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The paradigm of design is changing. Designers now need to be equipped with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to participate in the global move towards a sustainable future. The tenets of Sustainable Development and Design: economy and environment are being dealt with extensively in both practice and theory. The social elements, unfortunately, have proven more difficult to define and implement. The challenges arise as social sustainability deals with softer and more complex issues as diverse and unquantifiable as ethics, values, cultural diversity, holistic perspectives, collective and personal responsibility. The competencies needed to address these wicked problems are based in the realm of Social Sustainability and require a shift in how designers are taught as students and will subsequently practice as professionals. This thesis proposes that by introducing various models of collaboration into design education the capacity for responsible design practice can be developed. Arguably, by capitalising on the process of collaboration a culture of individual and collective sharing can be encouraged leading to new knowledge and openness to multi-disciplinarity, holistic perspectives and diverse cultural backgrounds. Across a Delphi Study and four consecutive phases of Action Research, the competencies for social sustainability in design are identified and their emergence evaluated through practical collaborative projects in an educational setting. From the panel of twenty-one design experts the Delphi Study developed a construct for social sustainability in design, as well as an initial Framework of the key competencies. These two tools were then used to underpin the planning, implementation and subsequent analysis of the four Action Research phases. The pragmatic nature of Action Research allowed for continuous iteration and development, where data gathered through each phase informed the proceeding phase so as to fix on an approach that is both realisable and realistic. This thesis does not offer a panacea solution but rather a pathway towards achieving the necessary changes in design practice. The findings clearly show that building capacity for responsible design practice is not a simple or one size fits all approach, as each individual experience is different. The construct, framework of competencies (and their interconnections) along with the guidelines for effective collaboration, provide a starting point that can be built upon, evolve and progress as the debate around sustainability becomes more clearly defined. Over time these generic design skills can be honed and refined to meet previously unmet societal challenges.

To achieve success in today's competitive environment, companies are realising the importance of design collaboration during new product development. The aim of this research was to develop a collaborative design tool for use by industrial designers and engineering designers. To achieve this, a literature review was undertaken to understand the working relationship among the two disciplines during new product development. Following this, empirical research through interviews and observations outlined three problem areas: conflicts in values and principles; differences in education; and differences in representational tools and methods. The latter was chosen because the problem area of design representations was found to be highly significant. In looking at bridging differences in design representations, a taxonomy comprising 35 forms of sketches, drawings, models and prototypes was generated. A second stage of empirical research was conducted to establish the popularity of each representation and the type of design / technical information that industrial designers and engineering designers communicated with. The information was indexed into CoLab cards that would enable the two disciplines to gain joint understanding and create shared knowledge when using visual design representations. Following a pilot evaluation and minor modifications, student and practitioner interviews with a case study were employed to assess the significance of CoLab. The findings revealed that 82% of the interviewees felt CoLab to have built a common ground through the use of visual design representations. 75% gave a positive rating when asked if the system would enhance collaboration and 91% gave the physical cards a positive response as it provided instant access to information and allowed easy sharing. This thesis is a step towards a greater understanding of collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers. The use of the CoLab system provides the prospect of achieving a common ground between the two disciplines.

