For many companies, design related information mainly exists as rooms of paper-based archives, typically in the form of manufacturing drawings and technical specifications. This 'static' information cannot be easily reused. The work presented in this thesis proposes a methodology to ease this problem. It defines and implements a computer-based design tool that will enable existing design families to be transformed into 'dynamic' CAD-based models for the Conceptual, Embodiment and Detailed stages of the design process. Two novel concepts are proposed here, i) the use of a Function Means Tree to store Conceptual and Embodiment design and ii) a Variant Method to represent Detailed design. In this way a definite link between the more abstract conceptual and the concrete detailed design stages is realised by linking individual detailed designs to means in the Function Means Tree. The use of the Variant Method, incorporating 'state-of-the-art' developments in Solid Modelling, Feature-Based Design and Parametric Design, allows an entire family of designs to be represented by a single Master Model. Therefore, instances of this Master Model need only be stored as a set of design parameters. This enables current design families and new design cases to be more created more efficiently. Industrial Case Studies, including a Lathe Chuck family, a Drive-End casting and a family of Filtration Systems are given to prove the methodology.

The research problem that was examined in this study was two-fold. First, was the idea that the stages of group development could be depicted in serial group drawings completed by children who had participated in structured learning groups. Second, was that by using a rating scale that was designed for this purpose, trained objective raters could classify the stages of group development from the serial drawings completed by the children. Fifteen sets of drawings were gathered from fifteen children who had participated in different structured learning groups. These drawings were then analyzed and classified by raters who had been trained to use the rating scale. The rating scale was devised to identify the stages of group development within children's serial drawings. Qualitative data analysis showed that the stages of group development were depicted in some of the sets of serial group drawings. Quantitative data analysis showed that raters were able to use, with limited success, the rating scale designed to classify the drawings into the stages of group development. Many extraneous variables effected the results. These include: the unique characteristics of each child, the leadership style of each counsellor, the varying group topics, the adequacy of the rater training procedure, the objectivity of the raters, and the accuracy of the rating scale. Due to the many extraneous variables, it is clear that methodologically this study leaves many questions unanswered. Further research is necessary to more fully investigate the idea that the stages of group development can be identified within serial group drawings completed by children who have participated in structured learning groups., If further research proves that the stages of group development can be depicted and measured using a rating scale, it will provide group counsellors with a useful tool when evaluating group development. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This thesis indicates the nature poetry preferences of fifth grade elementary school children. Data gathered helped determine the preferred aspect of nature and choices of girls compared to boys.

Equal possibilities for students to communicate in the science classroom is of great importance for democratic reasons. Many students, especially multilingual ones, have difficulties to communicate in the language of instruction in school. A multiplicity of modes of expression can therefore be of great help, both for understanding the subject content one’s supposed to learn and for communicating one’s knowledge in an assessment situation. The purpose of this thesis is to study how students can show their knowledge in science through drawings instead of written text. Another purpose is to study how certain models for these drawings can help teachers to evaluate the students’ knowledge in an assessment situation.  The study was conducted in a grade 5 in a city in the south of Sweden. The teacher had just finished teaching a section in science about the content ‘the bloodstream and breathing’. Models were used to design an intervention in form of an assessment basis based on pictures. The students were also asked to draw their answers. The students’ answers and an interview with the teacher conducted after the intervention were the empirical material. Because it is an action research study the teacher takes part in the design of the assessment basis and gets the opportunity to reflect on the result of the evaluation. Through the study two theoretical frameworks are used, multimodal discourse and didactic design. Multimodal discourse is used to design the assessment basis and didactic design is used to analyze the students’ answers and the teacher’s reflection after the intervention. The result shows that students’ knowledge can be visualized at several levels through drawings. The used models also enables students to show more knowledge than planned in the teacher’s design and even visualize misconceptions some students have. In the interview the teacher reflects on the models’ potential and comes to the conclusion that it is possible to evaluate students’ knowledge through drawings. Another reflection concerns the misconceptions shown in the students’ answers, and that it is a good thing for the teacher to be aware of in future designs in science. One part of the result shows that drawings generally might get a lower value than written texts in an assessment situation. In some answers from the intervention the drawings show more knowledge in forms of details than a written text can do. One of the conclusions is that the richest assessment basis would be a combination of different modes.

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Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is an empirically endorsed approach for children facing specific clinical concerns and life circumstances alike. The majority of research to date has accrued data about clients from secondary sources, such as adult report and observation. The purpose of this study was to explore children's perceptions of participating in CCPT by implementing a developmentally accessible interview medium, allowing children to share their experiences directly. Ten children between the ages of 4 and 7 who had completed at least eight sessions of CCPT were invited to create a drawing and respond to an interview protocol with their counselor. Data sources included the picture produced, a transcript of the interview between the child and counselor, and observation notes of the interview process. Using a phenomenological approach, three themes were identified to describe children's awareness and experience of the intervention: expressions of relationship, experiences in the playroom, and reluctance to engage in counselor-directed activity. The first two themes reflect children's report of the intervention and the third represents reactions to the research activity. Findings from this study support conclusions that children are aware of relationship between themselves and their counselor and recognize the uniquely unstructured features of play therapy and the playroom, which are defining components of CCPT.

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