Good Design Practices Research Articles

A tutorial on mixed methods research for policing scholars

This paper offers a tutorial on mixed methods research (MMR) for policing scholars to highlight its potential, encourage its use, and inform best practices, with the aim to enhance the reputation of the field with respect to methodological rigor. We review the design and reporting standards for MMR and include examples from published policing research to showcase quality applications and identify areas for improvement. In this emerging and often misunderstood methodological paradigm, which consists of dynamic research designs and multiple interrelated components, it is crucial that authors follow best practices for design and reporting to ensure their studies meet the criteria for methodological rigor and improve future implementation of mixed methods in policing research.

Transforming ambition into action to catalyse nature-based solutions: Insights from 250 good practice policy instruments

Ambition to leverage the power of nature-based solutions (NbS) to address global challenges such as the interlinked climate change and biodiversity crises has reached unprecedented levels. Despite a growing consensus around the potential benefits of NbS, this ambition has not translated into sufficient actionable progress in practice. Cities, increasingly recognized as centres of transformative capacity, have become a focal point for achieving NbS ambitions. Nevertheless, the transition from theoretical discourse to practical implementation has been slow, with NbS frequently being overlooked until recently in political agendas. A key obstacle to progress is the lack of action-oriented research grounding theoretical discussions in empirical evidence on NbS policy design and application. This paper seeks to address these knowledge gaps by: (i) defining criteria for good practices in urban NbS policy design and implementation; (ii) assessing policy instruments from the Urban Governance Atlas (UGA) against these criteria using mixed statistical and qualitative methods; and (iii) identifying potential pathways and actionable measures to promote the adoption of good practices in practice. Drawing on the diverse UGA examples, with a particular focus on Europe and the CELAC region, the paper identifies seven good practice criteria and outlines four potential pathways and related actions to guide the development of NbS policy instruments across varied urban contexts. Concrete recommendations around actionable knowledge aim to tap the transformative potential of NbS in addressing pressing global issues.

Exploring community-based participatory research for household and ambient air pollution projects: insights from key informants

BackgroundDespite the extensive use of community-based participatory research (CBPR) in health-related projects, there is limited work on how CBPR processes result in outcomes, especially in household and ambient air pollution (HAAP) research. This study explores the reflections of key informants on factors that shape the implementation and outcomes of CBPR in HAAP projects.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 key stakeholders, including academic researchers, non-governmental organisation administrators, a policymaker, and community members. All interviewees have experience in CBPR projects. Interviews were analysed using framework analysis, and findings were mapped to Wallerstein et al.’s CBPR conceptual model, which consists of four constructs: context, partnership processes, intervention and research, and outcomes.ResultsThe findings are described under two main categories: ‘barriers to participation’ and ‘good practices for effective CBPR design and implementation’. Relevant sub-categories were barriers at the structural, research, community, and individual levels. Suggestions for good practices included respect, cultural humility, trust, effective communication, suitable and affordable interventions such as improved cookstoves, appropriate participatory research tools, and gratuity for the community’s time.ConclusionKey informants’ perspectives identified factors supported by the CBPR model to inform the design and implementation of the CBPR approach. The add-ons to some of the model’s factors, such as intra-community dynamics, give value to the informants’ knowledge to support community-research partnerships and improve outcomes in HAAP intervention projects. Addressing these factors at the design stage and reporting CBPR evaluation could deepen the understanding of community-research partnerships.

Ask the players! Player-centric principles as guidelines for ethical microtransactions

This viewpoint paper synthesizes the author's previous work with players on their experiences and perceptions of problematic microtransactions to provide a set of values for ethically designing microtransactions. As such, it provides a practical starting point for any reader with an interest in implementing good practices in microtransaction design and regulation.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) and project management

This technical report discusses the significance of using building information modelling (BIM) in project management as a tool to enhance cost reduction based on the simulation of computational models. The methodology employed was the case study of a software solution that makes its product libraries available in BIM format, intended for the simulation of computational models of a multinational company. Data were collected through document analysis and interviews with specialists from the Siemens company. The conclusion of the data analysis of this study resulted in a better understanding of the issues that the simulation of computational models idealised by BIM methodology and their data proposes to solve. The findings show that the simulation of computational models contributes to decision-making in civil construction, whether in the design of new buildings or modernization processes. The contribution of this work is strengthened by presenting a benefits proposal for the use of computational modelling in the context of civil construction using good design practices.

