Physically based space planning is a means for automating the conceptual design process by applying the physics of motion to space plan elements. This methodology provides for a responsive design process, allowing a designer to easily make decisions whose consequences propagate throughout the design. It combines the speed of automated design methods with the flexibility of manual design methods, while adding a highly interactive quality and a sense of collaboration with the design. The primary assumption is that a digital design tool based on a physics paradigm can facilitate the architectural space planning process. The hypotheses are that Newtonian dynamics can be used 1) to define mechanical metaphors to represent the elements in an architectural space plan, 2) to compute architectural space planning solutions, and 3) to interact with architectural space plans. I show that space plan elements can be represented as physical masses, that design objectives can be represented using mechanical metaphors such as springs, repulsion fields, and screw clamps, that a layout solution can be computed by using these elements in a dynamical simulation, and that the user can interact with that solution by applying forces that are also models of the same mechanical objects. I present a prototype software application that successfully implements this approach. A subjective evaluation of this prototype reveals that it demonstrates a feasible process for producing space plans, and that it can potentially improve the design process because of the quality of the manipulation and the enhanced opportunities for design exploration it provides to the designer. I found that an important characteristic of this approach is that representation, computation, and interaction are all defined using the same paradigm. This contrasts with most approaches to automated space planning, where these three characteristics are usually defined in completely different ways. Also emerging from this work is a new cognitive theory of design titled 'dynamical design imagery,' which proposes that the elements in a designer's mental imagery during the act of design are dynamic in nature and act as a dynamical system, rather than as static images that are modified in a piecewise algorithmic manner.

My research is located at the intersection of design and education, focusing specifically on middle and high school literature. Using educational psychology research, particularly in the areas of motivation and engagement, I have explored various ways to deliver traditional literary texts. The hope is to engage students in literature they might normally find boring. Multiple points of entry into the text was a method used in conceptualizing the solutions because it allowed readers to visualize how the text can relate to them as individuals. The solutions provided represent a small portion of what can be done in the intersection of education and design; they are only limited to the number of stories students are required to read in school. / text

This research proposes that design and visual thinking in combination with narrative theory contribute to enhance knowledge of innovation processes and support managers in their work. In particular, the focus is on the use of Storyboarding to support a better definition of a project’s brief. Innovation studies have shown that the initial phases of innovation processes (typically called the “front end of innovation”) are crucial for success. A proper definition of a brief, that occurs at the front of the front end, is therefore one of the most relevant events in innovation. This study investigates the early phases of innovation by developing and evaluating a new method for developing a brief. First, an explorative approach has been used in order to develop knowledge of challenges in the front end of innovation and how design thinking, visual thinking and narratives can bring new insights in teamwork. In this explorative search the use of case studies has been employed. Then, the explorative search has focused onthe use of Storyboarding as a tool for reflection, and in particular for igniting dynamics of framing and reframing of innovation problems. Finally, in order to create a deeper knowledge in the use of storyboarding three hypotheses has been evaluated, four experiments has been conducted with the involvement of more than 60 people defining innovation briefs. In these experiments, storyboarding (visual and narrative) has been used to support “thinking” that leads to the brief. In other words, storyboarding has been seen as a process to enable innovation teams to think differently or more precisely, rather than just a tool to represent or to communicate the brief. The experiments show that using storyboarding has effects that can support innovation management. First, storyboarding is useful if management wants to “stimulate” a reflection on meaning when developing a brief, i.e. when they want an innovation team to consider both utilitarian and emotional/symbolic factors in an innovation