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<p>The construction industry contributes significantly to the GDP of the United States, attributing to its growth at an unprecedented rate. Efficient planning on all stages of construction is the only way to combat dynamic obstructions and deliver projects on time. The first element involved in the planning phase deals with the layout of the Construction Site. It significantly regulates the pace at which construction operations function and directly affects the time, cost, and safety linked to the successful delivery of the target project. Hence, it is paramount to ensure that every component of the construction site maneuvers with the utmost productivity. One such equipment that occupies significant attention while carrying out the CSLP process is Tower Crane. Tower crane optimization is pivotal to ensure proper lifting and handling of materials, and warrant conflict-free work zones. This research, therefore, aims to optimize its position by maximizing the lift ability. To achieve the goals, Generative Design- a paradigm that integrates the constructive features of mathematical and visual optimization techniques, is used to develop a relatively comprehensible prototype. The first part of the research, thus, utilized Generative Design on two construction sites- one from the United States and one from India. After implementing the visual programming algorithm, an improvement of 40% was warranted in the lift score. A pool of potential alternatives was explored and supplemented by the trade-off illustrations. The concept of trade-off was substantiated by allowing a framework for prioritization of lift cycles, and facilitating a holistic decision-making process. To evaluate the usability, 12 participants were chosen based on their previous experience with tower crane operations. The participants witnessed a live demonstration of the algorithm, answered a Likert scale questionnaire, and appeared for an open-ended interview to provide feedback about the proposed Generative Design technique. After carrying out narrative analysis for the usability aspect- it has been unanimously observed that the technique has extreme efficiency of usage and can evidently prevent the occurrence of errors. The study concludes by providing recommendations to augment the significance and usability of Generative Design for tower crane position optimization. </p><br>

<p dir="ltr">Humans are social beings and throughout our evolution we have survived and thrived thanks to our ability to cooperate [7]. Overcoming our current societal challenges from sustainability and energy conservation [8] to democracy, public health, and community building [9] will all require our continued cooperation. Yet, many of these present us with a dilemma where our short-term personal goals are at odds with the collective long-term benefits. For example, many of us listen NPR radio but never make a donation to help cover its operational costs. The success of cooperation during such dilemmatic situations often depends on communication, reward and punishment structures, social norms and cues [10], [11], [12], [13]. But how to encourage cooperation online where social cues are not readily available?</p><p dir="ltr">Accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the prevalence of digital technologies, cooperation among individuals increasingly happens online where data-based feedback supports our decisions. Problematically, people online are often not only remote and asynchronous, but often also anonymous, which has resulted in de-individuation and antinormative behavior [14]. Social data, information that users share about themselves via digital technologies, may offer opportunities for social feedback design that affords perceptions of social cohesion and may support successful cooperation online.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation seeks to answer the normative question of how to design for cooperation in social data feedback charts in dilemmatic situations online. I conducted mixed methods design research by combining theory-driven design with a series of controlled experiments on Amazon Mechanical Turk to understand the perceptual and behavioral effects of visually unifying social data feedback charts. To achieve this, I mapped the design space for home energy feedback (<i>Chapter 2</i>) to guide my iterative and user-centered theorizing about how visual unity in social feedback charts might prime viewers with unified group perceptions (<i>Chapter 3</i>). I then validated my theorizing with controlled perceptual (<i>Chapter 4</i>) and decision experiments (<i>Chapter 5</i>).</p><p dir="ltr">The triangulated results offer evidence for visually unifying cues in feedback charts affecting social data interpretation (<i>Chapter 4</i>) and cooperation online (<i>Chapter 5</i>). Two visual properties: data point <i>proximity</i> and <i>enclosure</i> -, trigger variable levels of perceivable social unity that play a partial role in participants’ decision to cooperate in a non-monetary social dilemma situation online. I discuss the implications for future research and design (<i>Chapter 6</i>).</p>