While 3D digital design tools have extended the reach of architectural and engineering designers within their own domains, restrictions on the use of the tools and an approach to practice whereby the architect designs (synthesises) and the engineer solves (analyses) - in that order ¡V have limited the opportunities for interdependent modes of interaction between the two disciplines during the early design phase. While it is suggested that 3D digital design tools can facilitate a more integrated approach to design exploration, this idea remains largely untested in practice. The central proposition of my research is that that 3D digital tools can enable interdependencies between crucial aspects of architectural and engineering design exploration during the early design phase which, before the entry of the computer, were otherwise impossible to affect. I define interdependency as a productive form of practice enabled by mutual and lateral dependence. Interdependent parties use problem solving processes that meet not only their own respective goals, but also those of others, by constructively engaging difference across their boundaries to actively search for solutions that go beyond the limits of singular domains. Developed through practice-based project work undertaken during my 3 year postgraduate internship within the Melbourne Australia office of the engineering firm Arup, my research explores new and improved linkages between early design exploration, analysis and making. The principal contribution of my research is to explore this problem from within the context, conditi ons and pressures of live practice. To test the research proposition this dissertation engages firstly with available literature from the fields of organisation theory and design, secondly with information gathered from experts in the field principally via interview, and lastly with processes of testing through practice-based (as opposed to university-based) project work. The dissertation is organized as follows: The Introductory Chapter outlines the central hypothesis, the current state of the discourse, and my motivations for conducting this research. I summarise the structure of my research, and the opportunities and limitations that have framed its ambitions. Chapter Two, Approach to Research and Method, details the constraints and possibilities of the Embedded Research within Architectural Practice context, within which this work has been undertaken, and describes the Melbourne office of Arup, the practice with whom I have been embedded. These contexts have led to the selection of a particular set of ethnographic research instruments, being the use of semi-structured interviews and the undertaking of practice-based studies as a participant-observer. These modes of testing are explained, and the constraints, limitations and requirements associated with them described. Within Chapter Three, Factors for Separation and Integration in Architectural and Engineering Design, I examine selected design literature to detail several factors impacting upon the historic and contemporary relationship between architects and engineers, and to introduce the problem towards which this thesis is addressed. I describe a process of specialisation that has led architects and engineers to see different aspects of a common problem, detail the historical factors for separation, the current relationship between domains and the emerging idea of increased integration during the early design phase. The aim of this section is primarily contextual - to introduce the characters and to understand why their interaction can be difficult - and investigation occurs through the concepts of specialisation and disciplinary roles. Chapter Four, Unravelling Interdependency, establishes an understanding of interdependency through the concept of collaboration. While I differentiate interdependency from collaboration because of the inconsistent manner in which the latter term is employed, the concept of collaboration is useful to initialise my understanding of interdependency because it, as opposed to the closely linked processes of cooperation and coordination, is recognised as being characterised by interdependency, and in fact is a viewed as a response specific to wider conditions of interdependency. From the literature, I identify four sites of intersection crucial to an understanding of interdependency; these are differing perceptions, shared and creative problem solving, communication and trust. These themes, which correlate with my practice experience at Arup Melbourne, are developed to introduce the concepts and vocabulary underlying my research. Chapter Five, Intersections & Interdependency between Architects and Engineers, grounds these four sites of intersection within contemporary issues of digital architectural and engineering practice. Each site is developed firstly through reference to design literature and secondly through the experiences and understandings of senior Arup practitioners as captured through my interviews. The views and experiences of these practitioners are used to locate digital limits to, and potential solutions for, interdependent design exploration between architects and engineers as they are experienced within and by practice. Through this combination of design literature and grounded experience, I extend: * the understanding of differing perceptions through reference to problems associated with digital information transfer. * the understanding of joint and creative problem solving by connecting it to the notion of performance-based design. * the understanding of communication by focussing it upon the idea of back propagating design information. * the understanding of trust by connecting it to the management and reduction of perceived complexity and risk. Chapter Six, Testing through Projects, details the project studies undertaken within this research. These studies are grouped into three discourses, characterized as Design(Arch)Design(Eng), Design|Analysis and Design|Making. As suggested by the concurrency operator that separates the two terms that constitute each of the three labels, each discourse tests how architectural and engineering explorations might execute in parallel. The section Design(Arch)|Design(Eng) reports projects that use a common language of geometry to link architectural and engineering design ideas through geometric interpretation. The section Design|Analysis reports projects in which analytical tools have been used generatively to actively guide and synthesise design exploration. The final section, Design|Making, reports projects in which the architectural and engineering design processes are synthesised around the procurement of fabrication information. Conclusions are then drawn and discussed in Chapter Seven. In evaluating the research I discuss how 3D digital design tools have enabled alternative approaches that resolve issues associated with differing perceptions, establishing common meanings, communication and trust. I summarise how these approaches have enabled increased interdependency in architect engineer interaction. Lastly, I draw together the impacts of intersecting 3D digital aspects of architectural and engineering design exploration during the early design phase, and indicate those aspects that require further analysis and research.