process. Second, Storyboarding brings a narrower focus, compared to traditional written briefs, within the “area of interest” brought up by management, which sometimes may be asked for when the organization is in search for reframing the direction of innovation. / Denna avhandling föreslår att design och visuellt tänkande i kombination med narrativ teori kan bidra till en bättre förståelse och ledning av innovationsprocesser. Framför allt med fokus på användningen av storyboarding för att stödja en bättre definition av ett projekts uppdragsbeskrivning, eller som det kallas en ”brief”. Tidigare innovationsforskning har visat att de inledande faserna av innovationsprocesser (vanligen kallad “the front end of innovation”) är av avgörande betydelse för att innovationer skall nå framgång. En ordentligt utformad ”brief”, formulerad tidigt, i de inledande faserna av innovationsprocessen är således en av de mest relevanta händelserna för framgångsrikt innovationsarbete. Denna forskning bidrar till kunskap i de tidiga faserna av innovationsprocessen genom att utveckla och utvärdera en ny metod för att utveckla en ”brief”, storyboarding. Först så har en explorativ metodik använts för att skapa förståelse för de tidiga faserna av innovation och hur metoder och teorier från design, visuellt tänkande och narrativ kan ge nya insikter i teamarbete. I denna explorativa del så har fallstudier använts som forskningsstrategi. Därefter så har mitt sökande efter förståelse fokuserats på användningen av storyboarding som ett verktyg för reflektion, och i synnerhet att formulera och omformulera inramningen av möjligheter för innovation. Slutligen, för att skapa en djupare förståelse av storyboarding, så har tre hypoteser utvärderats med hjälp av ett antal experiment med mer än 60 personers deltagande där team utvecklar en ”brief”. I dessa experiment så har Storyboarding använts för att stödja teamens “tänkande” för att utveckla en ”brief”. Med andra ord så har Storyboarding setts som en process för att möjliggöra för team att tänka annorlunda eller mer exakt, snarare än bara ett verktyg för att representera eller för att kommunicera en ”brief”. Experimenten visar att användningen av Storyboarding har ett antal effekter som kan stödja ledning av innovation. För det första kan vi se att Storyboarding kan vara användbart om man vill “stimulera” reflektion kopplat till innebörd (meaning) när man utvecklar en ”brief”, dvs. när man vill att ett team ska överväga både funktionella så väl som känslomässiga/symboliska faktorer i en innovationsprocess. För det andra så skapar storyboarding en ”smalare” definition, jämfört med traditionella skriftliga ”briefs”, inom det av ledningen valda fokusområde. Detta kan vara önskvärt när ledningen söker efter nya möjligheter för innovation.

Physically based space planning is a means for automating the conceptual design process by applying the physics of motion to space plan elements. This methodology provides for a responsive design process, allowing a designer to easily make decisions whose consequences propagate throughout the design. It combines the speed of automated design methods with the flexibility of manual design methods, while adding a highly interactive quality and a sense of collaboration with the design. The primary assumption is that a digital design tool based on a physics paradigm can facilitate the architectural space planning process. The hypotheses are that Newtonian dynamics can be used 1) to define mechanical metaphors to represent the elements in an architectural space plan, 2) to compute architectural space planning solutions, and 3) to interact with architectural space plans. I show that space plan elements can be represented as physical masses, that design objectives can be represented using mechanical metaphors such as springs, repulsion fields, and screw clamps, that a layout solution can be computed by using these elements in a dynamical simulation, and that the user can interact with that solution by applying forces that are also models of the same mechanical objects. I present a prototype software application that successfully implements this approach. A subjective evaluation of this prototype reveals that it demonstrates a feasible process for producing space plans, and that it can potentially improve the design process because of the quality of the manipulation and the enhanced opportunities for design exploration it provides to the designer. I found that an important characteristic of this approach is that representation, computation, and interaction are all defined using the same paradigm. This contrasts with most approaches to automated space planning, where these three characteristics are usually defined in completely different ways. Also emerging from this work is a new cognitive theory of design titled 'dynamical design imagery,' which proposes that the elements in a designer's mental imagery during the act of design are dynamic in nature and act as a dynamical system, rather than as static images that are modified in a piecewise algorithmic manner.

