One method to create and work with personas is to abstract the user data into a character with a background story and a set of goals. This method has been argued against as the method is argued to lead to, for example, stereotyping users and for not exposing User Experience (UX) designers to user data. User data has been argued to be used by UX designers to make design decision. This study examines the possibility for UX designers to empathize with a persona that have additional accessible representations of user data. The results from this study imply that it is possible for UX designers to empathize with a persona while having access to representations of user data. Additionally, the results indicate that the persona design methods used in this study need further development. / En metod för att skapa och jobba med personas är att abstrahera användardatan till en karaktär med en bakgrundshistoria och ett antal mål. Denna metod har argumenterats mot bland annat för att metoden leder till att man skapar stereotypa användare och för att inte exponera User Experience (UX) designers till användardatan. Användardata har argumenterats användas av UX-designers för att göra designrelaterade beslut. Denna studie undersöker möjligheten att empatisera med en persona som har ytterligare representationer av användardata tillgängliga. Resultatet av denna studie indikerar att det är möjligt för UX designers att empatisera med en persona medan representationer av användardata finns att tillgå. Ytterligare indikerar resultaten att designmetoderna för den persona som användes i denna studie är i behov av ytterligare utveckling.

This thesis addresses the design difficulties encountered when designing deployable origami-based arrays. Specific considerations regarding thickness accommodation, deployment, and parameter modifications are discussed. Patterns such as the Miura-ori, flasher, and hexagon are investigated, with emphasis placed on pattern modification from zero-thickness to finite-thickness. Applying origami principles to form engineering solutions is a complicated task. Competing requirements may create confusion around which pattern is most favorable for the space array application. Implementing origami into a finite-thickness, engineered system poses challenges that are not manifest in a zero-thickness model. As such, it is important to understand and address the limitations of the pattern before implementing it into an engineered system. A preliminary set of approaches to address and mitigate design difficulties is provided. This thesis seeks to improve understanding of design parameters, objectives, and trade offs of origami pattern configurations. Emphasis is placed on finite-thickness models suitable for engineering applications. As a result, engineers and designers should be better prepared to integrate origami principles into space system design.

The workflow and process of graphic design is today streamlined by the usage of our tools such as softwares. However, this doesn’t mean that designers must restrict themselves from working outside an established practice largely determined by such software. Implementing programming and generative design as a method in the development of graphic design can lead to new insights and different perspectives. Proven to be an asset in the creation of visual material the method falls short as generative design is co-dependent on both the designer and user. Though complicated and expensive, generative design proves useful when working with realtime data and as a tool for generating new ideas. Working experimentally with under-utilized tools can help the development of new trends and methods within the field of graphic design.

Conversational agents are becoming increasingly common in our day to day lives. We can speak to our phones, our cars and our smart home devices. Despite these advances, the current conversational agents are still far from perfect. The complexities of language as well as the technologies that are used to enable conversational agents pose many challenges to the people designing and developing them. This study aims to bring light to how practitioners design and develop conversational agents that exist out there today. Interviews were conducted with 11 practitioners that have been creating conversational agents for various industries and use cases. The results show that practitioners face a range of challenges when creating conversational agents, including collecting data about the target users during the design process as well as integrating the conversational agent with other systems. The study suggests that practitioners may benefit from involving users early on in the design process. It also advocates for HCI educators to prepare future graduates for designing conversational agents, through training them in human conversation and communication. This study gives insights into how conversational agents are built today, the processes that are followed and the challenges that are faced by the people creating them. / Konverserande system blir allt vanligare i våra dagliga liv. Vi kan prata med våra telefoner, våra bilar och våra smarta hem enheter. Trots dessa framsteg är de nuvarande konverserande systemen fortfarande långt ifrån perfekta. Språkets komplexitet och de teknologier som används, ställer många utmaningar för de människor som designar och utvecklar dem. Denna studie syftar till att belysa hur yrkesarbetare designar och utvecklar konverserande system. Intervjuer genomfördes med 11 yrkesarbetare som har skapat konverserande system för olika branscher och användningsområden. Resultaten visar att yrkesarbetarna står inför en rad utmaningar när de skapar dessa system, bland annat att samla in data om användarna under designprocessen och att integrera konverserande system med andra system. Studien tyder på att utövare kan ha nytta av att involvera användare tidigt i designprocessen. Studien förespråkar också att utbildare inom människa-datorinteraktion bör förbereda studenter för att utforma konverserande system, genom att utbilda dem i mänsklig konversation och kommunikation. Denna studie ger insikter i hur konverserande system är uppbyggda idag, de processer som följs och de utmaningar som människorna som skapar dem står inför.

