In der hier vorliegenden Promotionsschrift wird ein von der Akteur-Netzwerk-Theorie inspirierter ethnographischer Forschungsansatz angewandt, um, ausgehend von dem Setting des Studiokurses an einer spanischen Architekturschule, aufzuzeigen, wie Architekt:innen die disziplinären Logiken der Architekturausbildung und in weiterer Instanz die Schnittstelle zwischen Ausbildung und professioneller Praxis problematisieren und aus der Disziplin selbst heraus neu verhandeln. Hierbei wird beschrieben, (1) wie die Einheit von Architekturausbildung und der Bauwelt/Baupraxis aufgebrochen wird, (2) wie der Begriff des Grundproblems in der architektonischen Gestaltung selbst problematisiert wird und, (3) wie in der architektonischen Produktion, (lokale) sozio-politische Themen, die agency von nicht-menschlichen Akteur:innen und die ethische Verantwortlichkeit von Architekt:innen für die gebaute Umwelt, neue Relevanz gewinnen. Basierend auf einer ethnographischen Feldforschung (zwischen 2017-2019), wird in dieser Dissertation eine neue Konzeptualisierung von Architektur vorgestellt: die ‚Architektur als theoretische Praxis‘. Diese eröffnet neben der ‚Architektur als Form‘ und der ‚Architektur als Entwurfspraxis‘ eine weitere Betrachtungsebene von Architektur, welche es ermöglicht die architektonische Produktion jenseits des Entwurfs von Gebäuden und Bauelementen zu untersuchen und aufzuzeigen, wie Architekt:innen in Gestaltungsprozessen Konzepte und Diskurse selbst bauen und so als Teil ihrer sozio-materiellen Praktiken umsetzen. Dadurch werden Parallelen zwischen der Akteur-Netzwerk-Theorie und der ‚Architektur als theoretische Praxis‘ diskutiert und aufgezeigt, wie beide als (unterschiedliche) Formen einer „Anti-Theorie“ definiert werden können. / This dissertation explores from an actor-network theory inspired ethnographic research approach how architects do, challenge and problematize the disciplinary logics of architectural education and, in a further instance, the intersection between architectural training and the professional practice. Taking the studio courses at a Spanish architecture school as starting point, this ethnographic case study describes (1) how the unity of architectural education and building practices is suspended, (2) how the concept of the fundamental problem in architecture is problematized by architectural design practices, and (3) how (local) socio-political issues, the agency of non-humans and the ethical accountability of architects for the built environment gain new relevance in architectural production. Based in ethnography research (between 2017-2019), this dissertation presents a new conceptualization of architecture: the ‘architecture as theoretical practice’. In comparison to an ‘architecture as form’ and an ‘architecture as design practice’, this new conceptualization opens up the possibility to examine architectural production beyond the design and construction of buildings and reveals how architects build or materialize concepts and discourse as part of their socio-material practices. Consequently, parallels between actor-network theory and 'architecture as theoretical practice' are discussed by showing how both of them can be defined as (different) forms of ‘anti-theory’.

