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This PhD by practice explores the possibilities of visible repair using a design-led methodology that aims to bring a new consciousness to the relationship between consumers and products, as part of an approach to 'circular' product design. Through a series of workshops in which participants repaired broken products, Do-Fix repair kits were developed and trialled; these kits combine new technologies such as 3D printing with traditional repair methods such as kintsugi, darning and patching, focused on making repairs both visible and engaging to carry out. Current economic systems depend on large quantities of resource and energy use that cannot be sustained with the planet’s finite resources. Producing long-lasting, purposeful and ‘circular’ products is essential in order to decrease the rate of consumption and its negative environmental impacts. Repair is an effective strategy for extending product lifespan and closing the material loops. However, increasing the product’s lifespan is also dependent upon the attitudes and behaviour of users. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore the role of repair in user-product engagement and create a product or service that encourages people to repair products more for the purpose of awakening human sensitivity to environmental and societal problems. Conventional repair methods, such as kintsugi (a Japanese repair method using gold), darning and patching are combined with new technologies and materials, including 3D printing, with the help of ‘research through design’ methods. All the repair techniques were tested in workshops with users. The results were fed back into the research, which was then used to develop Do-Fix repair kits, providing users with the opportunity to give a second life to an object. Here the aim is not to disguise the damage, but to make something artful out of it. The Do-Fix repair kits include four different kits, namely (1) the kintsugi kit, (2) 3D-printed patches, (3) plaster patches for mending textiles, and (4) textile patches for fixing shoes and bags. The value of this research for design practice is in its exploration of potential methods and materials of product repair by providing concrete examples, as well as the creation of the Do-Fix repair kits. For academics and researchers its value lies in reframing the position of repair in the circular economy and developing design considerations related to product repair.

The principle objective of this study is to examine the conditions and contexts of critical design practice, specifically as it pertains to methods of identifying, presenting and producing critical design within the space of the museum exhibition. The analysis in this study seeks to reveal a better understanding of the working practices that underpin museums’ creative engagements with critical design practice while recognising the significance of critical design’s behaviours of questioning, possibilising, probabilising and activating that inform such engagements. A case is presented for combining several theoretical perspectives into a multi-layered conceptual framework for examining the ideas, approaches and conditions of both critical design and its circulation through the museum exhibition. In calling upon concepts from the art world as a means of developing a philosophical understanding of design, the concept of a ‘work of design’ is proposed to understand the shift in practice that has occurred over the past fifteen years. Furthermore, the emphasis on a ‘work of design’ is explicated through a conceptualisation of critical practice as both a design of reflexive modernity and a para-model of practice – a notable device for social and cultural research. Design’s circulation in the museum is problematised drawing upon theories of the curatorial to develop a model of the exhibition as a speculative activity that privileges critical thought, discourse, speculation and production. In this sense ‘the curatorial’ offers a space for multiple viewpoints and experiences which together create a collective endeavour that remains forever open to contestation and adjustment. Empirically, the study contributes insights into the diverse and contingent curatorial practices involved in communicating and disseminating critical design practice. The findings suggest that the new relationships that are being formed between critical design and the museum are reframing the exhibition as a tool for research – a transdisciplinary studio space whereby ideas are tested and projects take form through the performativity of multiple agents. Thus the museum is being approached as a context for experimentation; a space that exposes rather than displays, presents rather than represents, a performative space that points to a recoding of practice as production. In this way we can begin to consider the museum and its exhibitions as a model of emergence as they enter a discourse of performativity that actively engages with their subject rather than merely offering it for consumption. The result is a collective space for knowing and experiencing via the performativity of both critical design and the curatorial.

