Nowadays, people spend lots of time in digital worlds, such as social media and the internet. Their product purchasing decisions are influenced by this digital world. As a result, when looking around the house, lots of physical products, from utensils to giant furniture are sometimes not the ideal choice for fitting into the space or users’ need. People are usually more fascinated by product appearance. However, after a brief period of time, they may get bored and eventually abandon the product. Due to the fact mentioned above, I, as a designer, want to explore a different route to design products so that they can be more significant and meaningful to people’s lives. After a lot of research, I found that human experience and ritual can provide very helpful guidance on product development. Based on the research and findings, my lounge chair is designed to prove my design thinking. This paper focuses on the development of the lounge chair from concept sketch to computer modeling to the actual prototype and finishing.

Since the beginning of humankind, architecture has been a sacred source for all civilizations, and that has provided a gateway for man to reach the heavens above. In terms of concept and value, Persian art and architecture is considered as a rich source to be acknowledged. Within Persian architecture, the emphasis was placed strongly on beauty and sacred geometry; Persians calculated the proportions of heaven reflected upon them in the dimensions of buildings on the earth. Iranian culture has utilized the written word as an art form; this goes beyond normal means of communication. Iranian calligraphers produced eloquent styles and patterns through their divine talent, and this was displayed in the architecture. Parviz Tanavoli, as the greatest contemporary artist of Iran, has a strong tendency to be attracted to words and letters which has a long history in Iranian culture. Experimenting through aspects of cultural interaction in fine and applied arts has led to the understanding that when aesthetic elements of cultures are used to create a new design, it leads to both a new aesthetic creation and a fresh understanding of the cultures involved. This collection was designed and manufactured by concentrating on organic and curved forms and utilizing them in the design practice, while having a touch on cultural elements such as patterns and alphabets. The curved abstract shapes create a conceptual harmony, depicted in Persian patterns via functional three dimensional pieces.

Children with disabilities in school settings often display problem behavior. These challenging behaviors can be inattention, disruptions in class, difficulties with transitions between tasks, and low task motivation. These types of behaviors can lead to problems for the students with their peers, teachers, and school staff. One way to decrease problem behavior is to implement antecedent manipulations to prevent problem behavior from ever occurring. One type of antecedent manipulation is using alternative seating in the classroom, such as stability balls or stabili-t stools. However, little research has been conducted to evaluate different types of alternative seating, therefore this study used an alternating treatments design to evaluate the effects of stability balls versus stabili-t stools on in-seat and on-task behavior in an academic setting. Results indicated increases in both in-seat and on-task behavior with the use of both alternative types of seating. In-seat behavior increased more substantially then on-task behavior with alternative seating. Social validity results indicated that stability balls were not well liked by teachers and therapists, however the stabili-t stools were found to be acceptable. Both types of alternative seating were chosen by participants in the choice phase, however the stabili-t stool was chosen more often.

Dissertation--Theologische Fakultät--Heidelberg--Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, 2007. / Bibliogr. p. 355-374.

