ABSTRACT WHITEWATER PARK DESIGN PRINCIPLES: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR MULTIPLE USER GROUPS Byron Lester Advisor: University of Guelph, 2012 Professor Sean Kelly Existing whitewater courses have several design issues relating to their ability to balance expert, novice recreational, and commercial use. The goal of this study is to establish a better understanding of whitewater park design that incorporates the needs of multiple user groups in one integrated approach. Through elite interviewing whitewater park design was investigated and the data was analyzed identifying seven design principles and thirty seven detailed design recommendations. These design principles and recommendations were applied to create a preliminary conceptual design of a whitewater park. The design recommendations and conceptual design were evaluated by a professional whitewater course designer. The evaluation revealed that adaptability is an important principle in whitewater park design and that design recommendations must be flexible to allow for client input and site constraints. This research expands our knowledge of multifunctional design of whitewater parks that resolves user conflicts and important functional relationships.

As the use of mobile devices is increasing and the use of laptops and computers is decreasing it is becoming more important to design for better web usability across platforms. The established design principles for web design provide guidelines when designing and testing web usability. The principles, however, are not commonly used to evaluate and test the usability of mobile websites. This study seeks to examine how the usability of mobile and desktop websites is affected based on the adaption of established web design principles. The study is built upon an analytical framework where common keywords have been selected from a selection of established web design principles. This study takes on a qualitative approach with experimental features, using a heuristic evaluation, a usability study and an eye-tracking experiment. The study indicates that there is a connection between low adaption of certain keywords of web design principles and the usability of mobile and desktop websites, contributing to a deeper understanding of how adaption of design principles affect web usability across platforms. / Användningen av mobila enheter har på senare tid ökat och användningen av bärbara datorer och stationära datorer har minskat. Det blir därför allt viktigare att designa mer användarvänliga hemsidor på olika plattformar. Etablerade design principer för webbdesign anger riktlinjer för design och test av webbanvändbarhet. Design principer används inte i en större utsträckning för att utvärdera användbarheten på mobila hemsidor, därför syftar denna studie till att undersöka hur användbarheten för mobilhemsidor påverkas utifrån att tillämpningen av design principer för webbdesign. Studien bygger på ett analytiskt ramverk där nyckelord har valts ut från ett antal etablerade webbdesign principer. Studien har ett kvalitativt tillvägagångssätt, med experimentella inslag. Studien har genomförts genom heuristik utvärdering, användbarhets studier och eye-tracking experiment. Studien indikerar att det finns en koppling mellan lägre nivåer av tillämpning av webbdesign principer och användbarheten på mobil- och datorsanpassade hemsidor. Denna studie bidrar till en djupare förståelse om hur anpassningen av design principer och dess påverkan av användbarheten på hemsidor över olika plattformar.

The Swedish Transportation Administration started an initiative to create a new e-infrastructure for the railroad sector in Sweden. The purpose is to follow the movement of railroad vehicles on the railway tracks and enhance logistics aspects of the transportation of goods by train. The Swedish initiative works as a pilot project for the railroad sector in the EU and if successful the e-infrastructure could be rolled out in the entire EU. It is a rare opportunity to be a part from the beginning of the creation of such a potential large scale e-infrastructure. The aim of this thesis is to provide advice early in the development process to aid in the success of the design and creation on the e-infrastructure. In the doing of this we will need to evaluate the areas: (1) the current state of the e-infrastructure, (2) the usefulness of the EPCGlobal standard for this e-infrastructure and (3) the usefulness on established e-infrastructures design principles. As a result of the thesis we have provided advice to enhance the design and implementation of the e-infrastructure, also advice is given on how to make the EPCGlobal standard’s more compatibility with the transportation sector. We have found the design principles by Hanseth & Lyytinen (2004) and Eriksson & Ågerfalk (2010) useful for the evaluation of the e-infrastructure. We also advocate that new design principles should be created to encompass the new concept of Internet of Things in e-infrastructures.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att identifiera designprinciper vid migrering av stationära spel till Apples iPhone. Litteraturstudier, heuristisk utvärdering, enkätundersökning och djupintervjuer användes som metoder. Resultaten visade på att framför allt inmatningsmetoder, brist på feedback och skärmstorlek är problemområden i migrerade spel. Slutsatser inkluderar att spel aldrig bör migreras exakt som de stationära versionerna, nya inmatningsmetoder hos mobiltelefoner bör utnyttjas bättre och det bör övervägas om vissa spel överhuvudtaget bör migreras beroende på genre. / The purpose of this thesis was to identify design principles for use at migrations of stationary games to Apple’s iPhone. Literature studies, heuristic evaluation, survey and in-depth interviews were used as methods. The results showed that especially input methods, lack of feedback and screen size are problematic ares in migrated games. Conclusions include that games should never be migrated exactly like the stationary versions, new input methods in mobile phones should be utilized in a better way and it should be considered if some games are suitable to be migrated at all depending on genre.