Submitted by Amanda Silva (amanda.osilva2@ufpe.br) on 2015-04-14T13:49:02Z No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Beatriz Braga.pdf: 4354315 bytes, checksum: 2776a33313fdbcd7742e0febadb10baf (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-14T13:49:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Beatriz Braga.pdf: 4354315 bytes, checksum: 2776a33313fdbcd7742e0febadb10baf (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / A publicidade objetiva persuadir o consumidor sobre determinado produto ou serviço; o cinema tem por premissa o entretenimento, mas também informa e pode defender uma ideia ou conceito. A constante mudança do perfil dos consumidores, cada vez mais críticos e munidos de diferentes tecnologias que alteram suas práticas sociais – para a publicidade e o cinema – faz com que não só as mensagens persuasivas se adequem ao público e suas exigências, mas também a produção cinematográfica considere um novo potencial a ser trabalhado nas películas. O trabalho pretende investigar de que forma a comunicação persuasiva se insere no ambiente cinematográfico do país e de que maneira esses discursos dialogam. Para alcançar tal objetivo, serão pontuados diversos filmes no intuito de exemplificar os níveis e tipos de inserções existentes e já categorizadas. Anúncios publicitários serão também detalhados buscando localizar as etapas fundantes do roteiro. A pesquisa agrupa referenciais teóricos da publicidade, do cinema e das narrativas, passando por estratégias contemporâneas utilizadas na prática suasória e teorias da linguagem que inspiram o hibridismo entre as áreas. Como culminância, analisa-se um roteiro fílmico nacional, buscando aprofundar o conhecimento sobre as negociações de marca, bem como a interferência das inserções na trama.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T16:00:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo6892_1.pdf: 12551112 bytes, checksum: f5803d2f7b194b0634e5ba658aaf40fe (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / A abordagem de Linhas de Produtos de Software (SPL) pode ser considerada uma estratégia eficiente para o reuso de software. SPL oferece significativos benefícios econômicos para as empresas, tais como redução de custos, melhoria da qualidade, e redução do tempo de entrega de produtos. SPL baseia-se no reuso sistemático de artefatos, através da exploração de commonalities (pontos em comum), e o gerenciamento de variabilities (pontos de variação) entre os produtos, desenvolvidos sob uma arquitetura comum. No entanto, a percepção das vantagens de SPL tem um custo associado. Elas demandam maturidade nas técnicas de engenharia de software, planejamento e gerenciamento de reuso, adequadas práticas para gerenciamento e desenvolvimento, sendo capaz de lidar com questões organizacionais e de complexidade arquitetural. Na prática, não é relativamente fácil adotar a abordagem de linha de produto. No contexto de pequenas e medias empresas (SMEs), as dificuldades para adoção de linha de produto são ainda maiores, devido a baixa maturidade organizacional e falta de recursos comum a este tipo de organização. Neste contexto, esta dissertação apresenta um conjunto de evidências empíricas sobre a adoção de linhas de produto em pequenas e médias empresas. O conjunto de evidências contribui para o entendimento da adoção de linha de produto em SMEs por documentar barreiras, as melhores práticas existentes, experiências etc., facilitando a adoção da abordagem de SPL no futuro. Esta dissertação apresenta ainda uma abordagem multi-método para pesquisa empírica em engenharia de software, conduzida através da triangulação, combinando diferentes, mas complementares métodos de pesquisa, aumentando desta maneira a disponibilidade de conhecimento empírico na área.

‘Holistic Order’ is a new term used in this study. In literature, its synonyms such as beauty, order, visual order, and aesthetic order have been in usage for a long time. Historical studies on arts & crafts from philosophical and aesthetic perspectives reveal that the term ‘beauty’ no longer holds the same meaning as it used to for centuries. ‘Holistic Order’ is the new term being proposed in place of ‘beauty’ in product design. It is argued that this term is more appropriate in present day context. Beauty has been a study of interest to philosophers, aestheticians, poets, artists, scientists, and the common man alike for time immemorial. Though the field of industrial design has been in existence since the industrial revolution in the early 20th century, the roots of this field originates from the time of Plato and Aristotle, more than 2400 years ago. In spite of this long history, there has not been a reliable tool / framework available to product designers, which they can rely on in their pursuit to designing products that are holistic i.e. able to please not only to the physical senses but also to the emotional and mental faculties. Studies in the history of arts & crafts and fundamentals of aesthetics from a new perspective have revealed a perceptible gap in the most widely used design approach. This research work is an attempt to fulfil that gap. Using semiotic and communication theory, existence of dichotomy in product design has been established. Based on this and the widely used elements and principles approach in product design, a new integrated conceptual framework for holistic order in product design has been proposed. It is argued that this framework is more suited to designing holistically than any of the available ones. The objective of this framework is to enable better understanding of the different aspects involved in the aesthetics of product design, their relationships, and the resulting attainments. Knowledge of this framework is useful to designers for designing products in a holistic manner. In the process, more attractive, appealing, and meaningful designs are enabled. Also, it is useful to design critics for identifying factors that are responsible for aesthetic qualities and values in product design. All the interdependent nature of relationships among various parts of the framework of holistic order have been explained. ‘Holistic Order Index’ is proposed as a new measure of design qualities in product design. The Framework of Holistic Order and Holistic Order Index have been validated through qualitative and quantitative methods in two studies, one involving 30 designers and another involving 108 subjects representing the society at large. In another study involving 32 subjects, reliability of the methodology has been established. Results of these studies have been discussed in the thesis and the contributions summarized.

