Design Decisions Research Articles

Examining Science Teachers’ Conceptions of Student Interest as a Consideration in Designing Assessments

ABSTRACT A key goal of science education articulated in A Framework for K-12 Science Education is to create opportunities for students to answer questions about the world that connect to their interests, experiences, and identities. Interest can be seen as a malleable relationship between a person and object (such a phenomenon students might study). In this paper, we analyzed data from a design study of an online course focused on preparing 11 secondary teachers to design three-dimensional tasks that align to the Next Generation Science Standards and that connect to students’ interests. Our data sources were teachers’ descriptions of their design decisions about what phenomena to use to anchor assessment, designed assessment tasks, and interviews with them about those decisions. We found that interest was an important consideration for assessment design, but teachers considered student interests in different ways. Some teachers shifted their views of what it meant to engage student interests in the context of assessment design over the course of their participation in professional learning. Most teachers made decisions about what they believed their students were interested in based on their knowledge of students or beliefs about their students’ interests. In supporting teachers to design summative assessments that link to students’ interest, it is critical to assume teachers bring a range of conceptions of interest and to consider the feasibility and utility of task design tools from teachers’ point of view.

Incorporating Patient and Family Perspectives into ICU Environmental Design: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Existing Literature.

This review aims to assess the incorporation of patient and family input into intensive care unit (ICU) design processes. It aims to highlight the importance of prioritising patient and family perspectives in ICU design to improve patient experiences and clinical outcomes. Traditionally, ICU design has focused on clinical efficiency at the expense of patient-centered needs, leading to heavily sedated patients and neglected holistic care delivery. While architects historically dominated design decisions, there's no recognition of the necessity to integrate patient and family perspectives. However, such efforts remain rare despite professional guidelines advocating for multi-professional team involvement. This review summarises the published literature on built ICUs that have incorporated patient and family input into the design process. It evaluates methodologies used and measures patient-centric outcomes to identify successful examples and areas for improvement in future initiatives. The limited published literature identifies only three projects successfully integrating patient and family input into ICU design. Additionally, one project was identified in a search of the gray literature. However, these projects often lack rigorous evaluation of patient-centric outcomes, with initiatives involving patients and families remaining uncommon. The review underscores the need for more comprehensive evaluation and greater emphasis on patient and family involvement in ICU design. This review emphasizes the significance of integrating patient perspectives into ICU design to enhance outcomes and improve experiences. While progress has been made in recognizing their importance, more efforts are needed to prioritize patient and family involvement for creating conducive environments for healing and recovery.

A Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Evidence-Based Design for Aligning Therapeutic and Sustainability Outcomes in Healthcare Facilities: A Systematic Literature Review.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to identify which aspects of evidence-based design (EBD) and sustainable design principles overlap based on evidence in the peer reviewed academic literature. By doing so, the study enables hospital infrastructure design decisions that prioritize both sustainability outcomes (sustainable hospital infrastructure design) and therapeutic (EBD) outcomes. Background: Healthcare facilities need to adapt to the future demands from a changing climate, demographic shifts, and economic restraints. Facilities need to be designed in ways that better support patients, staff, and the environment to ensure their long-term success. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted through searches in SCOPUS and Web of Science. All studies in acute care settings were included in the review except those investigating EBD in the context of specific health conditions, which were excluded. Themes that overlap were identified to form a conceptual framework for sustainable EBD. Results: Sixty-five articles were included in the final analysis. Identified sustainability features were related to: Sociocultural and functional, Indoor environmental quality and wellbeing, Energy and atmosphere, Water, Materials and resources, Waste, Sustainable sites, and Facility design. EBD thematic analyses were categorized into Indoor environmental quality, Design, Sociocultural, and Functional performance and safety. Conclusions: Key areas of synergy include Indoor environmental quality and wellbeing and Energy and atmosphere. The development of the conceptual framework enables scholars and practitioners to identify design features that align both priorities and through future research, refine the framework.