The aim of this research is to examine the role of practice in collaboration between designers and African craft producers in order to develop a different methodology for future exchanges that can be more sustainable and equitable. It looks to determine how craft and design practices can act as tools for communication and exchange, to examine how to foster meaningful collaboration when the relationship of those involved is inequitable and to develop a co-creation methodology for practice, capitalising on the differing skills, experiences and cultures of those involved. The research explores collaboration through making with two Cape Town based, craft businesses - Imiso Ceramics and Kunye - investigating the interactions that occur between the collaborators. A critical contextual review reveals the majority of such partnerships are instigated from the top down with an emphasis on product development. This study proposes that the focus is shifted to one that is human-centred, where the process of collaboration between the people involved is foregrounded. By strengthening the collaborative relationships and giving all participants an equal voice, the process becomes more productive, with product development an inherent result. Using a practice based, participatory design methodology, the work draws on the African notion of ubuntu, which speaks of people's interconnectedness. Applying the cross-disciplinary practices of all three collaborators, products are developed, provoking a dialogue that challenges the designer's role in the developing world. The research culminates in an exhibition of the journey, conversations, issues and outcomes that occurred throughout. The exhibition provides an opportunity to provoke a conversation with the stakeholders, listening to their experiences and gaining their feedback on the work presented. Practical exercises for participatory design in future cross-cultural, cross-disciplinary contexts are presented.

Jewellery as a tool in the identification of the deceased is increasingly referenced within the scientific process of Forensic Human Identification (FHI). Jewellery’s prevalence in society, connection to both place and geographic region, potential to corroborate primary methods of identification (such as DNA, fingerprinting, or odontology), and robust physical form, means it progressively contributes to practices surrounding identification in a number of forensic fields. Physical marks or characteristics such as hallmarks or serial numbers, personal inscriptions or engravings, representational symbols (such as medals, badges of office, religious iconography or military insignia), and genealogical or gemmological markings, may also prove useful in informing investigators much about a piece - and potentially - the individual to whom it may have belonged. Despite this, jewellery is an approach to establishing human identity that has yet to be explicitly investigated from the perspective of either forensic science or jewellery design. The aim of this research has been to explore the potential of jewellery and highlight its significance within this context, through employing the processes and approaches of design. Informed by my own background in both jewellery and service design; I sought to co-design the interdisciplinary proposition of Forensic Jewellery as an extension of my own personal design practice, in addition to a broader hybrid methodology through which the dualistic perspective(s) of both forensic science and jewellery design may come to be mutually explored. By centring my methodology upon my practice, the research serves to document and reflect upon my auto-ethnographic experiences in inadvertently ‘prototyping’ my emergent new role as a Forensic Jeweller – a jewellery designer engaged within, or whose work pertains to, the field of forensic science. Through a range of forensic-based fieldwork, I sought to immerse myself within various communities of forensic practice by way of considering how a design practitioner may come to add value to this otherwise polarised field - a highly subjective and interpretive framework that has remained wholly unconsidered within forensic science. In simultaneously considering the impact of the perspective of forensics upon the broader field of jewellery design, I came to capture some of the otherwise restricted narratives of Forensic Jewellery emerging from the developing research context through a series of theoretically-informed design ‘reconstructions’: objects, concepts, and scenarios (representational, propositional, and metaphorical); educational material, and series of public engagement activities. The research thus culminates in a unique portfolio of practice – written, conceptual, and visual – with relevance to both forensic science and jewellery design history, theory, and practice. Original contributions to knowledge are demonstrated through the direct study of jewellery within real-world forensic settings through combined theory and practice, while the theoretical and conceptual debates surrounding identity, death, and the human body present within the field of jewellery design are simultaneously extended through the inclusion of forensics as a perspective. The research additionally demonstrates how the visual and tangible sensibilities of design can help to attend to otherwise challenging, emotional, or difficult subjects, capture and communicate tacit knowledge or anecdotal evidence, and ultimately contribute to the development of new and emergent research contexts.

