My thesis pursues the development of a tool to empower designers and non-designers to better understand humor’s function in design and to encourage the use of humor as a rhetorical device to undertake social problems. Humor research is a field that is largely based on linguistic studies, but because of its multidisciplinary stretch in the past decade has displayed a broad rhetorical influence; however, it has yet to form a substantial relationship with design. Through a literature review of linguistic, rhetorical, and design theories, I identified a set of heuristics that guide how humor should operate in design. I then tested the effectiveness of the heuristics, and with their final revision, applied them to designing for motivational problems associated with public displays of political mobilization. My user research inferred the creation of a mobile instructional tool that guides the collaborative and/or individual production of political communication artifacts (e.g. rally signs), which use humor to confront socially complex issues. The artifacts’ implicit intent is to motivate political mobilization and to found and/or empower communities. My project focus entails the creation and testing of the tool on the individual level. Whether the artifacts created produce the desired effect regarding mobilization and community strength is unknown; Future work should lend itself to testing humorous design’s effect on political mobilization and ability to empower communities.

The objective of the proposed research is to study the integration of humans and automation for the operation of regenerative life support systems (RLSS). RLSS combine physico-chemical and biological processes with the purpose of increasing the autonomy of space habitats and the life quality of their living organisms by properly reusing byproducts and regenerating consumable resources. However, these processes require energy and time to transform chemical compounds and organic wastes into nutrients, consumables, and edible products. Consequently, the maintenance of RLSS imposes a considerable workload on human operators. In addition, the uncertainties introduced by unintended chemical reactions promoted by material loop closure may create unexpected situations that, if unattended, could translate into performance deterioration, human errors, and failures. The availability of novel chemical and biological sensors together with computational resources enable the development of monitoring and automation systems to alleviate human workload, help avoid human error, and increase the overall reliability of these systems. This research aggregates sensor data and human-expert situation assessments to create a representation of their situation knowledge base (\gloss{skb}). The representation is used in a switched control approach to the automation of RLSS, for decision support, and human-automation coordination. The aggregation method consists of an optimization process based on particle swarms. The purpose of this work is to contribute to the methodological development of situation-oriented and user-centered design approaches to human-automation systems. Experiments and simulations are supported on the process of respiration in an aquatic habitat acting as a RLSS.

Initiativet till projektet togs av tandvårdspersonal på Specialisttandvården i Halmstad då de upplevde problem vid arbete med oral protetik. Problemet, som projektet även bygger på, innebär att komponenter tappas och på grund av gravitationen samt patientens position riskeras att inhaleras eller sväljas. Detta innebär ett stress- och orosmoment, vilket bidrar till en försämrad psykosocial arbetsmiljö för tandvårdspersonalen.   2008 infördes det statliga tandvårdsstödet i Sverige vilket innebär en reducerad kostnad för protetikingrepp som lett till att fler har råd med oral protetik. Därför blir problemet mer och mer utbrett, vilket gjort kravet på en lösning mer eftertraktad.   I projektet har dynamisk produktutveckling tillämpats med stort fokus på involvering av framtida användare. Artikelsökning, observation och enkätundersökning i genomförd produktdefinitionsfas lade grunden till projektet. Olika konceptgenererings- och utvärderingsmetoder tillämpades och födde den slutgiltiga prototypen. Under hela projektets gång har en kontinuerlig dialog och testning hos uppdragsgivarna utförts.   Detta produktutvecklingsprojekt resulterade i ett instrument som underlättar för tandvårdspersonal samt ökar säkerheten för patienten vid oral protetik. Lösningen är en specialutformad pincett som träs på skruvmejseln och fixerar komponenter. / The project was initiated by dental personnel at the Specialist dentistry in Halmstad, Sweden, because they experienced problems when working with oral prosthetics. There is a risk that components are dropped and due to gravity and the patient's position, being inhaled or swallowed. This means stress and concerns, contributing to the deterioration of the psychosocial work environment for dental personnel.   The Swedish dental State support was introduced in 2008, which gives the patient a reduced cost for dental prosthetic procedures. This allows more people to afford oral prosthetics. Therefore, the problem becomes more and more prevalent and the demand for a solution is requiered.    The project has implemented dynamic product development with a major focus on the involvement of future users. The project was based on literature reviews, observation and survey, which was performed in the product definition phase. Different concept generation methods and evaluation methods were applied and resulted in a final prototype. A continuous dialogue and testing with the clients where performed throughout the project.   This product development project resulted in an instrument that facilitates for dental personnel and increase safety for the patient during oral prosthetics. The solution is a specially designed forceps which slips onto the screwdriver and secures components.

