Dissertations / Theses: '(a) descriptive research design'

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Hartill, Julie Ann. "The role and application of descriptive research to course design in EAP." Thesis, University of Essex, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.369355.

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Baker, Fredrick William III. "Policies related to the implementation of openness at research intensive universities in the United States| A descriptive content analysis." Thesis, University of South Alabama, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3645569.

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In this dissertation, I describe a study examining institutional policy documents for statements related to the implementation of openness. The purposes of this study were to explore the current state of policies related to the implementation of openness in higher education, and to provide guiding recommendations to higher education institutions looking to address the issue of implementation of openness in their own policies. Policy plays a critical role in the implementation of innovations such as openness. The policy environment is complex and potentially confusing. Technology enables the proliferation of openness, and higher education institutions are now facing a number of challenges associated with the implementation of openness. Not much is known about the stance of higher education or the state of its response to openness. As a result, there was not much guidance available for institutions looking to address the implementation of openness in their institutions. This dissertation involved a descriptive study that follows summative content analysis methodology. The research design was a qualitative dominant sequential mixed methods model, meaning that I focused primarily on the qualitative elements of the study and provided limited descriptive quantitative analysis derived from the qualitative data. Five major areas of openness affecting higher education institutions were drawn from the literature. These are Open Access Research, Open Content, Open Teaching and Learning, Open Source Software, and Other, less pronounced, areas of openness. I searched the Faculty Handbooks, Strategic Plans, and Technology Plans of a stratified random sample of research-intensive higher education institutions for keywords related to the major areas of openness. I then evaluated the resulting statements based on the directness with which they address openness and on their policy role as enabler, barrier, or neutral toward the implementation of openness. I provided 45 idealized policy statements as well as the best-found policy statements from the study. These statements were intended to be used as recommendations for guiding institutions in crafting their own policy statements to address openness through policy. The idealized statements were intended to fit in the three policy documents (Faculty Handbook, Strategic Plan, Technology Plan), serve each policy role (enabler, barrier, and neutral), and address area of openness (Open Access, Open Content, Open Source Software, Open Teaching and Learning, and Other Areas of Openness). Five major findings emerged from the study. These include the realization that openness is really a human-centered approach, and the discovery that openness is not commonly addressed in higher education policies. Additionally, I found that there was wide variance in how institutions actually address openness, that Open Access is addressed more than other areas in policy, and that content analysis is an effective method for obtaining information related to higher education policies. I provided my reflections and conclusions on the study in Chapter Five.

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Almendra, Rita Assoreira. "PhD Thesis. Making in the conceptual phase of design processes. A descriptive study contributing for the strategic adequacy an overall quality of design outcomes." Doctoral thesis, Faculdade de Arquitectura de Lisboa, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/3320.

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Tese de Doutoramento em Desenho Este é um trabalho de investigação sobre processos de projecto e mais especificamente sobre a forma como a tomada de decisão pode influenciar os resultados destes em termos da sua adequação estratégica e qualidade global. O estudo incide sobre a fase conceptual dos processos de projecto e procura descrever o comportamento dos projectistas tanto ao nível do Ensino (estudantes finalistas) como ao nível das empresas. Um dos resultados previstos era a criação de um modelo descritivo que suportasse a compreensão da gestão de processos de projecto nas suas variáveis mais críticas. Este modelo descritivo deveria basear-se na identificação de parâmetros chave dos processos de design no que concerne a sua adequação estratégica e qualidade global. Em termos metodológicos trata-se de uma investigação mista com claro domínio de métodos qualitativos de investigação activa como são as experiências videogravadas de processos de projecto, tanto em situação de simulação como em situação de contexto real. Os métodos quantitativos foram também utlizados e serviram o propósito da triangulação metodológica de dados por forma a obter-se uma descrição o mais rigorosa e consistente possível dos processos de projecto e seus elementos estruturantes. A recolha de dados deu-se tanto no contexto de ensino como no contexto empresarial portugueses tendo-se efectuado experiências em que estas duas áreas de intervenção interagiram. Ademais foi feita uma comparação do desempenho de estudantes universitários Portugueses e Holandeses do Curso de Design. Esta análise almejava confirmar informação obtida em estudos anteriores e assim validar o presente estudo e também visava perceber o papel que diferentes currículos de ensino podem ter na performance dos alunos finalistas. A conclusão fundamental deste estudo é a de que a tomada de decisão a par com a gestão de informação e conhecimento e a geração de ideias são aspectos fundamentais a serem acedidos nos processos de projecto xiii Resumo quando se persegue a sua adequação estratégica e uma boa qualidade global destes. Um segundo contributo deste trabalho é a descriminação de um conjunto de parâmetros que servem a melhor compreensão dos processos de tomada de decisão no projecto. Estes parâmetros integram um modelo descritivo de tomada de decisão criado e que equaciona a tomada de decisão em três níveis distintos que são interdependentes da gestão de informação e conhecimento e da geração de ideias. O modelo criado apresenta num nível macro, respeitante à ‘mindset’ do projectista e que tem dois elementos a considerar: a) a estratégia de projecto que pode ser de três tipos: guiada pelo problema; guiada pela solução; guiada pela integração; e b) os processos cognitivos criativos que assumem dois modos de acção: o exploratório, que tem a ver com operações tais como a alteração contextual, a inferência funcional, o teste de hipóteses e, o generativo, que se relaciona com a transferência analógica, a associação, a recuperação de elementos/informação e a síntese. Num nível intermédio as decisões podem ser de três distintas naturezas: de Enquadramento (Framing), Chave (Key) e Facilitadoras (Enabler). Por fim temos o nível micro do modelo, que corresponde à operacionalização da ‘mindset’ e que compreende a estratégia da decisão e o modo de decisão. Quanto à estratégia de decisão esta pode ser: a) baseada em regras de compensação, b) baseada em regras de não compensação ou c) mista numa negociação das duas primeiras. O modo de decisão está intimamente ligado às dinâmicas de grupo e foca-se na forma como os grupos organizam o projecto e decidem. This research focuses on the design process and more specifically on the way decision making can influence the design process’ outcomes in its strategic adequacy and overall quality. The study is centred on the conceptual phase of the design process and, in general, aims to describe the behaviour along the process of design students and professional Portuguese designers both at the educational and business level. It should result in a descriptive model to support the understanding of design process management in terms of its critical variables. This descriptive model is based on the identification of the key parameters of design processes concerning its strategic adequacy and overall quality. In methodological terms it is a mixed methods research with a clear dominance of qualitative methods integrating an active research where experiments either in simulated situations or in real context play a key role. Quantitative methods were also used and they served the purpose of triangulating data in order to have a more consistent and rigorous description of the design process and its main structural elements. Data gathering occurred in the education and business areas, partly separately and partly combined. Furthermore, in the field of education a comparison of the performance of both Portuguese and Dutch university students was made. That helped to validate some findings of previous studies but also to understand the role different Design curricula can have in the performance of students. The main conclusion of the study is that decision making togehter with information and knowledge management, and idea generation are the fundamental aspects to be addressed in design processes when both strategic adequacy and good quality of the design outcomes are pursued. Another important finding is that decision making is better understood through the use of a few central parameters. These parameters were used in the creation of a descriptive decision making model that equates xi Abstract decision making at three different levels that are highly dependent on information/knowledge management and Idea generation. At a macro level, which regards the mindset of the designer, we make a distinction into two elements: a) the design strategy with its three types – problem driven, solution driven and integration driven; and b) the creative cognitive processes that present two modes of action: the exploratory one that has to do with operations such as contextual shifting, functional inference and hypothesis testing; and the generative one that is related with analogical transfer, association, retrieval and synthesis. At an intermediate level we have decisions that can have a Framing, Key or Enabler nature. And finally, we have the micro level of the model, the operationalization of the mindset, where the decision strategy and the decision mode are chosen. The decision strategy presents three types of behavior: the compensatory rule based; the non compensatory rule based and the negotiated compensatory /non compensatory one and it is clearly linked with the way decisions are taken in processing information. The mode of decision is linked with group dynamics and focuses on the way teams organize themselves while working and deciding.

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Simons, Aaqib. "The impact of branding on support intentions towards supported social enterprises: The case of The Big Issue South Africa." Master's thesis, Faculty of Commerce, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33028.

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A rising problem for social enterprises within South Africa is that consumers tend to display mixed interests towards their marketing campaigns. The technological revolution has allowed consumers to become more adept and ethically sensitised at identifying deceptive marketing ploys. In light of the growing competition among many SSEs in attaining donations, managers of these organisations have realised the value in managing their organisations as brands. However, SSEs should remain aware of distinguishing their marketing from corporate brands. Past literature revealed that organisations which behave socially responsibly elicit more positive attitudes from consumers. Thus, SSEs adopting socially responsible marketing could allow them to be perceived as devoted towards their social missions, which could attract more volunteering and monetary donations. The study investigated the impact of branding on support intentions towards supported social enterprises: the case of The Big Issue South Africa. A descriptive research design was adopted. This included an online survey method that was used to acquire quantitative data from 200 participants in Cape Town, which was required to interpret conclusive findings to this investigation. The findings of the study were that consumer-brand relational authenticity (CBRA), brand trust, and customer-brand identification (CBI)] had a direct positive influence on support intentions. Attitude toward helping others (ATHO) was determined as a negative moderator between the relationship of CBI and support intentions. Alternatively, altruistic values were determined to not possess any moderating influence on the relationship between brand trust and support intentions. The findings therefore fill theoretical gaps on CBRA, brand trust and altruistic values that remained unexplored in the past. The study produced a conceptual framework explaining the branding factors that have the most significant impact in driving support intentions. This framework can be beneficial to managers of SSEs with regard to leveraging support from a local and international standpoint. However, marketers in the corporate field who are designated to attracting corporate social investment (CSI) can also draw on insights from the study in order to attract support for these CSI initiatives. The study is thus beneficial to corporate organisations as well.

