In a typical response surface study, an experimenter will fit a first order model in the early stages of the study and obtain the path of steepest ascent. The path leads the experimenter out of this initial region of interest and into a new region of interest. The experimenter may fit another first order model here or, if curvature is believed to be present in the underlying system, a second order model. In the final stages of the study, the experimenter fits a second order model and typically contracts the region of interest as the levels of the factors that optimize the response are nearly determined. Due to the sequential nature of experimentation in a typical response surface study, the experimenter may find himself/herself wanting to augment some initial design with additional runs within the current region of interest. The little discussion that exists in the statistical literature suggests adding runs sequentially in a conditional D-optimal manner. Four prediction oriented criteria, I_IV, I_SV_r, I_SV_r^ADJ and G, and two estimation oriented criteria, A and E, are studied here as other possible sequential design augmentation optimality criteria. Analytical properties of I_IV, I_SV_r, and A are developed within the context of the design augmentation problem. I_SV_r is found to be somewhat ineffective in actual sequential design augmentation situations. A new more effective criterion,I_SV_r^ADJ is introduced and thoroughly developed. Software is developed which allows sequential design augmentation via these seven criteria. Unlike existing design augmentation software, all locations within the current region of interest are eligible for inclusion in the augmenting design (a continuous candidate list). Case studies were performed. For a first order model there was negligible difference in the prediction variance properties of the designs generated via sequential augmentation by D and the A best of the other criteria, I_IV, I_SV_r^ADJ, and A. For a second order model, however, the designs generated via sequential augmentation by D place too few runs too late in the interior of the region of interest. Thus, designs generated via sequential augmentation by D yield inferior prediction variance properties to the designs generated via I_IV, I_SV_r^ADJ, and A. The D-efficiencies of the designs generated via sequential augmentation by I_IV, I_SV_r^ADJ, and A range from the reasonable to fully D-optimum. Therefore, the I_IV, I_SV_r^ADJ, optimality criteria are recommended for sequential design augmentation when quality of prediction is more important than quality in estimation of coefficients. / Ph. D.

This thesis investigates how body mapping can externalize pregnancy experiences and guide design for supporting individuals during and after pregnancy. I have employed a qualitative research approach to collect and analyze data about pregnancy experiences from 24 individuals having pregnancy experience, including migrants, across the Global North and Global South. As body maps have been used in workshop setup in previous studies for visually representing and orally narrating their experiences, I have conducted workshops in individual and group settings, both online and offline, to explore potential differences in participant engagement and respon ses and analyzed the data through inductive thematic analysis. The findings of this research underscore the insights of pregnancy experiences that highlights themes like love and responsibility towards the unborn child, identity transformation, physical challenges and food cravings, loneliness, bodies not being their own and inner strength. In addition, the study also revealed participants’ reactions to using body mapping as a tool for self-reflection which highlighted feelings of liberation and sometimes revealed aspects that were unknown to them. In response to all the above findings, I present design implications in three parts to support the pregnancy journey. Firstly, I contributed knowledge on how the qualitative embodied data of pregnancy should be collected, analyzed and represented. Secondly, I presented design implications for pregnant individuals; and thirdly, I designed a self-reflective tool that can be used during postpartum as a support. / Controlling the Uncontrollable: The Impact of Reproductive Health Apps on Experiences of Pregnancy, Healthcare Professionals’ Work, and Data Governance. Funded by the Swedish Research Council. Project period, 2021-2024

