Methodology for Selection, Sequencing, and Deployment of Activities in a Capstone Design Course Using the Tidee Web-Based Assessment System

Assessment of design process, design products, team process, and professional practice are natural fits in an engineering capstone design course. In order for instructors and students to fully experience the value of capstone course assessment activities, the activities must not only be carefully developed but must also be deployed in an appropriate manner. Course designers must choose an optimal set of assignments based on local needs, while balancing time intensive design project activities with professional growth experiences. Instructors must facilitate the complete cycle of usage of a single assignment in order to ensure that the value is understood before and after completion of the assessment. This paper introduces guidelines for achieving effectiveness in selecting, timing, and sequencing assessment activities, preparing for activity deployment, and implementing a facilitation plan. Additionally this paper reports on the feedback from students and faculty using the system that highlights the importance of naturalistically integrating assessment

The Articulated Learning: An Approach to Guided Reflection and Assessment

The value of reflection on experience to enhance learning has been advanced for decades; however, it remains difficult to apply in practice. This paper describes a reflection model that pushes students beyond superficial interpretations of complex issues and facilitates academic mastery, personal growth, civic engagement, critical thinking, and the meaningful demonstration of learning. Although developed in a service-learning program, its general features can support reflection on a range of experiences. It is accessible to both students and instructors, regardless of discipline; and it generates written products that can be used for formative and summative assessment of student learning

Piloting Oiconomy Pricing : First experiences of producers applying full cost sustainability assessment of products

The Oiconomy Pricing approach provides an innovative way of measuring and communicating (un)sustainability of products. It expresses (un)sustainability in a virtual monetary unit, the ‘Eco Social Cost Unit’ (ESCU). As closely as possible, the ESCU score of a product equals the externalities, which can also be described as hidden preventative costs. In the context of product sustainability assessment, these are the costs that need to be spent to avoid any damage to the environment or society that the product causes during its entire lifecycle. This paper presents the result of a pilot project with three companies operating in global value chains, applying the Oiconomy Sustainability Assessment Tool. The project encouraged end-producer companies and their value chain partners to calculate the hidden preventative costs and jointly implement sustainable solutions. This article presents the results of these calculations for the three cases, the experiences of the companies and the implications for the market introduction of the tool

Three Perspectives on Motivation and Multi-Criteria Assessment of Organic Food Systems

The complexity of values related to organic food systems is normally difficult to ascertain, understand and act upon for both producers and consumers, as well as for other agents. In this paper we have suggested MCA as a method that may help in coping with this complexity. Furthermore, we have pointed to the importance of addressing the challenge of motivation when designing such an MCA tool. In doing so, we have applied three very different concepts of motivation – an economic, a psycho-social and a relational concept. While they represent fundamentally different perspectives, by incorporating all three within a multi-perspective approach, we have been able to explore ’a broader array of relevant aspects of motivation when designing a MCA tool to be used by consumers when dealing with organic food issues. From an economic perspective, motivation is closely related to the buying situation and consumers’ need to choose between products. This stresses the importance of gaining a quick overview and of support in assessing the options. From a psycho-social perspective, the key point is to design the tool in a way that makes it possible for the consumer to include his or her experiences and specific lifeworld strategies in the assessment process. This highlights the importance of an MCA tool which enables users to influence and change criteria and values in decision-making and reflexive processes. Finally, from a relational perspective, motivation is a matter of social interaction and the tool should therefore be designed so as to allow dialogue between the agents involved in the value chain of the organic food system. Applying the three perspectives on motivation to the issue has proven the value of a multi-perspective approach and provided input qualifying the development of a prototype MCA tool for agents participating in the organic food system

Elusive intangibles : Exploring the experience of authenticity in product development