ABSTRACT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIO ECONOMIC FACTORS AND USE CONTEXT IN PRODUCT USABILITY Karapars, Zeynep M. Sc., Department of Industrial Design Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. &Ccedil / igdem Erbug April 2004, 184 pages Developments in the usability discipline have lead to new paths in new product development processes. The methods for development of usable products are abundant and the area is crescent for new research. One of the concerns in usability lies in the question of employment of user centered design in the prevailing product development processes. In this study, it is aimed to be clarified that inquiry into the use context should be an initial step in user centered design. However, use context is one of the less explored areas of usability. Detailed examinations of contextual factors may open paths to new methods of integrating usability into products. This study aims to take a step towards the analysis of the impact of socio economic factors on usability of product. A field study is made in order to acquire a deeper understanding. Samples of two different socio-economic groups are defined from the marketing perspective. Contextual factors are specified on the example of washing machines. Comparison of problems between the users from the two socio economic groups shed light on the relationship between socio economic variables and usability problems.

Design probes are a User-centered Design method with focus on close involvement of users in design. This is done by creating a package of artefacts that participants can complete wherever and whenever the individual sees fit. Further, children are a user group that differentiate from other user groups having other needs and attributes within design. This study investigated how design probes motivate children in the design process. A focus of the study is also to compare the applicability of thematic and non-thematic design probes with children.  The study was conducted with a qualitative approach where the empirical data was in the shape of four different design probes that were created and tested by students from Linköping University from the program of Design and Product Development. The tests they carried out were performed on children at the age of 10 to 13. Data analysis were made through coding and thematic analysis.  The study concludes that design probes is an adequate method for designing with children. Although, there are additional challenges in terms of playfulness, motivation, language, rewards, time-sense, creativity, influences and reflection. If design probes with children are managed correctly, they will yield results of great value to design. Also, having a theme in the design probe might help to motivate children. Although, themes are no guarantee for success since it will not solve challenges that are independent of themes. Keywords: Design probe, children, designing with children, User-centered Design, motivation

Submitted by Kleber Silva (kleberbs@ufba.br) on 2017-06-06T18:36:46Z No. of bitstreams: 1 thesis_Almerindo.pdf: 28859099 bytes, checksum: 174d845c1992efdff75a145e0ec76a4d (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vanessa Reis (vanessa.jamile@ufba.br) on 2017-06-16T15:25:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 thesis_Almerindo.pdf: 28859099 bytes, checksum: 174d845c1992efdff75a145e0ec76a4d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-16T15:25:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 thesis_Almerindo.pdf: 28859099 bytes, checksum: 174d845c1992efdff75a145e0ec76a4d (MD5) / O advento do Kinect desencadeou o crescimento de aplicações voltadas à interação natural, reconhecimento de gestos e ambientes interativos. Com o tempo, percebeu-se que as soluções de interfaces baseadas nesses novos tipos de interação cresciam de maneira rápida e desordenada, sem qualquer preocupação com a formalização de etapas de desenvolvimento. Além disso, questões relativas à forma de representar estas interações, ao contexto onde elas ocorrem e qual o comportamento do ambiente em resposta a estas interações tornaram-se relevantes. Neste sentido, esse trabalho traz como contribuição uma abordagem prática para o desenvolvimento de ambientes interativos através do modelo Where-What-Why-How, ou simplesmente, 3W1H. A solução teve como base uma compilação de tarefas comumente executadas neste tipo de desenvolvimento e relatadas em diversos trabalhos correlatos. A solução parte de três questões principais: (I) quais as reações devem ser disparadas no ambiente interativo; (II) quais as situações que disparam a execução destas reações no ambiente; e, (III) qual o comportamento esperado uma vez que estas situações sejam reconhecidas. O comportamento esperado do ambiente pode ser visto como um conjunto de estados que definem o controle das reações e mudanças dentro do ambiente real ou virtual. A transição entre estes estados comportamentais é feita a partir da composição entre eventos associados, por exemplo, ao reconhecimento de gestos do usuário quando interage com o sistema. A validação da proposta é feita através de alguns estudos de casos completos, que contemplam todas as fases de desenvolvimento e a implementação física do ambiente interativo. Os estudos de caso foram construídos com o auxílio do framework Touch The Air - TTair, uma outra contribuição importante do trabalho.