Vid köp av konfigurerbara produkter som till exempel hus eller sängar på internet är det viktigt att kunden kan erbjudas en realistisk visualisering för att kunna få en känsla för hur den färdiga produkten kommer att se ut. En metod för att skapa visualiseringen är att från en miljö uppbyggd av 3d-modeller som anpassas efter kundens val skapa en rendering i realtid. För att den renderade bilden ska se realistisk ut och få hög kvalitet är det nödvändigt att i förväg utföra tunga beräkningar för hur ljuset sprider sig i scenen, så kallad bakning. Hur hanteringen av innehållet och bakningen effektivt ska göras är ett område där det saknas studier men där det finns stor potential för effektivisering. Därför har denna designstudie utförts där syftet är att öka kunskapen om hur hanteringen av innehållet och ljusberäkningar kan effektiviseras. Utvecklingen har utförts med Action Design Research där tre iterationer har fullföljts. Principer från Continuous Delivery har använts för att utveckla en IT-artefakt som automatiserar processen som krävs från det att en ny ändring har lagts in i versionshanteringssystemet till det att det finns ett färdigt paket med innehållet som behövs för att göra en visualisering. Resultatet består av nya komponenter skrivna i C# för Unity och skript skrivet med Python. Resultatet från studien visar att det är möjligt att med hjälp av principer från Continuous Delivery effektivisera processen inom det här området och att antalet manuella steg och den krävda arbetstiden kraftigt kan reduceras. Utifrån designstudien har fem nya designprinciper kunnat formuleras som är lämpliga att använda där program används som inte är har ett bra stöd för att köras automatiskt och att steg i processen kan vara beräkningsmässigt tunga. De går att applicera på fallet med hantering av innehållet i Unity men bör också vara relevanta för att hantera ett mer generellt fall där det finns en process med många manuella steg och beräkningsmässigt tunga steg. / When purchasing configurable products (for example, houses or beds) on the Internet, it is important that the customer can be offered a realistic visualization in order to get a feel for how the finished product will look. One method for creating the visualization is to create a real-time rendering from an environment built of 3D models that is adapted to the customer's choice. In order for the rendered image to look realistic and get high quality, it is necessary to perform heavy calculations in advance for how the light spreads in the scene (baking). How to effectively manage the content and baking is an area where there is little research but where there is great potential for improving the work flow. Therefore, this design study has been carried out where the purpose is to increase the knowledge of how the handling of the content and light calculations can be improved. The development has been carried out with Action Design Research, where three iterations have been completed. Continuous Delivery principles have been used to develop an IT artifact that automates the process required from the time a new change is added to the version management system until there is a complete package of content needed for visualization. The result consists of new components written in C# for Unity and scripts written with Python. The results of the study show that it is possible to streamline the process in this area using principles from Continuous Delivery and that the number of manual steps and the required working time can be greatly reduced. Based on the design study, five new design principles have been formulated that are suitable for use where programs are used that do not have good support for automating this and that contains steps in the process can be computationally heavy. They can be applied to the case of handling the contents of Unity but should also be relevant to dealing with a more general case where there is a process with many manual steps and computationally heavy steps.

Chatbots är mjukvarubaserade system som syftar till att simulera konversation mellan olika aktörer med hjälp av text och/eller tal. Vanliga användningsområden för en chatbot är exempelvis kundservice, marknadsföring och underhållningssyften. Chatbots har växt fram som ett alltmer väletablerat fenomen på marknaden, och fenomenet fortsätter att växa. En anledning till dess popularitet är att chatbots kan leda till kortare svarstid, förbättrad kundservice, förbättrad kundtillfredsställelse samt ökat engagemang hos kunder. De många fördelar som chatbots möjliggör har lett till att särskilt små och medelstora företag (SMF) vill utveckla och implementera chatbots för kundservice i sina verksamheter. Många SMF saknar emellertid de färdigheter och resurser som krävs för att fullt ut ta till vara på digitaliseringens möjligheter och den kompetens som krävs för att utveckla chatbots anpassade till ett SMF:s specifika behov. Mot denna bakgrund formuleras det problem vi avser att utforska: Det finns en brist på designkunskap som stödjer utveckling av kundservice-chatbots för SMF. Baserat på problemet har vi valt att studera följande forskningsfråga: Hur bör kundservice-chatbots för SMF designas? För att besvara forskningsfrågan har vi tagit inspiration från forskningsmetoden Action Design Research. Med stöd av metoden har ny kunskap och nya lärdomar identifierats genom utveckling och utvärdering av en chatbot i samverkan med studiens samarbetsföretag. Studiens resultat består av en IT-artefakt (chatbot) och tre designprinciper som syftar till att förenkla och möjliggöra utveckling av andra instanser av samma systemklass. De tre designprinciperna studien resulterat i är; Design för personlighet, Design för initial kapacitetsbeskrivning och Design för enkel integration. Vår slutsats är att designprinciperna ger nytta för sitt syfte och bidrar med designkunskap som kan inspirera och vägleda i både fortsatt forskning och praktik. / Chatbots are software-based systems aiming to simulate conversation between different actors using text and/or speech. Common uses for chatbots are e.g., customer service, marketing, and entertainment purposes. Chatbots have emerged as an increasingly well-established phenomenon that continues to grow. A reason for its popularity is that chatbots can lead to shorter response times, improved customer service, improved customer satisfaction and increased customer engagement. The many benefits chatbots enable have led to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) wanting to develop and implement customer service chatbots in their organization. However, many SMEs lack the skills and resources needed to take full advantage of the potential of digitalization and the skills needed to develop a chatbot tailored for the specific needs of a SME. Against this background, the problem we intend to address is formulated as follows: There is a lack of design knowledge that supports the development of customer service chatbots for SMEs. Based on this problem, we have decided to investigate the following research question: How should customer service chatbots for SMEs be designed? To answer the research question, we have used the research method Action Design Research. With support of this method, new knowledge and lessons have emerged during evaluation in collaboration with a SME. The results of the study consist of an IT artifact (chatbot) and three design principles that aspire to simplify and enable the development of other instances of the same system class. The three design principles that the study resulted in are; Design for personality, Design for initial capacity description and Design for simple integration. Our conclusions are that the design principles provide benefits for their purpose and contribute with design knowledge that can inspire and guide in both further research and practice. Note that this bachelor’s thesis is written in swedish.