Thesis (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Although numerous norm-referenced measures of religiosity and spirituality exist for adults, no assessment of the holistic goals for Christian spiritual development in the context of evangelical Protestant schools, geared to adolescents, and using emerging technologies, was found. Addressing this lacuna, the purpose of this curriculum study was to develop and validate the Growing Disciples Inventory (GDI) as a curriculum-aligned self-assessment for Christian education. Using a mixed methods approach, the GDI was constructed in the first phase of this educational design research. Experts in the fields of curriculum, assessment, Christian education and/or discipleship evaluated the extent to which proposed items were aligned to the Growing Disciples (GD) curriculum framework, and were appropriate to adolescent learners participating in Christian education. At least four items were included for each of 21 constructs within the four GD curriculum processes. The 100-item GDI was further refined through two development cycles of usability testing with adolescents. Using a think-aloud protocol, a proportional quota convenience sample of 16 learners completed the GDI online, reviewed their online reports, and took the exit survey. Minor refinements were made with the data from these individual interviews. During the second phase, evidence for the validity of the GDI was evaluated with data from a purposive sample of nine educators and 595 Grade 7 through 12 students in 8 American, South African, and Australian Seventh-day Adventist schools. High reliability was found in terms of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas of .855 to .943) and structural equation modelling (standardized correlation coefficients of .59 to .95) for the four cyclical and lifelong Christian spiritual development processes of Connecting, Understanding, Ministering, and Equipping. Confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modelling provided evidence of construct validity with an adequate model fit. Moderate inter-factor correlations compared to higher correlations within factors indicated discriminant validity. Learner responses to 7 GDI exit survey items further supported the GDI’s design and ease-of-use online. Answers to 3 open-ended GDI exit survey questions supplied rich qualitative data that corroborated quantitative responses, and added perceptions of the utility and relevance of the GDI as a formative selfassessment tool to facilitate exploration of strengths and growth points through reflection and metacognition. The majority of educator interviews indicated favourable perceptions of the GDI’s utility and relevance within their sphere of the global Seventh-day Adventist education system. Structural equation model fit evaluation and correlations demonstrated that the GDI is a consistent self-assessment across gender and grade level. Although a weak correlation between country and learner scores was found, qualitative data supports the relevance of the GDI in each country. Further validation studies are recommended with larger samples international samples to adequately demonstrate generalizability within the context of evangelical Protestant education. Analysis of emerging themes in learner responses corroborated quantitative findings, triangulating evidence for learner engagement and the positive potential for the GDI’s use to facilitate Christian spiritual development. Each study of reliability and validity undertaken in this mixed methods curriculum research added moderate to strong evidence in support of the GDI as a curriculum-aligned selfassessment for adolescents participating in Christian education. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar bestaan talle norm-gebaseerde meetinstrumente vir die meting van vlakke van religieusiteit en spiritualiteit vir volwassenes. Geen assessering instrument van die holistiese doelstellings van Christelike spirituele ontwikkeling in die konteks van Protestant skole, toegespits op adolessente, wat van opkomende tegnologieë gebruik maak, kon gevind word nie. Om hierdie leemte aan te spreek, was die doelwit van hierdie navorsingstudie en kurrikulumontwikkeling om die “Growing Disciples Inventory” (GDI) te ontwikkel en om die geldigheid van dié instrument te bepaal as ʼn kurrikulumgerigte selfassessering instrument vir Christelike onderwys. Deur gebruik te maak van ʼn gemengde navorsingsmetode-benadering is die GDI in die eerste fase van hierdie opvoedkundige navorsingsontwerp opgestel. Deskundiges op die gebiede van kurrikulum, assessering, Christelike onderwys en/of "dissipelskap" het die toepaslikheid van voorgestelde items vir die “Growing Disciples” (GD) kurrikulumraamwerk, asook die geskiktheid vir adolessente-leerders in Christelike onderwys geëvalueer. Ten minste vier items is vir elk van 21 konstrukte binne die vier GD kurrikulumprosesse ingesluit. Die 100-item GDI is verder verfyn deur twee ontwikkeling-siklusse van loods- of bruikbaarheidstoetsings met adolessente. Deur gebruik te maak van ʼn "hardop-dink" protokol het ʼn proporsionele kwota gerieflikheidsteekproef van 16 leerders die GDI aanlyn voltooi. Die deelnemers se onmiddellike kits-aanlyn verslae is hersien, en die 10-item finale opname is gedoen. Geringe verfynings is ontwerp met data wat verkry is van hierdie individuele onderhoude. In die tweede fase is bewyse vir die geldigheid van die GDI geëvalueer met data wat versamel is van ʼn doelgerigte