Framework: The paper as an component of an extensive research project on design methods focuses on the question how architects could develop systematically goal-oriented architectural solutions (including innovative solutions) in the complex field of social and healthcare buildings. Questions: Within this framework, the paper, a component of the whole research project, is looking at two fundamental questions in terms of the indispensability of the contribution of architects during the planning and design process for such complicated design tasks: 1. Are there any techniques for measuring the added value contributed by architects? 2. How can architects demonstrate / communicate the added value of their contribution? Hypotheses: 1. The added value of the architects' contribution can be measured either through evaluation of the architectural solution or of the planning / design process. 2. Architects can demonstrate / communicate the added value of their contribution either through the quality of the architectural solution or the successful procedure that is therefore satisfying that architects, engineers, clients, users, etc. are included.

Les personnes en situation de handicap moteur des membres supérieurs ont besoin de système de suppléance pour leur autonomie. Cependant 1/3 de ces aides de compensation sont abandonnées car pas encore suffisamment centrées sur les besoins et les aptitudes de l'utilisateur. La problématique centrale de cette thèse concerne la mise en œuvre d'une méthode de conception centrée utilisateur, adaptée en fonction de la population d'études (personnes en situation de handicap ayant des troubles neuro-moteurs langagiers) pour la conception de trois aides de compensation. La première concerne la commande d'un bras robotique de préhension JACO pour laquelle la conception centrée utilisateur classique a été appliquée. Celle-ci est adaptée pour les personnes pouvant s'exprimer oralement mais qu'en est-il lorsque ces personnes ne peuvent participer directement ou bien ont besoin de leurs aidants pour exprimer leurs besoins ou répondre aux questionnaires? Une alternative est de recueillir les besoins par l'intermédiaire d'experts. Nous montrerons comment la méthode de conception centrée utilisateur a été adaptée pour la conception du système HandiMathKey pour la saisie de formules Mathématiques. Notre dernière adaptation est d'utiliser l'écosystème de la personne comme médiateur pour communiquer et un profil utilisateur. Cette méthode a permis de concevoir l'interface de communication intégrée et de contrôle d'environnement nommée CECI. Nous décrirons également comment la plateforme SoKeyTo permet le prototypage des aides de compensation. Pour chacune des aides de compensation, nous rapporterons les évaluations réalisées et nous discuterons la manière dont la méthode de conception a été adaptée. / People with motor impairment of the upper limbs need an assistive technology for their autonomy. However, 1/3 of these assistive technologies are abandoned because they are not yet sufficiently focused on the needs and abilities of the user. The central problem of this thesis concerns the implementation of a user-centered design method adapted to the study population (persons with disabilities with neuro-motor language impairments) for the design of three applications. The first concerns the control of a robot arm JACO for which the classic user centered design has been applied. This is appropriate for people who can speak orally, but what if they cannot participate directly or need their caregivers to express their needs or answer questionnaires? An alternative is to gather needs through experts. We will show how the user centered design method has been adapted for the design of the HandiMathKey system for entering mathematical formulas. Our last adaptation is to use the person's ecosystem as a mediator to communicate and a user profile. This method allowed to design the integrated communication and environmental control interface named CECI. We will also describe how the SoKeyTo platform allows prototyping of assistive technologies. For each of the assistive technologies, we will report the assessments made and discuss how the design method has been adapted.

The main object of my final work is creating worksheets for teaching mathematics unit {\clqq}The basics of statistics{\crqq} using the interactive whiteboard and a computer and to find out how interactive teaching helps in the comprehensive educational process. The work is divided into three parts. In the first part I occupy myself with motivation theory and various stimulating teaching methods, especially with the design method. In the second part I analysed the current state of use computers and interactive whiteboards in teaching mathematics. The third practical part is consists of worksheets for the interactive whiteboard, that I created and the project. Then I occupy myself with application worksheets in teaching pupils in the second year of the secondary vocational school and I compare it with classic teaching. In conclusion I gave results and pieces of knowledge that I acquired during this teaching.