In our study, we investigated how the streamed TV domain relates to existing design principles for web design. Further, we have investigated whether there are specific characteristics of the domain that the design principles do not cover. In the survey we have studied two sites which are representative of the streamed TV domain. Finally, we discuss how applicable the design principles are for the domain and the specific characteristics that would require new or further developed design principles. / I vår studie har vi undersökt hur domänen streamad-TV förhåller sig till befintliga designprinciper för webbdesign. Ytterligare har vi undersökt om det finns specifika egenskaper för domänen som inte omfattas av någon designprincip. I undersökningen har vi studerat två webbplatser vilka är representativa för domänen streamad-TV. Slutligen diskuterar vi hur applicerbara designprinciperna är på domänen och vilka specifika egenskaper som skulle behöva nya eller vidareutvecklade designprinciper.

The University of Pretoria offers the course <i.Use of the Internet in Education and Training (RBO 880) since 1997. This module is presented as an online course with minimum face to face interaction between facilitator and learners. The research documents and analyses the activities, cyber artefacts, documentation, interactions and challenges, constructed and designed by the facilitator and learners’ that formed part of this module. This literature review comprises an exploration into five different aspects of online learning under different headings specifically: learning theories, eLearning, virtual communities, adult Learning characteristics adult motivation and instructional design principles. This research reports only on one main research question: What can be learnt from the continuous presentation of the module Use of the Internet in Education and Training (RBO 880)? The research design and the methodology that will be followed during a properly development research approach is functional in this particular context (RBO 880) and enables the researcher to address the research question, that falls within the scope of this research study. The researcher explores multiple perceptions, to ensure trustworthiness of data and analyses of the module that is presented and analysed. The researcher analyses selected aspects of the design, development and implementation of the RBO 880 module from an exploration of a selection of its artefacts. As a prelude to each facet of this analysis, the researcher will present and explore a cyber artefact retrieved from the cyber archives. In this archive is stored a great variety of electronic source documents representative of the six years during which the module RBO 880 were presented. The substantive reflection combines the findings with the literature review. The researcher attempts to construct a balance by providing some critique against the presentation of the RBO 880 module as part of the conclusions. The conclusions reached in this research answers the research question and might prove useful in future research, for researchers’ organisational specialist, readers, online facilitators and curriculum designers, into training and learning that takes place through the medium of the Internet. / Dissertation (MEd (Computer Intergrated Education))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / unrestricted

La nature fournit une source d'inspiration intarissable pour les ingénieurs, soit en exhibant de nouvelles solutions à des problèmes d'ingénierie existants ou en les mettant au défi de développer des systèmes possédant de nouvelles fonctionnalités. Les progrès récents dans la caractérisation et la modélisation des systèmes naturels révèlent de nouveaux principes de conception, qui peuvent être de plus en plus imité par les ingénieurs grâce aux progrès dans la production et la modélisation de matériaux synthétiques. Dans cette thèse, nous sommes inspirés par des actuateurs biologiques (par exemple la pomme de pin) qui changent de forme en présence d'un stimulus externe variable en raison de leur architecture matérielle. Notre objectif est d'explorer l'espace de conception du morphing d'objets solides contrôlées par une distribution imposée des déformations inélastiques (eigenstrain). Nous nous concentrons sur des objets allongés ou minces pour lesquels une dimension est soit prédominante ou négligeable devant les deux autres (tiges et feuilles) et nous nous limitons au cadre de l'élasticité linéaire. Les motifs de changement de forme correspondent généralement à de grandes transformations, ce qui requiert de considérer une dépendance non-linéaire entre les déformations et les déplacements. L'utilisation de méthodes numériques permet de prédire ces motifs de morphing. Nous avons examiné la relaxation de ressorts, la minimisation d'énergie et les éléments finis. Ces motifs ont également été illustrés à l'aide des méthodes expérimentales telles que