Towards a Reconciliation Between Simulational, Ludic, and Historiographical Practices in Research

Background Simulations, ludic or otherwise, have so far struggled to gain a foothold in mainstream historiography. Some authors suggest there may be fundamental incompatibilities between history and the language of simulations and scholarly games. Others believe that designing, employing, and validating historical simulations may be simply too costly and/or labor-intensive to justify their widespread adoption. Intervention This paper intends to identify points of friction between historiography and simulation-based research and suggest practical solutions to these issues. Methods My discussion is based on the description and analysis of a case study, the ThomondSim/ The Triumphs of Turlough research project. The initiative consisted of the development and application of an agent-based computational model (ABM) and a scholarly board game to investigate the possible associations between economic, environmental, and military hazards in 13th and 14th centuries Ireland. Results and Discussion Ensuring the simulations matched historical evidence to a standard deemed acceptable by the historiographical community limited their phase space, compromising their capacity to explore emergent phenomena. The intricacy of the underlying conceptual model suited the ABM better than the board game, which struggled to reconcile complexity with good game design practices. The board game, however, proved to be an effective validating tool for the ABM. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research The project espoused an overt simulation- and game-centric approach, paying little attention to unguided play. Recent literature suggests that fostering, rather than hindering, playful exploration could address some of the pitfalls identified by this project. Conclusion Play could be a means of reconciliation between simulational, ludic, and historiographical practices. However, to ensure that projects adhere to epistemic standards, it is recommended that a methodology is developed to integrate it into research in ways that can be tested and evaluated.

An empirical investigation of the relationship between pattern grime and code smells

AbstractDevelopers are encouraged to adopt good design practices to maintain good software quality during the system's evolution. However, some modifications and changes to the system could cause code smells and pattern grime, which might incur more maintenance effort. As the presence of both code smells and pattern grime is considered a bad sign and raises a flag at code segments that need more careful examination, a potential connection between them may exist. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to (1) empirically investigate the potential relationship between the accumulation of pattern grime and the presence of code smells and (2) evaluate the significance of individual code smells when they appear in a specific pattern grime category. To achieve this goal, we performed an empirical study using six‐grime metrics and 10 code smells on five Java open‐source projects ranging from 217 to 563 classes. Our statistical results indicate that, in general, the growth of grime is more likely to co‐occur with code smells using Spearman's correlation and Odd Ratio test. Specifically, there is a strong positive association between the growth of pattern grime at the class level and the presence of Shotgun Surgery smell according to the result of applying the Apriori algorithm, which gives conviction values equal to 1.66. The findings in this paper are helpful for developers and researchers as the presence of pattern grime could be considered a factor in improving the performance of existing smell detection methods. Furthermore, the link between grime and smells can be exploited as a hint for smell distribution in the system.

Formula omitted]piler: Compilers in search of compilations

Compilers pose significant challenges in their development as software products. Language developers face the complexities of ensuring efficiency, adhering to good design practices, and maintaining the overall codebase. These factors make it difficult to predict the unexpected impact of updates on existing software built on the current compiler stack. Furthermore, software created for a specific compiler often lacks reusability for other compiler environments. In this study, we propose a comprehensive framework for the uniform development of compilers that addresses these issues. Our approach involves developing compilers as a collection of small transpilation units, referred to as deltas. The transpilation infrastructure takes source code written in a particular source language and searches for a path of deltas to generate equivalent source code in the target language. By adopting this methodology, language developers can easily update their languages by introducing new deltas into the system. Existing code remains unaffected as old transpilation paths remain available. To support this framework, we have devised a metric space for efficient delta search. This metric space enables us to define a non-overestimating heuristic function, which proves valuable in solving the search problem. Leveraging the A* search algorithm, we can efficiently transpile programs from a source language to the target language. To evaluate the effectiveness of our approach, we conducted a benchmark comparison between the A* search algorithm and the simpler breadth-first search (BFS) algorithm. The benchmark consisted of over 100 transpilation searches, providing valuable insights into the performance and capabilities of this framework.