steekproef van nege opvoeders en 595 graad 7 tot 12 leerders uit 8 Sewende-dag-Adventiste skole in Amerika, Suid-Afrika, en Australië. Hoë betroubaarheid is gevind in terme van interne konsekwentheid (Cronbach se alfas tussen .855 tot .943) en strukturele vergelykings-modellering (gestandaardiseerde korrelasie koëffisiënte tussen .59 tot .95) vir die vier sikliese en lewenslange Christelike spirituele ontwikkelingsprosesse: Verbinding, Begrip, Bediening, en Toerusting. Bevestigende faktorontleding deur middel van strukturele vergelykings-modellering het bewyse gelewer van konstrukgeldigheid met voldoende model paslikheid. Matige interfaktor-korrelasies in vergeleke met hoër korrelasies binne die faktore, het voorlopige bewyse van diskriminante geldigheid gelewer. Leerders se response op 7 GD finale opname items het die GDI se ontwerp en aanlyn gebruikersvriendelikheid verder ondersteun. Response op drie oopeinde vrae van die GDI se finale opname het baie goeie kwalitatiewe data opgelewer wat kwantitatiewe response staaf. Daarmee het persepsies oor die bruikbaarheid en toepaslikheid van die GDI as ʼn vormende self-assesserings-instrument aansienlik gegroei. Die GDI bevorder die verdure ondersoek van die ontwikkeling van Christelike spiritualiteit en groeipunte deur middel van refleksie, besinning en metakognisie. Die meeste van die opvoeders se finale onderhoudsresponse het gunstige persepsies van die GDI se bruikbaarheid en toepaslikheid in die globale Sevende-dag Adventiste onderwys-stelsel aangedui. Evaluering van strukturele vergelyksmodellering se paslikheid, asook korrelasie-ontleding lewer bewyse dat die GDI ʼn bestendige self-assesseringsinstrument is oor geslag en graad vlak. ʼn Swak korrelasie is tussen land van herkoms en leerdertellings gevind; maar kwalitatiewe data ondersteun die toepaslikheid van die GDI in elke land. Verdere geldigheidstoetsing word aanbeveel, met groter steekproewe. Ontleding van opkomende temas in die geldigheidsteekproef se leerder-response, het kwantitatiewe bevindings ondersteun. Bewyse van leerderbetrokkenheid en die positiewe potensiaal van die GDI se gebruik om Christelike spirituele ontwikkeling te bevorder, is getrianguleer. Die betroubaarheid en geldigheid van die gemengde navorsingsmetodes het matige tot sterk bewyse gelewer ter ondersteuning van die geldigheid van die GDI as ʼn kurrikulumgerigte selfassesseringsintrument vir adolessente in Christelike onderwys.

This dissertation describes a research study conducted to determine the benefits and use of ontology technologies to support a simulation environment that evaluates countermeasures employed to protect military aircraft. Within the military, aircraft represent a significant investment and these valuable assets need to be protected against various threats, such as man-portable air-defence systems. To counter attacks from these threats, countermeasures are deployed, developed and evaluated by utilising modelling and simulation techniques. The system described in this research simulates real world scenarios of aircraft, missiles and countermeasures in order to assist in the evaluation of infra-red countermeasures against missiles in specified scenarios. Traditional ontology has its origin in philosophy, describing what exists and how objects relate to each other. The use of formal ontologies in Computer Science have brought new possibilities for modelling and representation of information and knowledge in several domains. These advantages also apply to military information systems where ontologies support the complex nature of military information. After considering ontologies and their advantages against the requirements for enhancements of the simulation system, an ontology was constructed by following a formal development methodology. Design research, combined with the adaptive methodology of development, was conducted in a unique way, therefore contributing to establish design research as a formal research methodology. The ontology was constructed to capture the knowledge of the simulation system environment and the use of it supports the functions of the simulation system in the domain. The research study contributes to better communication among people involved in the simulation studies, accomplished by a shared vocabulary and a knowledge base for the domain. These contributions affirmed that ontologies can be successfully use to support military simulation systems / Computing / M. Tech. (Information Technology)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:24:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alessandra Marcia de Freitas Stefani.pdf: 3196213 bytes, checksum: da3548a1ae5d5dbe211382b2e0998be7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-20 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / This research takes place in the context of FAU-Mackenzie and from the author's experience as Computer Graphic Professor of Designer, who proposes a reflection on the academic discussion about the impact of digital tools in the design process. Having as main objective to identify factors in academic discourse to help understanding in what extent digital tools are effectively shaping a new paradigm or if what is new lately is the construction of a discourse configuring and defining a research field aiming to add value to players and agents who would not deserve within the scene of traditional academic discourses the same spotlight in design process. It uses as theoretical foundation Pierre Bourdieu´s