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2017-11-06T19:11:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 AndreLuizDeSouzaBrito_DISSERT.pdf: 9436503 bytes, checksum: 583764c7076e0396f472d1d8ff7fee01 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-11-20T19:17:34Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 AndreLuizDeSouzaBrito_DISSERT.pdf: 9436503 bytes, checksum: 583764c7076e0396f472d1d8ff7fee01 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-20T19:17:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AndreLuizDeSouzaBrito_DISSERT.pdf: 9436503 bytes, checksum: 583764c7076e0396f472d1d8ff7fee01 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-25 / A tecnologia ? um grande transformador da cultura de uma sociedade. Essa transforma??o cultural induz, por sua vez, a uma necessidade de revolu??es em v?rias ?reas do conhecimento. Uma dessas ?reas ? a educa??o, que conta com uma gera??o de jovens que est?o sempre conectados, possuem acesso a grandes quantidades de informa??o e podem rapidamente compartilh?-las. Como consequ?ncia, os modelos tradicionais de ensino-aprendizagem nos quais o professor assume um papel centralizador e o aluno se encontra passivamente recebendo as informa??es, passam a ser cada vez mais ineficazes. A inadequa??o dessas pr?ticas diminui a conex?o do aluno com o ambiente escolar e as disciplinas, levando-o mais facilmente a uma desmotiva??o pelos estudos. Um campo de pesquisa que tem se destacado nos ?ltimos anos quando tratamos da motiva??o no contexto educacional ? o da Gamifica??o. No entanto, um problema comum ainda persiste na constru??o de solu??es gamificadas para a educa??o, que consiste na falta de um processo de design claro que norteie de forma eficaz a elabora??o de solu??es a fim de que os resultados obtidos pela aplica??o das mesmas n?o sejam superficiais e ineficazes e n?o gerem impacto negativo na motiva??o dos alunos. Para contribuir com a solu??o desse problema, este trabalho prop?e um processo de gamifica??o, denominado Level-Up, alicer?ado na abordagem do Design Thinking para educadores, que tem como princ?pio b?sico o conhecimento pr?vio profundo sobre a problem?tica do desinteresse dos alunos a ser tratado antes que qualquer solu??o venha a ser projetada. Al?m disso, o framework Octalysis ? utilizado para auxiliar na an?lise dos aspectos motivacionais tratados no cen?rio do problema e direcionar a escolha dos elementos de jogos para tornar esse cen?rio agrad?vel e atingir os objetivos almejados com a gamifica??o. Para validar o processo proposto, um estudo de caso foi efetuado em uma disciplina introdut?ria de programa??o de um curso de ensino superior, no qual resultados promissores foram obtidos. / Technology is a force for change in the culture of society. This transformation often requires the evolution of several fields in human knowledge, one of them being the field of Education. As a generation of youngsters is always connected through the use of technological devices, with the possibility of accessing and exchanging a large amount of information in a fast way, the traditional learning models which are teacher-centered and the students play a passive role are gradually becoming more inefficient. This inadequacy has a big role in student motivation, that is rapidly decreasing by each year as students feel less connected with their learning environment and their practices. One field of research that has become prominent in past years concerning student motivation in education is that of Gamification. However, a common problem exists with the design of gamified solutions for education: the lack of a clear design process that guides the gamification towards an efficient model capable of effectively attend to the student?s needs. To contribute to the solution of this problem, this work proposes a gamification process called Level-Up, based on the design thinking for educators approach, which has as a core principle the investigation and gain of knowledge about the problematic of the students and learning environment before any solution is designed and executed. On top of that, the gamification framework Octalysis is used to evaluate how the motivational aspects are taken into account in the investigated scenario, and how the game elements can be used to change and improve student motivation in order to attain the objectives set by the gamification. To validate this gamification process, a case study is executed in an introductory programming class of an undergraduate course, in which promising results were obtained.