Beyond multiple choice: Clinical simulation as a rigorous and inclusive method for assessing genetic counseling competencies.

Educational use of clinical simulation is a way for students to immerse themselves within a realistic yet safe and structured environment as they practice clinical skills. It is widely used in healthcare training and evaluation, and there are best practices for design, implementation, debriefing, and assessment. An increasing number of genetic counseling graduate programs use simulation in various ways, ranging from role-plays to working with professional simulated/standardized patient (SP) actors. At this time, there is very little consistency across programs, research on the approaches, and standards by which simulation is incorporated into training. Simulation is an understudied but promising approach for genetic counselor (GC) education and assessment. After graduation, GCs demonstrate their competence as entry-level providers through American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) multiple-choice examination (MCE), along with their participatory clinical encounters from graduate training. Data from genetic counseling and other professions highlight the limitations and biases of MCEs, suggesting they not only fail to accurately capture competency, but also that they disadvantage underrepresented individuals from entering the field. In addition, MCEs are limited as a tool for assessing nuanced counseling and communication skills, as compared to more quantitative scientific knowledge. We propose that innovative, evidence-based approaches such as simulation have the potential to not only enhance learning, but also to allow GCs to better demonstrate competency during training and in relation to the board examination. Collaborative approaches, research, and funding are needed to further explore the viability of routinely incorporating simulation into GC training and assessment.

Characteristics of Design and Statistical Analysis of NEI-funded Ophthalmic Clinical Trials

Objective: To describe the characteristics of trial design and statistical analysis of the National Eye Institute (NEI)-funded randomized clinical trials (RCTs) conducted after the year 2000. Design: Review of 42 NEI-funded ophthalmic RCTs. Methods: Eligible trials were identified from ClinicalTrials.Gov and their primary result papers were identified from PubMed. Data on the design characteristics (primary outcome, number of arms, sample size, statistical power, inclusion of one eye or two eyes) and statistical analysis (statistical method for adjustment of inter-eye correlation, correction for multiple comparisons) as reported in the primary result paper were collected independently by two authors, and the differences were adjudicated by the senior author. Descriptive analyses were performed to summarize the characteristics of trial design and statistical analysis. Main Outcome Measures: Characteristics of trial design and statistical analysis. Results: Forty-two NEI-funded ophthalmic trials conducted after 2000 were included. The majority of trials were for evaluating the efficacy of drugs (57%), medical devices (21%), or procedures (14%) for the treatment of retinal diseases (45%) or pediatric eye diseases (45%). All trials were designed with at least 80% statistical power for comparing continuous (64%), binary (24%), or time-to-event (12%) primary outcome measures. In 11 (26%) trials enrolling both eyes of a participant, two eyes were in the same treatment group in 6 (55%) trials, and two-eye data were properly analyzed with adjustment for the inter-eye correlation when needed for all these trials. However, none of these trial publications explicitly stated that the inter-eye correlation was considered in the sample size and power calculation. In 13 trials with more than two arms, 12 (92%) trials adjusted for multiplicity using Bonferroni correction (42%), Hochberg procedure (42%) or Turkey’s method (17%). Conclusion: While the availability of two eyes of a participant may complicate the ophthalmic trial design and statistical analysis, NEI-funded trials followed good practice in the trial design and statistical analysis, with enrollment of two eyes of a participant when appropriate, and adjustment of the inter-eye correlation in the statistical analysis. The sample size and power calculation can be improved by considering the inter-eye correlation and clearly reporting such information for future ophthalmic trials is important.