la pré-déformation, la dilatation thermique et le gonflement. Dans le contexte des tiges, deux morphers fondamentaux sont étudiés qui démontre la flexion et la torsion: flexeurs et torseurs. L'architecture d'eigenstrain standard du bilame à symétrie miroir peut être lissée afin de réduire la contrainte interfaciale d'un flexeur et modifiée afin de produire des flexeurs à gradient longitudinal ou hélicoïdaux. En assemblant des flexeurs en forme de nid d'abeille, la déflection relativement petite est amplifiée géométriquement et produit de relativement grands déplacements. Des simulations aux éléments finis démontre que l'architecture d'eigenstrain à symétrie de révolution proposée pour les torseurs induit une instabilité extension-torsion, laquelle est analysée en utilisant une approche énergétique. De même que pour les flexeurs, la torsion peut être variée longitudinalement en introduisant un gradient de propriétés le long du torseur. En combinant flexeurs et torseurs, une configuration arbitraire d'une tige peut être obtenue. Dans le contexte de feuilles, nous nous concentrons sur le morphing contrôlé par la diffusion, où l'eigenstrain est appliquée progressivement au lieu de instantanément, motivé par des résultats expérimentaux sur de bi-couches en polymères qui gonflent différemment en fonction de la température. Cela démontre l'enroulement selon le long côté de formes rectangulaires (au lieu de roulement côté court des flexeurs) et révèle un processus de morphing complexe en plusieurs étapes dans le cas de formes étoilés, où les bords rides et s'enroulent et l'étoile initialement plate prend un configuration trois-dimensionnelle (par exemple pyramidale). Grâce aux progrès récents dans la conception de nouveaux matériaux, les morphers présentés dans cette thèse peuvent être utilisés dans une pluralité de domaines, y compris la conception de structures macroscopiques en Architecture. / Nature provides an unlimited source of inspiration for engineers, either by exhibiting new solutions to existing problems or by challenging them to develop systems displaying new functionalities. Recent advances in the characterization and modeling of natural systems reveal new design principles, which can be increasingly mimicked by engineers thanks to the progress in the production and modeling of man-made materials. In this thesis, we are inspired by biological actuators (for example the pine cone) which change their shape under an external fluctuating stimulus as a result of their material architecture. Our goal is to explore the design space of the morphing of solid objects controlled by an imposed distribution of inelastic strain (eigenstrain). We focus on elongated and thin objects where one dimension is either much bigger or much smaller than the other two (rods and sheets) and restrict ourselves to the framework of linear elasticity. Patterns of shape change are usually induced by large transformations, which requires considering a nonlinear dependency between strain and displacements. This requires the use of numerical methods in order to predict the morphing patterns. We looked at relaxation of springs, energy minimization and finite-elements. These patterns were also illustrated using experimental methods such as pre-straining, thermal expansion and swelling. In the context of rod-like objects, two fundamental morphers are studied displaying bending and twisting respectively: benders and twisters. The standard mirror-symmetric bilayer eigenstrain architecture of benders can be smoothened in order to lower interfacial stress and modified in order to produce longitudinally graded or helical benders. By stacking benders in a honey-comb like manner, the relatively small mid-deflection of benders is geometrically amplified and produces relatively large displacements. According to finite-element simulations, the proposed rotationally-symmetric eigenstrain architecture of twisters displays a stretching-twisting instability, which is analyzed using energetical arguments. Similarly to benders, twisting can be varied along the longitudinal direction by grading the material properties along the twister. By combining benders and twisters, an arbitrary configuration of a rod can be obtained. In the context of sheets, we focus on diffusion-driven morphing, where the eigenstrain is applied progressively instead of instantaneously as motivated by experiments on thermo-responsive polymer bilayers. This leads to long-side rolling of rectangular shapes (instead of the standard short-side rolling of benders) and reveals a complex multi-step morphing process in the case of star shapes, where the edges wrinkle and bend and the initially flat star eventually folds into a three-dimensional structure (for example a pyramid). With the progress in designing new materials, the morphers presented in this thesis could be used in different fields, including the design of macroscopic structures for Architecture.