Adventure sport participation numbers have significantly increased over the period of the past ten years; it has been suggested that the emergence of an experience economy, where experiences have more value than possessions, could be a key factor for this increase. Motivations for taking part in an adventure sport activity varies between participants, and perhaps even more so than those motivations that were expressed by participants’ pre-experience economy. There are a number of theories about increased participant numbers; for example, the type of demographic, how they approach participation, and approximate suggestions of how the trend for experiences rather than possessions will evolve in the future. However, there is little that explores the experiences of these newer participants, how they behave, and how they are being received by the adventure sport industry. Additionally, there is no evidence to suggest a definite understanding of the needs and requirements of these participants, nor has an investigation been conducted to measure how well the industry is meeting these. Likewise, the potential to adapt existing provision, to expose untapped opportunities, appears unconsidered, and therefore may have benefit for both providers and participants. This study took its lead from using a process of problematization, whereby the problem is explored, identified and defined by the designer(s), rather than presented to them to solve. Using this approach, a hybrid methodologies model was designed and tested to explore the perceptions and experiences of adventure sport participants, to identify any changes that may be occurring as a result of the experience economy and increased numbers of participants taking up an adventure sport activity. Immersive ethnographic and qualitative methods were implemented to better understand identified changes and issues, and quantitative methods were used to elaborate on, confirm and validate the findings. By doing this it was also possible to establish the efficacy of taking a lived experience approach to identifying and exploring emergent and currently unaddressed issues. The study identified three key themes of interest to adventure sport participants: provision of information, ability to accurately assess skill level and participate safely, and being a part of the adventure sport community. These emerging themes were problematizated, validated, and a process of co-design and ideation was used to establish and suggest a solution that could be implemented by the industry to solve the identified issues. This study highlights the potential of using lived experiences to identify a problem, and employs new mixed methodologies to develop a better understanding of critical factors occurring within a specific industry and its associated communities. The study uses this knowledge to generate a designed solution. The theories and methods discussed by the study have transferable values, and could be used within a wide range of other subject areas, being especially useful when a hypothesis proves difficult to identify and define at the outset of a study.

Historicamente, os concursos públicos de projetos de Arquitetura e Urbanismo produzem material que apresentam diferentes soluções a um mesmo problema. Do edital até a seleção de projetos, o concurso é um processo que permite oportunidades de investigação por meio de vários enfoques. Cientes da importância da produção intelectual resultante desses concursos, pesquisadores da UNIRITTER e UFRGS, em parceria com o Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil – Departamento do Rio Grande do Sul (IAB/RS), formataram um Acervo que contém o material de concursos realizados no Rio Grande do Sul. Esta pesquisa é inspirada em parte do conteúdo desse Acervo. O foco desta pesquisa está sobre resultados de análises que investigam a influência da formulação do problema em soluções projetuais das propostas classificadas em Concursos de Projetos Urbanos no RS, selecionados entre 2006 e 2016. Para desenvolver a metodologia da pesquisa, utilizou fundamentos do Design Thinking, uma abordagem que permite focar tanto no usuário quanto no problema em si, objetivando soluções mais precisas. Assim, esta pesquisa analisou o problema e a solução para Projetos Urbanos, propondo uma Matriz de Análise a partir de fundamentos da abordagem do Design Thinking. As bases dos concursos foram consideradas a proposição do problema, enquanto os resultados dos concursos, ou seja, os projetos classificados, foram utilizados como o valor gerado pelo concurso. O processo de comparação entre bases dos concursos (proposição do problema) e solução (projetos classificados/atas de julgamento) foi determinado como a incógnita da equação. Desse modo, se estabeleceu a questão de pesquisa que questionou a influência da proposição do problema sobre a resposta em Projetos Urbanos resultantes de concursos. Por meio do uso de ferramentas de análise da retórica da linguagem verbal e visual, aplicadas tanto sobre as bases dos concursos selecionados, quanto nas propostas projetuais classificadas, a pesquisa comparou o problema (bases dos concursos), as soluções propostas (projetos) e a seleção do júri (classificação). A investigação foi dividida em quatro etapas principais, na qual a primeira se concentrou em explorar o Acervo e desenvolver critérios de seleção de amostra, além de fundamentar a pesquisa por meio de revisão de literatura; a segunda etapa teve o foco voltado para o desenvolvimento da Matriz de Análise e seleção e aplicação de ferramentas de retórica verbal e visual; a terceira etapa foi o momento de tabulação e análise de dados; a quarta e última etapa da