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Johansson, Nils. "Layout och typografi i vetenskapliga artiklar : En kartläggning av konventioner gällande grafisk formgivning inom matematik, medicin och utbildningsvetenskap." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Bildproduktion, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-19649.

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En deskriptiv visuell innehållsanalys genomfördes med en korpus bestående av vetenskapliga artiklar från 30 topprankade tidskrifter jämnt fördelade på de tre disciplinerna matematik, medicin och utbildningsvetenskap, med syfte att undersöka om det fanns ett samband mellan tidskrifternas disciplintillhörighet och den grafiska formgivningen. Kartläggningen omfattade layout (bl.a. sidformat, spalter, marginalstorlek, användning av grafiska element, placering av tabeller, figurer och pagina) och typografiskt utseende hos titel, rubriker, brödtext och abstrakt (t.ex. teckenstorlek, textjustering, teckengrovlek, typsnitt, färg och radavstånd). Resultaten visar att disciplinerna använde olika men även gemensamma konventioner i sitt grafiska utseende. Matematik uppvisade enkelspaltig layout med liten typografisk variation, genomgående användning av typsnitt från familjen Transitional eller Transitional/Didone för hela dokumentet, avsaknad av kulört färg och sällan användning av grafiska element. Medicin uppvisade större variation med användning av kulört färg, icke-centrerad typografi med både sansseriff- och seriff-typsnitt, grafiska element och ramar som förstärker det ofta använda dubbelspaltiga gridsystemet. Utbildningsvetenskap uppvisade en grafisk design som återfanns i båda disciplinerna, men påminde mest om matematik till utseendet. Kodbok ingår i sin helhet som bilaga. Uppsatsen i sig är delvis formgiven med utgångspunkt i de erhållna resultaten. A descriptive visual content analysis was conducted on research articles from 30 academic journals with highest impact factor equally distributed between Mathematics, Medicine and Education research, to examine whether a correlation could be established between academic discipline and graphic design conventions used. The survey included layout aspects (e.g. size of pages and margins, text columns, use of graphic elements, placement of tables, visuals and page numbers) and typographical appearance of title, sub-headings, body copy and abstract (e.g. character height, weight, alignment, typeface, use of colour and inter-line distance). The results show that the disciplines used different but also shared some common graphic design conventions. In Mathematics often a single-column layout was used, with a small typographic variation, using a single Transitional or Transitional/Didone typeface for the entire document, not using any colour and seldom using any graphical elements. Medicine showed greater variation, using colour, non-centered typography combing sans-serif and serif typefaces, graphical elements and frames emphasising the often used double-column grid system. Education research shared appearance common for both disciplines, leaning mostly towards Mathematics. This thesis is in its entirety written in Swedish and is typeset partially in accordance with the findings from this survey. Code book is included.

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Ng, Kok. "A descriptive design methodology to support designers." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2011. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/13913/.

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An engineering design methodology helps designers to design in a systematic way. Based on the findings from a literature review, engineering design methodologies can be categorised into three types: prescriptive, descriptive and normative. Most established design methodologies are of the prescriptive type and they are based on step-oriented models. However, designers in industry are not found to be too keen on using any of these design methodologies. Among the reasons for not adopting these methodologies are that the prescriptive and normative design methodologies were found to be influencing the design strategies and approaches of a designer while the descriptive types were mostly used to study the design process. Though designers have their own design strategies and approaches, they also need design support. The descriptive type will not interfere with the designer’s strategies but they do suffer from a lack of structure in supporting designers. The goal of this research is to derive a design methodology framework to support designers without influencing their design approaches and strategies. A descriptive design methodology framework to support designers is proposed in this research work. This framework was derived based on four aspects: a descriptive type based on a function-oriented model, the types of support facilities that can be provided, identification of critical design factors as design parameters for the framework and lastly, the adaptation of the Ishikawa fishbone diagram to represent the framework. The novel descriptive design methodology was applied in two case studies: the first with an experienced designer without using any design methods and second, with a novice designer adopting a design approach based on the step-oriented model. The second case study included an additional design tool based on TRIZ to verify the effectiveness of the novel descriptive design methodology working with other tools. The designers’ feedback and observations from these both case studies showed that the novel descriptive design methodology was able to support designers in many ways. In particular it was able to accommodate different design approaches and strategies without influencing the designer, providing both methodology-related and computational-platform related support facilities as well as working in a complementary way with other design tools.

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Linnér, Emily, Sitav Taha, and Johan Carlsson. "What Characterizes an Influential Instagram Fashion Influencer? : A Descriptive Research." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för marknadsföring (MF), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-76234.

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Influencer marketing has become a central aspect within brand’s marketing activities (Kapitan & Silvera, 2016). The former marketing way of including celebrities within marketing purposes (Pringle & Binet, 2005) has in recent years been discussed as digital media influencers (Kapitan & Silvera, 2016). Digital media influencers resulted in social media influencers, where Instagram is one out of the social media which is worldwide used (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2018). Social media influencers are shown to have a significant role for brands in the process of reaching out to consumers (Lin, Bruning & Swarna, 2018) and within the fashion industry, the opinions of fashion influencers tend to weigh heavy within consumers decision making (Loureiro, Costa & Panchapakesan, 2017). However, besides the known influential characteristics of celebrity endorsement (Page Winterich, Gangwar & Grewal, 2018; Tzoumaka, Tsiotsou & Siomkos, 2014), the level of influence of Instagram influencers has mainly been discussed in terms of number of followers (De Veirman, Cauberghe & Hudders, 2017). The purpose of this study is to describe the influential characteristics of an Instagram fashion influencer and its influence on consumers purchase intention for fashion in Sweden. The research method applied for this research was primary data in the form of a survey research and was chosen as it allows to generate data which makes it possible to define correlations between the variables (Bryman & Bell, 2015). The study is based on the theory of consumer purchase intention, celebrity endorsement as well as influencer marketing, and through that, three hypotheses were created: 1) the trustworthiness of an Instagram fashion influencer has positive impact on consumers purchase intention, 2) the expertise of an Instagram fashion influencer has positive impact on consumers purchase intention, 3) the physical attraction of an Instagram fashion influencer has positive impact on consumers purchase intention. The conclusion drawn indicates that the trustworthiness of an Instagram fashion influencer is the only influential characteristic amongst the identified characteristics in this research which impacts consumer purchase intention for fashion in Sweden.

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Zimmerman, Nicole P. "Time-Variant Load Models of Electric Vehicle Chargers." PDXScholar, 2015. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2297.

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In power distribution system planning, it is essential to understand the impacts that electric vehicles (EVs), and the non-linear, time-variant loading profiles associated with their charging units, may have on power distribution networks. This research presents a design methodology for the creation of both analytical and behavioral models for EV charging units within a VHDL-AMS simulation environment. Voltage and current data collected from Electric Avenue, located on the Portland State University campus, were used to create harmonic profiles of the EV charging units at the site. From these profiles, generalized models for both single-phase (Level 2) and three-phase (Level 3) EV chargers were created. Further, these models were validated within a larger system context utilizing the IEEE 13-bus distribution test feeder system. Results from the model's validation are presented for various charger and power system configurations. Finally, an online tool that was created for use by distribution system designers is presented. This tool can aid designers in assessing the impacts that EV chargers have on electrical assets, and assist with the appropriate selection of transformers, conductor ampacities, and protection equipment & settings.

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Schulz, Jörn. "Insights, Ideen und Innovationen: Ethnografische Nutzerforschung als Methode der Innovationsentwicklung." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/18466.

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Ein Blick in die Innovationsabteilungen international agierender Konzerne wie z.B. Intel, Google, Nokia, IBM oder die Deutsche Telekom verrät: große Unternehmen setzen auf ethnografische Forschung bei der Innovationsentwicklung. Unter Fachbezeichnungen wie Business Anthropology, Corporate Ethnography, Commercial Ethnography und anderen ist dabei ein Wissenschaftszweig der Ethnologie und Kulturanthropologie entstanden, der sich mit dem Einsatz von Ethnografie im privatwirtschaftlichen Bereich auseinandersetzt. In diesem Diskurs über Ethnografie im Dienste der Privatwirtschaft ist diese Dissertation zu verorten. Dabei geht es um Ethnografie, die eingesetzt wird, um latente Bedürfnisse und Wünsche sowie Alltagsprobleme von Nutzern zu identifizieren und daraus Ideen für innovative Produkte und Services entwickeln zu können, die in die Lebenswirklichkeiten der Nutzer passen. Anhand der Fallstudienbeschreibung einer ethnografischen Nutzerforschung für das Projekt FLEX 2.0 beim Team User Driven Innovation (UDI) in den Telekom Innovation Laboratories (T-Labs) soll exemplarisch illustriert werden, wie Ethnografie in der Privatwirtschaft verstanden wird und wie sie durchgeführt werden kann. Einer der zentralen Aspekte dieser Dissertation ist es zu erörtern, ob der Einsatzkontext Auswirkungen auf die Ethnografie hat und welche das gegebenenfalls sind. Entstanden ist dabei eine Dissertation, die dreierlei Punkte erfüllen soll: 1. Der Text möchte eine bei UDI durchgeführte ethnografische Nutzerforschung möglichst transparent und nachvollziehbar machen und durch eine szenische Darstellung Schritt für Schritt zeigen, wie ethnografische Forschung in der Privatwirtschaft aussehen kann. 2. Diese Arbeit ist auch als eine Anleitung für das Durchführen einer eigenen ethnografischen Nutzerforschung zu lesen. Praxistipps, Kontextinformationen und einige Dokumentenvorlagen sollen helfen, die Organisation einer ethnografischen Nutzerforschung zu vereinfachen. 3. Auf methodologischer Ebene erörtert der Text, was der Einsatz von Ethnografie in der Privatwirtschaft für die Methodologie bedeutet und welche Implikationen dies hat. A look at the innovation divisions of internationally active corporations such as Intel, Google, Nokia, IBM or Deutsche Telekom reveals that large companies rely on ethnographic research for their innovation development. Under names such as Business Anthropology, Corporate Ethnography, Commercial Ethnography, and others, a branch of ethnology and cultural anthropology has emerged, dealing with the use of ethnography in the private sector. This dissertation is situated in the discourse on ethnography in the service of the private economy. It is about ethnography that is used to identify latent needs and desires as well as everyday problems of users and to develop ideas for innovative products and services that fit into the life experiences of the users. With the help of the case study of an ethnographic user research for the project FLEX 2.0 at the team User Driven Innovation (UDI) in the Telekom Innovation Laboratories (T-Labs), an example is presented of how ethnography is understood in the private sector and how it can be carried out. One of the central aspects of this dissertation is to discuss whether the use in this context has an impact on ethnography. The dissertation covers three major points: 1. The text aims to make the ethnographic user research carried out at UDI as transparent and comprehensible as possible and to show step by step how ethnographic research can look in the private economy. 2. The text can also be read as a how to guide for carrying out ethnographic user research. Practical advices, contextual information, and some document templates will help to simplify the conduction of ethnographic user research. 3. At the methodological level, the text discusses what the use of ethnography in the private economy means for the methodology and what implications this has.

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Gori, Giorgio. "FlowRep : extracting descriptive curve networks from free-form design shapes." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/62558.

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This thesis presents FlowRep, an algorithm for extracting descriptive compact 3D curve networks from meshes of free-form man-made shapes. FlowRep output networks provide a concise visual description of the underlying surface, and can be used as a compact proxy for shape compression, editing and manipulation. While artists routinely and successfully create descriptive curve networks to depict complex 3D shapes in 3D space or on 2D media, the method described here is the first to achieve this goal algorithmically. FlowRep infers the desired compact curve network from complex 3D geometries by using a series of insights derived from perception, computer graphics, and design literature which point to two sets of geometric properties that such networks should satisfy. These sources suggest that visually descriptive networks are cycle-descriptive, i.e their cycles unambiguously describe the geometry of the surface patches they surround. They also indicate that such networks are designed to be projectable, or easy to envision when observed from a static general viewpoint; in other words, 2D projections of the network should be strongly indicative of its 3D geometry. Research suggests that both properties are best achieved by using networks dominated by flowlines, surface curves aligned with principal curvature directions across anisotropic regions and strategically extended across sharp-features and isotropic areas. The algorithm leverages these observations in the construction of a compact descriptive curve network. Starting with a curvature aligned quad dominant mesh I first extract sequences of mesh edges that form long, well-shaped and reliable flowlines by leveraging directional similarity between nearby meaningful flowline directions. This process overcomes topological noise, and inaccuracies and singularities in the underlying curvature field. I then use the extracted flowlines and the model's sharp-feature, or trim, curves to form a projectable network which describes the underlying surface. Finally, I simplify this network while preserving its descriptive power to obtain the final result. My co-authors and I validate our method by demonstrating a range of networks computed from diverse inputs, using them for surface reconstruction, and showing extensive comparisons with prior work and artist generated networks. Science, Faculty of Computer Science, Department of Graduate

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Valverde, Sarah Hatheway. "THE MODERN SEX DOLL-OWNER: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS." DigitalCommons@CalPoly, 2012. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/849.

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Over the last fifteen years, the sex doll industry has grown from producing inexpensive novelty items to creating a multimillion-dollar global industry featuring high- quality, realistic love dolls. These dolls are designed and advertised for sexual stimulation, companionship, artistic representations of human fantasy, and other creative pursuits, such as photography. Made of flesh-like silicone, modern sex dolls sell from $3,500-$10,000. The use of human simulacra for sexual stimulation is an enduring practice. However, the psychological community has said little on the subject. Early sexologists briefly reference Agalmatophilia or Statuphilia, a rare sexual attachment to statues. Today, the sex doll phenomenon appears increasingly prevalent across the globe. Media coverage of this phenomenon has been featured in online magazines, television programs, music, documentaries and major motion pictures. More often than not, sex doll-ownership is portrayed as pathological. Sex doll-owners are members of a marginalized population, and accessing the population is challenging as many members of the community wish to remain anonymous for fear of judgment, persecution, and psychiatric labeling. The purpose of this study was to increase psychology’s understanding of this interesting and growing population. Specifically, a 45-item online survey addressing demographics was constructed and assessed. Additionally, participants were asked to describe their relationship status, doll-ownership status, and satisfaction with human and sex doll partners, including sexual satisfaction and performance. Quality of life was also assessed via the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Sixty-one participants were recruited from an online doll-owner community forum. It was hypothesized that most doll-owners sampled would be middle-aged, White, single, heterosexual males who are neither significantly better nor worse in terms of psycho-sexual functioning and life satisfaction than the general population. Descriptive data and statistical analysis partially supported the hypotheses. Implications and future direction are discussed, as are methodological considerations.

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Wise, Ruth E. "Design Research and Research Design: Application of Quantitative Methodology to the Design Process." Cincinnati, Ohio : University of Cincinnati, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view.cgi?acc_num=ucin1219093105.

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Thesis (Master of Design)--University of Cincinnati, 2008. Advisor: Peter Embi MD (Committee Chair), Mike Zender MFA (Committee Member), Mark Eckman MD (Committee Member) Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Jan. 17, 2009). Includes abstract. Keywords: design research; quantitative methodology; graphic design; visual communication; risk communication . Includes bibliographical references.

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Hu, Lingyue. "Design Research Planning and Execution:A comparison between undergraduate design students’ and design research practitioners’ processes of design research planning and execution." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408659542.

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Sherwin, C. "Innovative ecodesign : an exploratory and descriptive study of Industrial Design practice." Thesis, Cranfield University, 2000. http://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/3543.

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This research provides a study of practices of Innovative Ecodesign. The literature has extensively highlighted the need for more radical innovations and more innovative approaches to ecodesign, to fall in line with sustainability targets. However, both theory and practice (and the resultant tools and methods) describe and present a more incremental approach, as prevalent and most suitable. Using a single case study methodology within the Industrial Design department of a major Electrical and Electronics manufacturer, this exploratory and descriptive study contributes to the theoretical framework and practical understanding of more innovative practices of ecodesign. Earlier work suggested that integrating ecodesign at the early stages of product development was critical to its environmental effectiveness and ability to innovate. This study therefore aimed to investigate Innovative Ecodesign by considering two key factors: - Its integration into the early stages of the product design and development process - Industrial Design practices of ecodesign. The research concluded on Industrial Design practice as well as on the characteristics of Innovative Ecodesign. Industrial designers conduct ecodesign in there own unique way, not fully represented in existing theory or accounted for in existing methods. They require specific types of information usually general and visually presented as well as substantiated with case studies and examples. The potential to innovate is seen as the greatest motivator for designers to conduct ecodesign, while their design processes use environmental priorities and 'the product' in an ambiguous way. Designer s key role and most significant contribution is in creative and strategic thinking (new ideas), and the proposal of new concepts which have a strong emphasis on increasing the desirability of these 'eco-products' or new behaviours. This demand-side orientation in the design considerations is particularly unique to Industrial Design. The practices of Innovative Ecodesign undertaken here can be characterised as follows. It is an exploratory form of designing with an emphasis on openness and design freedom. Such design activities are perhaps best not immediately answerable to product development or aimed directly at the launch of new products. Among its aims are in embodying and expressing ecodesign principles and communicating these to others. Such design activities are strategic in their nature and requiring greater levels of participation across the production and consumption chain in future. They are systems based and holistic and prioritise environmental issues within the design brief. An important early aspect is the identification of either/or core business and consumer needs, which broadens the design considerations. The study relates these findings back to existing ecodesign theory, and conclude that both ecodesign (its theory, descriptions, definitions and practice) and design itself (its profile, uses and practice) need to change and mature.

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Jung, Jae-Yoon. "Evolutionary design of artificial neural networks using a descriptive encoding language." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/7207.

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Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2007. Thesis research directed by: Computer Science. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

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16

McDonagh, D. C. "Empathic design : emerging design research methodologies." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2006. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/7785.

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A new relationship between product designers and the users of products is emerging. It is now being realised that users have complex supra-functional needs, which include the emotional, spiritual, social, tribal aspects of the relationship between particular products and the user/consumer'. Users seek more than mere functionality. In order to meet these needs designers need to actively develop research methodologies that are specifically aimed at collecting design relevant data which includes the often difficult to grasp elements of the supra-functional. The comfort zone for many designers involves designing products for themselves (or people like themselves) when intuition and insight can be closely matched. In modern, international markets and with increasingly demanding consumers, such approaches are inadequate. However, it is possible for designers to become directly immersed in researching users' needs and experiences rather than rely on third party research which, whilst potentially valuable, does not enable the same intimacy and potential for growth of experience for the designer. This approach is termed empathic design research. It seeks to broaden designers' 'comfort zone' by expanding the number of people they can empathise with, broadening their 'empathic horizon'. This thesis presents a body of published work by the author that explores the position of design research in relation to the changing role of Industrial/Product designers. The thesis consists of an introductory paper that pulls together the various strands in the published work. Following this a set of ten journal papers, one refereed conference paper and three book chapters is presented. The work as a whole defines a number of research approaches that designers can employ to elicit and understand users' suprafunctional needs. The papers establish the evolving context of product design and the growing interest in User-centred Design in its various forms. They examine research approaches that extend beyond user observation, involvement and draw the designer into a more empathic contact with users to illuminate functional and supra-functional requirements. Designers must learn to 'get under the skin' of the user; to develop empathy with users from population groups very different from their own in terms of culture, age and ability. This empathic intimacy can result in data generation and insight with this evaluation becoming an integral part of the designing process. The changing role of the product designer, as well as the nature of the design research process, frames the argument for adopting an empathic design research model. Finally, the author explores the implications of this important paradigm shift for design education.

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17

Rausch, Kerstin. "A descriptive study exploring community- and clinic-based tuberculosis treatments in two Western Cape communities." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7940.

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Bibliography: leaves 201-209. This descriptive study focused on two clinics in the Western Cape's South Peninsula (Retreat and Ocean View), with relatively successful cure rates. These successes were explored within the ecological frameworks of comprehensive primary health care (PHC) and the Healthy Cities concept. Clinic-based and community-based anti-tuberculosis treatments were compared in both areas. The relative influence of the Healthy Cities pilot project in Ocean View was also explored.

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18

Ehle, Michelle M. "Descriptive Phenomenological Analysis of Influences to Death Anxiety." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch158092019845617.

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19

Soule, Ralph Thomas. "The Learning Experience of Tough Cases| A Descriptive Case Study." Thesis, The George Washington University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3740977.

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This qualitative, descriptive case study addressed the research question: How is learning experienced in tough cases aimed at accelerating expertise in a cognitively complex work environment? The time it takes to develop expertise in many professional domains is problematic for industrialized societies. As the baby boom generation transitions from the workforce, they are leaving behind a smaller, less experienced pool of workers to replace them. Accelerated expertise theorists have proposed tough cases as a way of speeding the development of expertise. Tough cases are rare situations that convey novel learning challenges by requiring learners to make plans and decisions in the face of ambiguous and interacting data (Klein and Hoffman, 1992). Expertise can be particularly difficult to develop in cognitively complex work environments. Cognitively complex work environments are “systems composed of psychological (cognitive), social, and technological elements, all embedded in a broader team, organizational, and social context” (Hoffman & Militello, 2008, p. 216). The study explored the learning process from the perspectives of learners, tough case leaders, and organizational leaders supporting the use of tough cases at the research site. Data were collected through observations of five tough cases and interviews before and after cases with participants and organizational leaders. Themes were inductively developed. The study had eight findings: 1) Tough cases are dynamic learning experiences that are interactive and concrete, while simultaneously confusing and disorienting; 2) the use of real events and complex problems grabs learner attention and interest; 3) making and defending quick decisions draw out learner beliefs and theories, stimulating focus and a tremendous sense of enthusiasm; 4) the practice of eliciting decisions by cold-calling puts learners on the spot, mimicking the stress of high stakes situations common to cognitively complex work environments; 5) role-playing throughout the case forces participation with the learning environment while reducing stress by making the learning experience more enjoyable and entertaining; 6) individual reflection and observation provide continual opportunities for re-examining decisions; 7) interaction and dialogue during role-play expose learners to other ways of thinking and lead to refinement of their mental models; and 8) hearing "the rest of the story" at the end of the case provides an opportunity for learner self-assessment and can build their confidence. The study concluded: (1) the tough case learning process incorporates both experiential and social cognitive learning in a single process; (2) the tough case learning process is substantially different from learning processes proposed in the expertise development literature; (3) tough case learning is a departure from processes described in the adult learning literature; and (4) tough case learning leverages everything considered foundational about adult learning. The study offered recommendations related to theory, practice, and future research.

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Pearson, Courtney. "Personal Perceptions and Experiences of Methadone Maintenance Treatment: A Qualitative Descriptive Research Study." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/33415.

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Over the past ten years, there has been a consistent increase in opioid use, which has resulted in an increase in enrolment in methadone maintenance therapy [MMT]. With retention in MMT being a key factor, in order to understand the process of retention, it is important to gain an understanding of individual perceptions and experiences. No research in Ottawa, Ontario has addressed the perspective of MMT from people enrolled in MMT; therefore, nursing based research was undertaken. The objective was to understand the process and experiences associated with MMT from the perspective of persons who are enrolled in treatment. Twelve participants were engaged in semi-structured interviews. These participants described that, although MMT can positively affect the people who use such a treatment option, it continues to have a negative impact that repeatedly affects MMT initiation and delivery. The theoretical framework of Hardt and Negri’s “Triple Imperative of Empire” was used to analyze the research participants’ interviews within the current MMT program, to help develop a more inclusive healthcare service that addressed the current barriers hindering access and retention in treatment. The integration of this framework can help engage persons in treatment, tailor treatment to patient specific needs, and as a result increase access and retention in MMT programs.

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Martinelle, Filip. "Enhancing Brand Equity for B2B SME through Social Media : An exploratory descriptive research." Thesis, Luleå tekniska universitet, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik och samhälle, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-64411.

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Through our smartphones, the access to information is higher than ever before. Social media has revolutionized the communication landscape in how we share information and communicate to each other. Social media has significantly impacted marketing communication, therefore organizations in B2B are exploring and trying to identify ways in how to make a profitable use of social media. Despite this interest, there seems to be insufficient understanding of how to properly manage social media in the B2B context. Furthermore, branding and brand equity through social media communication creates opportunities such as deeper customer relationship, collaboration and reduce the information necessary for a purchase decision. Currently there is a gap in the theoretical understanding of how brand equity can be enhanced through social media. The purpose of this research is to explore and describe how brand equity can be enhanced through social media marketing within B2B for SME. This research aims to understand how small and medium-sized enterprises can utilize social media in the best way possible. The research adopted a qualitative exploratory descriptive approach. The collection of data was conducted through six semi-structured interview. The sample selection for the qualitative interviews were conducted on project managers and purchase managers. The result of this research gave new insights to the customer-based brand equity model in the B2B context and how customer-based brand equity can be applied in social media marketing. This resulted in a brand equity model for B2B social media marketing, where the steps have a dependency to each other. Thus, enhancing brand equity in social media demands an identification of the social media benefits, establishing a marketing plan, how to reach your target audience, utilize experience of others, communicating about technical innovation and change through the supply chain. Genom användandet av smartphones är tillgången till information högre än någonsin tidigare. Sociala medier har revolutionerat kommunikationslandskapet i hur vi delar information och kommunicerar med varandra. Sociala medier har påverkat marknadsföringskommunikationen vilket har resulterat till att företag utforskar olika sätt för hur sociala medier kan nyttjas på ett fördelaktigt sätt. Trots detta, föreligger en otillräcklig kunskap om hur sociala medier kan användas inom B2B. Vidare skapar branding och brand equity via sociala medier möjligheter för en djupare kundrelation, samarbete samt att en minskad informationsinsamling inför ett köpbeslut. För närvarande visar forskningen en kunskapslucka vad gäller hur brand equity kan utvecklas genom sociala medier. Syftet med studien var att utforska hur brand equity kan utvecklas genom marknadsföring av sociala medier inom B2B för SME. Studien syftar till att ge en ökad förståelse för hur små och medelstora företag kan utnyttja sociala medier på bästa möjliga sätt. Studien antog en kvalitativ utforskande beskrivande ansats. Data samlades in genom sex semi-strukturerande intervjuer. De kvalitativa intervjuerna har i huvudsak genomförts med projektledare och inköpschefer. Resultatet av denna forskning gav nya insikter till den kundbaserade brand equity modellen inom B2B och hur den kundbaserade brand equity modellen kan tillämpas i ett sociala medier perspektiv. Detta resulterade i en brand equity modell för B2B inom marknadsföring för sociala media, där stegen är beroende av varandra. Däremot, en utveckling av brand equity inom sociala medier kräver en identifikation av fördelarna med sociala medier, ett upprättande av en marknadsplan, en plan för att nå sin målgrupp, ett användande av andras erfarenheter samt en kommunikation om teknisk innovation och förändring inom försörjningskedjan.

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22

Mark, Anthony Wayne. "Comprehending and carrying out instructions : the role of descriptive information." Thesis, McGill University, 1987. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=63989.

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23

Yuncu, Onur. "Research By Design In Architectural Design Education." Phd thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12610061/index.pdf.

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Research by design refers to the design of architectural research as an integral part of architectural design processes. In 1980s, it emerged as a third way in design research that was dominated until then by the methods of natural sciences and humanities. With this new formulation of design research, a methodological and epistemological transformation occurs, leading to the integration of practical knowledge into architectural research. The primary epistemological question transforms from knowing what design is and knowing how to design to knowing what through the act of design. The integration of the act of design in research transforms the status of design in design research from being an object of inquiry to being a research approach. In the literature on research by design, this transformation is often related with Donald Sch&ouml n&rsquo s conceptualization of &ldquo reflective practice.&rdquo The main discussion of reflective practice is primarily methodological rather than epistemological. Although it provides methodological insights, it is not sufficient to constitute an epistemological basis for research by design. Thus, the epistemological basis of research by design has not yet been adequately defined. In this study, the notion of &ldquo reflective practice&rdquo is investigated in a broader context relating it to its sources in the concepts of &ldquo tacit knowledge&rdquo and &ldquo action research.&rdquo A conceptual framework for research by design is constructed by relating these concepts with the discussions on research by design and with practical philosophy, the implications of which has remained rather uninvestigated in this context. Aristotle&rsquo s elaboration of knowledge generation in action and the concept of phron&amp #275 sis (practical knowledge, prudence, or practical wisdom) constitute the underpinning of this conceptual framework. The conceptual framework that is constructed on the basis of the key concepts in practical philosophy is discussed in the context of architectural design education. When architectural design education is formulated as a process of research by design within this framework, knowledge generated in the educational design processes promises not only to improve the particular educational context and architectural education but eventually to contribute to architectural knowledge.

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24

Procajlo, Agnieszka Ewa. "Research on residential design." Thesis, University of Lincoln, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.508289.

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Strouse, Robert V. "Design Research in Design Education: Relevance and Implementation." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275442520.

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26

Srirangarajan, Bhooma. "Visualizing Primary Design Research: Analyzing Interviews in Primary Design Research using Qualitative Research and Ethnographic Principles and Graphic Design to Communicate the Results." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1406880596.

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27

Hollis, Kevin John. "Microbeam design in radiobiological research." Thesis, Brunel University, 1995. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/4824.

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Recent work using low-doses of ionising radiations, both in vitro and in ViVO, has suggested that the responses of biological systems in the region of less than 1 Gray may not be predicted by simple extrapolation from the responses at higher doses. Additional experiments, using high-LET radiations at doses of much less than one alpha particle traversal per cell nucleus, have shown responses in a greater number of cells than have received a radiation dose. These findings, and increased concern over the effects of the exposure of the general population to low-levels of background radiation, for example due to radon daughters in the lungs, have stimulated the investigation of the response of mammalian cells to ionising radiations in the extreme low-dose region. In all broad field exposures to particulate radiations at low-dose levels an inherent dose uncertainty exists due to random counting statistics. This dose variation produces a range of values for the measured biological effect within the irradiated population, therefore making the elucidation of the dose-effect relationship extremely difficult. The use of the microbeam irradiation technique will allow the delivery of a controlled number of particles to specific targets within an individual cell with a high degree of accuracy. This approach will considerably reduce the level of variation of biological effect within the irradiated cell population and will allow low-dose responses of cellular systems to be determined. In addition, the proposed high spatial resolution of the microbeam developed will allow the investigation of the distribution of radiation sensitivity within the cell, to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms of radiation action. The target parameters for the microbeam at the Gray Laboratory are a spatial resolution of less than 1 urn and a detection efficiency of better than 99 %. The work of this thesis was to develop a method of collimation, in order to produce a microbeam of 3.5 MeV protons, and to develop a detector to be used in conjunction with the collimation system. In order to determine the optimum design of collimator necessary to produce a proton microbeam, a computer simulation based upon a Monte-Carlo simulation code, written by Dr S J Watts, was developed. This programme was then used to determine the optimum collimator length and the effects of misalignment and divergence of the incident proton beam upon the quality of the collimated beam produced. Designs for silicon collimators were produced, based upon the results of these simulations, and collimators were subsequently produced for us using techniques of micro-manufacturing developed in the semiconductor industry. Other collimator designs were also produced both in-house and commercially, using a range of materials. These collimators were tested to determine both the energy and spatial resolutions of the transmitted proton beam produced. The best results were obtained using 1.6 mm lengths of 1.5 µm diameter bore fused silica tubing. This system produced a collimated beam having a spatial resolution with 90 % of the transmitted beam lying within a diameter of 2.3 ± 0.9 µm and with an energy spectrum having 75 % of the transmitted protons within a Gaussian fit to the full-energy peak. Detection of the transmitted protons was achieved by the use of a scintillation transmission detector mounted over the exit aperture of the collimator. An approximately 10 urn thick ZnS(Ag) crystal was mounted between two 30 urn diameter optical fibres and the light emitted from the crystal transmitted along the fibres to two photomultiplier tubes. The signals from the tubes were analyzed, using coincidence counting techniques, by means of electronics designed by Dr B Vojnovic. The lowest counting inefficiencies obtained using this approach were a false positive count level of 0.8 ± 0.1 % and an uncounted proton level of 0.9 ± 0.3 %. The elements of collimation and detection were then combined in a rugged microbeam assembly, using a fused silica collimator having a bore diameter of 5 urn and a scintillator crystal having a thickness of - 15 µm. The microbeam produced by this initial assembly had a spatial resolution with 90 % of the transmitted protons lying within a diameter of 5.8 ± 1.6 µm, and counting inefficiencies of 0.27 ± 0.22 % and 1.7 ± 0.4 % for the levels of false positive and missed counts respectively. The detector system in this assembly achieves the design parameter of 99 % efficiency, however, the spatial resolution of the beam is not at the desired I urn level. The diameter of the microbeam beam produced is less than the nuclear diameter of many cell lines and so the beam may be used to good effect in the low-dose irradiation of single cells. In order to investigate the variation in sensitivity within a cell the spatial resolution of the beam would require improvement. Proposed methods by which this may be achieved are described.

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28

Segalowitz, Miriam. ""Participation" in participatory design research." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2012. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/50639/1/Miri_Segalowitz_Thesis.pdf.

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This thesis is about defining participation in the context of fostering research cohesion in the field of Participatory Design. The systematic and incremental building of new knowledge is the process by which science and research is advanced. This process requires a certain type of cohesion in the way research is undertaken for new knowledge to be built from the knowledge provided by previous projects and research. To support this process and to foster research cohesion three conditions are necessary. These conditions are: common ground between practitioners, problem-space positioning, and adherence to clear research criteria. The challenge of fostering research cohesion in Participatory Design is apparent in at least four themes raised in the literature: the role of politics within Participatory Design epistemology, the role of participation, design with users, and the ability to translate theory into practice. These four thematic challenges frame the context which the research gap is situated. These themes are also further investigated and the research gap – a general lack of research cohesion – along with one avenue for addressing this gap – a clear and operationalizable definition for participation – are identified. The intended contribution of this thesis is to develop a framework and visual tool to address this research gap. In particular, an initial approximation for a clear and operationalizable definition for participation will be proposed such that it can be used within the field of Participatory Design to run projects and foster research cohesion. In pursuit of this contribution, a critical lens is developed and used to analyse some of the principles and practices of Participatory Design that are regarded as foundational. This lens addresses how to define participation in a way that adheres to basic principles of scientific rigour – namely, ensuring that the elements of a theory are operationalizable, falsifiable, generalizable, and useful, and it also treats participation as a construct rather than treating the notion of participation as a variable. A systematic analysis is performed using this lens on the principles and practices that are considered foundational within the field. From this analysis, three components of the participation construct – impact, influence, and agency – are identified. These components are then broken down into two constituent variables each (six in all) and represented visually. Impact is described as the relationship between the quality and use of information. Influence is described as the relationship between the amount and scope of decision making. Agency is described as the relationship between the motivation of the participant and the solidarity of the group. Thus, as a construct, participation is described as the relationship between a participant’s impact, influence, and agency. In the concluding section, the value of this participation construct is explored for its utility in enhancing project work and fostering research cohesion. Three items of potential value that emerge are: the creation of a visual tool through the representation of these six constituent variables in one image; the elaboration of a common language for researchers based on the six constituent variables identified; and the ability to systematically identify and remedy participation gaps throughout the life of the project. While future research exploring the applicability of the participation construct in real world projects is necessary, it is intended that this initial approximation of a participation construct in the form of the visual tool will serve as the basis for a cohesive and rigorous discussion about participation in Participatory Design.

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29

Katib, Adisra. "A descriptive study of Thai EFL students' comprehension monitoring strategies when reading in English." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1997. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape16/PQDD_0004/NQ32712.pdf.

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Andersson, Emma. "The reuse of design rules by product and process documentation : A descriptive case study." Thesis, Tekniska Högskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, JTH, Maskinteknik, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-14420.

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The problem of automating design processes is often related to the difficulties with updating, maintaining and sharing the information. This thesis provides a descriptive case study of a large company’s design automation process and the difficulties of reusing already existing solutions. The main purpose of the thesis has been to trace a product family from its specification of demands to a complete design program. An account is given of the documentation written during the product development process, of the different data storages and also how the company has implemented design automation in their process. The results have been reached through a series of interviews as well as previous studies and material from the company. From an analysis of the results proposed solutions are given and focus on the low quality the documentation has and how it is a result of a rapid growth within the company.

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31

Davies, Daniel. "Representation of multiple engineering viewpoints in Computer Aided Design through computer-interpretable descriptive markup." Thesis, University of Bath, 2008. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.488893.

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The aim of this work was to find a way of representing multiple interpretations of a product design with the same CAD model and in a way that allowed reduction of the manual work of producing the viewpoint specific models of the product through automation The approach presented is the recording of multiple viewpoint-interpretations of a product design with a CAD product model using descriptive, by-reference (stand-off) computer interpretable markup of the model.

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32

Krzywinski, Jens, and Christian Wölfel. "Design Research 2020: Kolloquium Technisches Design: Technische Universität Dresden." Thelem, 2020. https://tud.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A72179.

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Der vorliegend Band 14 der Reihe Technisches Design schlägt nach Tagungsbänden und Dissertationsschriften – dem Charakter nach eher abgeschlossene Werke – eine Brücke in die Zukunft der Forschung im Technischen Design, indem es die Textfassungen von acht Beiträgen des ersten öffentlichen Kolloquiums Technisches Design vom September 2020 beinhaltet, die allesamt aus dem Prozess laufender Promotionsvorhaben verfasst wurden. Diese acht Arbeiten stehen damit auch stellvertretend für ganz individuelle Forschungsperspektiven und Schwerpunktsetzungen innerhalb des weiten Möglichkeitsraums aktueller Designforschung. Die Design-Promovierenden stellen ihre jeweiligen aktuellen Stände und besonderen Aspekte ihrer Forschungsarbeiten zur Diskussion und erlauben damit einen Einblick in verschiedenste Phasen ebenso wie sichere und noch offene Passagen ihrer Auseinandersetzung. Die Bandbreite reicht von ausgearbeiteten Exposees der Promotionsvorhaben über die Ergebnisse systematischer Literaturanalysen bis hin zur Darstellung konkreter Untersuchungsplanungen. Alle Beiträge eint die Auseinandersetzung mit dem menschlichen Erleben und Interagieren mit gestalteten Artefakten. Innerhalb dieses Felds decken die Artefakte ein sehr breites Spektrum von nachhaltigen Materialien oder Fertigungsverfahren über vorwettbewerbliche Technologiedemonstratoren bis hin zu kollaborativen Arbeitsplätzen ab. Innerhalb der Arbeiten werden Bezüge und Fragestellungen zu Menschen und Umgebungen in interdisziplinären Entwicklungsprozessen sowie zur Beurteilung und Kommunikation von Neuem durch Expert:innen und Laien entwickelt. Mit der Bandbreite dieser acht Beiträge wird das thematische Spektrum von Promotionsvorhaben an der Professur für Technisches Design gut ausgeleuchtet und entsprechend stolz sind wir auf diesen ersten Band, der ausschließlich Arbeiten unserer Promovend:innen zeigt. Band 14 der Reihe Technisches Design gibt einen aktuellen Einblick in die Forschung an einer der größeren Designforschungseinrichtungen im deutschsprachigen Raum und lässt Sie teilhaben an empirischer Forschung zur erlebenszentrierten Entwicklung vielfältiger Mensch-Technik-Interaktion.

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33

Suisse, Alice Jr, and Timothé Jr Cilla. "A descriptive research on the promotional tools used in the tourism industry : Case study on Ving." Thesis, Halmstad University, School of Business and Engineering (SET), 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-2663.

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BackgroundPromotional techniques are used to make prospective customers aware of products, towhet their appetites, and stimulate demand; they also provide information to helpcustomers decide. In the promotional process the selection and the use of the tools iscrucial. Nowadays the tourism industry is extremely challenging. Tourism has evolvedduring the latter half of the 20th century from a marginal and locally significant activity toa widely dispersed economic giant. Many aspects of tourism promotion have beendeveloped these last years to attract new customers.PurposeThe purpose of this study is to outline and analyse the use and the construction of threepromotional tools (advertising, Public Relations, printed materials), and find out their goals. These three promotional tools are represented by TV commercials, press releases and brochure.MethodThis study was conducted using the case study method. It is based on primary data. These data are coming from a questionnaire, from the internet and from one printed material. The applied theoretical frames of references are about the use and goals of the three promotional tools and also about models for the analysis of the construction of the latter.ConclusionBy answering the research questions this thesis presents first the comparison resultsbetween the frames and the data concerning the use of the three promotional tools. Thenthe main aspects of the construction of the tools are showed. And finally their goalscoming from the frames and the data are presented and compared.

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34

Scott, Clive Robert. "A descriptive analysis of the public agricultural research and extension systems in Jamaica: a case study." The Ohio State University, 1992. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1195164958.

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35

Taylor, Susan. "A descriptive interpretive exploration of the nurse consultant role and its influence on the research agenda." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2016. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/89032/.

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Aim: To focus on an exploration of the NC role and its engagement with and influence on the research agenda for nursing, Background NC posts have only been established in the United Kingdom since 1999. The role is intended to incorporate four domains: expert practice, leadership and consultancy, education and training, service development and research. Although there has been professional literature regarding the role development in general, there is little written regarding the development of the research aspect and how this influences the research agenda for nursing. Design A qualitative exploration of the research component of the NC role was undertaken using semi-structured audio-recorded telephone interviews with 13 NCs across England. Data were analysed using McCormack’s (2000a) multiple lens approach, a framework that facilitated thematic analysis. The study was informed by the theoretical frameworks of Professional Socialisation and Benner’s (1984) Stages of Clinical Competence, which allowed critical analysis of the data. Findings In relation to the development of the research component of the NC role, the data suggest that NCs were poorly supported in clinical practice, and that, although most held Masters Degrees, this educational level did not provide NCs with adequate preparation for the role or for delivery of the research component of their role. There was also poor understanding of the research role by the authors of NC job descriptions who comprised of NCs themselves, service managers or Directors of Nursing. Research has both an academic and clinical focus in relation to development, infrastructure support and delivery and therefore I expected that Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) would have been involved in the development of the research aspect of the NC role. However, there was very little or no engagement with HEIs by authors of the job descriptions in most cases. Constraints of the clinical environment around service pressures, competing demands, coupled with a lack of mentorship and the absence of a research culture and inadequate links with HEIs were other factors contributing to the barriers to research development. However, the findings revealed that NCs contribute to the research culture within their organisations through various levels of engagement, but there was little in the way of active involvement in research projects. Implications for Practice/Research This research has added to the body of knowledge concerning how, in clinical practice, NCs are socialised into the world of research and what support should be available to ensure NCs deliver on the research aspect of the role. Research and Development activities are considered a major job requirement, where there is an expectation that research will be conducted in a specialist area. This study has concluded that NCs are a group of expert nurses who are visibly making a difference to EBP but not necessarily in the way first envisaged when the roles were developed. This study has highlighted an emerging conceptual framework CFRE (Allen et al. 2004) which could be used to operationalise the research component of the role. The emerging field of implementation science is recommended for the development of the research element of the NC role in order to accelerate the EBP agenda for nursing. Key stakeholders who currently employ NCs should review the infrastructure and support provided to deliver on this.

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36

Scott, Clive Robert. "A descriptive analysis of the public agricultural research and extension systems in Jamaica : a case study /." Connect to resource, 1993. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1195164958.

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37

Bombly, Sarah Mirlenbrink. "Reading Assessment Practices of Elementary General Education Teachers: A Descriptive Study." Scholar Commons, 2013. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4866.

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In this descriptive study, I researched five elementary general education teachers' reading assessment practices as they worked within the context of IDEA (2004), NCLB (2002) and Response to Intervention (RTI). My own connection to the classroom and reading assessment practices brought me to this research. I presented my personal and professional connection through vignettes about my own classroom assessment practices. Relevant literature on both the context and culture of assessment were pertinent to this research. I used a qualitative design, specifically, Colaizzi's (1978) method of phenomenological analysis. Data were three in-depth phenomenological interviews, relevant documents and artifacts, and use of a researcher reflective blog. I summarized the initial findings of this research through 10 clustered themes; shift of focus, ever changing accountability, independent efforts with data, collaborative efforts with data, working environment, interventions and reading assessment practices in action, authenticity in practice, lack of decision making power, teacher emotion, and teacher needs and wants and a composite narrative in order to describe the lived experience of these teachers reading assessment practices. Implications from my research with regard to policy include a perceived incongruence between an RTI framework and the teacher evaluation system with regard to active collaboration. Those toward practice include difficulty with the day-to-day implementation of an RTI framework and the perception of a singular focus of RTI as disability determination. My recommendations for future research include an action research agenda designed to explore increased involvement of stakeholders such as students, parents and other school personnel.

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Hagemeier, Nicholas E., Sarah Blevins, Kyle Hagen, Emily Sorah, Richa Shah, and Kelly Ferris. "Integration of Rural Community Pharmacies into a Rural Family Medicine Practice-Based Research Network: A Descriptive Analysis." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2015. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/1476.

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Purpose: Practice-based research networks (PBRN) seek to shorten the gap between research and application in primary patient care settings. Inclusion of community pharmacies in primary care PBRNs is relatively unexplored. Such a PBRN model could improve care coordination and community-based research, especially in rural and underserved areas. The objectives of this study were to: 1) evaluate rural Appalachian community pharmacy key informants’ perceptions of PBRNs and practice-based research; 2) explore key informants’ perceptions of perceived applicability of practice-based research domains; and 3) explore pharmacy key informant interest in PBRN participation. Methods: The sample consisted of community pharmacies within city limits of all Appalachian Research Network (AppNET) PBRN communities in South Central Appalachia. A descriptive, cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted from November 2013 to February 2014. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine associations between key informant and practice characteristics, and PBRN interest and perceptions. Findings: A 47.8% response rate was obtained. Most key informants (88%) were very or somewhat interested in participating in AppNET. Enrichment of patient care (82.8%), improved relationships with providers in the community (75.9%), and professional development opportunities (69.0%) were perceived by more than two-thirds of respondents to be very beneficial outcomes of PBRN participation. Respondents ranked time constraints (63%) and workflow disruptions (20%) as the biggest barriers to PBRN participation. Conclusion: Key informants in rural Appalachian community pharmacies indicated interest in PBRN participation. Integration of community pharmacies into existing rural PBRNs could advance community level care coordination and promote improved health outcomes in rural and underserved areas. Type: Original Research

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Ashworth, Margaret Jane. ""To be" in design, travel and nature: The applicability of E-Prime to descriptive writing." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1994. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/971.

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Press, Joseph. "Emergent pedagogies in design research education." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69369.

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Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1997. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-64). Recent demand for applied knowledge within architectural practice has resulted in the proliferation of university based research groups. Given the role advanced degree programs play in educating architectural researchers, an opportunity exists to educate architects towards bridging the traditional gap between practice and academia, as well as addressing the dichotomy of research and teaching within the university. Traditionally, research methods from other disciplines are taught in an attempt to redress the research deficiencies of a professional education. This investigation begins with a different premise: the operations of design, central to an architect's intellectual and operational repertoire, should be the catalyst for developing research methods specific to architecture. Further, these methods should be accompanied by a knowledge base which expresses the operations of design. A modified educational paradigm consisting of methods, knowledge, and the building of abilities through 'thoughtful performances', structures an experimental curriculum. Each attribute becomes a dimension for substantiation and assessment. Student engagement and entanglement within this locus reveals the potential directions of design research education. The subsequent analyses of the student work indicates four major trends: Intersubjectivity the need for common understanding; Transparency- the effortless application of methods, Emergence- acknowledgment of form's evolution; and Apprentissage- French for learning which occurs from within apprenticeship. Given these attributes, and the subsequent imperative to redefine architectural research, we formulate a paradigmatic architectural researcher, the "Architect Scholar' and speculate on an educational program designed to foster these characteristics within students. by Joseph Press. M.S.

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WANG, Haixiu. "Competitive market research and product design." Digital Commons @ Lingnan University, 2014. https://commons.ln.edu.hk/cds_etd/11.

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To learn the uncertainty of customer preference on the attribute of new product, usually a firm needs to do market research. Developing a product on an attribute which is less preferred by customer may lead to a failure. In addition, a firm used to take efforts to design the product. In recent years, we observed a new business model in which the firm does not take effort to design new product, nor does she do market research by herself. She provides rewards to attract outside designers to design new product. Some designers may take effort and design products based on their private information of customer preference. The firm receives designs with different quality and attribute, she chooses one to produce. By solving this game model, we get the equilibrium quality of the design offered by each designer based on their private cost parameter. And we obtain the following insights: When the market size is too small, the firm gives nothing to designers; when the market size is sufficiently big, the firm only gives reward to the designer whose design is produced; otherwise the firm gives both rewards to participated designers and the designer whose design is produced. We find that when the market size is big enough or the disutility is high enough, the new business model dominates the benchmark business model. When both the disutility and market size are small enough, the firm prefers the benchmark business model. And the relative attractiveness of new business model versus benchmark model keeps the same when the market size is small enough. The impact of extra reward on relative attractiveness of new business model versus benchmark model increases with extra reward. When the extra reward is high enough, the firm always prefers the new business model.

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DELLE, MONACHE STEFANO. "Sonic Interaction : research through Basic Design." Doctoral thesis, Università IUAV di Venezia, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/11578/278562.

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Lin, Li-chieh, and 林立杰. "A Research of Exhibits Guide Description Design." Thesis, 2013. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/45339865030798513017.

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碩士 大同大學 工業設計學系(所) 101 The content of exhibition for today’s museum is not only in arts, also in living science, physics, and chemistry….etc, and these exhibitions can make visitor understand more knowledge, and it develops the basic function of the museum itself. However, museum is the place where has the functions of relaxation, entertainment, and education. It’s a multi-functional composite resting place. For most visitors today; they usually just use short time to stare exhibits if without any sense of appreciation. Also, without any reference guide and equipment would make visitors feel helpless and confuse. On the other hand, if visitors have specific knowledge of the exhibition, they would interact with the exhibition and enjoy it. Not all of visitors have specific knowledge of the exhibition, so a set of complete guide is really important. A set of complete tour is not only can reduce the confusion of visitors but also can descript the appearance and detail of the exhibit efficiently. The guide to visitors is the way to express the idea of the exhibition and also the most in need of service for visitors. By this study can be known that the each key point and each part should pay attention to. Using questionnaire found the problem from each tour commentary to design in the experiment and found the answers by the actual tour commentary such as the description of the appearance of the exhibits, the sequence of the description, and the relative of time and position during the tour commentary. Finally, by using visitor as start point to integrate the conclusions and the recommendations, and it would make the description of tour commentary becomes more systematic and more complete.

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Devadula, Suman. "Sustainability by Design : A Descriptive Model of Interaction and a Prescriptive Framework for Intervention." Thesis, 2015. http://etd.iisc.ac.in/handle/2005/2751.

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Introduction: Sustainability is humanity’s collective ability to sustain development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Preceding closely to the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) Report of 1987, the General Assembly has adopted the UN Declaration, in 1986 [GA RES. 41/128] and has re-emphasized its importance in the UN Millennium Declaration, 2000. Given this anthropocentric rights basis of sustainability it becomes necessary to understand what this ability and development are with respect to the individual human. Problems of relevance, whose resolution benefits more people in general, are often intractable to the methods of rigorous problem-solving (1). Systemic problems of development score high on relevance, low on being amenable to rigor (1) and are considered wicked in nature (2). Consequently, the concern for sustaining human development is wicked and hence calls for taking a design approach as design is considered good at resolving wicked problems(3). This suggests that the collective ability for sustainability with respect to the individual is design ability i.e. to specify solutions that satisfy requirements arising from having to meet self-determined individual (human) developmental needs. However, literature connecting design, sustainability and human development systemically is found lacking and calls for conducting integrative trans-disciplinary research. Prevention and remedial of consequences of technology to the habitability of earth requires the identification, understanding and control of interactions between humans and between humans and the earth systems. These interactions need to be identified generally and understood systemically in the context of being able to sustain human development. However, despite this need for research in interactions and an integrative framework for informing interventions (4) to prevent or remedy unsustainable situations literature that addresses this need is found inadequate. Research Objective: To develop a descriptive model of interaction to be able to identify and describe interactions and understand interactions at human-scale. To develop a prescriptive framework within which to situate the prevention and remedial of problems related to un sustainability by design and prescribe conditions that ensure coherence of design interventions to principles. Research Method: As is the nature of problems of relevance, the proposed research by nature spans multiple disciplines. Descriptive inquiry into widespread literature spanning conservation, development, systems theory and design is conducted before synthesizing a descriptive model of interaction that situates design cycle as a natural cycle based on interpretation of entropy and Gestalt theory of human perception. A manual discourse analysis of a section of the WCED report is undertaken to inquire into the conceptual system (worldview) behind sustainable development to understand human interactions based on worldview. Addressing the need for choosing alternative goals of development for sustainability, Sen’s capability approach to human development is adopted after critically reviewing literature in this area and synthesizing an appropriate integration of design ability, tools, (cognitive) extension and design capability for human development. Models based on theories spanning design expertise, psychology and systems thinking are reviewed and synthesized into a prescriptive framework and two intervention scenarios based on it. The framework, intervention scenarios and the model are illustrated with evidence from qualitative bibliographic analysis of several cases related to sustaining human development in principle. Results: Sustainability is proposed as a human ability; this human ability is proposed to be design ability to sustain human development. A descriptive model of interaction that situates anthropogenic action as a design cycle is proposed. Based on this model, identifying entities and interactions is demonstrated with examples. It is proposed that humans interact, designing, due to and based on their worldview. Expansion of capabilities as stated in capability approach to lead to human development is ‘extension’ of design ability to design capability mediated by tools. Personal and interpersonal interactions at human scale are described through tool-use categories. A prescriptive framework for sustainability by design that holds human needs as central to interventions for sustainability is proposed. Based on this framework, pro-active and reactive scenarios of design intervention for prevention and remedial of un sustainability are constructed and demonstrated using several cases. Summary: Problems of relevance like sustaining human development are wicked in nature and require knowledge and action mutually informing each other. Addressing the inter-disciplinary nature of the problem requires a design approach as design is known to integrate knowledge from several disciplines to resolve wicked problems. The imperative to be able to sustain human development provides the widest profile of requirements to be met and design is shown to be central to meeting these requirements at the various scales that they surface. Sustainability is defined as humanity’s collective ability to develop meeting needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations for meeting their own needs. This collective ability translates to the individual’s design ability to specify solutions that satisfy requirements arising out of having to meet self-determined developmental needs. The process of ‘expansion’ -- of capabilities that free people choose and value – that realizes human development is the process of tools affording the extension of design ability to design capability necessary for progressively satisfying requirements arising out of self-determined needs of increasing complexity. It is proposed that humans interact, designing based on and due to their worldview. Personal and interpersonal interactions at human scale are described through tool-use categories. A prescriptive framework for sustainability by design is developed stating conditions to guide systemic design interventions for preventing and remedying unsustainability within pro-active and reactive scenarios respectively. A descriptive model of interaction is developed to situate and enable understanding of interactions. The framework, scenarios and the model are illustrated using several cases related to sustaining human development.

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Devadula, Suman. "Sustainability by Design : A Descriptive Model of Interaction and a Prescriptive Framework for Intervention." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2005/2751.

