Nowadays, there are more and more regulations regarding the emissions of greenhouse gases. The automotive sector is directly affected by new standards enacted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in America and by European regulations in Europe that are forcing car manufacturers to produce more efficient cars. Different ways exist to increase the efficiency of a car and thus reduce the CO2 emissions. One known strategy to improve fuel economy in vehicles is by weight reduction. Consequently, car manufacturers are seeking out new companies that can supply them with lighter car components. Here is where VA Automotive enters the picture, as a car seat manufacturer that is willing to improve their product by reducing the weight of its various components. This study deals with the development of a new recliner design that demonstrates improvements in terms of weight, size and performance compared to the current solution used at VA Automotive. A common product development methodology has been developed to reach the final recliner design which went through the following steps. First of all, a benchmarking technique was adopted to gather as much data as possible from the competitors’ products. Then, a list of target values for the product specifications was defined as a guideline for the development of the product. The next step was to generate several concepts of recliner’s mechanism that were suitable to improve the design from VA Automotive. After that, a Pugh decision matrix was used to select the best alternative between the concepts generated previously. The optimal concept was further developed by generating four design alternatives that were analyzed in terms of manufacturing, assembly, weight and size by using the Lucas DFMA method. Finally some simulations were run for one of the designs in order to check the structural performance of the mechanism and prove this way that the new recliner design meets the requirements. When comparing the new design alternatives with the design from VA Automotive, it was noticed that all the new designs except one presented a lower manufacturing cost index. Moreover, for all of the alternatives of the new recliner design, the weight was reduced by more than 56% compared to the recliner used at VA Automotive. Finally, by means of FEM simulations it was demonstrated that by choosing the right material the new recliner design was able to meet the structural requirements.

Many conflicting issues exist between product design and manufacturing department. In the early design stage, designers often do not have enough expertise to successfully address all these issues. This results in a product design with a low level of assemblability and manufacturability. Hence, an intelligent decision support system is needed for early design stages to improve a design. This paper proposed a web-based intelligent decision support system, CBR-DFMA, connecting with a case base, database and knowledge base. Early experimental results indicate that potential design problems can be detected in advance, design expertise can be effectively disseminated and effective training is offered to designer by employing this system.

Those working in Engineering for Global Development seek to improve the conditions in developing countries. A common metric for understanding the development state of a given country is the Human Development Index (HDI), which focuses on three dimensions: health, education, and income. An engineer’s expertise does not always align with any of those dimensions directly, while they still hope to perform impactful work for human development. To discover other areas of expertise that are highly associated with the HDI, correlations and variable selection were performed between all World Development Indicators and the HDI. The resultant associations are presented according to industry sector for a straightforward connection to engineering expertise. The associated areas of expertise can be used during opportunity development as surrogates for focusing on the HDI dimensions themselves. The data analysis shows that work related to "Trade, Transportation, and Utilities", such as electricity distribution, and exports or imports, "Natural Resources and Mining", such as energy resources, agriculture or access to clean water, and "Manufacturing", in general, are most commonly associated with improvements in the HDI in developing countries. Also, because the associations were discovered at country-level, they direct where geographically particular areas of expertise have been historically associated with improving HDI.

My degree work has been an exploration in what specific skills, knowledge and understan­dings that are needed in service design as a practice, in order to successfully engage in complex contexts with multiple stakeholders, different relations, structures and regulations. In this investigation, I have been especially interested in the role of physical forms in a process where social structures are discussed and reshaped. With the ambition to create a learning process within this area I have, in collaboration with Förnyelselabbet, been part of a study in Malmö that focus on children and youth with migra­tion experiences living in vulnerable housing situations. The study is done in collaboration with multiple actors such as City of Malmö, The Red Cross, Rädda Barnen, Unicef, Skåne Stadsmission, Sensus etc. These are actors that share the same goal to highlight needs and experiences amongst children and youths. In my work I have designed tools with the ambition to unfold and deepen the under­standing of situations, meetings and objects that could enable a feeling of safety, comfort and joy when living in a vulnerable housing situation. In this context, I have recognized the importance of exploring the role of meeting points. For this purpose, I have used three objects; the slide; the sofa and the set table. As a result of this degree project I created something I call a material probe, a object with the function to visualise needs and trigger responses. This material probe captures three fundamental needs; a slide – the possibility for play and activity, a sofa – the possibility for gaining the feeling of safety and belonging, a table – the possibility for sharing experiences and information. By visualising and materialising these needs, I hope to create a discussion that unfolds challenges and promotes the children’s perspective. My work to narrow down the needs is based on multiple interviews and stories from children, youths and parents. The main question is what happens to the continued development process when research findings, needs and experiences are visualised. The main goal of this degree project has been to articulate and reflect on how service designers can combine knowledge within process design, institutional design and design of physical form. How service design as a practice can develop and if including physical forms and visualisations at a higher level in our work can help the development process forward.