pesquisa foi a base para a consolidação dos dados e análise dos resultados. A principal contribuição da pesquisa foi misturar métodos de diferentes abordagens para entender a relação entre problema e solução em Projeto Urbano, o que pode revelar meios para uma melhor elaboração do problema de projeto em concursos futuros. Além disso, fomenta o debate sobre a formulação dos problemas em Projetos Urbanos de concursos públicos. O estudo também apresentou recomendações para melhoria da composição de acervo existente e estudos futuros. / Historically, public tendering for Architecture and Urbanism projects produce material that show different solutions to the same problem. From the public notice to the project selection, public tendering is a process that permits investigation opportunities via plenty of approaches. Aware of the importance of the intellectual production that results from these public tenderings, UNIRITTER and UFRGS researchers, along with the Brazilian Architects’ Institute – Rio Grande do Sul section (IAB/RS), formulated a archive that contains the material made in public tenderings in Rio Grande do Sul. This research is inspired in part of this archive. The focus of this research is about the results of analysis that investigate the influence the formulation of the problem in projectual solutions of the classified propositions classified in urban project public tenderings in Rio Grande do Sul, selected between 2006 and 2016. To develop the research methodology, we used fundamentals of Design Thinking, an approach that allows to focus on the user and also on the proble itself, aiming for more precise solutions. So, this research analyzed the problem and solution for Urban Projects, proposing a matrix of analysis on the basis of Design Thinking Approach. The public tendering bases were considered as the proposition of the problem, while the results of the exams, that is, the classified projects, were used as the value generated by the tendering. The comparative process between tendering basis (proposition of the problem) and solution (classified projects/adjudgment acts) was determine as the unknown element of the equation. In that way, it was established that the research question that questioned the proposition of the problem’s influence over the answer in Urban Project that resulted from public exams. Through the use of tools of analysis of rhetoric of verbal and visual language, applied over the bases of the selected tendering, and also on the classified projectual propositions, this research compares the problem (public tendering basis), the proposed solutions (projects) and the jury selection (classification). The investigation was divided in four main stages, in which the first focused on exploring the archive and develop sample selection criteria, also fundamenting the research by means of literature revision; the second stage focused on the development of the matrix of analysis, selection and application of tools of analysis of rhetoric of verbal and visual language; the third stage was the tabulation and data analysis; the fourth and last research stage was the basis of the data consolidation and analysis of the results. The main contribution of the research was to show methods of different approaches to understand the relation between problem and solution in Urban Projects, something that can reveal means to a better elaboration of the project’s problem in future public tenderings. Also, it stimulates the debate about the formulation of problems in Urban Projects public tenderings. This research also shows recommendations to improve the composition of the existing archive and its future studies.

abstract: Industrial design is the practice of creating solutions by studying people and businesses. Originally centered on development of goods, industrial design uses methods rooted in human behavioral study, human factors, and strategic problem solving. As our economy and professional practice shift away from manufacturing towards a service-dominant landscape, industrial design must align its profession to formally include service design. The small service business setting is a microcosm in which the value of design and branding in business is magnified. This research reinforces design's ties with services marketing and business and is dedicated to finding solutions for the backbone of our economy. Micro-businesses with fewer than 20 employees often lack the sophisticated management, marketing, and strategies that bring about success. Despite the fact that 70% to 80% of small and micro businesses are service based, little research is dedicated to unique strategies for these small service firms. Research has shown that using strategic business design increases small business success. Given high small business failure rates, it behooves entrepreneurs to use intuitive planning tools that are appropriate for the dynamic startup years. When put within reach and context of small business owners, the tools used in design draw a clear map of insights into the "design" of small businesses. Through a literature review, interviews, and a new workshop method, the needs of small business owners and the challenges they face are used to design and implement an accessible, actionable strategic toolkit for small service businesses. This simple, interdisciplinary toolkit was designed with the goal of increasing the efficacy and likelihood of ongoing strategic business planning through context-specific, instrumental activities. The tools are shown to help a business owner form pragmatic, iterative problem-solving approaches that allow the business owner to plan in the face of uncertainty and find insights into her own business, brand, and services. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.D. Design 2012

