Industrial and Product Design Commons^™

The Effect Of Intentionally Engaging Attention When Viewing Restorative Environments: Exploring Attention Restoration Theory, Charles E. Jaggard

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although research exploring Attention Restoration Theory has been extensive, certain procedures for its study seem to be taken as implicit, but require investigation for a deeper understanding and application of both the theory and its underlying processes. This study aimed to answer the questions: “What is the result of engaging directed attention when viewing otherwise restorative environments?” and “Does this intentional engagement have any effect on already fatiguing non-restorative environments?” Participants were asked to complete a task designed to fatigue their directed attentional capacity and then view images of restorative or non-restorative environments, wherein they either were asked to direct …

The Effects Of Reflective Prompts On Attention In Restorative And Non-Restorative Environments, Ryan Dumke

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan, 1995) posits that the prolonged use of directed attention results in directed attention fatigue and that exposure to environments with restorative properties leads to increased attentional capacities. Despite a great deal of evidence illustrating this effect, there has been little research into the specific mechanisms accounting for this effect, and no research examining what is occurring in the mind during the restorative process. Most researchers have operated on the assumption that the relaxation of directed attention faculties accounts for the effect of attention restoration, with little evidence to completely support this assumption. However, conflicting evidence suggests …

A Comparative Study Of The Impact Of Project Delivery Methods Used On Public Highway-Rail Intersection Projects In New York State, Osileke Odusanya Osipitan

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The improvement of infrastructure by a public agency is to ensure satisfaction of the general public using such infrastructure, based on available funds. In order to implement and sustain the public good, an efficient project delivery method or the assessment of existing project delivery methods used to develop such infrastructure is necessary. Project delivery method is a process that defines the relationship between parties involved in a specific project. Any of the methods could affect a project budget, schedule, quality and the involvement of the project owner. This study investigated the impact of project delivery methods used by different type/class …

Creativity And Web Design: Designing And Producing A Successful Site On Creativity And Leadership, Travis N. Turner

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project explores the connection between design, website development and creativity. As the Internet plays an increasing role in every day life, the ability to produce a high-quality website showcasing one’s personal and professional writing becomes essential to personal and career success. This project features a literature review as well as an analysis of successful website to determine what makes for a good site. The project then implements these findings with a complete re-design of www.creativeleader.com as well adding and improving the content already on the site.

Human Centered Design Applied To Perceptual Paradigms, Jonathan T. Fancher

All NMU Master's Theses

This thesis gives three examples of projects that apply knowledge from areas such as human centered design, computer science, and psychology to study sensation and perception. All three of these projects were created to gather information on how humans interact with their surrounding environment and the world. For instance the first area of discovery included the way humans interact within their perceptual and personal space through an interactive table. The second project looks at exploring the neural mechanisms that affect Haptic Hallucinations by creating a device that can give the feeling of bugs crawling on or below the surface of …

Lady’S Writing Table And Chair, Risd Museum, Ben Blanc, Elizabeth Williams

Channel

Commanding as much attention now as when they debuted at the 1904 World’s Fair, this writing table and chair were conceived as showstoppers in a crowd of stunning objects made by Gorham’s competitors. More than 10,000 hours of labor, 47.5 pounds of silver, and a panoply of exotic materials make up this unique set, which deftly melds sinuous European Art Nouveau floral and figural motifs, 18th-century French Rococo forms, and traditional Hispano-Moresque designs. Intricately wrought symbolism—seen in the daytime poppies and the night owl below the mirror and the decoration of the legs, each representing one of the four seasons, …

Elastic Armchair, Risd Museum, Alicia Valencia, Matthias Pliessnig, Rosanne Somerson

Channel

Based on the ancient Greek klismos form, this chair incorporates bentwood lamination, a technique using steam to shape wood into graceful curves. Patented in 1808, Gragg’s design and construction process benefitted from his experience using this technique to make Windsor chairs, an example of which is on the right. Inspired by the proportions and lightweight construction of the Windsor chair, Gragg fused the classical past with the industrialized future. The chair is adorned with motifs that date to antiquity, such as the painted peacock feathers along the chair back, the acanthus leaves on the seat rail, and the carved hoof …

