<p>The aim of this project is to develop an auxiliary office chair, which favorably will compete with</p><p>the existing chairs on the market. Evolutions of ergonomical survey in the work environment and</p><p>on the configuration of offices require new products which fulfill the requirements properly.</p><p>In order to achieve it a survey about office chairs has been carried out: types, characteristics, ways</p><p>of usage and products on the market besides a large antropometrical study and ergonomics related</p><p>to work area study.</p><p>The result is an auxillary office chair which improves significatively in ergonomics compared with</p><p>such chairs found in the market survey.</p><p>Moreover it is achieved a great improvement refering to apilability stackable characteristics and</p><p>manufacturing, as this chair has good features as easily cleanning and innovative aesthetics and no</p><p>high manufacturing cost. That means an easily marketed product.</p>

<p>This thesis presents a concept for improving a wood roof from an acoustical point of</p><p>view. The normative related to noise is going to demand higher levels for airborne</p><p>insulation and also for noise impacts so it is necessary to improve the acoustical part of</p><p>these constructive elements.</p><p>A deep study of acoustics and also of roofs: parts, functions, manufacturing… and</p><p>materials to make them has helped to solve the problem. The knowledge of how sound</p><p>is produced, propagated and how it can be reduced has given a solution to the problem</p><p>(concepts creation and choice).</p><p>The result is a prefabricated wood sandwich panel with a rock wool and rubber core</p><p>which is enough justified to perform all normative related to noise and sound as well as</p><p>other functions like supporting, thermal purposes etc.</p><p>All the parts have been explained adequately and also it has been suggested how the</p><p>module can be constructed as well as the assembly in the final structure.</p>

The aim of this project is to develop an auxiliary office chair, which favorably will compete with the existing chairs on the market. Evolutions of ergonomical survey in the work environment and on the configuration of offices require new products which fulfill the requirements properly. In order to achieve it a survey about office chairs has been carried out: types, characteristics, ways of usage and products on the market besides a large antropometrical study and ergonomics related to work area study. The result is an auxillary office chair which improves significatively in ergonomics compared with such chairs found in the market survey. Moreover it is achieved a great improvement refering to apilability stackable characteristics and manufacturing, as this chair has good features as easily cleanning and innovative aesthetics and no high manufacturing cost. That means an easily marketed product.

This thesis presents a concept for improving a wood roof from an acoustical point of view. The normative related to noise is going to demand higher levels for airborne insulation and also for noise impacts so it is necessary to improve the acoustical part of these constructive elements. A deep study of acoustics and also of roofs: parts, functions, manufacturing… and materials to make them has helped to solve the problem. The knowledge of how sound is produced, propagated and how it can be reduced has given a solution to the problem (concepts creation and choice). The result is a prefabricated wood sandwich panel with a rock wool and rubber core which is enough justified to perform all normative related to noise and sound as well as other functions like supporting, thermal purposes etc. All the parts have been explained adequately and also it has been suggested how the module can be constructed as well as the assembly in the final structure.

Designers of consumer products are concerned with how their products will be perceived by consumers in the market place. The materials used in the manufacture of these products become the media by which the interface between the consumer and the designed product is perceived. Our perception towards these products will be strongly infleunced by the sensory interaction with the materials through both visual and non-visual means. Compared with the engineering properties of materials, sensory properties, perceived images, meanings and values of a material in the human-product interface, referred to as the 'material representation' are far from being systematically investigated. This is the background from which this research was initiated. The aim of this research is to explore the material representation in a holistic system, which is referred to as the visual narrative matrix. The matrix is created in an empirical way but based on a combination of theoretical and experimental research. Controlled experimental investigation is focused on the relationship between the material sensory properties (texture) and human subjective response via the sensation of touch. The theoretical analysis and the experimental findings contribute to the development of a new databse. the database will make it possible for designers, artists and engineers, through innovative treatment and application of existing and emerging materials, to be able to create artefacts more effectively matching human perceptual, sensory and emotional expectation. The experiemental findings and the visual narrative matrix are original. This thesis includes the research background, literature review, research methodology, the results from controlled experimental research, and the development of a matrix of material representation. By carrying out controlled experimental research on texture, it has been possible to identify a way in which people subjectively describe a material texture by touch (Dimension-Lexicons). Slight differences in these descriptive lexicons have been analysed in terms of gender, material surface finish, sensory conditions, and control groups etc. Further in-depth experimental research has revealed correlations between various subjective responses within texture perception dimensions. Understanding of these correlations will assist in the selection of an optimal material texture. A series of texture perception maps have been produced which directly display the nature of texture perception in terms of material categories and sensory modalities. In parallel, through experimental testing, the quantitative relationships between subjective response to texture and the objective physical parameters of materials have also been reported. This has provided important information about human sensory perception for the manufacturing and processing of materials. All of these experimental results have been integrated into the matrix of material representation.