Across the nation, many school districts are challenged to improve the academic achievement of English language learners (ELLs). In a small district in Ohio approximately 86% of the ELLs passed the state Annual Measurable Objectives in reading and mathematics, however, 14% of ELL students are not meeting targeted objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine the pedagogical success of an ELL instructional program through the perspectives of the teachers, principals, and administrators in the local district. Using Rose's and Meyer's theory of the universal design for learning and the state's scaffolding framework of assessment, placement and intervention, this case study investigated the factors of effectiveness that participants felt best explained the success of the ELL program. The purposeful sample comprised 4 teachers, 2 principals, and 2 central office administrators. The research included data collected using 8 individual interviews, 1 group interview, 3 classroom observations, and document reviews. Data were coded and analyzed to reveal common themes and perceptions. Findings revealed that participants believed their efforts to develop relevant course content motivated the students to learn a new language, the application of the principles of the universal design for learning improved teachers' pedagogical practices, and the participants placed a priority on creating positive student and family relationships to encourage language learning. The findings can promote positive social change by advancing teachers' capacity to apply supportive practices and educators' efforts to improve the academic achievement of ELLs by implementing effective programs that motivate students to acquire adequate language skills.

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Detta är en rapport som beskriver utvecklingen av ett produktkoncept som är tänkt att ersätta Weda:s SD-enhet. SD-enheten är ett munstycke som kan tillverkas från 1𝑚 upp till 10𝑚 brett i bockad plåt och sitter installerad på en drivenhet. Denna ersättare av SD-enheten ska göras mer anpassningsbar efter olika bassängstorlekar och billigare i tillverkningskostnader. Baserat på kundkrav, problemställning och till följd av en utvecklingsprocess togs det fram fem koncept där samtliga stöds av grundläggande fakta, teoretiska tillverknings och monterings aspekter samt flödessimuleringar. Dessa fem koncept sattes emot varandra i en sållnings matris för att sedan gå vidare med ett koncept som vidareutvecklades med hjälp av projektverktyg som QFD och DFA. Slutligen utfördes en laboration med en prototyp med syfte att undersöka och stärka projektets beräkningar. Avslutningsvis analyseras resultaten som ställts upp mot projektets mål och kundkrav för att värdera om projektet har lyckats eller ej. / This report describes the development of a product concept that’s supposed to replace Weda's SD-System. The SD-System suction nozzle is scalable from 1 𝑚 up to 10 𝑚 wide out of bent sheet metal and is installed to a driving unit. The new pool cleaner attachment concept is supposed to be more modular to fit different basins and be cheaper in manufacturing. Based on customer requirements, the problems description and the development process, five concepts were developed. All the concepts are supported by basic facts, theoretical manufacturing and assembly aspects as well as flow simulations. These five concepts were opposed to each other in a screening matrix and then proceeded with a concept that was further developed using project tools such as QFD and DFA. Finally, a laboratory exercise was performed with a prototype and the purpose of investigating and strengthening the project's calculations. Finally, the results that are set against the project's objectives and customer requirements are analyzed to evaluate whether the project has succeeded or not.

In the past decades, humanity is facing the consequences of the irresponsible production of plastics and the expansion of industries such as industrial agriculture, Therefore, the development of new sustainable alternative materials has become increasingly popular as a science field. That is the case of mycelium composites, a biodegradable material made out of agricultural and the thread-like roots of mushrooms called mycelium. The mycelium, when growing, binds all the particles of organic matter together, creating a stiff material that takes the shape of the mold where it was cultivated. The material is lightweight, fire resistant, provides acoustic and thermal insulation and has good behavior under compression efforts. So far, research has been conducted on testing the properties of the material, but there is a lack of knowledge on how to address this material from a design perspective. How to design with it, how to make it appealing to the users or how to value its intrinsic characteristics. For that, the design thinking methodology "Design thinking bootleg" was followed and theory and methods under the perspective of "Design for emotion" and the approach of "Material driven design" that facilitates design processes where the material is the main driver. An acoustic insulation solution was developed as a result, since it was concluded to be the most competitive application among the different possibilities of mycelium composites. The product aims for a certain emotional response in the users, seeking the development of an emotional connection and creating awareness about the role mushrooms play in nature and the use of sustainable materials. Eventually, the product succeeded in transmitting more than mere curiosity, especially after explaining the story behind it. Overall, the product is still far from competing against plastics in terms of scalability and speed of production. However, research on this topic is increasing exponentially and the material proves to have a lot of potential, so it is expected to be improved in the next few years.

Welded structures susceptible to weld deformations require sequent processing to allow for mounting of precision components. This thesis includes a case study of the rear axle mount on a Volvo L220 wheel loader. A product development process was deployed in order to explore and evaluate alternative mounting methods such that manufacturing cost due to sequent processing could be decreased. Analysis of the frame variations showed any new concepts has to accommodate variations of up to $\delta z=-1.24\pm3.5$ mm. The product development process found two potential concept philosophies; transferring concepts which improves upon the current concept by transferring the processing away from the frame onto smaller components that are cheaper to process, and absorbing concepts that avoids sequent processing by absorbing the frame variations altogether. The transferring concept "Custom Plate" was selected for further development. The concept is based on the principals of reverse engineering by manufacturing a custom plate from a 3D surface map of the deformed mounting surface, placed between the frame and rear axle bridge, matching the surface geometry of both entities. The concept showed no apparent critical strength issues when simulated in CATIA V5. However, the economical gain of the concept is slim and depends heavily what spaces can be allocated for additional processing machinery. Suggestions for further development of the concept are given along with a discussion of improvements outside of the system boundary of the project, such as simulation of welds and welding sequence, and collection, storing, analysis, and visualisation of data.