This thesis is an attempt to explore the Jordanian community of today with its multi-ethnic fusion and its social practices that often appear rooted in the past. It is an examination of what possible series of symbols could be formed from a collective view of the diverse ethnicity in Jordan and that could be culturally relevant to the seven-pointed star of the Jordanian flag. This has been an investigation structured around Design Thinking processes using a mixture of qualitative methods integrated with a social science methodology. The qualitative data collection methods involved close contact between the research participants and the author in such a way that emergent topics could be explored. Accordingly, the first major practical contribution of the research provided a series of prototypes that established ‘terminologies’ that were discovered, evaluated and reflected upon through design processes and supporting documentation. This was followed by a testing stage designed to show the cultural diversity and acceptability of both the symbols/ and the final artefacts. Three main tests were conducted in 2016: 1. Semi-structured interviews with participants selected at random from seven different ethnic groups according to country of origin. 2. Public exhibitions in Jordan and Plymouth with audiences from diverse research backgrounds (e.g. users or consumers of designs). 3. A workshop with Jordanian designers (students and practitioners). The methodology adopted during each test included the sharing of the author’s work and personal experiences and invited feedback that could be used to validate and build on the Research Question. The stories and discourse produced a wide array of social patterns that are referred to as ‘findings’. The results emphasised a relationship between social communal values and the historic stories related by the participants. It was hoped that by having the opportunity to involve users throughout the process and by discussing open-ended questions, that the most objective valuations possible would be achieved. However, a deficiency occurred during the process of testing prototypes, which had the effect of decreasing the reliability of the test. It also emerged that correlating all the data proved more difficult to produce answers as accurately and consistently as possible. Subsequently the author is proposing a number of follow-on design research methodologies, investigating and exploring further the significant values embodied in the Jordanian flag. Namely: Faith in one God Humanity Humility National spirit Virtue Social justice Aspiration Despite these difficulties, however, this research-based activity proved to be an invaluable achievement in terms of personal practice and recorded data as a result of testing the open ended-questions and demonstrated the ability to produce design documentation with its own unique features.

abstract: This action research addressed teacher effectiveness in supporting students’ critical thinking skills by implementing differentiated instructional strategies in eight 3rd- and 4th-grade, self-contained, inclusive classrooms. This study addressed how third- and fourth-grade teachers perceived their instructional effectiveness, how differentiated instructional strategies influence third- and fourth-grade teachers, and how third- and fourth-grade teachers make further use of differentiated instruction to support students’ critical thinking skills across cultures, linguistics, and achievement levels to increase student achievement. Out of the enrollment in a southwest Phoenix elementary school, there was a 35% mobility rate; 76%, free and reduced lunches; 35%, Spanish-speaking homes; 10%, ELL services; and 10%, special education. The school was comprised of 52 certified teachers, out of which there were five related arts teachers, and four teachers who served gifted and special education students. Participants included all eight third- and fourth-grade teachers, 75% female and 25% males; 75% identified as Caucasian and 25% Hispanic/Latina, middle-class citizens. Professional development training was provided to these eight individual teachers during four months on differentiated instructional strategies to support students’ critical thinking. At this study’s beginning, these teachers perceived an obstacle to supporting students’ critical thinking as they struggled to learn new curriculums. Persevering through this challenge, teachers discovered success by implementing design-thinking, developing students’ growth mindsets, and utilizing cultural responsive teaching. These teachers identified three differentiated instructional strategies which impacted students’ academic progress: instructional scaffolds, collaborative group work, and project-based learning. Building upon linguistic responsive teaching, cultural responsive teaching, and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory, teachers revealed how to support students’ critical thinking through the use of graphic organizers, sentence frames, explicit instructions, growth mindsets, cultural references, and grouping structures. In addition, the outcomes demonstrated teachers can make further use of differentiated instruction by focusing on instructional groups, teachers’ mindsets, and methods for teaching accelerated learners. This study’s results have implications on teachers’ perception toward using differentiated instructional strategies as a viable method to support the multiple ways all students learn. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2018