Designers often look for inspiration in their environment when exploring possible solutions to a given problem. However, many studies have reported that external stimuli may constrain designers’ imagination and limit their exploration to similar solutions, a phenomenon described as design fixation. Inspiration and fixation effects are traditionally studied with a similar experimental paradigm, which has produced a complex web of findings and explanations. Yet, when analysing the experiments and their findings closely, it becomes clear that there is considerable variation in how studies are conducted and the results they produce. Such variation makes it difficult to formulate a general view of how external stimuli affect the design process, and to translate the research findings into education and practice. Moreover, it raises questions about the reliability and effectiveness of the traditional experimental method. This thesis reports on a collection of studies that examine how design inspiration and fixation research is done and how it can be improved. It explores the research area by reviewing the literature and analysing data from a workshop; describes the research method by scrutinising experiments and their procedures; and explains the variation in research findings by testing experimental procedures empirically and suggesting new interpretations. My main findings are that: abstract stimuli can inspire or fixate designers to different degrees depending on how explicitly the stimuli are represented; external stimuli can inhibit the exploration of ideas that would otherwise be explored; the effect of experimental instructions varies depending on how encouraging the instructions are; and the way participants represent and elaborate ideas can moderate fixation results. Whilst this thesis offers insights into design practice and education, its main contribution is to design research, where it represents a fundamental material for those who are new to inspiration and fixation research, and for those who are already expert.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-10-07T11:49:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RAFAEL BERNARDES DA SILVA_.pdf: 2216620 bytes, checksum: 6c9e2636c621ceed0ecb8265ab2f26f5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-07T11:49:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RAFAEL BERNARDES DA SILVA_.pdf: 2216620 bytes, checksum: 6c9e2636c621ceed0ecb8265ab2f26f5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-25 / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / A integração entre os planos estratégico, tático e operacional é um relevante desafio para as organizações. Visando otimizar o alinhamento organizacional, empresas vêm implementando processos de Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) e desenvolvendo ações para torná-lo robusto. Entende-se o S&OP como um processo de consolidação dos diversos planos organizacionais e direcionamento estratégico do negócio, permitindo o alcance de vantagem competitiva de modo contínuo e integrando os planos de marketing com a gestão da cadeia de abastecimento. (APICS, 2015). Dada a complexidade inerente ao tema integração e o crescente interesse das organizações em implementar ou aprimorar seus processos de S&OP, esta dissertação tem como objetivo propor um método de diagnóstico e análise do nível de integração do S&OP que identifique oportunidades de melhoria. Utilizou-se o método de pesquisa Design Research, seguindo o passo a passo proposto por Vaishnavi e Kuechler (2005). As etapas de revisão do referencial bibliográfico, tentativa e desenvolvimento das versões do método e avaliação por parte de especialistas permitiram atingir os objetivos propostos por este estudo. Como resultado, foi possível construir uma ferramenta que permite identificar os critérios que constituem o nível de integração do S&OP e avaliar o nível geral de integração deste processo, identificando oportunidades de melhoria dentro das organizações. / The integration among strategic, tactical and operational plans is a relevant challenge for the companies. In order to optimize the organizational alignment, companies are implementing Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) processes and carrying out actions to make it robust. S&OP can be understood as a process of consolidation of the different organizational plans and strategic direction of the business, allowing companies to continuously reach competitive advantage and integrating marketing plans with the supply chain management. (APICS, 2015). Given the complexity of the topic integration and the growing interest of organizations to implement or enhance their S&OP processes, this work aims to propose a method of diagnosis and analysis of the integration level of S&OP which will identify opportunities for improvement. It was used Design Research as research method, following the steps proposed by Vaishnavi e Kuechler (2005). The stages of bibliographical review, attempt and development of the method versions and evaluation by the specialists allowed reaching the goals proposed by this study. As result, it was possible to develop a tool that allows the identification of the criteria that compose the integration level of S&OP and evaluates the general integration level of this process, identifying improvement opportunities inside the companies.

Arbetet är en form av educational design research med fokus på problemlösningsuppgifter i matematikundervisningen med utgångspunkt i det sociala samspelet. Studien utgår från en tidigare genomförd litteraturstudie där aspekter som är centrala för elevernas utveckling av problemlösningsförmågan lyftes fram. Syftet med denna studie är att synliggöra hur två av dessa aspekter, gruppstorlek och laborativt material, påverkar elevers arbete med och lösningar av problemlösningsuppgifter inom ämnet matematik. Empirin som studiens resultat bygger på består av nio genomförda lektioner som observerats på tre olika skolor. Lektionerna utgår från designprinciper som är framtagna genom den sociokulturella teorin samt den tidigare genomförda litteraturstudien. Resultatet visar att gruppstorlek har störst påverkan på elevernas möjligheter att arbeta med och lösa problemlösningsuppgifter. Laborativt material är användbart om eleverna vet hur de ska använda det men om de inte ser nyttan med materialet missgynnas eleverna och likaså deras möjligheter att tillägna sig matematiska kunskaper.