Syftet med föreliggande studie är att initiera ett verktyg för granskning av pedagogiskt lärarstöd i digitala läromedel inom de Naturorienterande ämnena. Analysverktyget har utvecklats utifrån tidigare forskning rörande läromedelsdesign, lärarkompetenser och granskning av digitala läromedel. I utformningen av verktyget har vi tagit avstamp i multimodaliteters meningsbärande potential utifrån ett sociosemiotiskt perspektiv på lärande. Vår slutsats är att det är av intresse att ta fram ett verktyg för analys av digitala läromedel som inkluderar multimodaliteters meningsskapande och synliggör lärarpedagogisk potential eftersom granskning av läromedel idag måste genomföras av den enskilde läraren och då torde detta verktyg vara tillämpbart. / The purpose of the present study is to initiate a tool for reviewing pedagogical teacher support in digital teaching materials within science. The analysis tool has been developed based on previous research regarding teaching aid design, teacher competencies and review of digital teaching materials. In designing the tool, our starting point was the potential of multimodality as bearer of meaning from a sociosemiotic perspective on learning. Our conclusion is that it is of interest to develop a tool for analysis of digital teaching materials that includes the creation of meaning in multimodality and makes visible teacher pedagogical potential, as review of teaching materials today must be carried out by the individual teacher hence this tool should be applicable.

Dashboards har blivit ett populärt digitalt verktyg för att kunna följa upp och få överblick hur mätvätetal förändras. En digital dashboard är ett gränssnitt som visualiserar och summerar data från en eller olika källor exempelvis databaser och lokalt nedsparade filer. Dashboards hjälper även företag att följa upp sina strategier då dashboards bidrar till att summera prestations historik, och realtidsdata. Dashboards bidrar även till att företag kan identifiera mätvätetal som företaget bör rikta sin uppmärksamhet mot. För att få fram en dashboard behövs det först ta reda på vilka mätvätetal som den bör innehålla, men även att designa en dashboardmodell.Strategier är väldigt viktiga för företag med anledningen att enklare kunna anpassa sig till marknaden och inte hamna på efterkälken. Att digitala dashboards är nödvändiga har småföretagare uppmärksammat och därför börjat söka befintliga dashboards. Studien visar emellertid på att det saknas kunskap för hur dashboards skall designas till småföretagare. Detta blir problematiskt då företagets konkurrenskraft kan lida om ifall beslutsfattare saknar dashboard till sitt förfogande.Syftet med vår studie är att utveckla en design till dashboard för mindre restauranger och generera designkunskap. Varför studien riktades mot småföretagare inom restaurangbranschen beror på att författarna fann att tidigare forskning inte täckte området tillräckligt. Modellen kan sedermera kunna implementeras av verksamheter som är i behov av att designa en dashboardmodell. Dashboardmodellen kommer designas utifrån designprinciper som identifieras under studiens process. Denna studie blir därmed tvåfaldig då både en dashboard design och designprinciper skall tas fram. Forskningsfrågan vi kommer behandla lyder följande: Hur bör dashboardmodeller för småföretag med inriktning mot restaurangverksamhet utvecklas? Designprinciperna är avsedda att vara behjälpliga för utvecklare som vill designa dashboards för mindre restauranger.Resultatet av arbetet mynnar ut i en IT-artefakt, en modell vilken är till för att stödja småföretag. Artefakten blir en dashboardmodell som innehåller de mätetal vilka är mest väsentliga när småföretag inom restaurangsektorn ska anamma sig en strategi. I övrigt mynnar arbetet ut i fyra normativa designprinciper 1) Om användare enkelt vill kunna navigera en dashboard med flertalet mätetal krävs det att utvecklare kategoriserar relevanta mätetal. 2) Om utvecklare vill bryta ned mätetal till produktnivå krävs det att utvecklare använder sig av “dropdown” menyer i form av comboboxar. 3) Favoritmarkeringar inkluders då användaren får möjligheten till att anpassa dashboard efter egna preferenser. 