This thesis presents two empirical studies of four pairs of design students collaborating on two small products design sessions in both face-to-face and distributed settings while using computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies and a Collaborative Virtual Environment (CVE). To gain insight about the way designers communicate and collaborate, the observation focused on how much time the students worked "together" and "individually" in the design process. Each design process was video recorded and analyzed with a video analysis software Observer XT. The first study shows that both teams worked together to arrive at a design concept then they divided the work for each person to work independently (either the 3D modeling task or the 2D graphic task) to produce the final design. Teams worked together less than fifty percent of the overall work time because they could not share design information effectively using the computing technology tools on the collaborative design process. Findings of the first study suggested plausible design criteria for communication tools for distributed collaboration that supports interaction and sharing design information. The second study used the same methodology and experimental procedures as those used in study. However, participants were provided a shared tool such as NetMeeting Whiteboard and Shared program that support shared sketching abilities or shared viewing of 3D objects. The study shows that teams spent more time working together when using programs that support shared sketching abilities or shared viewing of 3D objects. The shared program and the whiteboard function from NetMeeting helped the design teams to share more information. Participants commented that this program helped facilitate the collaborative process by enabling them each to perform multiple tasks such as talking with their teammates and observing 3D object in a shared view at the same time. Participants also reported that they found the distributed setting a more engaging environment to work with teammates because they were "forced to be engaged" and "forced to communicate better," and that they "concentrated more using hand gestures on camera." Although two studies showed that current CVE (Unreal) did not lead to effective collaboration, several potential features such as creating virtual mock-ups for the brainstorming within a virtual environment were introduced. Participants consider real time 3D visualization effective in the design process and thus very promising in the collaborative setting if they can share ideas easily within a 3D virtual environment.

Mit dem Begriff des eLearnings verknüpfen sich viele sehr unterschiedliche Konzepte, die auf Grund ihrer spezifischen Ausprägung häufig Grenzen für ihre Benutzung errichten. Um diese zu überwinden, wurde ein Framework konzipiert und implementiert, welches den Anspruch der Universalität in Hinblick auf Anwendungs- und Inhaltsorganisation sowie Funktionalität erhebt. In der kollaborativen eLearning-Plattform BluES erfuhr das Framework eine Beispielimplementierung. Diese diente gleichzeitig als Grundlage für die Validierung unterschiedlicher Aspekte des Frameworks. Als Ergebnis der Arbeit konnte gezeigt werden, dass maximale Flexibilität der Anwendung durch die Systemarchitektur gewährleistet werden kann. Dadurch werden Restriktionen in der Gestaltung der Anwendungsumgebung vermieden und die Anwender bei der Detailkonzeption ihrer Arbeit flexibel unterstützt.

隨著奈米積體電路時代的來臨, 在微影技術,半導體製造技術和電路設計技術的進步已導致新的機會來整合大部份在系統中被使用到的電子功能。例如經過SoC技術提供的單晶片解決方案 - 由可重複使用的矽智財共同構成的單晶片系統 (舉例來說: 微處理器矽智財、數位信號處理矽智財、記憶體矽智財和其他的明星矽智財共同構成的單晶片系統) 可以和其他的整合系統溝通。這種包括多項技術的整合方式漸漸增加DFM 的要求, 進而創造在半導體價值鏈之中新虛擬的整合鏈模式。 對於先進產品發展, 經由現存的分解方式價值鏈﹐從每個單一鏈節 （無晶圓設計，矽智財，電路設計自動化, 設計服務，光罩製造，晶圓製造和封裝／測試）所創造的聯合價值無法在短時間超越IDM (舉例來說: 無法提供較早的上市時間)。因此針對先進產品突破性的發展,整合每個單一鏈節變成重要的主題。本研究針對這一個整合議題提供一個新的設計合作平台作為解決方案。 研究將以 DFM議題在半導體價值鏈中的影響作為分析。針對公司和公司間的溝通界面, 設計合作平台將會提供更多的併進價值鏈知識整合。 / Advances in lithography, semiconductor processes and circuit design techniques at the nanometer IC era have led to new opportunities to integrate most of the electronic functions encountered in systems. The single-chip solution through System on Chip (SoC) which comprises reusable Silicon IP (SIP) such as Microprocessor, Digital Signal Processing (DSP), Memory and other Star SIPs enabling the system to communicate with other systems. This multidisciplinary approach calls for increasing Design for Manufacturing (DFM) needs among semiconductor value chain to enable a whole new virtual integrated chain. Through the existing disintegrated value chain, the synergized value contributed from each single node (fabless, SIP provider, EDA, design service, mask foundry, wafer foundry and assembly/test) could not fulfill the time-to-market benefit as the IDM provides for advanced product development. To integrate each single chain node becomes the important topic for advanced product breakthrough. A new design collaboration platform is proposed to address this integration issue. Study was conducted among this semiconductor value chain for the DFM (Design for Manufacturing) issue. The design collaboration platform addresses the inter-firm communication interface among the value chain to provide more concurrent value chain knowledge integration. By applying Fine’s double helix model with the evidence from DFM case, I successfully predict the re-integration trend of semiconductor industry post the disintegration model.