This dissertation investigates aesthetics of engagement in -interaction. Aesthetic refers to the aesthetic experience, based on a phenomenological and pragmatist understanding: dynamic and personal, appealing mutually to - and formed inseparably by - our bodily, emotional, as well as intellectual faculties. Engagement signifies this experience as forming a deeply involved relationship between people and an artefact in interaction. The theoretical background upon which this work is based, asserts that we perceive the world in terms of how we can act in it. Action, through the body, is how we make sense of the world around us. To be congruent with these foundations and the topic at hand means that the research program was investigated through a constructive design research process. The research program anchors and outlines the goal of this investigation: to contribute shareable knowledge of how to design for aesthetic engagement in interaction by leveraging a first-person -perspective. The findings of this research form two contributions to the overlapping fields of Human-Computer Interaction and (Interaction) Design Research. The main contribution is methodological and is concerned with generating knowledge through design. The methodological structure of this dissertation builds on a programmatic approach that centres on the first-person perspective of the designer, who learns from experience by reflecting on design action. Such an approach is fundamental to the design tradition, but its dependency on subjectivity is also a source of epistemological conflict since design, as mode of inquiry, matures and comes in contact with more established disciplines that have their own academic traditions. For design research, to develop its own intellectual culture, alternative and bidirectional relationships between theory and practice need to be further shaped, articulated, and debated in the field. This dissertation contributes to this discussion around designerly ways of knowing by exposing how skillful coping and intuition, through mechanisms of reflection-on-action, generate a multitude of perspectives on a complex design space. These perspectives reveal parts of the complexity of designing for aesthetic engagement, while leaving it intact. Exposing and consolidating the first-person (design) knowledge embedded in these perspectives allows this knowledge to be articulated as a shareable academic knowledge contribution. This shareable knowledge forms the second contribution of this dissertation. Reflections on the process and results of eight constructive design research projects describe a design space around aesthetic engagement. Individual reflections are consolidated into themes that describe how a design may elicit aesthetic engagement in interaction. These themes are experiential qualities: conceptual values that can be leveraged for a design to appeal to both mind and body in ways that are rich, open-ended and ambiguous. The findings propose strategies for interactions with digital technologies to open up the complexity of relations in the world between artefacts and people. Designing for aesthetics of engagement proposes ways to respect people’ skills in making sense of the complexity of the lived world. In respecting the uniqueness of their body and the subjectivity of their experiences, to design for aesthetic engagement is to support the expression of personal points of view in interaction. This points to ways in which designers can open up interactions with digital technologies to be more beautiful, respectful, and liveable, as it touches what makes us human: our personal being in the world.

Med den kvalitativa metoden design-research har vi i vår studie, likt en bro kombinerat teori och praktik genom att genomföra tre lektioner, i en cyklisk process med en årskurs 3. Vårt syfte var att skapa förståelse för hur en lektionssekvens kan främja SUM-elevers inlärning av rimlighetsbedömning samt lämpligt val av  subtraktionsstrategi, genom inkludering i den ordinarie undervisningen. Lektionssekvensen har bestått av utvalda matematiska centrala moment, vilka skapat design-principer som varit lektionernas utgångspunkt. Dessa principer har prövats, efter analys förändrats och anpassats under studien gång. Vårt resultat visar att begreppsförståelse måste läras in på en konkret nivå, där uppgifter är anpassade efter elevens verklighet i ett känt sammanhang. Korta och tydliga genomgångar, samt modellering hjälper till med begreppsutveckling av uppskattning och rimlighetsbedömning. Studiens slutsats är att SUM-elever utvecklas bäst genom reflektion och resonemang, i par, där kamraten har något högre kunskapsnivå. Reflektion och resonemang ger djupare kunskap och begrepp kan då förstås i ett sammanhang. Läraren har en viktig roll genom att vara SUM-elevers tankestöd samt ställa kontrollfrågor av typen; ”Är det rimligt?” för att uppmana elever att tänka efter om exempelvis strategin eller svaret kan vara möjligt. Representationsformen tallinje har vi sett som ett viktigt redskap för att SUM-elever ska synliggöra sambandet mellan talen som ska subtraheras på ett konkret sätt, för att se om talen är nära och då förstå att strategin ”räkna uppåt” är mest lämplig att använda. De steg som skiljer dessa tal blir då enklare att räkna och eleverna har förutsättning att göra en rimlighetsbedömning.