Studien undersökte vilka centrala designprinciper inom ärendehantering och tidsplanering som kan appliceras vid utveckling av ett anpassat ERP-system (Enterprise Resource Planning system) inom SMF:er (Små och Medelstora Företag). Anpassning av ERP-system inom SMF:er är ett komplext område med många komplikationer vilket gör det till en problemklass. Två SMF:er som upplever problem med ärendehantering och tidsplanering var involverade i studien och användes som grund för att utveckla ett anpassat ERP-system. Ett antal wicked problems identifierades utifrån de problemområden som företagen upplevde. Undersökningen utfördes genom en ADR (Action Design Research) forskningsansats med kvalitativ insamlad data under en nio veckor lång period, där fem iterationer av utveckling och utvärdering utfördes med en veckas tidsspann var. Studien resulterade i ett anpassat ERP-system som inkluderar ärendehantering och tidsplanering med en god system-till-arbete passform inom företagen. Sex designprinciper utvecklades under ADR-arbetet och fastställdes när systemet var fullt fungerande och godkänt av involverade företag. Designprinciperna besvarade de identifierade wicked problems och kan användas av andra vid anpassning av ERP-system inom SMF:er / The study examined which central design principles in case management and time planning can be applied in the development of a customized ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning system) within SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). Customization of ERP systems within SMEs is a complex field with many complications which makes it a problem class. Two SMEs experiencing problems with case management and planning were involved in the study and were used as a basis for developing a custom ERP system. Several wicked problems were identified based on the problem areas that the companies experienced. The study was conducted through an ADR (Action Design Research) approach with qualitative collected data over a nine-week period, where five iterations of development and evaluation were performed with a time span of one week each. The study resulted in a custom ERP system that includes case management and time planning with a good system-to-work fit within the companies. Six design principles were developed during the ADR work and established when the system was fully functional and approved by the involved companies. The design principles answered the identified wicked problems and can be used by others when adapting ERP systems within SMEs.

Att läsa har en avgörande roll i barn och ungdomars utveckling, men läsmotivationen bland elever i Sverige har sjunkit de senaste åren. Sociala robotar har potential att väcka intresse för läsning, men forskningen är fortfarande i ett tidigt skede. Studien syftar till att utforska och stödja utformningen av designförslag för läsaktiviteter med den sociala roboten Bokbotten. Målet är att undersöka hur läsaktiviteter med Bokbotten kan stimulera mellanstadieelevers intresse och motivation för läsning. För att uppnå studiens syfte användes Design Research Methodology (DRM). DRM är en iterativ metod med tre faser som kombinerar forskning, design och utvärdering för att generera insikter och lösningar. I förståelsefasen analyserades videomaterial från tidigare prototyptestning för att identifiera effektiva och problematiska aspekter av interaktionen mellan elever och Bokbotten. I designfasen utvecklades designförslag baserat på dessa insikter och kvalitativ innehållsanalys av expertintervjuer. Slutligen utvärderades designförslagen av en expertgrupp för att identifiera svagheter, utmaningar och intressanta aspekter. Resultaten visar att Bokbotten har potential att skapa en trygg och engagerande lärmiljö som främjar läslust genom att stödja elevernas autonomi, kompetens och samhörighet. Baserat på de insikter som gavs av studien föreslås följande designriktlinjer: förstärkt autonomi, samarbete med lärare, konceptuellt lärande, samhörighet och inkludering och bidra till känsla av kompetens. / Reading plays a crucial role in the development of children and adolescents, yet reading motivation among students in Sweden has declined in recent years. Social robots have the potential to spark interest in reading, but the research is still in its early stages. This study aims to explore and develop design proposals for reading activities using the BookBot. The overall goal is to examine how reading activities with the BookBot can stimulate middle school students’ interest and motivation for reading. To achieve the study’s objective, the Design Research Methodology (DRM) was employed. DRM is an iterative method comprising three phases - Descriptive Study I, Prescriptive Study, and Descriptive Study II - that integrate research, design, and evaluation to generate insights and solutions. In Descriptive Study I, recorded material from previous prototype testing was analyzed to identify effective and problematic aspects of the interaction between students and the BookBot. In Prescriptive Study, design proposals were developed based on the insights from Descriptive Study I and qualitative content analysis of expert interviews. Finally, the design proposals were evaluated by an expert group to identify weaknesses, challenges, and interesting aspects. The results indicate that the Bookbot has the potential to create a safe and engaging learning environment that fosters motivation for reading. This effect is achieved by supporting three key student needs identified in Self-Determination Theory: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Based on the insights provided by the study, the following design guidelines are proposed: enhanced autonomy, collaboration with teachers, conceptual learning, relatedness and inclusion, and fostering a sense of competence.