When consumers buy a new product, they have expectations about what that product will deliver. The consumer’s rational reasoning may try to ascertain whether the technical performance of the product will be fulfilled. Nevertheless, the final word is often subjective. Does it feel right? Is the product attractive, is it worth paying that much for? It is well established that human perception is highly subjective and elusive in nature. Although reason might tell us to go for the “sensible” choice, if the product is not experienced as attractive or exciting enough, the choice might go to something else or lead to dissatisfaction with the chosen product. This is why intangible experiences are important to consider when developing highly valued consumer products.The research in this thesis represents a journey. Along its path, it has been studied how one might understand, elicit and capture intangible product value. How are intangibles relevant to industry, and how might they support product development in the quest for developing products that are highly valued on the market? The initial research, when this thesis began, was concerned with a new way to elicit, capture and assess this type of value. The value of this research lies in the development and validation of a new type of internet tool for the elicitation and assessment of product intangibles that are intended to capture consumer response in a different way from traditional internet tools for product assessment. The latter and greater part of this research has attempted to describe what intangibles are, how professionals talk about them, and what significance they have for product value and product development. What type of value are product developers trying to integrate into the products they develop, and how do they reason? This research has particularly focused on describing and understanding the intangible quality of product and brand authenticity. One contribution of this thesis is its review of how authenticity is described by literature in the fields of product development, branding and marketing management. Thus, it describes the ongoing debate on authenticity as a leading determinant of market value. However, it remains unclear what saying that a product or a brand is authentic means within product development. This has been analysed in this thesis. The thesis also gives an account of what qualities different professions within product development and industrial design have found to be important when developing highly valued consumer products. This thesis also makes a contribution by proposing a new, multidimensional construct for authenticity that explains how market value relates to authenticity. This multidimensional construct of authenticity is a framework that explains how different fields related to product development may be used for companies in creating and maintaining product offerings with a high market value

PVN-LOT-306-AJ-022

For Principles of Marketing courses that require a comprehensive text. Help students learn how to create value through customer connections and engagement In a fast-changing, increasingly digital and social marketplace, it\u27s more vital than ever for marketers to develop meaningful connections with their customers. Principles of Marketing helps students master today\u27s key marketing challenge: to create vibrant, interactive communities of consumers who make products and brands an integral part of their daily lives. To help students understand how to create value and build customer relationships, Kotler and Armstrong present fundamental marketing information within an invative customer-value framework. Thoroughly revised to reflect the major trends impacting contemporary marketing, the 17th Edition is packed with stories illustrating how companies use new digital techlogies to maximize customer engagement and shape brand conversations, experiences, and communities. MyLabTM Marketing t included. Students, if MyLab is a recommended/mandatory component of the course, please ask your instructor for the correct ISBN and course ID. MyLab should only be purchased when required by an instructor. Instructors, contact your Pearson rep for more information. MyLab is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment product designed to personalize learning and improve results. With a wide range of interactive, engaging, and assignable activities, students are encouraged to actively learn and retain tough course concepts

Anticipating user eXperience with a desired product: The AUX framework

Positive user experience (UX) has become a key factor in designing interactive products. It acts as a differentiator which can determine a product’s success on the mature market. However, current UX frameworks and methods do not fully support the early stages of product design and development. During these phases, assessment of UX is challenging as no actual user-product interaction can be tested. This qualitative study investigated anticipated user experience (AUX) to address this problem. Using the co-discovery method, participants were asked to imagine a desired product, anticipate experiences with it, and discuss their views with another participant. Fourteen sub-categories emerged from the data, and relationships among them were defined through co-occurrence analysis. These data formed the basis of the AUX framework which consists of two networks which elucidate 1) how users imagine a desired product and 2) how they anticipate positive experiences with that product. Through this AUX framework, important factors in the process of imagining future products and experiences were learnt, including the way in which these factors interrelate. Focusing on and exploring each component of the two networks in the framework will allow designers to obtain a deeper understanding of the required pragmatic and hedonic qualities of product, intended uses of product, user characteristics, potential contexts of experience, and anticipated emotions embedded within the experience. This understanding, in turn, will help designers to better foresee users’ underlying needs and to focus on the most important aspects of their positive experience. Therefore, the use of the AUX framework in the early stages of product development will contribute to the design for pleasurable UX

Equity drivers and the customer experience

Customer experience has become a top priority for business managers and marketing scholars. However, research on this topic remains relatively scarce, particularly with regard to the drivers of the customer experience. To bridge this important gap, we propose a unified framework to understand the customer experience that integrates the customer’s perceptions of value, brand and the relationship, i.e. the three equity drivers, and test it empirically in a service setting. This study intends to demonstrate that the three equity drivers are central to explaining the way individuals perceive their experiences with the firm and its products and services

Field Experience in Library Science Education and the Health Sciences: A Survey

This review examines the development of effective practical education models of field experiences for library science students through internships and residencies related to health sciences librarianship. A literature review of refereed journal publications was conducted focusing on repeatedly successful criteria utilized for the evaluation of health sciences related practicums and perceived benefits of successful examples. Transferable recommendations for greater productivity and standardization of assessment measures were made in order to suggest the value for a baseline from which to base and by which to compare current and emerging field experience practices for library school students. Findings suggest that through increased collaboration, improved availability, and greater consistency, the resulting assessment products would lead to more successful field experience opportunities that better meet stated objectives and missions