FTTCT (M=104.78, SE=3.41), t(84)=-2.22, p<.05, r=.06). An analysis using Spearman’s Rho determined a significant correlation between individual participant’s scores on three assessments of individual student creativity, which focused on the individual’s creative cognitive abilities; however, there was no significant correlation with the final creativity project. These findings show that deliberate creativity education coupled with creativity exercises allowed students to slightly raise their creativity while the creativity of their peers dropped. Analysis of qualitative data revealed high student confidence and commonalities in defining creativity. This study demonstrates that an academic intervention can improve the creativity of beginning design students and provides a theoretical framework for future creativity research and teaching.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jessica Canfield / Interactive technology is rapidly affecting our society, extending opportunities for convenience, communication, function, and pleasure. Defined as electronic or computation-based entities that reciprocate human use or action, interactive technology allows people the opportunity to personalize how something looks, how it feels, what it does, and how it is perceived. Many physical objects, such as a home thermostat system or a motion-activated sculpture, are embedded with computation that allows them to detect certain environmental influences, and respond with a purposeful action. As suggested by Malcolm McCullough, interactive technologies will be implemented into the urban environment, grounding them to a specific place and reflecting the character and context. Interactive technology will be combined with traditional urban design practices to generate an interactive urban environment. The Civic Room in Downtown St. Louis is prime for renewal. Underutilized and monotonous, the park space is seen as a tear in the urban fabric and lacks diverse program opportunities. The Civic Room will be used as a testing ground for an interactive urban environment, utilizing three dimensions of interactive technology, including information exchange, creative expression, and kinetics, as well as the specific elements of an effective urban open space (Whyte, 1980). Then, the existing site and resulting interactive urban environment will be evaluated on its potential to improve certain dimensions of performance (Lynch, 1981), and its impact on the identity and use of the space. Engaging an interactive urban environment in the St. Louis Civic Room will promote an understanding of the effects that interactive technology can begin to have in a larger context. It will activate the space, promote social collaboration, and establish a dynamic atmosphere that reflects more closely the desired intent of all users. In turn, it can propel the opportunity to approach interactive urban environments as an alternative method of urban space design.

Master of Science / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Sherry J. Haar / The overarching goals of the project were to acknowledge both traditional and modern aspects of Turkish culture, inform designers and researchers of natural dye and screen printing methods, and advance the developing practices of sustainable design. Mixed methodologies of scientific and practice-based research guided the project. A collection of 25 prints inspired by the Anatolian region of Turkey were screen-printed with thickened natural dyes onto sustainable fibered fabrics. The research of traditional Turkish art and culture led to the inspirational concepts and brought the textile prints to fruition. Understanding the dyeing practices, regional traditions, and political rule of this nation informed the design process and directly influenced the composition and imagery of the designs. The final outcomes were exhibited at the Kansas State University student union art gallery. Research was conducted on the use of natural plant-based dyes madder, weld, and woad for screen-printing by determining the most effective thickener and thickening method. Thickening agents gum tragacanth and gum arabic were tested for fabric hand and the printed natural dyes were tested for colorfastness to light. Gum tragacanth at a ratio of .9875 g agent to 10 ml water emerged as the most smooth and pliable when evaluating fabric hand. Colorfastness to light was as expected for madder and woad with excellent to good fastness. Weld had an unexpectedly low rating indicating further study is needed. The developing practices of sustainable design were advanced as I used sustainable materials (natural dyes, natural gums, naturally fibered fabrics) and methods (hand screenprinting) throughout the project. The information from this project may be valuable to artisans to further develop their natural dye and screen-printing techniques; to researchers to provide a foundation for testing additional thickened dyes; and to industry professionals to modify their practices.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Jason Brody / Kessler’s 1893 parks and boulevards system was established to spur investment. The 1893 Report shaped the present city pattern and form of Downtown Kansas City by encouraging decentralized city and metropolitan growth. Today’s system discourages pedestrian mobility and accessibility through the design and context of the public spaces. Since walkability contributes to successful public spaces, walking for transportation to encourage active use could improve today’s open-space system. To address the present condition facing the system, the report analyzes the morphology of Kessler’s parks and boulevards system within the 2010 Greater Downtown Area Plan boundary. For methods, stakeholder notes and professional interviews explain the planning process behind the 2011-2012 KCDC project to revitalize public space. The stakeholder notes and professional interviews assess the context of the Kansas City Design Center’s vision to revitalize Kessler’s parks and boulevards system. Using the StreetSmartTM walkability model, the design and context of public space can help revitalize Kessler’s 1893 system and today’s park system. The model can be used to measure and prioritize investment by assessesing the pedestrian mobility and accessibility of public spaces. The implication of the report is that if the design and context of public spaces addresses the public interest and walkability, public spaces will become connected, diverse, market-competitive, and actively used. Short-term pedestrian amenities and long-term infrastructure improvements provide different ways to prioritize pedestrian mobility and accessibility to create a walkable downtown, one of the goals of the Greater Downtown Area Plan.

The emergence of desktop ‘3D printing’ is not only a technological development, but equally a social and economic phenomenon that actively (and often contentiously) co-produces the material and ideological infrastructures it occupies. Reflecting wider momentum toward digital-material convergence, the current “revolution” in desktop digital fabrication is fundamentally attributable to the efforts of decentralized Maker and DIY communities who, connected through digital networks, practice citizen-led technological experimentation and occupy novel spaces for innovation and entrepreneurship. Employing hybrid qualitative methods that include Critical Making, this research explores the following themes: rhetoric versus reality, the divisive notion of ‘digital craft’, perceptions of authenticity, as well as cultural momentum manifested in decentralization, convergence, stratification, and iteration. An overarching theme emerges: 3D printing is a fluid phenomenon – in literal, metaphorical, technological and cultural ways.

The emergence of desktop ‘3D printing’ is not only a technological development, but equally a social and economic phenomenon that actively (and often contentiously) co-produces the material and ideological infrastructures it occupies. Reflecting wider momentum toward digital-material convergence, the current “revolution” in desktop digital fabrication is fundamentally attributable to the efforts of decentralized Maker and DIY communities who, connected through digital networks, practice citizen-led technological experimentation and occupy novel spaces for innovation and entrepreneurship. Employing hybrid qualitative methods that include Critical Making, this research explores the following themes: rhetoric versus reality, the divisive notion of ‘digital craft’, perceptions of authenticity, as well as cultural momentum manifested in decentralization, convergence, stratification, and iteration. An overarching theme emerges: 3D printing is a fluid phenomenon – in literal, metaphorical, technological and cultural ways.