In the present work, a settlement-based method is proposed to design piled raft foundation. The proposed design method is found to be very efficient, economical and requires less calculation time. Simple software can be used to execute all the interactions and loop calculations.<p>Unlike methods with numerical techniques, there are practically no limitations for the number of individual piles under the raft, size of the group and the group shape or layout. It can also be applied to piles with different length or piles that are located within multi-layered soils.<p>The raft is designed first according to the allowable settlement that is pre-defined by the structural requirements and with the necessary factor of safety. When raft suffers excessive settlement, then the load that causes excess raft settlement beyond the required limit is to be transferred to the fully mobilised frictional piles. <p>The fully mobilised shaft (with no end bearing) piles are designed with factor of safety close to unity since their function is only to reduce raft settlement and since the raft has an adequate bearing capacity.<p>Geometry of these piles is chosen to fully mobilise their shafts capacity with low settlement level in order to comply with load/settlement requirement and reduce raft settlement to the pre-defined level. <p> / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

[pt] O método projetual da atividade design de interiores, com enfoque no processo, é o objeto de estudo desta pesquisa. Propõe-se agregar os conhecimentos da ergonomia do ambiente construído a práticas de projeto existentes, a fim de contribuir com o desenvolvimento dessa profissão. A atividade de design de interiores vem sendo exercida no Brasil predominantemente por arquitetos, designers e designers de interiores. Acredita-se que os princípios da ergonomia do ambiente construído podem contribuir com melhorias na elaboração dos projetos desse segmento de criação tridimensional. Nesta pesquisa, faz-se uma revisão das metodologias utilizadas pelos profissionais que exercem a atividade de design de interiores e revisa-se os principais métodos utilizados na ergonomia com foco na análise do usuário e do ambiente. Busca-se compreender através de pesquisa descritiva junto aos profissionais e usuários como ocorre o processo projetual desta atividade, abordando-se todas as etapas do trabalho. As revisões das metodologias existentes, os resultados encontrados nas inquirições e as análises realizadas, servirão de aporte para um método projetual que contemple, além das etapas naturais do projeto de interiores, aspectos da ergonomia do ambiente construído. / [en] The method of interior design project in Brazil is the object of study of this research. Proposes to add the human factors in environmental design knowledge to existing design practices in order to contribute to the development of this profession. Mainly architects, designers and interior designers have practiced the interior design activity. It is believed that the principles of the human factors in environmental design can contribute to improvements in the preparation of projects. In this research, it is a review of the methodologies used by the professionals engaged in the interior design activity and is reviewed, the main methods used in ergonomics focusing on user analysis and in the environment. The aim is to verify through qualitative research with professionals and users, as in the design process of this activity, approaching all stages of the work. Revisions of existing methodologies, the results found in inquiries and analyzes, will serve as input for a proposed schematic modeling covering beyond the natural stages of the interior design project, ergonomic aspects of the human factors in environmental design.

Framework: The paper as an component of an extensive research project on design methods focuses on the question how architects could develop systematically goal-oriented architectural solutions (including innovative solutions) in the complex field of social and healthcare buildings. Questions: Within this framework, the paper, a component of the whole research project, is looking at two fundamental questions in terms of the indispensability of the contribution of architects during the planning and design process for such complicated design tasks: 1. Are there any techniques for measuring the added value contributed by architects? 2. How can architects demonstrate / communicate the added value of their contribution? Hypotheses: 1. The added value of the architects' contribution can be measured either through evaluation of the architectural solution or of the planning / design process. 2. Architects can demonstrate / communicate the added value of their contribution either through the quality of the architectural solution or the successful procedure that is therefore satisfying that architects, engineers, clients, users, etc. are included.

Industrialization and globalization of companies has promoted fast, easy and profitable business solutions. A linear business model (LBM) is seen as the most common way to do business. However, recent studies have enlightened how LBMs are detrimental to the health and biological cycles of the earth and its inhabitants. To prevent this, circular business models (CBM) are being introduced as a feasible while still profitable solution. CBMs are defined by Oghaze &amp; Mostaghel, (2018), as the “…rationale of how an organisation creates, delivers, and captures value with slowing, closing, or narrowing flows of the resource loops”, as they base their business on products and services designed to close or slowing the resource loops, decreasing the overall need of virgin resources.  However, to make these major changes in the current way of designing products and services has to be made, taking into consideration the change in design objectives from a linear to a circular model. Today, there are many circular design methods (DM) developed by academia to aid designers in designing sustainable products and services, however, the uptake of such DMs in the industry is quite low. Such a low level of uptake is often due to a poor fit between the DM and the context it is adopted in, which does not aid its seamless integration in existing processes.  Therefore, this research aims to identify DM characteristics that will aid industries to be adopted or adapted by companies transitioning towards CBMs. To do so, three research questions were developed: i) What are the most critical internal and external drivers in a company that enable the successful adoption of a circular design method?  ii) What are the contextual barriers that companies encounter when adopting or adapting circular design methods? iii) How can the design method adopted or adapted be evaluated to improve their implementation in a company? To answer these research questions, a survey was initially carried out, and subsequent interviews were conducted amongst participants of five different companies from various sectors and expertise. The survey and interviews were grounded in previous research concerning types of CBM and different types of barriers and drivers influencing the adoption of circular DMs.  The result from the survey indicates that the ability to make trade-offs when confronted with sustainability aspects, management commitment to a CBM, good communication and sharing of environmental knowledge, both through different departments and with external actors like suppliers, as well as allocating resources such as time, personnel, funds, and having clear business incentives are needed to promote the use of circular DMs. From the interviews, it was also found that barriers to the effective use of DMs are lack of environmental knowledge throughout the supply chain and wrong identification of actors in the supply chain as well as limited communication with external actors. Furthermore, the research revealed several characteristics of the DMs such as simplicity, flexibility and informativity need to be adapted to leverage and overcome the identified contextual drivers and barriers respectively, for their successful deployment within the companies.

