Abstract The development of wireless networks has provided the necessary conditions for several new applications. The emergence of the virtual and augmented reality and the Internet of things and during the era of social media and streaming services, various demands related to functionality and performance have been set for mobile and wearable devices. Meeting these demands is complicated due to minimal energy budgets, which are characteristic of embedded devices. Lately, the energy efficiency of devices has been addressed by increasing parallelism and the use of application-specific hardware resources. This has been hindered by hardware development as well as software development because the conventional development methods are based on the use of low-level abstractions and sequential programming paradigms. On the other hand, deployment of high-level design methods is slowed down because of final solutions that are too much compromised when energy efficiency and performance are considered. This doctoral thesis introduces a model-driven framework for the development of signal processing systems that facilitates hardware and software co-design. The design flow exploits an easily customizable, re-programmable and energy-efficient processor template. The proposed design flow enables tailoring of multiple heterogeneous processing elements and the connections between them to the demands of an application. Application software is described by using high-level dataflow models, which enable the automatic synthesis of parallel applications for different multicore hardware platforms and speed up design space exploration. Suitability of the proposed design flow is demonstrated by using three different applications from different signal processing domains. The experiments showed that raising the level of abstraction has only a minor impact on performance. Video processing algorithms are selected to be the main application area in this thesis. The thesis proposes tailored and reprogrammable energy-efficient processing elements for video coding algorithms. The solutions are based on the use of multiple processing elements by exploiting the pipeline parallelism of the application, which is characteristic of many signal processing algorithms. Performance, power and area metrics for the designed solutions have been obtained using post-layout simulation models. In terms of energy efficiency, the proposed programmable processors form a new compromise solution between fixed hardware accelerators and conventional embedded processors for video coding. / Tiivistelmä Langattomien verkkojen kehittyminen on luonut edellytykset useille uusille sovelluksille. Muiden muassa sosiaalisen media, suoratoistopalvelut, virtuaalitodellisuus ja esineiden internet asettavat kannettaville ja puettaville laitteille moninaisia toimintoihin, suorituskykyyn, energiankulutukseen ja fyysiseen muotoon liittyviä vaatimuksia. Yksi isoimmista haasteista on sulautettujen laitteiden energiankulutus. Laitteiden energiatehokkuutta on pyritty parantamaan rinnakkaislaskentaa ja räätälöityjä laskentaresursseja hyödyntämällä. Tämä puolestaan on vaikeuttanut niin laite- kuin sovelluskehitystä, koska laajassa käytössä olevat kehitystyökalut perustuvat matalan tason abstraktioihin ja hyödyntävät alun perin yksi ydinprosessoreille suunniteltuja ohjelmointikieliä. Korkean tason ja automatisoitujen kehitysmenetelmien käyttöönottoa on hidastanut aikaansaatujen järjestelmien puutteellinen suorituskyky ja laiteresurssien tehoton hyödyntäminen. Väitöskirja esittelee datavuopohjaiseen suunnitteluun perustuvan työkaluketjun, joka on tarkoitettu energiatehokkaiden signaalikäsittelyjärjestelmien toteuttamiseen. Työssä esiteltävä suunnitteluvuo pohjautuu laitteistoratkaisuissa räätälöitävään ja ohjelmoitavaan siirtoliipaistavaan prosessoritemplaattiin. Ehdotettu suunnitteluvuo mahdollistaa useiden heterogeenisten prosessoriytimien ja niiden välisten kytkentöjen räätälöimisen sovelluksien tarpeiden vaatimalla tavalla. Suunnitteluvuossa ohjelmistot kuvataan korkean tason datavuomallien avulla. Tämä mahdollistaa erityisesti rinnakkaista laskentaa sisältävän ohjelmiston automaattisen sovittamisen erilaisiin moniprosessorijärjestelmiin ja nopeuttaa erilaisten järjestelmätason ratkaisujen kartoittamista. Suunnitteluvuon käyttökelpoisuus osoitetaan käyttäen esimerkkinä kolmea eri signaalinkäsittelysovellusta. Tulokset osoittavat, että suunnittelumenetelmien abstraktiotasoa on mahdollista nostaa ilman merkittävää suorituskyvyn heikkenemistä. Väitöskirjan keskeinen sovellusalue on videonkoodaus. Työ esittelee videonkoodaukseen suunniteltuja energiatehokkaita ja uudelleenohjelmoitavia prosessoriytimiä. Ratkaisut perustuvat usean prosessoriytimen käyttämiseen hyödyntäen erityisesti videonkäsittelyalgoritmeille ominaista liukuhihnarinnakkaisuutta. Prosessorien virrankulutus, suorituskyky ja pinta-ala on analysoitu käyttämällä simulointimalleja, jotka huomioivat logiikkasolujen sijoittelun ja johdotuksen. Ehdotetut sovelluskohtaiset prosessoriratkaisut tarjoavat uuden energiatehokkaan kompromissiratkaisun tavanomaisten ohjelmoitavien prosessoreiden ja kiinteästi johdotettujen video-kiihdyttimien välille.