A benchmark of computational pipelines for single-cell histone modification data

BackgroundSingle-cell histone post translational modification (scHPTM) assays such as scCUT&Tag or scChIP-seq allow single-cell mapping of diverse epigenomic landscapes within complex tissues and are likely to unlock our understanding of various mechanisms involved in development or diseases. Running scHTPM experiments and analyzing the data produced remains challenging since few consensus guidelines currently exist regarding good practices for experimental design and data analysis pipelines.ResultsWe perform a computational benchmark to assess the impact of experimental parameters and data analysis pipelines on the ability of the cell representation to recapitulate known biological similarities. We run more than ten thousand experiments to systematically study the impact of coverage and number of cells, of the count matrix construction method, of feature selection and normalization, and of the dimension reduction algorithm used. This allows us to identify key experimental parameters and computational choices to obtain a good representation of single-cell HPTM data. We show in particular that the count matrix construction step has a strong influence on the quality of the representation and that using fixed-size bin counts outperforms annotation-based binning. Dimension reduction methods based on latent semantic indexing outperform others, and feature selection is detrimental, while keeping only high-quality cells has little influence on the final representation as long as enough cells are analyzed.ConclusionsThis benchmark provides a comprehensive study on how experimental parameters and computational choices affect the representation of single-cell HPTM data. We propose a series of recommendations regarding matrix construction, feature and cell selection, and dimensionality reduction algorithms.

Operational Performance of Roundabouts at High-Speed and Rural Locations

A recent research project investigated the operational benefits of modern roundabouts for high-speed locations that serve heavy vehicles, while developing examples of best practices for design. The research team compiled proven results from designs in other states and collected and analyzed data from within and outside of Texas to develop updated design guidance, which can be used to implement roundabout designs that accommodate oversize/overweight (OSOW) vehicles in rural areas. This paper summarizes activities and findings from that project. Project activities indicate that the drone-based data collection effort, along with a computer algorithm-based method for data reduction, was an effective and efficient alternative to traditional data collection and reduction methods for this project. Findings from field data and simulation confirmed practices in other states that roundabouts can be designed to accommodate not only heavy vehicles but also OSOW vehicles in rural locations with high-speed approaches. The roundabout with the largest diameter studied (180 ft) had the best performance, but the smallest roundabout (120-ft diameter) was also able to accommodate larger vehicles at lower volumes, and roundabouts of all sizes generally outperformed two-way stop-controlled intersections in simulation results.

Program Infrastructure the Key to Success: A Pilot Crosswalk Installation to Promote Walkability, Pedestrian Safety, and Physical Activity in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

While physical inactivity can contribute to chronic diseases, regular activity like walking can help prevent them. In 2010, one in three adults in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) was physically inactive, higher than most U.S. states and territories. There are few walkable destinations and sidewalks along streets in the USVI. Since community- and street-scale design features can influence walking, we convened a 3-day walkability institute in the USVI to (1) learn about physical activity and best practices for design and (2) develop public health infrastructure that supports implementation. Island teams were formed to develop and implement a territory-wide action plan, focused on passing a Complete Streets policy, and demonstration projects on the islands of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas to advance and pass this policy. An example of the demonstration projects and their significance is the completed one in St. Croix, which is the focus of this article. Island teams applied critical components of functioning program infrastructure as described in the Component Model of Infrastructure (CMI) such as engaged data, multilevel leadership, responsive plans and planning, and networked partnerships. We evaluated whether a crosswalk installation in St. Croix could alter driver and pedestrian behavior and create a safer environment for pedestrians. Observers recorded pedestrian crossing time, driver speed, and other behaviors before and after crosswalk installation. Pedestrians took significantly fewer average seconds to cross the street in the postdemonstration period (9.83) compared with predemonstration (13.4) (p = .03). Average car speed declined between the predemonstration (24.3) and long-term demonstration periods (p < .01) and from the postdemonstration (24.7) to the long-term demonstration period (18.2) (p < .01). A greater percentage of pedestrians used the crosswalk to cross the street between the postdemonstration (12.5%) and long-term demonstration periods (53.7%) (p < .01). The demonstration project in St. Croix shows that improvements to built environment infrastructure can increase safety for pedestrians, thus improving walkability in the USVI. We discuss the importance of CMI elements observed in the success of the St. Croix demonstration and its effectiveness in promoting a Complete Streets policy and the lack of these elements on St. John hindering progress there. Public health practitioners can apply the CMI to future physical activity promotion projects in the USVI and other settings as having functioning program infrastructure helps overcome challenges including natural disasters and a global pandemic and can achieve progress toward sustained policy and systems change.