An adjustable chair was developed for children with cerebral palsy in Uganda. The chairs these children use today are custom made which means that they cannot be used when a child outgrows a chair. Sometimes the chair is used by other children and does not give the support that the child needs. The project was executed in the capitol, Kampala, by the two design engineer students Faith Auma and Emma Lingehed in collaboration with Makerere University, Kampala school for the physically handicapped and Katalemwa Cheshire home. The goal of the project was to help pupils with cerebral palsy from a young age develop adequate sitting behaviour and become more physically independent. The chair should be able to be manufactured and assembled in Uganda and the material should be able to be found in the country. The project started by clarifying the problem, information was collected through literature studies, study visits and interviews. The gathered information was used to create a product specification focusing on safety, environment, manufacturing and ergonomics. All background information was used throughout the idea generation. A number of ideas were generated and evaluated until a final concept was found. The final concept, called Billy, was chosen through a concept scoring where it was evaluated against three other concepts. Billy was considered the easiest concept to manufacture in Uganda and had the simplest construction. Billy was developed further and became the final concept Entebbe. Entebbe is a chair that is adjustable and gives the support a child with cerebral palsy needs. A prototype was made at Katalemwa Cheshire home.  Entebbe can be manufactured in Uganda and since it is module-based it can easily be repaired and resized by simply changing the concerned parts. This also means that parts can be reused to build other chairs. Entebbe can be adjusted in five different ways and requires no tools to assemble. / En justerbar stol utvecklades för barn med cerebral pares i Uganda. Stolarna dessa barn använder idag är specialdesignade vilket innebär att de inte kan användas när barnet växer ur stolen. Ibland används då stolen av andra barn och ger därmed inte det stöd som barnet behöver. Projektet genomfördes i huvudstaden, Kampala, av de två designingenjörsstudenter Faith Auma och Emma Lingehed i samarbete med Makerere University, Kampala school for the physically handicapped och Katalemwa Cheshire home. Målet med projektet var att hjälpa elever med cerebral pares redan från unga år att utveckla ett korrekt sittbeteende och bli mer fysiskt oberoende. Stolen ska kunna tillverkas och monteras i Uganda och materialet ska finnas i landet. Projektet började med att studera och klargöra problemet, information samlades in genom litteraturstudier, studiebesök och intervjuer. Den insamlade informationen användes för att skapa en kravspecifikation med fokus på säkerhet, miljö, tillverkning och ergonomi. Bakgrundsinformationen användes under idégenereringen. Ett antal idéer genererades och utvärderades tills ett slutgiltigt koncept hittades. Det slutgiltiga konceptet, Billy, valdes genom en concept scoring där det utvärderades mot tre andra koncept. Billy ansågs vara det koncept som var enklast att tillverka i Uganda och hade den enklaste konstruktionen. Billy vidareutvecklades och blev det slutliga konceptet Entebbe. Entebbe är en stol som är justerbar och ger det stöd ett barn med cerebral pares behöver. En prototyp tillverkades vid Katalemwa Cheshire home. Entebbe kan tillverkas i Uganda och eftersom den är modulbaserad är den lätt att reparera och ändra storlek på genom att enkelt byta ut de berörda delarna. Detta innebär att delarna även kan återanvändas för att bygga andra stolar. Entebbe kan justeras på fem olika sätt och inga verktyg krävs för att montera ihop stolen.

Thesis (MDesign)--University of South Australia, 1994

Socrate dirait que le Dieu a créé la forme de la chaise, que les artisans fabriquent d’autres chaises d’après cette forme, et que les artistes créent des chaises artistiques d’après des chaises fabriquées par les artisans. Il y a une vérité dans ces idées. La chaise est la chaise, elle a une forme propre à elle. Elle ne prend pas la forme d’un piano, ni celle d’un lit. Ces idées conduisent à la définition, la forme, la fabrication, l’utilisation, la transformation et la signification de la chaise. On attribue, dès l’ancienne Égypte, deux fonctions à la chaise : une matérielle (s’asseoir) et une immatérielle (symboliser). Quand la chaise est utilisée dans l’activité sociale, politique ou artistique (transformée, détruite, reconstruite, etc.), elle est symbolique (elle symbolise), et c’est la seule condition dans laquelle la chaise peut dénoter et signifier. Entrons en contact avec la chaise pour qu’elle puisse signifier ! Un changement apparut à partir de la fin du XIXe siècle. Les designers ont conçu et fabriqué une grande diversité de chaises novatrices à la fois utilitaires et artistiques ou classiques dans leurs œuvres d’art. Bien que les designers aient cherché de nouvelles formes, leurs chaises étaient encore pourvues de la forme de base (pieds, siège et dossier) donnant la fonction fondamentale : s’asseoir. Il apparaît que la forme de la chaise soit déjà définie. Par qui la forme de la chaise fut-elle définie ? Par quoi la chaise signifie-t-elle ? / Socrates would say that the God created the form of the chair, that the craftsmen make other chairs according to this form, and that the artists create artistic chairs according to chairs made by the craftsmen. There is a truth in these ideas. The chair is the chair, it has its own form. It does not take the form of a piano, nor that of a bed. These ideas lead to the definition, the form, the manufacture, the use, the transformation and the significance of the chair. The human beings, from ancient Egypt, attributed two functions to the chair: one is material (sit) and the other is immaterial (symbolize). If the chair is used in a social, political or artistic activity (transformed, destroyed, rebuilt, etc.), it is symbolic (or symbolizing), this is the only condition where the chair can denote and signify. Get into contact with the chair so that it can mean! A change appeared from the end of the 19th century, designers designed and built a wide variety of innovative chairs, both utilitarian and artistic when the artists used simple and ordinary chairs or classical chairs in their art works. Although designers have sought new forms, but their chairs were still provided with the basic form (legs, seat and backrest) providing the fundamental function : sit. It appears that the form of the chair has already been defined. Who defined the form of the chair ? What does the chair mean?

