A systematic review of protocol studies on conceptual design cognition: design as search and exploration

This paper reports findings from the first systematic review of protocol studies focusing specifically on conceptual design cognition, aiming to answer the following research question: What is our current understanding of the cognitive processes involved in conceptual design tasks carried out by individual designers? We reviewed 47 studies on architectural design, engineering design and product design engineering. This paper reports 24 cognitive processes investigated in a subset of 33 studies aligning with two viewpoints on the nature of designing: (V1) design as search (10 processes, 41.7%); and (V2) design as exploration (14 processes, 58.3%). Studies on search focused on solution search and problem structuring, involving: long-term memory retrieval; working memory; operators and reasoning processes. Studies on exploration investigated: co-evolutionary design; visual reasoning; cognitive actions; and unexpected discovery and situated requirements invention. Overall, considerable conceptual and terminological differences were observed among the studies. Nonetheless, a common focus on memory, semantic, associative, visual perceptual and mental imagery processes was observed to an extent. We suggest three challenges for future research to advance the field: (i) developing general models/theories; (ii) testing protocol study findings using objective methods conducive to larger samples and (iii) developing a shared ontology of cognitive processes in design

Is it sustainable? A conceptual exposition of sustainability in technical artefacts

Design is increasingly viewed as a key driver of global sustainability improvement. Accordingly, a range of sustainability-oriented design approaches have emerged over the past decades, all sharing the same high-level goal: the delivery of sustainable artefacts. Developing a shared vision of sustainability is positioned as a crucial first step in sustainability-oriented design processes; however, there is a lack of clarity regarding what the terms sustainable and sustainability fundamentally mean when applied to technical artefacts. To address these issues, we present a conceptual exposition of sustainability, beginning with three fundamental theoretical viewpoints on the concept and translating these to engineering design. Using the first generic model of systems sustainability (the S-Cycle) and an industrial case study, we then explain the basic constitution of sustainability of technical artefacts and discuss goals and metrics for sustainability-oriented engineering design. Some implications of the work for future research are briefly discussed, highlighting that sustainable design is not inherently ‘good’ and should therefore be conducted with caution and responsibility

Creative design engineering : introduction to an interdisciplinary approach

Review of the book: Creative design engineering: introduction to an interdisciplinary approach, by Toshiharu Taura, London, Elsevier, 2016, £57.99 RRP (paperback), ISBN:978-0-12-804226-

The formation of a cross-town Multi-Academy Trust: A case of policy enactment in the local organisation of education

This research investigates two high schools and one middle school in the grip of a seismic policy change as they set aside generations of rivalry to work together as a newly formed Multi-Academy Trust (MAT). It adopts an insider case study approach; I taught at one of the schools during the research process and experienced the policy changes with those who participated in the study. The case study uncovers the different sensemaking processes employed by senior leaders and classroom teachers regarding the rationale for the MAT and examines evidence of the enactment of the MAT’s strategic intent to work together. Actor- Network Theory is utilised as a sensemaking tool and revealed the sociomaterial factors shaping the enactment of collaboration. The research consisted of seven interviews with ‘elite’ senior leaders, two sets of teacher focus groups at each of the high schools and analysis of key national and school specific policy documents. The year spent conducting the research coincided with academy conversion and captured the experiences of becoming a MAT and how this altered established work practices. The findings revealed the MAT was a network rife with ambivalent belongings at all levels and material ‘actants’ stalling relations. The shape and extent of collaboration between the schools was mediated by contextual factors and their historical relationships. In this case study the same phase relations between the two high schools was more problematic to establish and maintain than the relations between one of the high schools and its feeder middle school. This can be attributed to the confusing policy priorities of the national MAT programme that continues the Neoliberal promotion of market values, whilst also pushing for school collaboration. I found that the policy decision to convert to an academy had paradoxical qualities; it secured the shape and direction of the three-tier educational provision in the town (for now), but resulted in policy changes that increased workload, accountability, stress and uncertainty. The thesis concludes with suggestions for future policy direction regarding the forming of local multi-phase MATs, whilst also highlighting the difficulties faced when enacting such policy into practice

Conceptualisation of severe and enduring anorexia nervosa : a qualitative meta-synthesis

Background: Severe and enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN) is amongst the most impairing of all mental illnesses. Collective uncertainties about SE-AN nosology impacts treatment refinement. Qualitative research, particularly lived experience literature, can contribute to a process of revision and enrichment of understanding the SE-AN experience and further develop treatment interventions. Poor outcomes to date, as evidenced in clinical trials and mortality for people with SE-AN (1 in 20) demonstrate the need for research that informs conceptualisations and novel treatment directions. This interpretative, meta-ethnographic meta-synthesis aimed to bridge this gap. Methods: A systematic search for qualitative studies that explored the AN experiences of people with a duration of greater than 3 years was undertaken. These studies included those that encompassed phenomenology, treatment experiences and recovery. Results: 36 papers, comprising 382 voices of SE-AN experiences informed the meta-ethnographic findings. Four higher order constructs were generated through a synthesis of themes and participant extracts cited in the extracted papers: (1) Vulnerable sense of self (2) Intra-psychic processes (3) Global impoverishment (4) Inter-psychic temporal processes. Running across these meta-themes were three cross cutting themes (i) Treatment: help versus harm, (ii) Shifts in control (iii) Hope versus hopelessness. These meta-themes were integrated into conceptualisations of SE-AN that was experienced as a recursive process of existential self-in-relation to other and the anorexia nervosa trap. Conclusions: The alternative conceptualisation of SE-AN proposed in this paper poses a challenge to current conceptualisations of AN and calls for treatments to engage with the complex intra and inter-psychic processes of the SE-AN, more fully. In doing so, clinicians and researchers are asked to continue to be bold in testing novel ideas that may challenge our own rigidity and attachment to dominant paradigms to best serve the individual person with SE-AN. The ‘global impoverishment of self’, found in this synthesis of AN experiences, should inform proposed diagnostic criteria for SE-AN

