83 research outputs found

    AN ENACTIVE APPROACH TO TECHNOLOGICALLY MEDIATED LEARNING THROUGH PLAY

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    This thesis investigated the application of enactive principles to the design of classroom technolo- gies for young children’s learning through play. This study identified the attributes of an enactive pedagogy, in order to develop a design framework to accommodate enactive learning processes. From an enactive perspective, the learner is defined as an autonomous agent, capable of adapta- tion via the recursive consumption of self generated meaning within the constraints of a social and material world. Adaptation is the parallel development of mind and body that occurs through inter- action, which renders knowledge contingent on the environment from which it emerged. Parallel development means that action and perception in learning are as critical as thinking. An enactive approach to design therefore aspires to make the physical and social interaction with technology meaningful to the learning objective, rather than an aside to cognitive tasks. The design framework considered in detail the necessary affordances in terms of interaction, activity and context. In a further interpretation of enactive principles, this thesis recognised play and pretence as vehicles for designing and evaluating enactive learning and the embodied use of technology. In answering the research question, the interpreted framework was applied as a novel approach to designing and analysing children’s engagement with technology for learning, and worked towards a paradigm where interaction is part of the learning experience. The aspiration for the framework was to inform the design of interaction modalities to allow users’ to exercise the inherent mechanisms they have for making sense of the world. However, before making the claim to support enactive learning processes, there was a question as to whether technologically mediated realities were suitable environments to apply this framework. Given the emphasis on the physical world and action, it was the intention of the research and design activities to explore whether digital artefacts and spaces were an impoverished reality for enactive learning; or if digital objects and spaces could afford sufficient ’reality’ to be referents in social play behaviours. The project embedded in this research was tasked with creating deployable technologies that could be used in the classroom. Consequently, this framework was applied in practice, whereby the design practice and deployed technologies served as pragmatic tools to investigate the potential for interactive technologies in children’s physical, social and cognitive learning. To understand the context, underpin the design framework, and evaluate the impact of any techno- logical interventions in school life, the design practice was informed by ethnographic methodologies. The design process responded to cascading findings from phased research activities. The initial fieldwork located meaning making activities within the classroom, with a view to to re-appropriating situated and familiar practices. In the next stage of the design practice, this formative analysis determined the objectives of the participatory sessions, which in turn contributed to the creation of technologies suitable for an inquiry of enactive learning. The final technologies used standard school equipment with bespoke software, enabling children to engage with real time compositing and tracking applications installed in the classrooms’ role play spaces. The evaluation of the play space technologies in the wild revealed under certain conditions, there was evidence of embodied presence in the children’s social, physical and affective behaviour - illustrating how mediated realities can extend physical spaces. These findings suggest that the attention to meaningful interaction, a presence in the environment as a result of an active role, and a social presence - as outlined in the design framework - can lead to the emergence of observable enactive learning processes. As the design framework was applied, these principles could be examined and revised. Two notable examples of revisions to the design framework, in light of the applied practice, related to: (1) a key affordance for meaningful action to emerge required opportunities for direct and immediate engagement; and (2) a situated awareness of the self and other inhabitants in the mediated space required support across the spectrum of social interaction. The application of the design framework enabled this investigation to move beyond a theoretical discourse

    The education of undergraduate product designers in the principles and practice of sustainable design.

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    There is a growing recognition that product designers have a responsibility to ensure that their designs are intrinsically sustainable and do not add to the growing pressures on the environment. Developing sustainable products requires designers to be aware of the conflicting issues and constraints that need to be taken into account as part of the design process. Finding appropriate ways to provide the essential knowledge to support designers so that they can develop sustainable products has been the focus of the research reported in this thesis. A set of characteristics that can be used to classify levels of sustainability of products was established, which identified "tangible" and "intangible" considerations that would need to be understood and applied by product designers. Having established a framework for understanding and applying sustainable characteristics to new products, an educational strategy was developed and evaluated with groups of product design students in two institutes of higher education in Scotland. The strategy for providing the design students with the necessary understanding suggests that "tangible" characteristics should be introduced at an earlier stage in the students' education, followed by more "intangible" characteristics at a later stage. The literature review explores the definitions between green design, eco design and sustainable design, and explores how the concept of sustainable design has been communicated to designers through the design brief and as part of the educational process. The thesis examines pedagogical strategies which have been used in design education to provide students with insights into the issues surrounding sustainability. The methodology adopted for this research was based on an action research model, which involved the researcher undertaking a series of case studies with groups of design students and using her own design practice to gain insights into the design process. The case studies were used to develop a prototype educational strategy for introducing the characteristics into an undergraduate design curriculum