As mental health is becoming increasingly prioritized, the disparity between the amount of undergraduate students who need mental health services and the amount of undergraduate students that actually receive this help is also becoming more noticeable. Over the past decade, there have been an increasing number of students seeking mental health services, with more students being diagnosed with mental health conditions. There have also been a rising number of students reporting heightened stress and anxiety due to COVID-19. With the increasing mental health diagnoses, especially during COVID-19, it is more important than ever to provide effective options for students to reduce their anxiety. To address this issue, we examined the effects of short easily accessible interventions including chair yoga, visual meditation and sound therapy to decrease anxiety in healthy college students. We report that a single session of five-minute chair yoga (p = 0.001) or visual meditation (p = 0.026) significantly reduced anxiety, as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. We propose that results of this study be considered preliminary data in starting a self-help system for undergraduate students, especially during periods of exceptionally high stress, such as midterms or finals.

BACKGROUND SUMMARY: Pulmonary rehabilitation programs are an important component of the multidisciplinary approach to minimizing the symptomatology of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Within the program, patients learn about how to live with their non-curable disease and how to minimize exacerbations. Although patients learn about their disease process, breathing techniques, and exercise, there are no specific components that bridge the mind and body gap to promote mindfulness through the patients’ efforts within the program. LITERATURE REVIEW FINDINGS: This thesis contains a comprehensive literature review composed largely of randomized trials. These trials and studies summarize the framework of pulmonary rehabilitation programs and how yoga is implemented within treatment options for chronic diseases. The literature review highlights that pulmonary rehabilitation programs improve the quality of life in patients with emphysema through patient education on breathing and exercise. However, there is a lack of literature on the use of yoga techniques of breathing and exercise within the framework of pulmonary rehabilitation programs to promote mindfulness when living with a chronic disease. PROPOSED PROJECT: This thesis proposes a randomized controlled study to identify a more mindful approach to a pulmonary rehabilitation program for emphysema patients through the use of timed ujjayi pranayama (mindful breathing) and yoga asanas (poses). CONCLUSIONS: The results will be analyzed to determine if yoga techniques lead to statistically significant improvement in patient outcomes in emphysema patients enrolled in a pulmonary rehabilitation program. SIGNIFICANCE: The compiled data will reveal how yoga breathwork and movement will be beneficial for emphysema patients enrolled within a pulmonary rehabilitation program.

A chair was made of northern white ash wood. Steamed laminates make up each leg, and the spans are solid wood. A bent seat perches on this frame. Drawings, words, and photographs expose the chair in this book. A full exposition of the work can be found in the Art and Architecture Library at the College of Architecture and Urban Studies. / Master of Architecture