This thesis presents a design work in which one platform specific User Interface (UI) is redesigned to fit into the multiple platform range of a software application. Among other design methods a service design analysis and a platform general UI framework are used. The thesis aims to study the impact of these methods. The service design analysis starts with a workshop which outcome is used as reference point during the design process and later in the analysis of the results. The general framework is extracted from existing mobile implementations of the software and is used as a guideline in the design of the platform specific solution. The results presented show that the service design perspective added high level priority tools to the process, and there are indications that this method can be even more valuable in earlier stages of adaptation of software to new platforms. The general framework is shown to have contributed on a more detailed level and there is indication that this method can facilitate the work of obtaining continuity between platforms.

Práce se zabývá podrobnou analýzou požadavků na moderní aplikační rámec pro prostředí cloud. Za pomoci standardních návrhových vzorů a technik připravuje teoretický základ a pravidla, která musí uvnitř rámce platit. V práci je realizována referenční implementace a připravena demonstrační aplikace středního rozsahu, aby představila výhody plynoucí z užití frameworku.

Using design methods, techniques and tools for developing interventions to tackle complex issues have been on the rise. One such area is designing for sustainable behaviour, where the role of the designer is crucial. Addressing the limited availability of information regarding design research for effectively inciting behaviour change, this thesis aims towards developing a comprehensive guidance framework for designers. This framework is intended to be used in the research phase and meant to act as a base for scouting relevant information that will contribute to the development of a relatively sensible intervention. The framework views behavioural determinants via 3 lenses – context, culture and intent. This paper primarily takes a theoretical approach with mostly qualitative insight obtained from the literature review and case-study meta-synthesis, eventually resulting in a framework and a supporting toolkit.

abstract: Learning analytics application is evolving into a student-facing solution. Student-facing learning analytics dashboards (SFLADs), as one popular application, occupies a pivotal position in online learning. However, the application of SFLADs faces challenges due to teacher-centered and researcher-centered approaches. The majority of SFLADs report student learning data to teachers, administrators, and researchers without direct student involvement in the design of SFLADs. The primary design criteria of SFLADs is developing interactive and user-friendly interfaces or sophisticated algorithms that analyze the collected data about students’ learning activities in various online environments. However, if students are not using these tools, then analytics about students are not useful. In response to this challenge, this study focuses on investigating student perceptions regarding the design of SFLADs aimed at providing ownership over learning. The study adopts an approach to design-based research (DBR; Barab, 2014) called the Integrative Learning Design Framework (ILDF; Bannan-Ritland, 2003). The theoretical conjectures and the definition of student ownership are both framed by Self-determination theory (SDT), including four concepts of academic motivation. There are two parts of the design in this study, including prototypes design and intervention design. They are guided by a general theory-based inference which is student ownership will improve student perceptions of learning in an autonomy-supportive SFLAD context. A semi-structured interview is used to gather student perceptions regarding the design of SFLADs aimed at providing ownership over learning. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Educational Psychology 2019