So, Why Do Students Perform Better in Gamified Courses? Understanding Motivational Styles in Educational Gamification

Research on gamification’s effects in educational environments has been a growing domain in recent years. As research has demonstrated the power of gamified systems to effectively motivate learners in educational settings, it has also become clear that not all individuals are motivated in the same way, or to the same extent, by the same gamified system. Patterns in individuals’ attitudes and behaviors in online gaming are commonly known as player types. Nearly all player-type models were developed in online gaming settings, though they are sometimes applied to educational environments. Because online gaming and educational gamification are different in important ways, player-type models developed in online gaming are not optimal tools for describing the individuals’ motivations in education or prescribing best practices for educational gamification design. In this paper we address this gap by presenting a motivational-style model developed in a gamified educational setting. Using principal component analysis on motivational data taken from gamified Organizational Behavior courses, we define a two-factor space including the following motivational dimensions: (1) social versus individual motivators and (2) utility versus accomplishment motivators. Within this space, we describe four motivational profiles: Citizen—being motivated by social assignments like group work and peer review; Pragmatist—being motivated by completing traditional assignments and exams; Gamer—being motivated by game elements that show one’s progress compared to their peers and provide social reinforcing feedback; and Achiever—being motivated by improving one’s individual progress in a course. We also suggest best practices for designing educational gamification experiences optimized for students from each motivational type.

“It Was Really All About Books:” Speech-like Techno-Masculinity in the Rhetoric of Dot-Com Era Web Design Books

The future of Human-computer interaction (HCI) communication requires researchers to develop a strong understanding of the factors that influence design practitioners. As a step towards building that understanding, based on interviews conducted with veteran web designers, we analyze a corpus of popular web design books published during and shortly after the dot-com boom. Using a combination of ethnographic methods and discourse analysis, we identify the rhetorical strategies in these books and why they were successful in shaping our participants’ ideas about web design. We find that the books exhibit a particular style of technical writing defined by a speech-like techno-masculinity . Despite their short shelf-lives, the books and their writing style contributed to the disciplinary identity of web design which exists today. Studying the history of best practice books is an important opportunity to reflect on the genre of best practices in design, and how we should frame them in the future.

Evaluating primary care transformation: synthesis of findings from UK pilot project reviews.

Pilot 'new models' of primary care have been funded across the UK since 2015, through various national transformation funds. Reflections and syntheses of evaluation findings provide an additional layer of insight into 'what works' in transforming primary care. To identify good practice in policy design, implementation, and evaluation for primary care transformation. A thematic analysis of existing pilot evaluations in England, Wales, and Scotland. Ten studies presenting evaluations of three national pilot studies - the Vanguard programme in England, the Pacesetter programme in Wales, and the National Evaluation of New Models of Primary Care in Scotland - were thematically analysed, and findings synthesised in order to identify lessons learnt and good practice. Common themes emerged across studies in all three countries at project and policy level, which can support or inhibit new models of care. At project level, these included the following: working with all stakeholders, including communities and front-line staff; providing the time, space, and support necessary for the project to succeed; agreeing on clear objectives from the outset; and support for data collection, evaluation, and shared learning. At policy level, more fundamental challenges related to the parameters for pilot projects, in particular, the typically short-term nature of funding, with an expectation of results within 2-3 years. Changing expectations about outcome measures or project guidance part-way through project implementation was also identified as a key challenge. Primary care transformation requires coproduction and a rich, contextual understanding of local needs and complexities. However, a mismatch between policy objectives (care redesign to better meet patient needs) and policy parameters (short timeframes) is often a significant challenge to success.

Application of Design for Lean Six Sigma to strategic space management

PurposeThis paper outlines how Design for Lean Six Sigma methods aided a medical device manufacturing company in developing a new strategic space management and approval process for its manufacturing site.Design/methodology/approachThe project demonstrates the application of the Design for Lean Six Sigma and structured Define, Measure, Analyse, Design, and Verify methodology in designing and implementing a process that enables the case study manufacturing site to improve its space utilisation and free up space.FindingsThe project was validated in one manufacturing department, and the Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology resulted in creating 15% new space for that area, with opportunities identified to free up 44.7% of the total manufacturing floor space and realise over €2.2 million cost savings as well as start to manufacture new products launched.Research limitations/implicationsThe manuscript highlights for the first time how the Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology can be utilised for space utilisation and can be leveraged by other manufacturers. The current study's limitations are that it is a single-site case study application. Future longitudinal case studies on Design for Lean Six Sigma application in more manufacturing space utilisation projects would be useful. This study has implications for identifying best practices for Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology application in the device industry, thus improving the state of the art for introducing new manufacturing lines.Originality/valueThis is the first published work to utilise Design for Lean Six Sigma methodology for space utilisation in a medical device company. This review will provide medical devices and other manufacturing organisations with recommendations on utilising Design for Lean Six Sigma and design for improved space utilisation to reduce costs.