Thesis (MA(VA))--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This work explores alternative ways of doing research within the field of art and design; ways that respect complexity and acknowledge the expansive, relational and performative nature of signifi- cation in arriving at ‘new’ knowledge. Through processes of designing in-between, I have been moving through opposites, connecting connections, and de(re)constructing structure. I have used my immediate locations as triggers to forge relations between an array of seeming disparate, albeit kindred, concepts. The scope of the work seems to have perpetually broadened, while theory and practice have dissolved in mercurial in- between states. Such exuding expansiveness has, at times, unsettled and unnerved, but ironically it has also intensely resembled our everyday ‘realities’. Designing in-between - compared to traditional, science-based research methods operating in barricaded systems of thought - thus allows for more faithful interrogation of the complexity of the world we live in. I believe this can be of great value in any attempt at innovative knowledge production, but especially attempts from within the field of art and design - a field often defined by its ability to challenge conventional ways of knowing. My work should not be regarded as yet another predetermined guideline for future research. It should rather be read as an example of a “conceptual tool” or “thought strateg[y]” (Hurst, 2010:242) suited to the complexity of the open systems we form part of every day. Neither the challenging, nor the advantageous, aspects of my work should be regarded as superior and exclusive to the other. The existence of dissonance and contrast is productive; a life force propelling the search for new significance and knowledge. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie werkstuk ondersoek alternatiewe maniere van navorsing doen binne die veld van kuns en ontwerp; maniere wat die kompleksiteit en ewig-groeiende, verhoudingsgebaseerde en performa- tiewe aard van betekenis-konstruksie in die soeke na ‘nuwe’ kennis erken en respekteer. Deur prosesse van tussen-in ontwerp, het ek my weg probeer baan deur teenoorgesteldes, het ek konneksies gekonnekteer, en strukture gede(re)konstrueer. Ek het my onmiddellike omgewingskonteks as stimuli gebruik om verhoudings tussen ‘n verskeidenheid van kontrasterende, dog verwante, konsepte te bewerkstellig. Die omvang van hierdie navorsing het sodoende gedurig verbreed, terwyl teorie en praktyk in verstrengelde tussen-in toestande ontbind het. Alhoewel hierdie uitgestrekte, deurdringende kompleksiteit my dikwels ontsenu en laat weifel het, versinnebeeld dit ironies genoeg ons alledaagse ‘realiteite’ redelik getrou. Tussen-in ontwerp - in vergelyking met meer tradisionele, wetenskap-geba- seerde navorsingsmetodes wat binne begrensde gedagtesisteme funksioneer - laat ‘n mens dus die ruimte toe om die onvoorspelbare wisselwerking tussen die magdom veranderlikes aktief in die wêreld waarin ons leef, in ag te neem. Ek glo dat so ‘n benadering tot navorsing van besondere waarde kan wees in enige poging tot die innoverende bou van kennis, veral in pogings vanuit die veld van kuns en ontwerp - ‘n veld wat geken word aan sy/haar vermoë om gedurig konvensionele maniere van verstaan uit te daag. Ek wil nie hê dat my werk as net nog ‘n voorafbepaalde riglyn vir toekomstige navorsing gesien word nie. Dit moet eerder gelees word as ‘n voorbeeld van ‘n konseptuele instrument (“conceptual tool”) of gedagtestrategie (“thought strategy”) (Hurst, 2010:242) wat geskik is vir die kompleksiteit van die inherent oop sisteme wat ons alledaagse lewens definieer. Nie die uitdagende, nog die voordelige, aspekte van my werk moet as superieur en eksklusief tot die ander geag word nie. Dit is juis die bestaan van teenstrydighede en kontras wat produktiwiteit bewerkstellig. Dit voorsien ‘n lewenskrag wat die soeke na nuwe betekenis en kennis voortdryf.