Les personnes en situation de handicap moteur des membres supérieurs ont besoin de système de suppléance pour leur autonomie. Cependant 1/3 de ces aides de compensation sont abandonnées car pas encore suffisamment centrées sur les besoins et les aptitudes de l'utilisateur. La problématique centrale de cette thèse concerne la mise en œuvre d'une méthode de conception centrée utilisateur, adaptée en fonction de la population d'études (personnes en situation de handicap ayant des troubles neuro-moteurs langagiers) pour la conception de trois aides de compensation. La première concerne la commande d'un bras robotique de préhension JACO pour laquelle la conception centrée utilisateur classique a été appliquée. Celle-ci est adaptée pour les personnes pouvant s'exprimer oralement mais qu'en est-il lorsque ces personnes ne peuvent participer directement ou bien ont besoin de leurs aidants pour exprimer leurs besoins ou répondre aux questionnaires? Une alternative est de recueillir les besoins par l'intermédiaire d'experts. Nous montrerons comment la méthode de conception centrée utilisateur a été adaptée pour la conception du système HandiMathKey pour la saisie de formules Mathématiques. Notre dernière adaptation est d'utiliser l'écosystème de la personne comme médiateur pour communiquer et un profil utilisateur. Cette méthode a permis de concevoir l'interface de communication intégrée et de contrôle d'environnement nommée CECI. Nous décrirons également comment la plateforme SoKeyTo permet le prototypage des aides de compensation. Pour chacune des aides de compensation, nous rapporterons les évaluations réalisées et nous discuterons la manière dont la méthode de conception a été adaptée. / People with motor impairment of the upper limbs need an assistive technology for their autonomy. However, 1/3 of these assistive technologies are abandoned because they are not yet sufficiently focused on the needs and abilities of the user. The central problem of this thesis concerns the implementation of a user-centered design method adapted to the study population (persons with disabilities with neuro-motor language impairments) for the design of three applications. The first concerns the control of a robot arm JACO for which the classic user centered design has been applied. This is appropriate for people who can speak orally, but what if they cannot participate directly or need their caregivers to express their needs or answer questionnaires? An alternative is to gather needs through experts. We will show how the user centered design method has been adapted for the design of the HandiMathKey system for entering mathematical formulas. Our last adaptation is to use the person's ecosystem as a mediator to communicate and a user profile. This method allowed to design the integrated communication and environmental control interface named CECI. We will also describe how the SoKeyTo platform allows prototyping of assistive technologies. For each of the assistive technologies, we will report the assessments made and discuss how the design method has been adapted.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:26:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ThiagoMP_DISSERT.pdf: 24825408 bytes, checksum: a4d71b4273fcca93c12e78e5c44cd7cf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-21 / Este trabalho tem como objetivo o desenvolvimento de interfaces com o usu?rio para aplicativo m?vel smartphones com intuito de contribuir para a efici?ncia das atividades de profissionais e pesquisadores da ?rea de fisioterapia ao oferecer suporte ao acompanhamento cl?nico da dor no tratamento de pacientes fibromi?lgicos. Utilizando a abordagem de Design Centrado no Usu?rio - DCU, foram realizadas entrevistas e uma investiga??o contextual para a identifica??o inicial dos problemas e necessidades dos usu?rios. Verificou-se que as atividades de monitoramento e acompanhamento das sess?es do tratamento de pacientes fibromi?lgicos s?o, tradicionalmente, realizadas por meio de manipulando de formul?rios e fichas em papel (registro das condi??es de sa?de do paciente) e escalas de classifica??o da dor em formato impresso (apresentadas ao paciente para indica??o de sua dor percebida para cada ponto pr?-determinado do corpo). Os procedimentos envolvidos nestas atividades dificultam o gerenciamento do desempenho do tratamento, o que, segundo relatos, reflete no comprometimento dos pacientes na ades?o e frequ?ncia as sess?es. A partir da observa??o e do levantamento das necessidades desses profissionais diante de suas atividades, foi proposto um aplicativo para smartphone com a inten??o de minimizar os problemas ocasionados pelo uso das ferramentas convencionais e de prover informa??es r?pidas acerca dos dados coletados. Ent?o, seguindo a abordagem do DCU foi elaborado um modelo conceitual durante a etapa de concep??o de solu??es, o qual guiou a cria??o dos prot?tipos. A avalia??o das interfaces do prot?tipo foi realizada com o envolvimento dos usu?rios a partir da t?cnica de avalia??o cooperativa. Seus resultados proporcionaram o refinamento das interfaces e o desenvolvimento de uma nova proposta do design das interfaces em prot?tipo de alta fidelidade, produzido para o ambiente Android. Assim, esse trabalho faz parte do processo de desenvolvimento de um produto de software personalizado com foco na concep??o e avalia??o das interfaces com o usu?rio. Por meio da metodologia aplicada, observaram-se ind?cios os quais sugerem que as interfaces propostas apresentaram-se como um recurso facilitador e capaz de contribuir para efici?ncia das atividades no acompanhamento do tratamento de pacientes fibromi?lgicos