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Patrullerande poliser i Malmö har en varierande och oförutsägbar arbetsmiljö. När de kommer till händelser där de är osäkra på hur de ska agera kan de konsultera tryckt metodstödsmaterial. Dessa tryckta handböcker är ofta utdaterade och icke-standardiserade.Tillsammans med Polisen i Malmö har vi tagit fram ett förslag till hur en digital version av denna typ av material kan se ut, med förslag kring gränssnitt och informationsrepresentation, och en diskussion kring vilka potentiella konsekvenser ett mediebyte kan få för poliserna ute på fältet.För att ta fram dessa designförslag använde vi oss av ett antal interaktionsdesignmetoder. Dessa utvärderar och diskuterar vi, utifrån hur väl de fungerar inom en myndighet som Polisen, i kontexten patrullerande poliser i Malmö. / Patrolling officers in Malmö have a varied and unpredictable working environment. When they encounter situations within which they are not certain how to take action, they have printed material with support information. This type of handbook is often outdated and non-standardized. Together with the Malmö Police, we sketch a proposal for how a digital version of this kind of material could be designed, with suggestions for interface design and information representation, as well as outline what the potential consequences could be for the individual officer on the field.While outlining these design suggestions, we utilized a number of different interaction design methods. These are evaluated and discussed as to how well they work within a governmental organization like the Police in Malmö, within the context of patrolling officers.

During an earthquake, columns in a one-story building must support vertical gravity loads while undergoing large lateral drifts associated with deflections of the vertical seismic force resisting system and deflections of the flexible roof diaphragm. Analyzing the behavior of these gravity columns is complex since not only is there an interaction between compression and bending, but also the boundary conditions are not perfectly pinned or fixed. In this research, the behavior of steel columns that are square hollow structural sections (HSS) is investigated for stability using three design methods: elastic design, plastic hinge design, and pinned base design. First, for elastic design, the compression and flexural strength of the HSS columns are calculated according to the AISC specifications, and the story drift ratio that causes the interaction equation to be violated for varying axial force demands is examined. Then, a simplified design procedure is proposed; this procedure includes a modified interaction equation applicable to HSS column design based on a parameter, Pnh/Mn, and a set of design charts are provided. Second, a plastic hinge design is grounded in the concept that a stable plastic hinge makes the column continue to resist the gravity load while undergoing large drifts. Based on the available test data and the analytical results from finite element models, three limits on the width to thickness ratios are developed for steel square HSS columns. Lastly, for pinned base design, the detailing of a column base connection is schematically described. Using FE modeling, it is shown that it is possible to create rotational stiffness below a limit such that negligible moment develops at the column base. All the design methods are demonstrated with a design example / Master of Science / One-story buildings are one of the most economical types of structures built for industrial, commercial, or recreational use. During an earthquake, columns in a one-story building must support vertical gravity loads while undergoing large lateral displacements, referred to as story drift. Vertical loads cause compression forces, and lateral drifts produce bending moments. The interaction between these forces makes it more complex to analyze the behavior of these gravity columns. Moreover, since the column base is not perfectly fixed to the ground, there are many boundary conditions applicable to the column base depending on the fixity condition. For these reasons, the design for columns subjected to lateral drifts while supporting axial compressive forces has been a growing interest of researchers in the field. However, many researchers have focused more on wide-flange section (I-shape) steel columns rather than on tube section columns, known as hollow structural section (HSS) steel columns. In this research, the behavior of steel square tube section columns is investigated for stability using three design methods: elastic design, plastic hinge design, and pinned base design. First, for elastic design, the compression and flexural strength of the HSS columns are calculated according to current code equations, and the story drift that causes failure for varying axial force demands is examined. Then, a simplified design procedure is proposed including design charts. Second, a plastic hinge design is grounded in the concept that controlled yielding at the column base makes the column continue to resist the gravity load while undergoing large drifts. Based on the available test data and results from computational models, three limits on the width to thickness ratios of the tubes are developed. Lastly, for pinned base design, concepts for detailing a column base connection with negligible bending resistance is schematically described. Using a computational model, it is shown that the column base can be detailed to be sufficiently flexible to allow rotation. All the design methods are demonstrated with a design example.

Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS) is a promising technology that can be implemented in walls, culverts, rock fall barriers, and bridge abutments. Its use in walls and abutments is similar to Mechanically Stabilized Earth Walls (MSEW) reinforced with geosynthetics. Both GRS and MSEW are reinforced soil technologies that use reinforcement to provide tensile capacity within soil masses. However, the soil theories behind each method and the design methodologies associated with GRS and MSEW technologies are quite different. Therefore, a study was undertaken to compare the required tensile strength predicted by these various reinforced soil design methodologies. For the purposes of this study, the required ultimate tensile strength was defined as the ultimate tensile strength needed in the reinforcement after all applicable factors of safety, load factors, and reduction factors were applied. The investigation explored both MSEW and GRS. GRS has been made an FHWA "Every Day Counts" initiative. Due to the push to implement GRS technology, it is critical to understand how GRS design methods differs from classic MSEW design methods, specifically in the prediction of ultimate tensile strength required. A parametric study was performed comparing five different reinforced soil analysis methods. Two are current MSEW design methods and one was a proposed revision to an existing MSEW design method. The final two were GRS design methods. These design methods are among the most current and/or widely used design references in the United States regarding reinforced soil technology. There are significant differences between the methods in the governing soil theory particularly between GRS and MSEW design methods. The goal of the study was to understand which design parameters had the most influence on calculated values of the required ultimate tensile strength and nominal "unfactored" tensile strength. A base case was established and a reasonable set of parameter variations was determined. Two loading conditions were imposed, a roadway loading scenario and a bridge loading scenario. Based on parametric study findings, conclusions were drawn about which design parameters had the most influence for different design methods. Additionally, the difference in overall predicted required tensile strength was assessed between the various methods. Finally, the underlying soil theory and assumptions employed by the different methods and their influence on predicted required tensile strength values was interpreted. / Master of Science

Public housing provides affordable housing for low-income families. However, the physical and social conditions have deteriorated since its inception, resulting in housing environments that are isolated and disconnected from surrounding neighborhoods and often plagued by crime and violence. This study explores opportunities for enhancing residents' sense of ownership, control, and efficacy through the redesign of outdoor spaces at the Fulton public housing development in Richmond, VA. Residents participated in a design process that produced a Conceptual Landscape Master Plan based on their preferences, and a set of guidelines and recommendations for the implementation and maintenance of the proposed external spaces of the Master Plan. The study presents design objectives and criteria addressing public-private spatial delineations, public space, pedestrian and vehicular circulation, development image, and safety considerations. These objectives and criteria were used to evaluate design options and to generate two design concepts from which the residents selected appropriate design solutions for their housing development. The study concludes with the presentation of a preferred Conceptual Landscape Master Plan. The plan presents a hierarchy of public-to-private spaces, clear delineations of semi-public and semi-private spaces, and the location of active and passive public recreational spaces. It also addresses the legibility of pedestrian and vehicular access, circulation, and parking, as well as safety issues such as natural surveillance, access control, and territoriality. The participatory process guided the redesign of the Fulton public housing site, and also provided an understanding of the underlying social conditions that significantly impact the residents and their use of space. The preferred landscape design reflects the residents' needs, concerns, and wishes, and creates opportunities to foster interaction and involvement among the residents and the surrounding communities. / Master of Landscape Architecture