Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-99). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Adviser: Annie S. Wu. Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-146).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-99). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. S.)--Industrial Design, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Kevin D. Shankwiler; Committee Member: Abir Mullick; Committee Member: William Rouse.

In this dissertation, we investigate the problem of designing standard modules which can be used in a wide variety of products. The basic problem is: given a set of parts and products, and a list of the number of each part required in each product, how do we group parts into modules and modules into products to minimize costs and satisfy requirements. The design of computers, electronic equipments, tool kits, emergency vehicles and standard military groupings are among the potential applications for this work. Several mathematical programming models for modular design are developed and the advantages and weaknesses of each model have been analyzed. We demonstrate the difficulties, due to nonconvexity, of applying global optimization methods to solve these mathematical models. We develop necessary and sufficient conditions for satisfying requirements exactly, and use these results in several heuristic methods. Three heuristic structures; decomposition, sequential local search, and approximation, are considered. The decomposition approach extends previous work on modular design problems. Sequential local search uses a standard local solution routine (MINOS) and sequentially adds cuts on the objective function to the original model. The approximation approach uses a "least squares" relaxation to find upper and lower bounds on the objective of the optimal solution. Computational results are presented for all three approaches and suggest that the approximation approach performs better than the others (with respect to speed and solution quality). We conclude the dissertation with a stochastic variation of the modular design problem and a solution heuristic. We discuss an approximation model to the continuous formulation, which is a geometric programming model. We develop a heuristic to solve this problem using monotonicity properties of the functions. Computational results are given and compared with an upper bound.

Modularity is a means of managing product complexity by arranging components into hierarchical independent subassemblies of common purpose. It offers advantages to manufacturers and producers and is assumed to benefit users as well. The producers have received most of the focus, however. Designers must be able to ensure the needs of both parties are being met but too little is known about users' responses to modular designs and the designer's role in handling modularity. This thesis demonstrates that modularity has an impact on users. The research specifically focused on aspects of modularity available to users. It consisted of three phases: a review of existing literature, an interview phase, and a survey phase. The interview phase elicited common terms for discussing modularity in consumer products. The survey tested the traits that emerged. Both phases used object pairs with similar purpose but differing in degree of modularity. During the interview phase, participants were shown pictures of eight pairs of objects and asked questions about their use and maintenance. They were then asked to generate a series of word pairs, opposing descriptors that could be used to distinguish the two variants. The most commonly occurring pairs were transformed into survey questions. The survey used the same set of object pairs, each accompanied by descriptive phrases built around the traits elicited from the interviews. Survey participants were asked to identify which of the two variants was best described by each phrase and the strength of that association. The responses indicated that modularity generally increases users' perceptions of complexity, presence of replaceable parts, and versatility. Modularity also diminished perceptions of durability, ease of maintenance, and ease of use. Investigation of object groupings, both predefined and emergent in the data, revealed additional context sensitive relationships. Several traits also demonstrated strong correlations with each other. Establishing these relationships is necessary to convert assumptions into knowns before research can continue. This thesis offers designers insight into the expectations surrounding modular design. As manufacturers continue to push modular design, designers will need to understand its impact on end users to ensure the needs of all stakeholders are being met.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-51). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--City University of Hong Kong, 2005. / "Submitted to Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 230-247).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2007. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 125-129).

M.Tech. / My research investigates how modularity, repetition and material choices are employed as strategies in the work of selected South African sculptors, Willem Boshoff, Paul Edmunds and Alan Alborough. My argument is that these three strategies are purposefully used by the artists in the construction of their sculpture and that they create the intrinsic meaning of the works. Self-reflexivity is a major focus of this study that is central to the construction of intrinsic meaning embodied in each of the aforementioned strategies. I postulate that an obsessive focus characterises the repetition of modular materials in the production of the works. Obsessive focus is highlighted as a positive characteristic that enhances the reading of the work and is a direct result of the methodology employed by the artists. I analyse how each of the strategies manifests itself in specific works by these artists and how precursors can be found for the strategies in works by other local and international artists, particularly Tom Friedman, Tara Donovan, Tony Cragg and David Mach. This context allows for the close visual analysis of selected works within a postmodern paradigm. I acknowledge extrinsic readings of works as relevant to analysis of the works but focus my investigation on the intrinsic meanings generated by the three strategies. Once these strategies have been investigated, I am able to determine 2ow I deploy these strategies in my own work. This necessitates an explication of my practice through a close visual analysis.