Exploring the role of text-to-image AI in concept generation

Artificial intelligence (AI) capable of generating images from a text prompt are becoming increasingly prevalent in society and design. The general public can use their computers and mobile devices to ask a complex text-to-image AI to create an image which is in some cases indistinguishable from that which a human could create using a computer graphics package. These images are shared on social media and have been used in the creation of art projects, documents and publications. This exploratory study aimed to identify if modern text-to-image AI (Midjourney, DALL-E 2, and Disco Diffusion) could be used to replace the designer in the concept generation stage of the design process. Teams of design students were asked to evaluate AI generated concepts from 15 to a final concept. The outcomes of this research are a first of its kind for the field of engineering design, in the identification of barriers in the use of current text-to-image AI for the purpose of engineering design. The discussion suggests how this can be overcome in the short term and what knowledge the research community needs to build to overcome these barriers in the long term

Relating goal-directed behaviour to grazing in persons with obesity with and without eating disorder features

Background: Both obesity and eating disorders (ED) have been associated with reductions in purposeful, flexible goal-directed behaviour, and with an overreliance on more rigid habitual behaviour. It is currently unknown whether grazing, an eating style which is common in both conditions, is related to goal-directed behaviour. The current study therefore aimed to relate grazing to goal-directed behaviour in a group of participants with obesity with and without ED features, compared to a healthy-weight control group. Methods: Participants (N = 87; 67.8% women, mean age 28.57 years), of whom 19 had obesity and significant eating disorder features, 25 had obesity but without marked eating disorder features, and 43 were age- and sex-matched healthy-weight controls, completed two instrumental learning tasks assessing action-outcome contingency sensitivity and devaluation sensitivity, as well as demographic and eating disorder-related questionnaires. Gamma and Ordinary Least Squares regressions were performed to examine the effect of group and grazing on goal-directed behaviour. Results: Lower action-outcome contingency sensitivity was found in the group with obesity and with eating disorder features than in the group with obesity but without eating disorder features or in healthy controls. No group differences in devaluation sensitivity were found. A small but significant relationship was found between grazing severity and contingency sensitivity in the group with obesity and eating disorder features, such that increasing grazing severity was associated with less diminished contingency sensitivity. Conclusions: There is some indication that in persons with obesity and eating disorder features instrumental behaviour is less flexible and adaptive; furthermore, within this group grazing may represent a goal-directed behaviour, despite unhelpful long-term implications of grazing

The neural correlates of ideation in product design engineering practitioners

In product design engineering (PDE), ideation involves the generation of technical behaviours and physical structures to address specific functional requirements. This differs from generic creative ideation tasks, which emphasise functional and technical considerations less. To advance knowledge about the neural basis of PDE ideation, we present the first fMRI study on professional product design engineers practising in industry. We aimed to explore brain activation during ideation, and compare activation in open-ended and constrained tasks. Imagery manipulation tasks were contrasted with ideation tasks in a sample of 29 PDE professionals. The key findings were: (1) PDE ideation is associated with greater activity in left cingulate gyrus; (2) there were no significant differences between open-ended and constrained tasks; and (3) a preliminary association with activity in the right superior temporal gyrus was also observed. The results are consistent with existing fMRI work on generic creative ideation, suggesting that PDE ideation may share a number of similarities at the neural level. Future work includes: functional connectivity analysis of open-ended and constrained ideation to further investigate potential differences; investigating the effects of aspects of design expertise/training on processing; and the use of novelty measures directly linked to the designer’s internal processing in fMRI analysis

Systematic literature review of hand gestures used in human computer interaction interfaces

Gestures, widely accepted as a humans' natural mode of interaction with their surroundings, have been considered for use in human-computer based interfaces since the early 1980s. They have been explored and implemented, with a range of success and maturity levels, in a variety of fields, facilitated by a multitude of technologies. Underpinning gesture theory however focuses on gestures performed simultaneously with speech, and majority of gesture based interfaces are supported by other modes of interaction. This article reports the results of a systematic review undertaken to identify characteristics of touchless/in-air hand gestures used in interaction interfaces. 148 articles were reviewed reporting on gesture-based interaction interfaces, identified through searching engineering and science databases (Engineering Village, Pro Quest, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science). The goal of the review was to map the field of gesture-based interfaces, investigate the patterns in gesture use, and identify common combinations of gestures for different combinations of applications and technologies. From the review, the community seems disparate with little evidence of building upon prior work and a fundamental framework of gesture-based interaction is not evident. However, the findings can help inform future developments and provide valuable information about the benefits and drawbacks of different approaches. It was further found that the nature and appropriateness of gestures used was not a primary factor in gesture elicitation when designing gesture based systems, and that ease of technology implementation often took precedence