thinking tools - habitus, field and capital - as well as the notion of paradigm shift by Thomas Kuhn in order to map design research field and to investigate the digital design model presented by Rivka Oxman in her article Theory and Design in the First Digital Age', published in Design Studies Magazine, 2006. In order to analyze academic context for design process this thesis focus on textual production of two authors considered references in the field of design research - Rivka Oxman and Nigel Cross - who are elected by this study as spokespersons of their fields and their scientific communities. This theoretical research was based on an extensive bibliographic survey of intellectual production made by the referenced authors and it considers their texts as narratives and discourses to understand our studied object the digital design process within its social context of their scientific and cultural production. Among the contributions belonging to this study there is one table with some unanswered questions about left over blanks in digital design by Oxman which can function as themes for future research and investigations with regards to digital design model. In addition, another benefit of this study was the presentation of the full translation of the article 'Theory and Design in The First Digital Age' (2006), by Rivka Oxman, which fills a gap in the Brazilian research as there are only a few texts translated about digital design in the academic production. / Esta pesquisa se dá no contexto da FAU-Mackenzie, a partir da experiência da autora como professora de Computação Gráfica no curso de Design, e propõe uma reflexão sobre a discussão acadêmica acerca do impacto das ferramentas digitais no processo de projeto. Tem como objetivo principal identificar fatores presentes no discurso acadêmico, que ajudem a compreender em que medida as ferramentas digitais estão efetivamente moldando um novo paradigma de processo de projeto ou se, em última análise, o que há de novo é a construção de um discurso, que ao configurar e delimitar um campo de pesquisa busca valorizar protagonistas e agentes que na cena tradicional dos discursos acadêmicos acerca do processo de projeto não mereceriam o mesmo destaque. Utiliza como fundamentação teórica as ferramentas de pensamento habitus, campo e capital - tal como construída por Pierre Bourdieu e a noção de transição de paradigmas, definida por Thomas Kuhn, para mapear o campo de pesquisa em projeto e investigar o Modelo de projeto digital apresentado por Rivka Oxman, no texto Theory and Design in the First Digital Age , publicado na revista Design Studies, 2006. A fim de analisar o processo de projeto em âmbito acadêmico, a tese faz um recorte de estudo sobre a produção textual de dois autores considerados referências no campo de pesquisa em projeto - Rivka Oxman e Nigel Cross, que são aqui eleitos como porta-vozes de seus campos e respectivas comunidades científicas. Esta pesquisa teórica baseou-se em um levantamento bibliográfico extenso da produção intelectual publicada pelos autores referenciados e considera tais textos como narrativas e discursos dos autores para ambientar o objeto de estudo processo de projeto digital - no contexto social de sua produção científica e cultural. Entre as contribuições presentes neste estudo estão um quadro de questões sobre as lacunas não respondidas no modelo de projeto digital de Oxman, contribuição que pode servir de base para futuras pesquisas e investigações sobre este tema. Além disso, outra contribuição deste estudo foi a apresentação integral da tradução do texto Theory and Design in the First Digital Age (2006), de Rivka Oxman, que preenche uma lacuna na pesquisa em projeto digital no Brasil, já que existem poucos textos traduzidos desta produção acadêmica.

The practice of communication design has developed from a visual-communication service industry into a multi-facetted profession, directly involved with the maintenance and creation of social and cultural capital. The ancestry of communication design has led to its continued perception as a neutral tool for the achievement of communication. This research project aims to investigate the possible contributions of communication design as a practice, if it were to re-align its goals towards supporting and facilitating the community within which it is practiced. This research project is about the communication designer and the communities within which they practice: clients; target markets; companies; managers; neighbourhood groups; groups in a particular place and time; communities of practitioners; and emergent or yet to emerge communities. The project investigates designer agency and the ways for a communication designer to work holistically within communities: being or becoming part of them; working through and with them toward the achievement of communication goals. As much as it is about communicating, it is also about community. It is about designers working as conduits, facilitating and enabling the communities of their practice to find expression. It is about a democratisation of communication design authorship and power. It is about the design process as an educational process - all parts and participants within a design projects' community learning and teaching simultaneously. The research project encompasses a series of component projects, across a range of different media, using a practice-led-research framework and a reflective practitioner methodology as the key investigative tool.