Layout-Based Digital IC Course Projects in Large Classes: Implementation, Evaluation, and Plagiarism Detection

Contribution: The ability to design circuit layouts is a critical component of circuit design. This article presents an approach wherein layout-based design projects can be integrated into the traditional digital integrated circuit (IC) curriculum targeted at large classes and addresses the relevant challenges. Background: Most circuit design curricula cover aspects of layout design and good layout design practices in some detail, but the actual assignment of layout design is done only in classes with restricted sizes due to various factors, including the lack of propriety software, evaluation, or plagiarism detection strategies. Intended Outcomes: To be able to integrate layout-based design projects into the digital IC curriculum targeting large classes. Application Design: Freely available and opensource tools were used for the projects. Additional tool features were repurposed for plagiarism detection. Findings: Feedback collected from the students and quiz performance indicate a marked increase in meeting the learning objectives with the inclusion of layout-based projects. The proposed plagiarism detection strategy successfully identified instances of plagiarism.

Analysis of Torsional Vibrations of Rotary Winding Machines

This work is chosen to analyze the rotary winding machines because these machines are existed in our country and this analysis is practical from the side of input values and getting the results. Good rotary winding machine design practice demands the analysis of the system to insure that the reaction due to operation of the machine will not cause damaging vibrations. The widest phenomenon in vibration forms in mechanical transmission is the torsional vibration. The aim of this work is the analysis of the torsional vibrations of these rotary winding machines and to minimize that vibrations and to alleviate recurring costly maintenance problems. &#x0D; To minimize system dynamic torques it is necessary to spread the torsional natural frequencies. This is best achieved by lowering the fundamental torsional natural frequency. In main rotary winding machine drives this is most readily accomplished by lowering the torsional stiffness at the lead spindle location or, by making the lead spindle torsional flexibility greater by increasing the shaft separation or, if necessary, by using a torsionally flexible spacer. Torsional stiffness is inversely proportional to shaft length. For the solution of the problem one must first of all estimate the physical system parameters taking into consideration the real set of components of a rotary winding machine and then to transform them into a mathematical model. In this work there was also the method of calculation model presented. &#x0D; The equations of motion of the whole vibrating system are defined and the study include solution of torsional vibration of this machine by using Jacobi method as method of solution because it is easy to program and accurate. A computer program (Math Lab) has been used in order to Facilitate the solution because it is contain already comments specialized to solve the vibration problems. Finally, finding the final results gave a good vision to forecast the failure of the machine that could caused either by errors in design or operating conditions. &#x0D;

Material research in the design field: a gender gap analysis

Within the framework of technology, design and material production are profoundly influenced by the class relations of production. Artifacts and objects are no longer seen as separate from society, but as part of the social matter that regulates and holds the society together. The development and use of materials are also closely connected to the social systems in which they operate. To date we have few empirical observations in this regard, especially on the investigation of the female presence in the discourse of material design. The connection between material research and gender has recently become an issue of social and technological relevance, as there is a lack of data on women activity. In addition, the communicative aspect of the material design approach will be analysed through forms of social constructivism, which foresees people working together constructing artifacts, and their potential to enhance the perception of matter in its forthcoming dimension. This contribution aims to investigate the approaches of women designers to the innovation of materials. It will start from an historical perspective via figures such as the Italian architect Anna Castelli Ferrieri up to the new generations of women designers and researchers who consider specific factors for each study and observation, applying what is called the “clinical approach”. We will encompass selected examples of good practices of social sustainability through the inclusion of women in the field of material research and production. In addition, we consider the profound impact of contemporary good design practices, questioning what impact they have on social life and the environment, due to the relationships with our artifacts and habitat under the climate crisis. Overall, we propose that gender issues are finally embedded in the design discourse and some results are emerging.