Valentine Portable Typewriter And Case, Risd Museum, Perry A. King, Khipra Nichols, Kate Schapira

Channel

Introduced on Valentine’s Day with a flurry of advertising, the Olivetti Company’s bright-red portable typewriter was an instant sensation of the Pop Art movement. Ettore Sottsass and Perry King designed valentine to be the “anti-machine machine,” meaning that it functioned as a typewriter but also had a humanized quality lacking in most office equipment. Sottsass noted that his seductive red typewriter was for use “in any place except an office … rather to keep amateur poets company on quiet Sundays.” To further differentiate valentine from workaday equipment, Sottsass’s early designs lacked both uppercase type and the bell signaling the end …

Designing A Goal Journaling Application, Kevin Lufkin

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

Achieving a personal goal and making a positive change in one’s life can be a difficult and elusive task. Everyday people are creating and setting new goals for themselves, but more often than not these goals are never realized. Motivation, determination, and discipline are all key elements when it comes to accomplishing a goal, but if there is no clear idea as to how to connect the dots from where one is to where one wants to be these important qualities lose their effectiveness.

The applications that exist today largely fit in the realm of goal/task management and planners. This …

An Investigation Into The Traits Of And Strategies Used By Highly Effective Teachers, Stephanie J. Ciolli-Stewart

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the traits of and strategies used by highly effective teachers. Two research questions were presented in this study: What are the traits of highly effective teachers? and What strategies are used by highly effective teachers? Elementary school principals in the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation in Evansville, Indiana, were asked to recommend one to two highly effective teachers. After a thorough review of principal recommendations, participants were considered based upon gender, years of experience, and grade level or subject area taught. Once the participant selection process concluded, dates for six onsite classroom observations …

Benefits And Obstacles To Smart Packaging In Food Labeling, Emmalyn H. Goulden

Graphic Communication

This project explores the reasons why food spoilage indicators are not yet sold in grocery stores for consumer use. Food spoilage indicators, or time-temperature indicators as they are more widely known, are used to determine whether or not products are safe for consumption. There are several potential barriers to the wide market usage of packaging containing indicators including lack of consumer interest, additional cost, and manufacturing difficulties. However, the benefits that the product offers in the way of consumer safety cannot be overlooked.

Extensive research was augmented by a survey of 119 shoppers at local grocery stores in the central …

Square Wine: Thinking Outside The Bottle, Kathryn A. Zeltner

Graphic Communication

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not a rectangular wine bottle with a square base would be environmentally beneficial due to its ability to fit more bottles into a single shipping container. An interview was conducted from the CEO of company that currently produces bottles in this fashion and she helped answer this hypothesis as well as provide insight into the bottle production process. In addition to the environmental aspect, the study looked to determine if a square-based bottle would be accepted by consumers in the marketplace. Being that consumer purchasing decision plays a huge role …

Ergonomically Designing Art Objects, Ambika Subramaniam

Undergraduate Theses—Unrestricted

The following thesis examines the work of Ambika Subramaniam, in particular her thesis installation Ergonomically Designing Art Objects, for the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture at Washington University in St. Louis. Based within a discussion of semiotics, the thesis researches furniture signification and tracks its evolution through traditional form, ergonomic function, and consumed product. Major points include the ways in which objects are capable of collapsing and retaining the semiotic divide between a sign and referent, and how that signification relates to contemporary design-oriented products. Using the chair as the exemplifying object, the thesis installation questions how objects have …

"What Happens In Romania..." Comes Back To The United States And Becomes A Quilt, Ashley Ehlers, Kaitlyn Torres

Senior Theses

Our senior thesis project is a quilt that chronicles our experiences on the Maymester trip to Romania through the Honors College, during which we were able to shadow surgeons in the Oncology Hospital and General Surgery III Hospital in Cluj-Napoca. In our quilt, we included some of the most common surgeries we saw while shadowing Romanian doctors: breast removal, gall bladder removal, appendix removal, removal of a section of the large intestine, and removal of the uterus. The final product of this quilt shows every level of the abdominal muscles and organs from the anterior skin to the kidneys.