M.Ing.

Class of 2005 Abstract / Objectives: To quantify the initial short-term market response of product liability litigation in appellate courts against vaccine manufacturers between 1987 and 2003. Methods: This project used a retrospective data analysis. The study analyzed appellate court decision found searching the legal research section of Lexis-Nexis® between 1987 and 2003. A single index market model was used to examine an event window of (-1, +1) and calculate a cumulative abnormal return for one of three categories; outcome in favor of the plaintiff, outcome in favor of the defense, or case dismissal. Results: Overall, this study investigated vaccine-related litigation. Thirty-three lawsuits were found involving 12 separate parent companies and ultimately lead to 82 separate incidences. A majority of the cases involved litigation concerning thimerisol (n =12, 36%). Following inclusion and exclusion criteria for the appellate court rulings, 9 cases were in favor of plaintiff, 10 cases were in favor of the defense, and 14 cases were dismissed. Appellate rulings favoring the plaintiffs were found to be negative and statistically significant, with cumulative abnormal returns equaling -1.39% during the (-1,+1) event window (p < 0.05). The mean cumulative abnormal returns for rulings favoring the defense or case dismissals were statistically insignificant at 0.49% and -0.29%, respectively Implications: Product liability litigation against vaccine manufacturers can produce significant negative short-term security price returns, which can be a disincentive for corporations to invest in vaccine development and production.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is one of the most important economic performance indicators for any country that is closely watched by governments, businesses and financial communities. GDP often influences economic decisions and policy-making. These decisions are however often based on preliminary initial announcements by statistical agencies. The preliminary estimates are then revised as more comprehensive information becomes available. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the initial GDP announcements are unbiased, efficient and can be relied on. This study focuses on seasonally adjusted and annualised (qq) growth rates at constant prices for the following national accounts aggregates: GDP, gross domestic expenditure (GDE), final consumption expenditure by households and general government, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), Exports and imports of goods and services, gross national income (GNI) and disposable income of households. The research methodology used is based on descriptive statistics and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression estimations. The results of the study indicate that little confidence should be attributed to interpretations of the initially announced estimates for GDP, GDE, final consumption expenditure by households, GNI and disposable income by households. The study found evidence that suggests that the initial announcements are biased and inefficient. This implies that the initial announcements contain measurement errors that could be eliminated in order to become a better forecast of the final or true value. This further suggests a lack of expected reliability of existing and future initial announcements of the estimates. For short-term analysis the users of GDP data are encouraged to focus on different measures. It is also recommended that the statistical agents producing South Africa’s national accounts aggregates improve their statistical compilation processes. The agencies are also encouraged to conduct periodic revisions studies and make these available to the users.

Asset Management, which evolved from maintenance management, is a set of processes, tools and measures that provide a shared understanding of an organisation’s physical assets. The process of asset management involves creation of a register of assets and recording of details of planned work. It also covers scheduling and recording of work done in order to create financial and technical history of assets. The life cycle of an asset consists of the acquisition operation, maintenance and disposal phases. These four aspects of an asset’s life represent the high level framework for asset management. This framework is crucial in development of asset management plans. The plan in turn, creates a road map for asset management excellence. By optimising the performance of asset management practices and processes a positive contribution can be made to the profitability of an organisation. The objective of this study was to develop a plan for the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) that would assist in management, maintenance, tracking and replacement of assets. The research primarily focused on the asset management requirements within the organizational context. The methodology employed in the study included a review of the relevant literature and case study conducted at CDC. The case study approach was very appropriate as it dealt with the current situation at CDC. Primary data was collected through interviews. Secondary data was collected from books, journals and other sources. Data was collected in words instead of numbers. The findings show that the CDC does not have an Asset Management Plan which results into the lack of information in the current asset register, a lack of specialist information systems, a lack of resources and an absence of a planning function in the skills sets of various units within the organisation. The Asset Register should work as a basic system for management of assets. The findings show that asset management can be used to comprehensively address the relevant elements of the organisations’ assets framework.