Literacy education defined as the reading and writing of print text is undergoing a paradigmatic shift towards a pedagogy of multiliteracies (Cole & Pullen, 2010). At the same time, demands for rapid, efficient, and accurate reading skills escalate (Katzir et al., 2006) in a global society with increasingly instant and complex literacy requirements. Musical rhythm plays a role in multiliteracy and print literacy learning. Rhythm is essential for music making and reading, and may facilitate print literacy for all children, including those who struggle with traditional print-based teaching and learning. The purpose of this research was to investigate the potential for the semiotic resource of rhythm to engage early years children in print and non-print literacy learning. A twelve week mixed methods quasi-experimental study was conducted to examine the effects of a multimodal Orff-based learning design on elements of reading and rhythm for grades one to three children in four schools. Students (N = 169) from nine classrooms were non-randomly assigned to one of two groups. The researcher instructed both groups two to three times a week totaling twenty-five sessions in each homeroom classroom. The experimental groups participated in Orff-based learning experiences that focused on elements of rhythm and prosodic oral reading fluency. The control group listened to and sang song-storybooks. Beat performance and oral reading rate assessments were administered as pre- and post-tests to each group. Struggling readers in the experimental group significantly improved on measures of oral reading rate compared to struggling readers in the control group using matched pairs t-procedures and analyses of variance. Associations between beat performance and oral reading rate were explored using bivariate and multivariate regression and correlation analysis. A strong positive correlation was found between measures of beat competency and measures of oral reading rate. Qualitative methods using grounded theory, semiotic data analysis, multimodal analysis, action research, and design research methods placed within a bricolage framework (Kincheloe & Berry, 2004) and examined through the lens of complexity thinking (Davis & Sumara, 2006) added multiperspectival meaning-making of data. Findings pointed to the value of multimodal music and rhythm experiences for engaged, deep, meaningful print and non-print learning for diverse individual and classroom collective learners in both control and experimental classrooms. Beat competency was important to both print and music literacy learning in experimental classrooms. Beat experiences were compelling, equitable, and appeared to organize music, oral language, and print literacy into meaningful and accessible patterns and structures. Similar findings may be occasioned through an ontology of multimodal richness, a complex epistemology, embodied ways of knowing and communicating, and systemic shared beliefs and values.

Literacy education defined as the reading and writing of print text is undergoing a paradigmatic shift towards a pedagogy of multiliteracies (Cole & Pullen, 2010). At the same time, demands for rapid, efficient, and accurate reading skills escalate (Katzir et al., 2006) in a global society with increasingly instant and complex literacy requirements. Musical rhythm plays a role in multiliteracy and print literacy learning. Rhythm is essential for music making and reading, and may facilitate print literacy for all children, including those who struggle with traditional print-based teaching and learning. The purpose of this research was to investigate the potential for the semiotic resource of rhythm to engage early years children in print and non-print literacy learning. A twelve week mixed methods quasi-experimental study was conducted to examine the effects of a multimodal Orff-based learning design on elements of reading and rhythm for grades one to three children in four schools. Students (N = 169) from nine classrooms were non-randomly assigned to one of two groups. The researcher instructed both groups two to three times a week totaling twenty-five sessions in each homeroom classroom. The experimental groups participated in Orff-based learning experiences that focused on elements of rhythm and prosodic oral reading fluency. The control group listened to and sang song-storybooks. Beat performance and oral reading rate assessments were administered as pre- and post-tests to each group. Struggling readers in the experimental group significantly improved on measures of oral reading rate compared to struggling readers in the control group using matched pairs t-procedures and analyses of variance. Associations between beat performance and oral reading rate were explored using bivariate and multivariate regression and correlation analysis. A strong positive correlation was found between measures of beat competency and measures of oral reading rate. Qualitative methods using grounded theory, semiotic data analysis, multimodal analysis, action research, and design research methods placed within a bricolage framework (Kincheloe & Berry, 2004) and examined through the lens of complexity thinking (Davis & Sumara, 2006) added multiperspectival meaning-making of data. Findings pointed to the value of multimodal music and rhythm experiences for engaged, deep, meaningful print and non-print learning for diverse individual and classroom collective learners in both control and experimental classrooms. Beat competency was important to both print and music literacy learning in experimental classrooms. Beat experiences were compelling, equitable, and appeared to organize music, oral language, and print literacy into meaningful and accessible patterns and structures. Similar findings may be occasioned through an ontology of multimodal richness, a complex epistemology, embodied ways of knowing and communicating, and systemic shared beliefs and values.