To …

Comparison Of Lower Trapezius Muscle Thickness In Patients With And Without Scapular Dyskinesis Measured With Diagnostic Ultrasound, Alex Vandeusen

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Context: Dyskinesis has been linked to deficits in muscular strength and neuromuscular control of the scapular stabilizers. Often, when treating overhead athletes with pathological shoulders, Athletic Trainers focus on rotator cuff and scapular muscle strength to find resolution, yet the role of the lower trapezius strength in scapular dyskinesis is not well understood. Objective: To identify differences among varying levels of scapular dyskinesis on lower trapezius muscle thickness and strength. To identify the relationship between lower trapezius muscle thickness and strength with varying levels of scapular dyskinesis . To identify the relationship between pain and function within varying levels of …

Comparison Of Blood Flow Changes With Soft Tissue Mobilization And Massage Therapy, Andrea M. Portillo Soto

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Context: Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) and massage therapy are manual techniques that claim to be able to increase blood flow to treated areas. There are no studies on human subjects that have directly investigated the effects of IASTM on blood flow. Objective: To compare the effects of Graston Technique (GT) and Massage therapy on calf blood flow, using skin temperature measures (a valid, indirect measureof blood flow), on the lower leg. Design: Single-blinded prospective, longitudinal, controlled, repeated-measures design. Setting: Research Laboratory Participants: 28 volunteers participated in the study (Age=23±3; Males=14/28 (50%); Females=14/28 (50%); Girth=39.5±4.3l; Skinfold=27.9±5.6) Interventions: Each participant …

Empowered Pursuit: A Reflective Essay On Using Creative Learning In The Syracuse City School District, Danielle Mae Lewis

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Within the Syracuse City School District, students have been struggling to thrive in an educational environment that focuses on standardization. In 2012, only 48% of high school seniors graduated with a high school diploma in the city of Syracuse. Numerous theories have been discussed as to why students have failed to succeed, with a large portion of these centered on the problems created by the No Child Left Behind Act.

This reflective essay constructs and deconstructs the research and conceptual work produced surrounding the topic of creative learning within the Syracuse City School District. Initial research, summarized in this paper, …

Wayward Nosh, Alexandra Marin O'Neil

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Design Challenge How do you get 4-8 year olds to understand their food allergy well enough to communicate it to others? When parents learn their child has a food allergy, for them, it is a stressful, life-changing discovery. For the child, this knowledge has no meaning, yet. Here, there is the opportunity to break down connotations associated with allergies. Through design intervention, this book explores the possibilities of transforming food from problems into assets. For instance, Superman might be “allergic” to kryptonite, but he also has superpowers. Rather than label the child with allergies, why not rebrand allergies to turn …

The Design Of Compelling Narratives, Miasha K. Vicino

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

While storytelling is an essential form of communication and has been used to help humans make sense of the world and prepare for the future for thousands of years, compelling narratives are designed storytelling systems that encourage the audience to get involved and make active thought and behavioral change. Another significant aspect of compelling narrative design is that they are not resolute. While stories have definite endings, the end of a compelling narrative should be a “call to action”, an opportunity to engage further and invest time, effort, or aid back into the narrative’s cause. The challenge for designers is …

Measuring The Effects Of An American Physiological Society’S Phun Week Activity On 2nd Grade Students, James Edelman

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last few years the United States has been on the decline in the fields of science and technology. The American Physiological Society (APS) has developed a program to engage young minds with scientists. Physiology Understanding Week (PhUn) is the APS initiative to use interactive experiments to engage school-age children with science and physiology. Even though PhUn Week has been going on since 2005, systematic assessment of the activities effects is rare. Here, we sought to assess if an APS PhUn Week activity enhances physiology understanding and interest in science in second grade children form a rural area. The …