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Design and Environmental Analysis (DEA) Theses

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Undergraduate Honors Theses for the College of Human Ecology Design and Environmental Analysis (DEA)

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    Verbalizer vs. Visualizer Viewing Text and Image: An Eye Tracking Study
    Licero, Jordan (2012-04-26)
    As the number of Internet users rapidly increases, the importance of understanding how individuals view an interface display is becoming increasingly important. In this study, eye-tracking software is utilized to examine the differences of cognitive style (Verbalizes and Visualizers) on search time and memory while viewing text and image stimuli of two different layouts. In addition, this study aims to test Nielsen’s (2006) F-pattern theory for both Verbalizers and Visualizers. Results showed that there was no difference between Verbalizers and Visualizers in terms of search task time or memory regardless of text vs. image or grid vs. block. Results also confirmed Nielsen’s (2006) F-pattern theory by indicating that Verbalizers and Visualizers both spend the majority of time in the F-shaped zone of text stimuli located near the top left corner of the visual display.
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    Participatory Design with Former Street Children: Benefits to Designers and Users
    Yang, Seo Yun (2010-05)
    No formal abstract was offered. Basically, the purpose of the research was to find out how much being part of a participatory design study empowered children.
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    Fostering Whole-Systems Thinking Through Architecture: Eco- School Case Studies in Europe and Japan
    Day, Emelia (2009-07-23T14:53:25Z)
    In eco-schools, the building itself is used as a lever for environmental education. This research examines how architecture, engineering, landscaping, and educational systems are combined to make school buildings the instruments through which students learn how to lessen human impact on the environment. Through tours, interviews, archival data, and surveys with data from England, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Japan, this thesis investigates factors involved in eco-school development, and documents four eco-schools' design, activities, and students' environmental attitudes. The specific aims are: Aim 1. (a) What factors aid eco-school development, and (b) in what kind of social contexts does this occur? Interviews with principals, architects, and government officials revealed that eco-schools develop quickly with enthusiastic principals who excite their students, faculty, and school board members with occasions to think and act in ecologically responsible ways. Aim 2. What are contemporary exemplars of eco-schools, in architecture and activities? Four contemporary eco-school exemplars were studied in England, the Netherlands, and Japan. These schools had an average of 14 environmental features, with the most common being utilizing daylight. Average number of environmental activities was 5.5, with gardening and field trips as the most common. Eco-school activities varied considerably with curriculum integration, alternative transportation, and demandreducing policies. Aim 3. Can eco-schools influence a child's way of thinking in different ways than traditional schools, in terms of environmental attitudes? Across four schools studied, the average environmental attitudes score was 84.43, using a 28 item adapted scale from Musser and Malkus (1994). Although findings indicated that the number of environmental features in a school was not a significant predictor of environmental attitudes, this may be due in part to the fact that all schools studied were eco-schools. Future research might include schools varying more in both design and curriculum.
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    Volumetric Deformation: A New Objective Measure to Study Chair Comfort Using 3D Body Scanning Technology
    Agarwal, Anshu (2006-05-03)
    Proper lumbar support is a necessary and fundamental requirement for any well-designed chair. Objective techniques to assess chair comfort necessitate the use of a sensing layer that may change the fundamental characteristics of the chair itself depending on its structure and materials. Other methods have attached equipment to subjects, which may influence their normal sitting behavior. In this study, I utilize new 3D body scanning technology to examine the person-chair interaction in flexible, material back chairs without adding anything to either the chair or the subject. I attempt to develop a new objective measure, volumetric deformation, which assesses the reaction of a flexible, material chair back to a seated user. In addition, this study aims to understand the relationships between perceived chair back comfort, objective volumetric deformation, subject anthropometric attributes, and ratings of perceived chair attribute comfort. Total chair back deformation is found to be significantly related to some subject anthropometric attributes, which provides further evidence that deformation is a useful objective measure for assessment of the chair back. Perceived overall back comfort is significantly associated to the perceived comfort of the lumbar support but not to any of the anthropometric measurements taken. The relationship between chair back deformation and pressure distribution should be explored in future studies.