This thesis is about information sharing in interdisciplinary research practices. It reports one conceptual and three empirical studies. The studies have been conducted through focusing on the field of design research, and in particular on a Nordic network of design researchers. From a practice-based perspective, the exploration of the study object oscillates between three nested and interconnected frames. The main contribution of this thesis is that it illustrates how activities of information sharing not only contribute to, but actually play a central role in the shaping of the practice of design research. It is shown how information sharing works as a contributor to the development, maintenance and shaping of practices in 1) design research as it is conducted in the Nordic network; 2) in the field of design research; and 3) within interdisciplinary research. Without losing sight of the empirical material, the theoretical analysis has made it possible to illuminate the connection between activities of sharing and the enactment of a discipline. Through analysis and discussion of the four studies as a whole, the reciprocal relationship between information sharing and the area of design research is elucidated. It is shown how information sharing, as it emerges in this interdisciplinary practice, functions as a unifying force towards the probable goal of establishing a discipline. / <p>Academic dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Library and Information Science at the University of Borås to be publicly defended on Friday 25 April 2014 at 13:00 in lecture room E310, the University of Borås Allégatan 1, Borås.</p>

Many organizations have a problem with synchronizing individual values regarding information security with expectations set by the relevant security policy. Such discordance leads to failure in compliance or simply subversion of existing or imposed controls. The problem of the mismatch in understanding the security policies amongst individuals in an organization has devastating effect on security of the organization. Different individuals hold different understanding and knowledge about IS security, which is reflected on IS security policies design and practice (Vaast, 2007). Albrecthsen and Hovdena (2009) argue that users and managers practice IS security differently because they have different rationalities. This difference in rationalities may reflect the mismatch between the security policies and individuals’ values. In this research, we argue that occurrence of security breach can change individuals’ values in light of security policy of organization. These changes in the values can be reflected on the compliance between individuals’ norms and security rules and standards. Indeed, organizations need to guarantee the compliance between security policy and values of their employees. Thus, they can alleviate or prevent violations of security of organization. However, it is difficult to find a common method that all organizations can adopt to guarantee the synch between security rules and individuals’ norms. The main aim of this research is to investigate how people perceive information security policy and how their perceptions change in response to security breaches. Besides, this research aims to investigate the relationship between individuals’ values and security policy. Thus, organizations can have the intended level of compliance between individual norms and security rules and standards. With the aid of the Repertory Grid technique, this research examines how a security breach shapes people’s values with respect to security policy of an organization. To conduct the argument, this research offers an assessment mechanism that aids the organization to evaluate employees’ values in regard to security policy. Based on that evaluation, the organization can develop a proper mechanism to guarantee compliance between individuals’ norms and security rules. The results of this research show that employees in an organization hold different perceptions regarding the security policy. These perceptions change in response to security incident. This change in perceptions dose not necessarily result in better compliance with the security policy. Factors like the type of breach and people’s experience can affect the amount of change in the perceptions. Contributions, implications, and directions for future research of this study will be discussed.

In the digital world of today, information is always at risk regardless of its state, at rest or in transit. Cryptography is the technology that promises to address the security issues that emerge. Hence, it was a reasonable consequence to introduce cryptography to databases. However, manually encrypting and decrypting data along with the key management is a burden for the regular user of a database. The need for removing this burden gave birth to Transparent Data Encryption (TDE).   TDE technology is widely available nowadays and a number of vendors have developed their own solutions for protecting data at rest in a transparent way to the end user. However, cryptographic operations are resource intensive and introduce an overhead to the computational operations. The burden of cryptographic operations has drawn the interest of both academia and the industry for a long time before TDE appeared on the horizon. Hence, a lot of research has been done to measure the performance impact of those operations.   Despite the extensive study for the performance of cryptographic algorithms, the performance of the TDE systems and the add-on computational burden for the introduced encryption has not yet been studied thoroughly. As a result, the current Thesis project tries to develop a theoretical benchmarking framework that evaluates the performance of Transparent Data Encryption systems. The study is conducted utilizing the Design Research methodology.   The developed benchmarking framework focuses on the basic performance metrics of TDE systems, Elapsed time, CPU time and Hard Disk memory consumption. These metrics are calculated for varying key lengths, encryption algorithms and table sizes.  The framework follows a five - step procedure that includes the creation of topology - lab environment, creation of databases and definition of scenarios, activation of TDE feature, sequencial execution of scenarios and analysis of the results. The developed framework is evaluated by applying it on real TDE systems.