While medical technology, intervention, and treatment continue to advance, patients often find themselves involved in an increasingly complex healthcare system . Because of this, many patients lack access to the knowledge to facilitate successful navigation or participation in healthcare systems to their best advantage. Patient Ill education that provides experiential information has been shown to reduce anxiety levels and increase patient health outcomes and compliance with medical instructions or recommendations. Given the demonstrated effectiveness of experiential instruction in patient education, Model-Centered Instruction (MCI) has the potential to be an effective instructional design for patient education because it affords the learner experience with systems or models in the presence of instructional augmentation. While MCI design theory is well-documented, it has not been widely implemented and tested at the instructional product level.

This research examines on the importance of considering context as design criteria for technology integration and technology design, and in particular, what that means for teacher education. While others (Fishman, Marx, Blumenfeld, Krajcik, & Soloway, 2004) have broadly considered context as a factor in supporting technology integration, this current research uses a Human-Tech framework (Vicente, 2003) to identify and examine the implications of individual contextual constraints for the design of technology-enhanced learning; therefore, the researcher begins to answer the important - and arguably unexplored - question of how the complexities of varying contexts ought to be used to inform design. Broadly, this design research study explores the impact of using a Human-Tech framework for understanding technology integration in education and specifically, to inform the design of technology-enhanced learning practices in the context of teacher education. Further, the research reports on the impact of an open online research support forum - designed using a Human-Tech framework - on the experiences of teacher candidates while carrying out classroom-based research as part of their initial teacher education program. Overall, results of the research study suggest that using a Human-Tech framework for understanding technology integration was helpful in supporting a broader and more systematic approach to designing for more effective use of technology in the context of teacher education. In terms of the design of the open online research support forum, findings suggest that there were key Organizational constraints that likely continued to have a limiting impact on the innovations across the two-year design study. Therefore, this research also points to future technology-specific and non technology-specific design strategies which may have implications for technology integration, and fulfilling the functional purposes of the program more broadly.

This research examines on the importance of considering context as design criteria for technology integration and technology design, and in particular, what that means for teacher education. While others (Fishman, Marx, Blumenfeld, Krajcik, & Soloway, 2004) have broadly considered context as a factor in supporting technology integration, this current research uses a Human-Tech framework (Vicente, 2003) to identify and examine the implications of individual contextual constraints for the design of technology-enhanced learning; therefore, the researcher begins to answer the important - and arguably unexplored - question of how the complexities of varying contexts ought to be used to inform design. Broadly, this design research study explores the impact of using a Human-Tech framework for understanding technology integration in education and specifically, to inform the design of technology-enhanced learning practices in the context of teacher education. Further, the research reports on the impact of an open online research support forum - designed using a Human-Tech framework - on the experiences of teacher candidates while carrying out classroom-based research as part of their initial teacher education program. Overall, results of the research study suggest that using a Human-Tech framework for understanding technology integration was helpful in supporting a broader and more systematic approach to designing for more effective use of technology in the context of teacher education. In terms of the design of the open online research support forum, findings suggest that there were key Organizational constraints that likely continued to have a limiting impact on the innovations across the two-year design study. Therefore, this research also points to future technology-specific and non technology-specific design strategies which may have implications for technology integration, and fulfilling the functional purposes of the program more broadly.

An effective process for translating contextual inquiry data into usable design concepts is described. A literature survey, field observations and laboratory simulations preceded contextual inquiry sessions with seven cashiers working in retail checkstands. Data from this field research was communicated with a graduate student design team during interpretation sessions. Diagrams and pictures from the physical workspace were introduced, work behaviors and breakdowns were discussed and design ideas and insights were recorded during these sessions. The final communication tool is a wall-sized affinity diagram created by members of the design team. The affinity diagram tells the story of peoples experiences working in retail front end work environments by incorporating patterns of cashiers behavior and concerns, while maintaining details of each participants comments. It translates the applied research from basic contextual inquiry data to a sustainable communication tool for contextual researchers, workspace designers and other project stakeholders. The design research method presented yields valuable qualitative results for physical workspace design that can be communicated to people who are not involved in data collection.

This study employed a design-based research methodology to develop a theoretically sound approach for designing instructional treatments. The instruction of interest addressed the broad issue of physician wellness among medical school faculty, with particular emphasis on physician self-diagnosis and self-care. The theoretically sound approach comprised a domain theory and design framework. The domain theory was posited subsequent to an examination of the literature, and subjected to expert examination through three cycles of instructional treatment development. The design framework for crafting the treatment was created from components of existing frameworks, and evolved with the cycles of development. The instructional treatment was designed to be delivered to a web browser from a server using a Python microframework to preserve the anonymity of the end user. Experts in three relevant knowledge domains verified that the instructional treatment embodied the domain theory, and was suitable for use as a practical instructional treatment. Subsequently, a limited-time pilot deployment was initiated among practicing faculty physicians (N=273) to solicit user feedback. Responses were obtained through a survey instrument created for the purpose and hosted on a remote website. Although the response rate was low (12%), the responses were encouraging and useful for guiding future research and treatment development.