A maturidade da área de Interação Humano-Computador (IHC) pode ser atestada pela grande quantidade de conjuntos formados por regras, diretrizes e normas (aqui designados como diretivas) que têm sido formulados por dezenas de autores como guias para o estudo, criação e melhoria de interfaces de usuário. No entanto, esses conjuntos apresentam diferenças significativas entre si: muitas dessas diretivas, incluindo algumas já consagradas no universo da IHC, não pertencem ao mesmo nível de abstração nem formam um conjunto homogêneo de enunciados. Essa falta de unidade, aliada à acelerada evolução das tecnologias digitais, tem contribuído para manter essas diretivas (e a própria disciplina de IHC, segundo alguns) em um estado constante de fragmentação e permanente modificação. Mesmo assim, podem ser encontrados princípios — ou leis essenciais, universais e imutáveis — que são subjacentes às diretivas e que podem delas ser extraídos através de uma metodologia adequada. Para contribuir com esse processo, a presente pesquisa apresenta uma revisão dos critérios utilizados para a compilação de conjuntos de diretivas de usabilidade, além de um método de três etapas para a redução progressiva de um número significativo de diretivas a uma lista simples de princípios de usabilidade. Os resultados deste trabalho incluem um modelo metodológico e um conjunto de sete princípios que podem ser utilizados para a pesquisa a e prática da Interação Humano-Computador. / The maturity of the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) field can be attested by the large number of existing sets of rules, guidelines and standards (called directives herein) that have been formulated by dozens of authors as guidelines for the study, design and improvement of user interfaces. Still, these sets present significant differences among themselves: many of these directives, including some already established in the realm of HCI, do not belong to the same level of abstraction and do not constitute a homogeneous set of statements. This lack of unity, coupled with the rapid evolution of digital technologies, has contributed to maintain these directives (and, according to some, the very discipline of HCI) in a constant state of fragmentation and perpetual change. Even so, it is possible to find among them certain principles — i.e., essential laws that are universal and immutable — which underlie these directives and can be extracted from them using an appropriate methodology. To contribute to this process, this research presents a review of the criteria used to compile these sets of usability directives and a three-step method for the progressive reduction of a significant number of directives to a simple list of usability principles. The results include a methodological framework and seven principles that can be used for the research and practice of Human-Computer Interaction.

Mängden dejtingapplikationer för mobila enheter ökar stadigt och i Sverige dominerar Tinder som den mest populära mobila dejtingapplikationen. Matchningsprocessen på Tinder har dock fått motstå en del kritik då gränssnittet gör det väldigt enkelt att göra misstag. Syftet med det här examensarbetet är att undersöka matchningsprocessen på den mobila dejtingapplikation Tinder för att skapa ett nytt koncept med hjälp av metoden Konceptdriven designforskning. Med hjälp av Konceptdriven designforskning blir det nya konceptet utarbetat enligt en metodologisk guide där författaren jobbar med att granska kritik och teoretiskt förankra det mot en forskningsbakgrund för att hitta lösningar som förbättrar användbarheten. Arbetet leds av frågeställningen ”Hur kan matchningsprocessen på Tinder teoretiskt förankras och konceptualiseras i syfte att främja användarupplevelsen?” Författaren skapar en design för att visa det nya konceptet i sin helhet och testar det nya konceptet mot etablerade Tinderanvändare för att utvärdera användarupplevelsen. Resultatet visar att deltagarna ansåg att det nya konceptet är lättförståeligt, att det minskar antalet misstag vid matchningsprocessen och att det nya konceptet är mer användbart än Tinder. Det nya konceptet behåller stommen av Tinder men justerar applikationen utifrån kritik för att erbjuda en bättre användbarhet genom att luta alla ändringar mot en forskningsbakgrund med designprinciper och designriktlinjer för god användbarhet. I slutsatsen presenteras ett nytt koncept som är teoretiskt förankrat i tidigare forskning och som främjar användarupplevelsen genom att erbjuda ett gränssnitt som är mer användbart än det gränssnitt som Tinder idag erbjuder. / The amount of mobile dating applications are steadily rising and Tinder dominates as the most popular mobile dating application in Sweden. However, the matching process of Tinder has been criticized as the interface makes it very easy for the users to make mistakes. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the matching process of the mobile dating application Tinder and create a new concept using the method Concept-driven design research. With the help of Concept-driven design research the new concept is being developed according to a methodological guide where the author is working to review criticism and set it against a research background to find solutions that improve usability. The author creates a design to show the concept in its entirety and test the concept against established Tinder users to evaluate the user experience of the new concept. As a result, the participants felt that the new concept was easy to understand, that it reduced the number of mistakes during the matching process and that the new concept was more useful than Tinder. The new concept keeps the backbone of Tinder but adjusts the application based on criticism to provide a better usability by basing all the changes on a scientific background with design principles and design guidelines for good usability. The conclusion presents a new concept based on a research background that promotes the user experience by offering an interface that is more useable than the interface offered by Tinder today.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / Teacher education for multigrade education in South Africa is poor, since multigrade teachers and principals involved in multigrade education have not received formal training in this form of education, and therefore lack support. Owing to this lacuna in multigrade pedagogy, and teachers' limited knowledge of such pedagogy, multigrade teachers and principals struggle to interpret subject matter and settle for different ways to present and make it accessible to learners. This has a severe impact on the potential of multigrade schools to play an important role as educational units in underserved rural areas. Research shows that pre-service and in-service training does not enable multigrade teachers and principals to develop a knowledge base within the complexities of the actual classroom situation. Such a knowledge base would enable them to solve the endemic problems of multigrade education, thereby enhancing their task as multigrade teachers and principals. Training can have an impact on trainee teachers, but the successful transfer of this newly acquired knowledge to learners in the classroom is questionable. Owing to the extent of the problem experienced at each level of multigrade education in the educational system in South Africa, chances are slight that support to multigrade teachers and principals will emanate from officials and curriculum advisers. It is clear that the problem of supporting multigrade teachers and principals is substantial and daunting, and that a solution to the problem will lead to significant advances in learning, or at least a significant reduction in malfunction in the multigrade educational system. Therefore, bridging the gap between newly-acquired teacher competence and teachers' performance in the classroom is a major concern for the future. This research aims to understand the dilemmas and address the shortcomings as teachers implement new practices within classrooms. There needs to be a transitional process through which multigrade teachers and principals move as they gradually learn, come to understand, and become skilled and competent in novel ways of education. This research introduces a Professional Learning Community (PLC) as a model of support and guidance to multigrade teachers and principals, bridging the gap between knowledge acquired at a workshop, and concomitant support and guidance, in order to understand and address the dilemmas that emerge as they implement new practices within multigrade classrooms. This research employs a design research approach to determine design guidelines and principles to facilitate the process of supporting and guiding multigrade teachers and principals, working together as a network cluster for collective learning and its implementation. The research process in design research encompasses educational design processes and is therefore cyclical in character: analysis, design, evaluation and revision activities are iterated until a satisfying balance between ideals ('the intended') and realisation has been achieved. To develop solutions for this research, a prototyping approach was employed towards a final deliverable. The Prototyping Phase in this research comprised three cycles, and focused during the evolutionary prototyping process on elaborating on the components of the possible support system to multigrade teachers and principals. It was envisaged that this would concretise the situation, and obviate problems before implementation in the day-to-day user setting. Formative evaluation was applied in order to uncover shortcomings during the development process, in order to generate suggestions for improvement. The results of the evaluation of each preceding prototype were used in the development of the next prototype. Design research is an effective method of developing various prototypes in collaboration with multigrade teachers and principals to ensure contextual appropriateness of what works at a given time, as well as solutions to the specific problems of multigrade teachers and principals in South Africa. Keywords: Design research, Educational design processes, Educational design research, Multigrade, Multigrade pedagogy, Network cluster, Professional Learning Community, Support system.