In diesem Beitrag werden ein Berechnungsverfahren und ein Bemessungskonzept für biegebeanspruchte textilbetonverstärkte Stahlbetonbauteile vorgestellt. Ihre Anwendbarkeit wird durch die Auswertung von Versuchen an verstärkten Stahlbetonplatten mit einer Reihe veränderlicher Ausgangswerte überprüft. Als Ergebnis dieser Arbeit stehen dem Anwender einfach nutzbare, praxisgerechte Bemessungstabellen zur Verfügung. / This article introduces a calculation method and a design concept for reinforced concrete elements strengthened with textile concrete. Its applicability is verified by an analysis of tests with strengthened steel reinforced concrete slabs with a certain variety of design parameters. Results of this work are easy manageable, praxis-orientated design tables that are available for users.

In diesem Beitrag werden ein Berechnungsverfahren und ein Bemessungskonzept für biegebeanspruchte textilbetonverstärkte Stahlbetonbauteile vorgestellt. Ihre Anwendbarkeit wird durch die Auswertung von Versuchen an verstärkten Stahlbetonplatten mit einer Reihe veränderlicher Ausgangswerte überprüft. Als Ergebnis dieser Arbeit stehen dem Anwender einfach nutzbare, praxisgerechte Bemessungstabellen zur Verfügung. In dieser Version weisen die Grafiken eine bessere Qualität auf. / This article introduces a calculation method and a design concept for reinforced concrete elements strengthened with textile concrete. Its applicability is verified by an analysis of tests with strengthened steel reinforced concrete slabs with a certain variety of design parameters. Results of this work are easy manageable, praxis-orientated design tables that are available for users. This version contains figures with a better quality.

Although the construction of flexible culverts involves simplicity in comparison to similar concrete structures, the complexity of the beneficial interaction between soil and steel materials requires good understanding for their composite action and performance. Current design methods have certain validity limitations with regard to applicable slopes above the structures. Given the short construction time of flexible culverts, there is an urge to explore the feasibility and the constructability of such as cost-effective structures in sloping terrain, where they may function as an avalanche protection structure for a given road, a culvert under a ski slope, or even as a protection canopy for tunnel entrances. This report compiles the efforts carried out toward gaining knowledge about the different factors that may affect the behaviour of flexible culverts in sloping environment. The report includes an extended summary of the investigation, which is mainly presented in two appended papers. The study involved numerical simulation of three case studies to investigate their performances with regard to soil loading and avalanche loads as well. The height of cover, surface slope intensity, slope stability, soil support conditions, and avalanche proximity, were studied and discussed. The study results allowed realizing the susceptibility of flexible culverts to low heights of soil cover when built in sloping terrain, which is reflected in the deformation response and the incremental change in sectional forces, especially the bending moments. It is also found that increasing the depth of soil cover may feasibly improve the structural performance under asymmetrical soil loading and avalanche loads, where it subsequently help in reducing the bending moments in the wall conduit. The presence of a flexible culvert may affect adversely the soil stability in sloping terrain and thus need to be addressed in design. Furthermore, the flexural response of a flexible culvert is directly influenced by the soil support configuration at the downhill side of the structure. In addition, the report also attempts to highlight some general guidelines about the design aspects of flexible culverts in sloping terrain, and seeks to reflect some of the findings on the design methodology for flexible culverts used in Sweden. / <p>QC 20151130</p>