4) Att ta in både operationella KPIer och strategiska mätetal är viktigt då beslutsfattare bland småföretagare både ser till kortsiktiga och långsiktiga mål.Slutsatserna i arbetet består av de fyra framarbetade designprinciperna, vilket är bidraget till fortsatt forskning. Bidraget till praktiken består av en dashboardmodell vilken är utvecklad i en organisatorisk miljö. Modellen baseras på mätetal vilka har sitt ursprung i restaurangverksamheten. / Dashboards have become a popular digital tool to be able to follow up and get an overview of how measured values  change. A digital dashboard is an interface that visualizes and summarizes data from one or different sources, such as databases and locally saved files. Dashboards also help support organizations follow up on their strategies as dashboards help summarize performance history, and updated real-time data. Dashboards also help organizations to identify metrics that the organization focuses on. To produce a dashboard, you first need to find out which measurement values  it should hold, and to design a dashboard model.Dashboard also helps organizations to follow set strategies. Strategies are very important for today's organizations with the reason that it is easier to adapt to the market and not fall behind. Small business owners have noticed that digital dashboards are necessary and have therefore started looking for existing dashboards. However, the study shows that there is a lack of knowledge about how dashboards should be designed for small businesses. This becomes problematic as the company's competitiveness can suffer if you do not get access to dashboards.The purpose of our study is to develop a dashboard design for smaller restaurants and generate design knowledge. This dashboard design will be designed based on design principles that have been identified during the study process. This study will thus be twofold as both a dashboard design and design principles will be developed. The research question we will address is the following: How to design a dashboard for smaller restaurants? The design principles are intended to be helpful for developers who want to design dashboards for smaller restaurants.The result of the work results in an artifact, a model which is there to support small businesses. The artifact consists of a dashboard that contains the KPIs that are most important when small companies in the restaurant sector are to adopt a digital strategy. In other respects, the work results in four normative design principles 1) If you want to be able to easily navigate a dashboard with the majority of KPIs, it is necessary to categorize the KPIs that are relevant. 2) If you want to break down KPIs to product level, it is necessary to use "dropdown" menus in the form of combo boxes. 3) To be able to make quick decisions on a dashboard which contains many KPIs, it is necessary to use favorite markings. 4) Taking in both operational KPIs and strategic metrics is important as decision-makers among small business owners look at both short-term and long-term goals.The conclusions of the work consist of the four developed design principles, which is the contribution to continued research. The contribution to the internship consists of a dashboard model which is developed in an organizational environment. The model is based on measured values   which have their origin in the restaurant business.

The aim of this research is to establish which aspects influence students’ successful learning of design skills through contextually integrated learning support material for the design and technology education programme at the University of Pretoria. The purpose of the research is threefold: • The first aim is to investigate the extent to which the electronic tutorial, Design in Action (hereafter referred to as “the tutorial”) contributes to students’ (novice designers) design theory in a technological context i.e. to indicate whether the level of sophistication of the exemplary graphics and explanatory text is suited to the context. • The second aim is to establish the levels of learning achieved by learners as a result of the intervention using Design in Action in order to indicate the adequacy of the learning support material in achieving the learning outcomes of the unit. • The third aim is to establish possible improvements for the tutorial to increase its effectiveness in terms of curriculum, media&technology, learning&instruction and teacher education&didactics (Van den Akker, 1999). The findings of this preliminary study will be used in broader studies focused on the design and development of contextually integrated learning support material for design and technology education students. This research is a qualitative case study, including the evaluation of levels of learning of first year pre-service design and technology students, conducted in the interpretative paradigm, within the theoretical frame of socially responsible research (Reeves, 2000). The evaluation of the levels of learning was based on a model designed by Kirkpatrick (Kirkpatrick, 1994). The model delineates four levels of instruction (training) outcomes: reaction, learning, behaviour, and results. / Dissertation (MEd (CIE))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted