A Study of Model of Kawaii Feelings for Evaluation of Products

芝浦工業大学2018年

Circling the cute-kawaii: following a fugitive affect through planetary modernisms

Emerging out of three current critical trends in literary studies broadly and modernist studies specifically, this dissertation intervenes in the scholarly discourse surrounding the distinctly modern aesthetic-affect of the cute-kawaii. Firstly, drawing on Susan Stanford-Friedman’s conception of modernisms as decentered and disjunctive “planetary” phenomena, it situates the cute-kawaii neither entirely within the 20th century English and American, nor Japanese contexts but attempts to articulate cute-kawaii as affect obtaining in both. Secondly, its methodology participates in the “post-critical” turn in literary studies. Rather than deploying a “suspicious” hermeneutics it attempts what Anne Cheng calls a “hermeneutics of susceptibility,” in which analysis is not dispassionate, but intensely invested in its object. Lastly, the dissertation is theoretically grounded by the affective turn in literary studies, and in particular Brian Massumi’s conception of “affect” as fundamentally ethical in its orientation away from a subject and towards others. Its trajectory tracks iterations of common cute-kawaii tropes as they appear in Japanese, British, and American modernist novels which either explicitly invoke the cute-kawaii, as with James Joyce’s cute rats, or are implicated in the media ecosystems through which those tropes circulate as in the case of Junichiro Tanizaki’s Naomi. Ultimately, the aim of this dissertation is to demonstrate that the cute-kawaii, which has previously been understood as an insidious commodity aesthetic, is better understood as an affective experience with ethical import. In particular, the cute-kawaii is an experience of the ambiguity of the human and non-human, self and world, and significance and signification

Use of machine learning techniques in the Kansei engineering synthesis phase

Una de las principales metodologías para el diseño emocional de productos es la ingeniería Kansei. En esta técnica se pretende relacionar las propiedades del producto o servicio con las sensaciones percibidas por los usuarios. Una aplicación clásica de esta metodología requiere distintas fases entre la que se encuentran la elección del dominio del diseño, la definición del espacio semántico y de propiedades, la síntesis, la validación y la construcción del modelo. La popularización de las técnicas de inteligencia artificial, entre las que se encuentra el aprendizaje automático, ha llevado a muchos autores a utilizar estas herramientas en la fase de síntesis. En este trabajo se analizan las principales herramientas de aprendizaje automático usadas en la fase de síntesis de ingeniería kansei, así como la adecuación de su uso, en base al espacio de propiedades previamente definido.Kansei engineering is one of the main methodologies for the emotional design of products. This technique aims to relate the properties of the product or service to the sensations perceived by users. A classic application of this methodology requires different phases, among which are the choice of the product domain, the definition of the semantic space and properties, the elaboration of the synthesis, the validation and the construction of the model and validation. The popularization of artificial intelligence techniques, including machine learning, has led many authors to use these mathematical models in the synthesis phase. This paper analyses the main machine learning tools used in the synthesis phase of kansei engineering, as well as the relevance of their use, based on the property space previously described

Pacific Rim Magazine 2012

The 2012 issue of Pacific Rim Magazine includes the cover stories "Remembering China Town: Then and Now with Larry Wong," "Elim Chu's Fresh Take on Vancouver Style," "Almost Demolished: A House and Community Revived," "King Kwong: BC's Hockey Pioneer," and "Your Office Unboxed: The Network Hub.

A nation's visual language: nation branding and the visual identity of contemporary Malaysia

This research explores the role graphic design can play in the national branding of emergent nations, and takes the multiracial, multicultural state of Malaysia as the principal object of study. Contemporary Malaysian society and culture are reviewed in the context of present views of globalization and postcolonialism, and the phenomenon of ‘glocalization’ emerges as an important one in Malaysia. A variety of design research methods are used to identify the nature of graphic design practice in Malaysia, including the examination of the national government framework of design practices and networks, the design-led method of cultural probes, and participatory observation within several Malaysian design agencies. A questionnaire survey was also carried out with a sample group of design practitioners and interviews conducted with key professional design practitioners in the country and members of the Malaysia Design Council. These methods reveal that the professional and personal outlook of local designers is highly influenced by government policies and the support systems provided by government departments

Chinese women’s makeover shows: idealised femininity, self-presentation and body maintenance

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Chinese television industry has witnessed the rise of a new form of television programme, Chinese Women’s Makeover Shows. These programmes have quickly become a great success and have received enormous attention from growing audiences. The shows are themed on educating and demonstrating to the audiences the information and methods needed to beautify their faces and bodies and consume products accordingly. The shows are different from earlier Chinese fashion television programmes in format, and are also different from western makeover shows that have personal transformations of external appearance as their subject. The importance of adopting these shows as a research topic lies in the fact that the shows not only represent the images of contemporary Chinese women and propose a series of standards that a modern Chinese woman is advised to abide by in terms of body presentation and appearance, but also reflect the characteristics of Chinese female consumers and the rising consumer culture of China in general. It concerns the challenges and anxieties that have been brought to every woman in China. The thesis starts with an overview analysis of this flourishing genre of television programme and outlines its status quo, format and production techniques. In the following three chapters, it takes three years (2010-2012) of episodes of the three most popular Chinese Women’s Makeover Shows, Queen, Pretty Women, and I am a Great Beauty as the main samples for analysis, aiming to scrutinise 1) the idealised femininity represented in the shows and the cultural context from which the features derive; 2) the self-presentation promoted as appropriate in the shows and how it relates to the reality of Chinese women’s daily life; 3) the body maintenance that the shows urge upon their audiences as regards consumption for the female body and to what extent this epitomises and functions in constructing a consumer society with Chinese characteristics. The thesis intends to fill a gap in academic research with a systematic analysis of the prevailing phenomenon of the Chinese Women’s Makeover Shows and an in-depth study concerning the shows’ meaning-making process within their cultural context

‘Interaction of Cultures through Design’ Cross-Cultural Design (CCD) Learning Model: The development and implementation of CCD design education in South Korean higher education.

