Testing feasibility of detecting potential locust breeding sites by satellite

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Polymer Acoustic Guitars: Designing In Credibility and Designing Out Prejudice

History tells us that the union of plastics and musical instruments is one fraught with both technical difficulties and human prejudice in the form of value judgements. For some seasoned guitarists, the idea of creating a guitar made not from wood but from plastics is at worst sacrilege and at best a promise of a very poor product experience. Nonetheless, guitar manufacturers have for decades searched for credible and tonally comparable synthetic replacements for wood. This paper communicates the challenges that were faced in designing, from scratch, a credible and pleasurable acoustic guitar made almost entirely from plastics. The work builds upon the practical element of a PhD project, which now forms the basis of the branded business and R&D venture Cool Acoustics, owned wholly by Loughborough University. The paper contrasts the sensorial information conveyed by wood and plastics and places the findings in the context of acoustic guitar design. The Cool Acoustics guitar project is then presented and its execution discussed, particularly in relation to the development of the first finalised prototype instruments exhibited at the Frankfurt Musikmesse in 2002. Tactical materials selection and finishing, along with effective form creation and branding, were used to redress the recurring inclination of industry and public alike to dismiss plastic musical instruments on emotional grounds. The findings of informal feedback sessions are used to gauge success against the stated aims of ‘designing in credibility’ and ‘designing out prejudice’

Industrial designers’ attention to materials and manufacturing processes: analyses at macroscopic and microscopic levels

Industrial designers’ attention to materials and manufacturing processes: analyses at macroscopic and microscopic level

Towards a method for documenting industrial design activity from the designer’s perspective

Design researchers have recorded design activity most often on a microscopic level, enabling some conclusions on the structure of design processes to be reached through analysing trains of thought. An alternative, rarely attempted, is to undertake a macroscopic study of designing on a focused topic. A macroscopic study will aim to reveal designers’ approaches to their work and the kinds of resources they use in relation to that topic. For such a study it is stressed that a designer needs to be involved in a long-term ‘live’ design project. This paper argues that a diary written by the designer, either during or at some point after designing, is valuable to researchers studying designing on a macroscopic level. The two key reasons for using a diary are (a) only designers themselves can describe the thinking that accompanies their designing and (b) accounts can be written chronologically and in direct relation to the development of a particular product. The merits of both concurrent and end-of-the-day diaries are discussed in relation to some initial trials

Eliciting Children’s Expectations for Hand Prostheses through Generative Design Tools

When designing assistive devices for children with disabilities, designers mostly consider technical and functional aspects and overlook factors that affect their usage from children’s perspective. Therefore, in most cases, assistive devices do not fully meet the needs of the children and may create a negative effect on children’s well-being. To explore the opinion’s of children using 3D printed hand prosthetics in Country-Xx, individual generative sessions were conducted with four children with limb deficiency. Generative tools are used to engage children and encourage them to express themselves in relation to prosthesis use. The main aim was to investigate how children provide design relevant information that may help designers to achieve improved assistive devices that support children’s physical, emotional and social wellbeing. Children’s feedback related to prosthetic usage categorized under two topics; expectations of children for prosthesis use and children’s priority expectation for the prosthesis. The findings are argued to be useful and usable by NGOs, product designers and design researchers who work with children with disabilities

Design for Positive Breast Self-Exam Experience Using Mobile Apps

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer types among women, accountable for approximately 2.2 million new cases and 684,996 deaths globally in 2020. There are various screening methods to detect cancer early, and experts suggest that women should perform breast self-examination (BSE) once a month. Unfortunately, most women fail to do so even if they are aware of the risks and the importance of screening methods. The aim of this paper is to understand women's current behavior and experience with BSE and mobile BSE apps and to suggest several design dimensions for positive mobile BSE app experience by benefiting from positive technology. With this aim, three selected mobile BSE apps were used by a total of 24 participants for four weeks. A three-phase study was carried out to uncover women’s pre- during-, and post-usage experiences of BSE apps. The analysis revealed six headings under two themes: strategies, limitations, and emotions under BSE theme; and the needs, limitations, and benefits under Mobile Apps theme. Consequently, based on the findings, suggestions for design dimensions for BSE apps to better meet women’s needs by benefiting from levels of positive technology are made

Design Decision-Making and Materials: Research Agendas and Gathering Evidence

This paper describes the development of the research agendas for three PhD research projects which took place over the last two decades in the Department of Design and Technology at Loughborough University. The emergence of these agendas in relation to their eras is described and the data gathering methods developed to pursue them noted. The paper is intended to support teachers, designers and other researchers in the early stages of the design of their research projects. Key Words: research, agendas, PhD, methods, materials, designin

Technicity as the conceptual basis for explaining innovation in design and technology

At DATA’s international research conference in 2004, Doyle introduced the concept of technicity. As a concept seeking to provide causal explanation of human evolution itself, as well as innovation and creativity within design and technology education, this was arguably the most significant new contribution presented at the conference and challenged those in design and technology education to fundamentally review the foundations of the subject