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An employed individual will spend between a quarter and a third of his or her waking life at the workplace. An estimated 40% of those in South Africa who are employed full-time work in offices. With the amount of time spend in buildings, the physical conditions in the workplace are important determinants of satisfaction, comfort, well-being, and effectiveness and can even play a role in mental health. The physical environment in offices should therefore be carefully planned, designed, and managed. This qualitative study, sought to develop an inter-cultural office design framework for South Africa combining Eastern and Western design principles. Specifically, it sought to obtain a better insight into design principles which can enhance the well-being of office workers; inter-cultural, gender neutral and age neutral design principles which can be applied in a South African context. To be able to answer these questions an intensive literature review was undertaken investigating both the Eastern design principles as expressed in feng shui and Western design principles as expressed in Environmental Social Science. The design principles of these two traditions were compared and all aspects where the two traditions did not support each other were included in the in-depth interviews. Twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted By relying on various design cultures (e.g. Eastern and Western) an environment can be created which are pleasing and can enhance the well-being of the users. Underlying design principles are universal, but the symbolic expression thereof can differ from culture to culture. One of the conclusions from this study is that three quarters of design principles are v universal. There is no one size fits all solution and compromise is necessary from all involved. The compromise applies to the roughly a quarter of design aspects where subgroup differences have been detected. Any design should take individual and group difference into account. The only way to do this is to get proper input from all stakeholders at all stages of the design. It is critically important that the input starts before the design process commences. There are many design principles which can be implemented to improve the quality of work life of office workers in the South African context. Design can for example play a very important role in encouraging and facilitating formal and informal interaction in the workplace – bridging the gap between heterogeneous groups. Without forcing relationships, design can assist in naturally integrating heterogeneous groups. The physical environment must support the image and identity which needs to be communicated, facilitate communication and enable task accomplishment. Most of all it must become a place with which employees can identify and where they can develop a sense of place. From this study it can be concluded that not only form follows function but also that aesthetics follow function – a principle that design should be based on the primary purpose of the building, the workspace based on the needs of the stakeholders and from this starting point aesthetics will flow. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Consulting Psychology)

Current design models, approaches and theories are highly fragmented, have seldom been compared with one another, and rarely attempted to be consolidated. Novelty is a measure of creativity of engineering products and positively influences product success. Using physical laws and effects for designing can improve the chances of creativity but they cannot be used directly owing to their inadequate current representations. It is important to address activities, outcomes, requirements and solutions in designing. Conceptual design is an early phase in engineering design and needs to be supported better. A systematic approach for designing often increases effectiveness and efficiency. Thus, the broad objective of this thesis is to develop and validate a comprehensive understanding of how designing occurs during the conceptual phase of engineering design, and to support variety and novelty of designs during this phase. The approach followed is: (a) formulate and validate an understanding of novelty and its relationships to the designing constructs, in current designing, and(b)develop and validate a support, founded on the current designing, to improve novelty. The understanding and the support are addressed, respectively, through an integrated model and a systematic framework for designing; the model and the framework comprise activities, outcomes(including laws and effects), requirements and solutions. An integrated model of designing, GEMS of SAPPhIRE as req-sol is developed by combining activities(Generate, Evaluate, Modify, Select– GEMS), outcomes (State change, Action, Parts, Phenomenon, Input, oRgans, Effect–SAPPhIRE), requirements (req) and solutions (sol), identified from a comprehensive survey of existing design models and approaches. Validation of SAPPhIRE model with existing systems indicates that the model can be used to describe analysis and synthesis, both of which together constitute designing. Validation of the integrated model using existing videos of design sessions, to check if all its constructs are naturally used in designing, reveals that:(a) all the constructs are naturally used;(b) not all the outcomes are explored with equal intensity;(c) while high numbers of action and parts are observed, only low numbers of phenomenon, effects and organs are found. Empirical study using another set of design sessions to study the relationships between novelty and the outcomes reveals that novelty of a concept space depends on the variety of the concept space, which in turn depends on the variety of the idea space explored. Novelty and variety of a concept space also depend on the number of outcomes explored at each abstraction level. Thus, phenomena and effects are also vital for variety and novelty. Based on the above, GEMS of SAPPhIRE as req-sol framework for designing is proposed. The framework is divided into: Requirements Exploration Stage(RES) and Solutions Exploration Stage(SES). In RES and SES, requirements and solutions respectively at all the abstraction levels including SAPPhIRE are generated, evaluated, modified and selected. The framework supports task clarification, conceptual and early embodiment phases of designing, and provides process knowledge. Comparison of the framework against existing design models, theories and approaches reveals that:(a) not all existing models, theories and approaches address activities, outcomes, requirements and solutions together;(b) those that address all these constructs together do not make a distinction between requirements and solutions; and(c) no model or approach explicitly addresses novelty. The usability of the framework and Idea-inspire is assessed by applying them in an industrial project for designing novel concepts of lunar vehicle mobility system. The use of this combined support enables identification of critical requirements, development of a large variety of ideas and concepts. One of these concepts is physically and virtually modelled, and tested, and is found to satisfy all the requirements. A catalogue of physical laws and effects is developed using SAPPhIRE model to provide assistance to designers, especially for phenomena, effects and organs. Observations found during this development are reported. A comparative validation of the framework and the catalogue for their support to design for variety and novelty is done using comparative observational studies. Results from the observational studies reveal that the variety and the novelty of concept space improve with the use of the framework, or with the frame work and the catalogue, as compared to variety and novelty with no support.