    Happiness and impulse buying: An exploration into the perceptions of female consumers aged between 18 and 35 in Germany

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    Impulse behaviour in general and impulse buying in particular have a long history of negative associations in research. Consumers are advised by the popular press to refrain from impulse buying. Marketing practitioners, on the other hand, strive to further increase consumer impulse buying expenditures, which have already been on the increase for decades. This may be an indication that impulse buying makes consumers feel happy. Although the topic happiness has received considerable attention in various fields of research, there is little evidence of an in-depth empirical exploration of the role of happiness in impulse buying, which was addressed by this study. This thesis was based on the phenomenological paradigm and adopted a subjective stance, exploring happiness in female consumers' impulse buying experiences. In this inductive exploratory study, qualitative data were collected from focus groups and individual interviews with female consumers aged between 18 and 35 years in Germany. This research sought to investigate how happiness evolves over the impulse buying experience, which was addressed by the longitudinal nature of collecting data over a period of three months in weekly individual interviews. The empirical evidence showed that the pursuit of happiness is one of the major motivations for impulse buying and the subsequent evaluation of the purchase. For instance, the presentation of a newly acquired item to other people with the intention of receiving positive feedback is one of the eight themes which emerged from the iterative process of data analysis. The findings indicate that impulse buying is often appreciated by consumers as an enjoyable experience which may yield positive emotions even after careful reflection some time after the purchase. Impulse buying should not generally be devalued as the dark side of consumption. This research underlines the complexity of impulse buying and indicates overlaps and interdependencies with planned buying. Suggestions for marketing practitioners and retail managers on how to increase impulse buying activities are implicit in these findings

    2018 FSDG Combined Abstracts

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    https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg_abstracts/1000/thumbnail.jp

    A study to design, investigate, implement and motivate parents to become more involved in school activities and in the education of their children

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    The purpose of this study was to define and evaluate the strategies of motivating parents to get involved in the education of their children. The subjects were selected from Sharp School, community businesses, and organizations. The criteria for the selection of the subjects were based on the diverse population of the stakeholders and outside school community interest groups. Questionnaires were administered to parents and teachers. Responses were collected. Data was analyzed and interpreted. Semi-structural interviews were conducted and recorded. Observations were preformed. The result of the observations was recorded. All information obtained from the above were assessed and compared to obtain the common needs. The findings were utilized to plan for motivational activities. The activities were organized and implemented in order of priority. Findings indicated that the majority of the parents studied portrayed willingness for participation. There were positive expressions and collaborations among the staff and parents for a partnership relationship. The school personnel made every effort utilizing information on cultural behavioral style to plan appealing activities based on parents\u27 and students\u27 interests. After a trusting relationship was built through various activities, workshops and training were presented to the parents to show them how to be more involved in school activities

    Attitudes towards sexual behaviour of British born Chinese teenagers.

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    This thesis examines attitudes towards sexual behaviour of British bom Chinese teenagers and what factors influence them. An ethnographic approach is used to explore these issues. It is based on ethnographic interviews with 20 British bom Chinese teenagers and 20 parents. The literature on teenage sexual attitudes and behaviour and young Chinese people in Britain is critically reviewed. The influences of family, ethnicity, friends and school sex education are identified as important factors. However, little is known about the processes of these influences and there are no such studies of British bom Chinese teenagers. The review of previous research concludes that a holistic qualitative approach to the study of teenage sexual attitudes and behaviour, including both genders of teenagers and parents, is needed. Due to the lack of such studies of British bom Chinese teenagers and the Chinese background of the researcher, the study focuses on exploring these issues in this group of teenagers. Qualitative data analysis assisted by NUD*IST software provides rich insights into social influences on the teenagers. The conservative view of sexual behaviour is dominant. The influences of family, Chinese ethnicity, friends and sex education at school are illustrated and discussed in turn. Analysis shows the complexity of these influences, which affect the teenagers in various ways. Parental sexual values, influenced by Chinese culture and religion, have a profound impact on the teenagers. The parents use various strategies to pass on these values to their children. Friendship similarity in sexual values and behaviour is apparent, but differences between Chinese/church friends and Scottish/non-church friends are highlighted. School sex education provides the teenagers with accurate sexual knowledge, of which they acquire little from their parents or friends. The conclusion highlights the value of the holistic qualitative approach in the understanding of social influences on teenage sexual values and behaviour. The implications of the study suggest that it is important for school sex education, health promotion and sexual behaviour counselling to be sensitive to cultural and family norms and values
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