This research has arisen from an awareness of the emerging discourses about the future of design education in Korea. The country today is synonymous with advanced technology and high-quality products made by companies such as Samsung. The development of capacity for creativity and innovation in design has not yet been successfully implemented, and it has been argued that much of the responsibility lies with the education system. Currently Korean design education is focused on function, technology and solutions as well as aesthetic values; it drives students to be technically capable without understanding the value of design as a cultural activity. In order to tackle this issue, Korea has been introducing various initiatives in its design education system. These initiatives have focused on the convergence of design specialisms, as well as other disciplines outside of design. Parallel to these, this thesis suggests Cross-Cultural Design (CCD) as one of the possible elements that could aid this transformation. The findings of this thesis suggest that it is important for design students as well as educators to realise design is an activity of cultural production that can improve the quality of our lives. Cross-Cultural Design is not a new concept. There are many definitions and practical implementations found in the various fields of study and within the design industry. Although considerable efforts are being made to explore and understand cross-cultural relationships as a result of globalisation today, there has been limited discussion about cross-cultural concerns from a design practice context. Previous studies on cross-culture have focused almost exclusively on anthropology, sociology and more recently, international business and marketing. This thesis, therefore, seeks to address this gap by examining the potential of Cross-Cultural Design (CCD) practices and develop a Cross-Cultural Design (CCD) educational framework for Korean higher education that encourages designers, design students and Korean universities to become more culturally engaged. Firstly, this thesis begins by examining the current issues facing the Korean education system in Chapter 2. Chapters three and four discuss a general contribution to new knowledge by exploring the key characteristics of CCD, which are: 1) Cross-cultural understanding - understanding the cultural context for designers and the design concepts derived from an in-depth understanding of cultural differences. 2) Originality - enriched creative outputs from cross cultural practice. An ability to think creatively and design whilst retaining unique and novel ideas. 3) Practicality - new design ideas from mixing cultural codes/needs. Creation of usable design for everyday life through combined cultures. 4) Universal design - consolidated cultural needs to achieve Universal design ideas, when appropriate. Universally understandable design with minimised cultural errors and misunderstanding. 5) Cultural identity - celebrating cultural specificity to promote core identities, when appropriate. Cultural identity is also defined through culturally distinctive design, which plays an important role in structuring the Cross-Cultural Design reflection tool and template by providing a set of criteria. The five key characteristics of Cross-Cultural Design presented above are based on various findings of what constitutes the elements within the CCD model (Chapter 3 & 4). This thesis investigates design education through the development of intensive project-based short course learning activities in Chapter 5. As part of the study, five of these CCD short course activities were conducted over five years, starting in 2010. The programmes were developed and conducted in collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London (UK), Kyung Hee University (Korea), and the Korea Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP). The focus of these education programmes moved from the inspirational benefits of cross-cultural experience, to the practicality and marketability of culturally engaged design. As a result, a CCD learning model was proposed and developed. This thesis concludes that the CCD learning model can help give a new direction to Korean design education in order to make it more process-oriented, whilst paying attention to cultural issues. This model of education could help create more user-oriented and culturally located design. Korean design education is traditionally built on art education. Cross-Cultural Design education can provide a socio-cultural contribution to the education framework, and introduce a methodological approach to designing as a cultural activity, as well as a reflective approach. Secondly, systemic problems in Korean design education means it is currently not able to meet the social and industrial demands and changes required in a developing Korean society. This thesis proposes that Cross-Cultural Design education can help develop a wider spectrum of design fields, such as convergence design education. Lastly, with regards to social problems, Korean design education suffers from a narrow conception of the possibilities of design, and does not recognise that design can extend to work with other subjects within the university. However, Cross-Cultural Design education helps students and designers understand the importance of design in our everyday lives, and more importantly, the significance of culture within design activities. In a broader context, educators can also benefit from diverse teaching methodologies; supporters such as governments can promote their national culture and boost their design industries. More importantly, consumers will have access to culturally rich and diverse products and services. The potential input of this CCD framework is to contribute to transforming Korean higher education. This framework could also be applied to other geographical contexts, but this is outside of the scope of this thesis

Legendary Days – a novel, and the Aspects of Geek Culture in Fiction

This Creative and Critical Writing PhD thesis explores the dialogue between fiction and geek culture. It seeks to understand the definitions and uses of the terms ‘geek’, ‘nerd’ and ‘otaku’ over time. I look for points of commonality and how they have been used in texts since the seventeenth century. After this initial exploration, I move to a close reading of three novels that are representative of geek culture. These texts comment on geek culture though they do not belong to genres traditionally associated with it, such as fantasy or science fiction. Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao makes extensive use of footnotes, intertextuality and hypertextuality. Douglas Coupland’s Microserfs explores the influence of technology, tries to define geeks and nerds, plays with form and language, and touches on the subject of posthumanity. Meanwhile, Nakano Hitori’s Train Man, which began life as a collective online message board thread, challenges common tenants of fiction, especially that of authorship and form. The novels, in the order in which they are discussed, move from the traditional to the innovative. They pose questions about the way in which geek culture interacts with fiction, how this influence plays out in terms of theme, characterisation, format, and the reading experience. Finally, these novels also interrogate ways geek culture might help us understand the future of fiction writing. Both thesis and novel were designed with the idea of ‘play’ in mind, with particular reference to games, flexibility and contestation. The creative element of this thesis, Legendary Days, is a geeky novel about saving memories. The protagonist, after loosing his father, writes down his own memories in a narrative that plays with geek culture and related themes. It follows the same character in three different times and contexts, while also allowing for several intertextual intromissions throughout the text