This research evaluates the role of industrial design in the development of technologically innovatory products (t i p's) designed for untrained users. Technologically innovatory products are studied because of their unpredictable patterns of use, visual identity and market potential. Untrained users are studied since it is likely that they are less well equipped to adjust to new design characteristics than trained users and thus present a greater requirement for a self-explanatory product identity. The thesis examines recent technological developments and their potential effects on product design. A working definition of the t i p is developed and particular problems posed for manufacturers, designers and users identified. Contemporary secondary source material is employed, together with primary source material culled from interviews with design practitioners and theorists in Europe and the United States. The concept of product identity is explored with reference to the differences apparent in professional, domestic and leisure contexts. Four research hypotheses are established, the principal of which states "that a series of differentials exists between product design intentions and medium to long term user needs and preferences". A research method for making direct comparisons between design intentions and user responses utilising a two-part questionnaire is described. The pilot and application of the method to a single t i p - a microwave oven - is documented. Responses are divided into four groups: operational, stylistic, manufacturing and technological, which facilitate the direct comparison of user and design responses. The research demonstrates that there are perceptual mismatches between designer and user responses and between members of the design team itself. The thesis concludes with an examination of the results with respect to their detrimental effects on product use, and a discussion of the potential reapplication of the method as both a research and design tool.

No description available.

No description available.

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of cross-functional knowledge conversion within Taiwanese high-technology small and medium-sized enterprise's (SME) new product development (NPD) teams. An analysis of 107 Taiwanese high-technology SMEs' management characteristics found a complex knowledge structure is better adopted for cross-functional knowledge conversion during the NPD period than existing or simple knowledge structure models. In addition, a Processual strategy moderated the relationships between organisational knowledge structures and four-all steps within knowledge conversion to knowledge transfer; in contrast, Classical strategy was shown only to have moderated effects during the planning and developing stage of the NPD period. Following Blackler's (1995) organisational theory, this study also found the socialisation and externalisation stages require both knowledge features from communication-intensive organisation and symbolic-analyst-dependent organisation within the NPD team's knowledge conversion. Knowledge features from a knowledge-routinised organisation are required at the combination stage; and finally, the knowledge features from an expert-dependent organisation are required at the internalisation stage. Observed strategies can be categorised as being Classical or Processual oriented (Whittington, 1993). This study describes how the strategy moderates the relationship between the organisational knowledge structures and the four knowledge-creation steps, socialisation, externalisation, combination and internalisation for NPD teams. Results showed that the requirement upon strategy differed among stages within the NPD period. During the transfer process, Processual strategy moderated the relationships between organisational knowledge structures and steps within conversion to knowledge transfer during the planning, developing, marketing and commercialisation stages of the NPD period even the negative moderating effects showed in some stages. In contrast, Classical strategy was shown only to have negative moderating effects during the planning and developing stage. Survey results also showed that the highly formalised communication model and periodic meetings advocated by Song et al (1996 & 2002) were gradually replaced by a bounded transfer and less formalised approach. However this study does not find that a consistent approach to strategy, using either PS or CS is likely to smooth the NPD process between marketing and R & D in high technology Taiwanese firms. It is possible that other schools, such as the Evolutionary or Systemic schools suggested by Whittington may fit more closely than the two tested in this study; and this will be the topic of further investigation. However, it is clear that different stages require contradictory processes and outcome routines; thus it is likely that conflict and inconsistency is actually the normal by-product of successful NPD's knowledge conversion.

Redefinition design is a special case of speculative and critical design; it is intended to be used by designers in facing otherwise recalcitrant or refractory design situations. One subject that generates more refractory design situations than most is money. Thus, money will be the vehicle used to derive, articulate and apply the redefinition design methods. The future of money is heavily informed by ideas from its past. In this regard, the services and systems based around money, including industries focused on design, often embody a conservative culture that perpetuates old paradigms onto new technology. In this dissertation, I propose two research questions: RQ1: Paradigm Paralysis – what characterises the underlying assumptions that heavily inform the design and development of money? In the context of investigating the new methods associated with Redefinition Design, we firstly begin to examine and interrogate underlying and often tacit assumptions, taking the specific case of money. Though this question I elucidate the fundamental principles of money, which lie at the core of the longstanding mainstream monetary paradigm. The totality of money is broken down into four main constituents: monetary artefacts, currency systems, monetary mentifacts and finally the functional axioms of money. Revealing these core principles, and analysing them within specific cultural contexts, will inform the methods used in the development of the practical work. RQ2: Paradigm Breakout – What characterises a methodology that can facilitate designers to step beyond the underlying assumptions informing the development of money? This research has yielded strategies that allow the radical re-conception and design of currency systems and monetary artefacts, through the application of a redefinition design approach. The Redefinition Design methods developed in this research enable the designer to identify suitable alternative cultural contexts, such as historic or literary contexts. The methods prompt us to deconstruct these contexts, then reconstruct them with a design proposal that resonates with all cultural levels of the given context. Hence, in the case of entrenched social technologies like money, the resulting Redefinition Design proposals are harmonious with the alternative culture, but incongruous in the context of contemporary culture. These methods do not instigate a paradigm shift but rather a paradigm breakout.