Thesis (MTech(Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / To design from a human perspective rather than from existing technological opportunities, and involving multiple stakeholders with their different perspectives, is an important aspect of participatory design and user-centered design. This thesis project was an explorative study done on a wine estate, in the Western Cape, South Africa, to find novel ICT solutions, for supporting co-operation and planning between multiple and individual work tasks in the work practice. This research explored potentials to manage multiple stakeholders and use their different perspectives to inform design research. The thesis project shows the ethnographic research gathered through video shadowing, workshop results involving the users to contribute to the development of the design by acting with a projection, leading up to a design opening and further focused on the concept development with the stakeholders.The thesis proposes a simulated concept namely the Visual Calculator (VC). This system is designed to involve several participators within a work practice. It supports calculation activities for spraying and buying chemicals. It saves the user time by incorporating standard calculations to output needed information faster. It supports planning, management and record keeping aspects of the farm manager’s work practice in the vineyard spraying process. Although the concept was more fully developed for the farm manager, the VC involves two other work roles including the owner and foreman. The concept focuses on a human centered perspective, instead of making the system fully automated, giving users control and not controlling the users. For this to be successful work should be divided and have equal responsibilities, each stakeholder can contribute and value their part of the work, knowing where it fits in, why it is important and how it influences other aspects of the work practice. The research outcome involves, envisioning the future potentials of the design (VC), design for participation, a way to identify design openings, problem solving and conceptualizing by utilizing user’s strengths.

Studien avsåg att undersöka vilken påverkan användare har på ett systems innovation i ett systemutvecklingsprojekt. Då användarinvolvering till stor del sker dagligen genom (bl.a.) användartester var det intressant att undersöka hur användares feedback och idéer påverkar innovationen i ett systemutvecklingsprojekt. Det som kan ses som ett problem är att användare inte alltid är redo för en förändring som innovation medför. Företag står då inför utmaningen att få användaren att tro på den förändring som görs i ett system. För att undersöka hur användare påverkar innovationen i ett systemutvecklingsprojekt har intervjuer genomförts med personer som har kunskap och erfarenheter av användarinvolvering. Modellen Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) kommer att användas för att belysa de element som påverkar användares attityder vid förändringar. Det material som har samlats in har sedan analyserats och diskuterats för att kunna besvara problemformuleringen. Användare påverkar ett systems innovation genom att uttrycka negativitet eller skepticism mot förändringar. Anledningen kan vara att användare inte är redo för den förändring som ett företag vill genomföra. Detta kan leda till att innovationen hämmas i ett systemutvecklingsprojekt. En viktig aspekt att ta med är företagets domänexpertis. Anser företaget att förändringen bör genomföras för att vara innovativa gäller det att kommunicera med användarna och få dem förstå varför förändringen sker. En enskild användare kan påverka ett systems innovation om företaget tillåter det, medan ett flertal användare kan påverka i större utsträckning om de upplever samma problem med en innovativ förändring. / The study was intended to investigate the impact users have on system innovation in a system development project. As user involvement is done daily through (among others) user tests, it was interesting to investigate how user’s feedback and ideas affect innovation in a system development project. Companies today face great challenges of getting the user to believe in the change that is made in a system. What can be seen as a problem is that users aren’t always ready for the change that innovation entails. To investigate how users affect innovation in a system development projects, interviews have been conducted with people who have knowledge and experience of user involvement. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model will be used to highlight the elements that affect users’ attitudes towards changes. The material that has been collected has been analyzed and discussed in order to answer the problem. Users affect system innovation by expressing negativity or skepticism against changes. The reason may be that users aren’t ready for the change that a company wants to implement. This can lead to the impediment of innovation in a system development project. An important aspect to include is the company’s domain expertise. If the company believes that the change should be implemented to be innovative, it’s important to communicate with the users and make them understand why the change occurs. An individual user can influence a system’s innovation if the company allows it, while a number of users can affect to a greater extent if they experience the same problem with an innovative change.