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Introduction: Sustainability is humanity’s collective ability to sustain development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Preceding closely to the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) Report of 1987, the General Assembly has adopted the UN Declaration, in 1986 [GA RES. 41/128] and has re-emphasized its importance in the UN Millennium Declaration, 2000. Given this anthropocentric rights basis of sustainability it becomes necessary to understand what this ability and development are with respect to the individual human. Problems of relevance, whose resolution benefits more people in general, are often intractable to the methods of rigorous problem-solving (1). Systemic problems of development score high on relevance, low on being amenable to rigor (1) and are considered wicked in nature (2). Consequently, the concern for sustaining human development is wicked and hence calls for taking a design approach as design is considered good at resolving wicked problems(3). This suggests that the collective ability for sustainability with respect to the individual is design ability i.e. to specify solutions that satisfy requirements arising from having to meet self-determined individual (human) developmental needs. However, literature connecting design, sustainability and human development systemically is found lacking and calls for conducting integrative trans-disciplinary research. Prevention and remedial of consequences of technology to the habitability of earth requires the identification, understanding and control of interactions between humans and between humans and the earth systems. These interactions need to be identified generally and understood systemically in the context of being able to sustain human development. However, despite this need for research in interactions and an integrative framework for informing interventions (4) to prevent or remedy unsustainable situations literature that addresses this need is found inadequate. Research Objective: To develop a descriptive model of interaction to be able to identify and describe interactions and understand interactions at human-scale. To develop a prescriptive framework within which to situate the prevention and remedial of problems related to un sustainability by design and prescribe conditions that ensure coherence of design interventions to principles. Research Method: As is the nature of problems of relevance, the proposed research by nature spans multiple disciplines. Descriptive inquiry into widespread literature spanning conservation, development, systems theory and design is conducted before synthesizing a descriptive model of interaction that situates design cycle as a natural cycle based on interpretation of entropy and Gestalt theory of human perception. A manual discourse analysis of a section of the WCED report is undertaken to inquire into the conceptual system (worldview) behind sustainable development to understand human interactions based on worldview. Addressing the need for choosing alternative goals of development for sustainability, Sen’s capability approach to human development is adopted after critically reviewing literature in this area and synthesizing an appropriate integration of design ability, tools, (cognitive) extension and design capability for human development. Models based on theories spanning design expertise, psychology and systems thinking are reviewed and synthesized into a prescriptive framework and two intervention scenarios based on it. The framework, intervention scenarios and the model are illustrated with evidence from qualitative bibliographic analysis of several cases related to sustaining human development in principle. Results: Sustainability is proposed as a human ability; this human ability is proposed to be design ability to sustain human development. A descriptive model of interaction that situates anthropogenic action as a design cycle is proposed. Based on this model, identifying entities and interactions is demonstrated with examples. It is proposed that humans interact, designing, due to and based on their worldview. Expansion of capabilities as stated in capability approach to lead to human development is ‘extension’ of design ability to design capability mediated by tools. Personal and interpersonal interactions at human scale are described through tool-use categories. A prescriptive framework for sustainability by design that holds human needs as central to interventions for sustainability is proposed. Based on this framework, pro-active and reactive scenarios of design intervention for prevention and remedial of un sustainability are constructed and demonstrated using several cases. Summary: Problems of relevance like sustaining human development are wicked in nature and require knowledge and action mutually informing each other. Addressing the inter-disciplinary nature of the problem requires a design approach as design is known to integrate knowledge from several disciplines to resolve wicked problems. The imperative to be able to sustain human development provides the widest profile of requirements to be met and design is shown to be central to meeting these requirements at the various scales that they surface. Sustainability is defined as humanity’s collective ability to develop meeting needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations for meeting their own needs. This collective ability translates to the individual’s design ability to specify solutions that satisfy requirements arising out of having to meet self-determined developmental needs. The process of ‘expansion’ -- of capabilities that free people choose and value – that realizes human development is the process of tools affording the extension of design ability to design capability necessary for progressively satisfying requirements arising out of self-determined needs of increasing complexity. It is proposed that humans interact, designing based on and due to their worldview. Personal and interpersonal interactions at human scale are described through tool-use categories. A prescriptive framework for sustainability by design is developed stating conditions to guide systemic design interventions for preventing and remedying unsustainability within pro-active and reactive scenarios respectively. A descriptive model of interaction is developed to situate and enable understanding of interactions. The framework, scenarios and the model are illustrated using several cases related to sustaining human development.

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Zivor, Jacqueline Carol Ann. "Self-esteem of aids orphans: a descriptive study." Diss., 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/2034.

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In the light of the child's self-esteem that is affected by traumatic events, the goal of the research was to explore and describe the self-esteem of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The researcher made use of a quantitative research method. 30 (N=30) respondents, both male (n=16) and female (n=14), between the ages of 11 to 15, were randomly sampled for inclusion in the study. Each participant completed a self-report measure of self-esteem, The Culture-free Self-esteem Inventory for Children, which yielded a score of Global Self-esteem, as well as in four sub-domains including: General, Social, Academic and Parent-related Self-esteem. The results of this study demonstrated that the participants experienced a lowered self-esteem. These findings were explored in light of a literature review, after which conclusions and recommendations were provided. Social Work M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

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Masango, Thembekile Purity. "Perceptions of nurses in supervisory roles regarding competence of novice professional nurses in health education." Diss., 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/14376.

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The main purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, non-experimental study was to explore the perceptions of nurses in supervisory roles (NSRs) regarding competence of novice professional nurses (NPNs) in health education. The study’s conceptual frameworks were the objectives of the Regulation R.425 programme and the scope of practice of professional nurses. The study sought to reveal whether the NPNs were competent in health education and in identifying barriers to health education, and to make recommendations. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection from the professional nurses in supervisory roles. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 program. The results revealed that NPNs were competent in health education, however, paid less attention to family involvement and patients’ level of education (a barrier to health education). The study recommended assessment of the level of education of patients and involvement of family members when giving health education Health Studies M.A. (Health Studies)

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Lin, Lien-Yi, and 林連詣. "Creation Description of Digital Game《Furry League of Underground》And Research of Tablet Touch Input Device Design and Related Applications." Thesis, 2016. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/eabd68.

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碩士 國立臺中科技大學 多媒體設計系碩士班 104 Early flight is a dangerous attempt, through simulation entities using casks, hoop and wood scaffold made of aircraft cockpit flight simulators, people did flight simulation. These simulation props later appeared in the video game and entertainment applications, such as racing games steering wheel. But the price of these hardware devices are expensive. Under the advancement of technology,people can have experiences of these in the playground. Not only the user''s entertainment device arcade, but also the tablet is more popular devices. Although the tabletPC can do many things, but when users encounter some conditions such as typing or drawing ,they often fell difficult to manipulate the tablet, so people are like to buy a physical keyboard or a stylus extension. This thesis study simple and inexpensive way to produce electrostatic touch props. We use physical material conducting principle to induction tablet PCs. We discuss digital games and physical manipulation. In addition to the graspable user interface, software part of the game < Furry League of Underground > has a story、entertaining、gameplay、indigenous game software, using Taiwan as a background architecture, and humorous way to illustrate environmental issues,respect for the animals,and love of life.

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Van, Vuuren Renée Jansen. "Die hantering van alledaagse bekommernisse deur laerskoolleerders in die Helderberg-kom / Renée Jansen van Vuuren." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/10746.

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Most primary school learners experience everyday worries during their normal development. Children handle worries differently, and if they are not supported, their self-concept and psychosocial development could be influenced negatively. Parents and teachers are not always aware of what primary school learners worry about, or how they handle their worries. It is important that parents and teachers are made aware of this, so that children can be better supported in this regard. The aim of this study was to determine the everyday worries of primary school learners in a specific school in the Helderberg area, as well as how these worries are handled. This aim was addressed through a descriptive, qualitative research design. Thirty learners between the ages of ten and eleven in the specific school were involved through a simple random sample. Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were used to obtain a detailed picture of learners’ everyday worries and how they handle them. Interviews were held through the use of an interview schedule, which was compiled in accordance with a literature study, tested in a pilot study and adjusted where necessary. Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified according to Braun and Clarke’s method of thematic analysis. On intrapersonal level one worry was identified, namely about emotions that are experienced. On this level participants handled worries by preferring to be alone, trying not to think about worries, crying, writing or drawing in diary, through praying, eating or sleeping. On interpersonal level, worries about school, family, friends and loss were identified. On this level worries were handled through spending time with a family member, friends, the media, pets, or by asking for support from the school. Themes were divided into subthemes, supported with appropriate quotes from the interviews and controlled with literature. This study confirms existing literature in terms of the worries that primary school learners experience. With this study a contribution is being made to the identification of worries on inter- and intrapersonal level, as well as the handling of worries on these two levels. In the future this information can be used as a basis for the effective development of ways for parents and teachers to support children in this regard. Suggestions were made for parents and teachers to encourage children to talk about their worries, as well as to help them find effective ways in which to communicate and practice to handle these worries well. It is very important that parents and teachers are made aware of topics children are worried about and how they handle them, so that children can be better supported and assisted in this regard. MA (Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

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Ngcuka, Melody. "Multiple personality disorder and ancestral possession : a descriptive study." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7178.

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M.A. Szasz (1961), in a book entitled, "The Myth of Mental Illness", argues about the age-old debate, whether the diagnosis of mental illness is culturally related or not. In today's multicultural milieu, clinicians are confronted with this same problem. For the purpose of the present qualitative study, Ancestral Possession (AP) and Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), will be considered. The initial purpose of the study was to explore the fields of Ancestral Possession (AP) and Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) amongst black subjects, and to explore how these two phenomena are understood within a cultural context. Due to practical problems encountered in finding a black subject diagnosed as suffering from MPD, the subject focus had to be slightly altered. The aim of the study was changed to investigating MPD, as a Western culture diagnosis, and AP, as an African culture diagnosis, and comparing these two phenomena. The phenomenological approach was used as a theoretical basis for the study. It was assumed that since this study focuses on subjective experiences, the phenomenological approach would be more applicable. Two case studies (MPD and AP) comprise the data of this study. A video tape, consisting of interviews of the two case studies, is part of the data, including a literature study on both phenomena. The data analysis focused on comparing the personal background of the two case studies and the manifestation and treatment of both phenomena within their cultural contexts. The differences and similarities that emerge, are discussed. It was found that there are some similarities and also some differences between the two phenomena. Similarities are found, for instance, in the symptom profile of the two phenomena. The core personality in MPD usually presents with a fragile appearance (physical and psychological) and will report losing time (having time that is unaccounted for, because other personalities had taken over). The same thing happens with isiguli (literally, patient), a person who is being called by the ancestors. She looks sick, she will find herself in places without knowing how she got there. In both phenomena the subjects appear tormented before integration. The two conditions are also alike in terms of their effect on the central personality. The ancestral spirits and the alter personalities seem to play the same role of enabling the core personality to be well-functioning. In terms of the differences found between the two phenomena, ancestral possession is socially approved in the African culture whereas multiple personality disorder is considered an illness from the Western perspective. The role of socio-cultural factors seems to complicate matters. As enculturation continues and white South Africans are becoming traditional healers, it would be interesting to see how many black South Africans will in future, be diagnosed as suffering from MPD as there are very few, if any, at present. In terms of etiological factors, MPD is usually a result of trauma whereas ancestral possession is a religious experience. The results were inconclusive in that some aspects, for instance, physiological manifestation of AP could not be clearly explained. This is due to the fact that there has not been any laboratory research done to examine the chemical and physiological changes of traditional healers when under the influence of ancestral spirits. As opposed to that, MPD subjects have been reported to have alter personalities that would indicate different EEGs and some other physiological differences.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic '(a) descriptive research design'

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