Scoping Review of Naturalistic Decision Making Studies Among Mental Health Professionals: Coverage of Characteristics and Contexts

The Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) paradigm is an emerging shift in how researchers study decision making in complex, real-world situations and design decision supports. The purpose of this scoping review was to describe how the NDM paradigm was applied in studies of mental health professionals. Six bibliographic databases were searched to identify NDM studies. Each study was charted for study features, participant demographics, decision contexts, and the essential characteristics of NDM research. The search identified 26 studies published from 1989 to June 2023. Approximately 35% of studies were published in a peer-reviewed journal. Quantitative (30.8%), qualitative (34.6%), and mixed (34.6%) methods were utilized in similar percentages of studies, with social workers (61.5%) most frequently represented in these studies. Approximately 69% of studies examined assessment decisions (versus diagnosis or treatment) and roughly 96% of studies examined individuals (versus teams). Most studies explored professionals’ decision making process (73.1%) and how proficient decision makers utilized their experience to make decisions (38.5%). The NDM literature among mental health professionals is growing, with many opportunities to understand clinical decision making using well-established NDM concepts and methods. The review concludes with recommendations for both NDM and mental health services researchers.

Community of Inquiry design decisions across disciplines

Community of Inquiry design decisions across disciplines

The Role of Packaging Designers in the Context of the Environmental Crisis

In the face of a worsening climate crisis and growing consumer awareness of the negative effects of over-consumption, the packaging industry faces the challenge of transforming itself towards more sustainable solutions. Labelling and well-planned production processes that can effectively promote environmental values that benefit both the producer and the environment play a crucial role in this process. Working with experts from other industries involved in creating goods, designers can shape informed and mature visual messages emphasizing the importance of responsible design decisions. The following paper emphasizes that sustainable design requires interdisciplinary knowledge and consideration of long-term effects, such as using and recycling materials, which can help reduce waste generation and promote responsible practices in the packaging industry.

Optimizing ventilation systems considering operational and embodied emissions with life cycle based method

Efforts to enhance the energy efficiency of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems have been bolstered by technical advancements and stringent regulations. However, HVAC systems not only emit during operation due to energy consumption but also have significant embodied emissions, which recent studies show can exceed those of the operational phase. This study introduces an optimization framework aimed at minimizing lifetime emissions—both operational and embodied—for ventilation systems, an area previously underexplored. The optimization framework incorporates detailed calculations of pressure drop, fan power and newly developed life cycle ventilation inventory data with a life cycle assessment perspectiveA case study of ventilation ductwork in a “BREEAM Excellent” certified energy-efficient building in Norway applies this optimization framework. Findings indicate that for this case, optimizing ductwork dimensions can reduce lifetime emissions of the ventilation system by 15 %, compared to the existing designs with an emission intensity of 0.3 kg CO2/kWh. Further, the study examines how the emission intensity of electricity generation and service lifetime influence total emissions, highlighting the growing importance of embodied emissions as electricity generation becomes cleaner. This underscores the necessity of considering both operational and embodied emissions in design decisions. This study presents an optimization tool for low-emissions ventilation design, capable of processing diverse layouts and aiding in decarbonizing ventilation systems towards achieving zero-emission buildings. Future integration with building information modeling (BIM) and artificial intelligence (AI) could further enhance autonomous low-carbon design and decision-making.

Considerations of morphometry and phenotypes in modern knee arthroplasty.

As advancements in total knee arthroplasty progress at an exciting pace, two areas are of special interest, as they directly impact implant design and surgical decision making. Knee morphometry considers the three-dimensional shape of the articulating surfaces within the knee joint, and knee phenotyping provides the ability to categorize alignment into practical groupings that can be used in both clinical and research settings. This annotation discusses the details of these concepts, and the ways in which they are helping us better understand the individual subtleties of each patient's knee.

Decision Support Framework for Sustainable and Fire Resilient Buildings (SAFR-B)

AbstractBuildings of all types are increasingly becoming complex ‘systems of systems.’ They are subject to evolving societal objectives, new and innovative materials, and in many countries, regulatory ecosystems are having difficulty keeping pace with rapidly changing societal, environmental and technological changes. Two evolving objectives that are stimulating changes to buildings and communities are the desire for a more environmentally sustainable built environment and the need to become more resilient to the many increasingly hazardous impacts of climate change. Unfortunately, in some building designs these objectives are in conflict. As a first step toward a more integrated, holistic tool to aid in the design of sustainable and fire resilient buildings (SAFR-B), this paper develops and applies a first-order decision framework for a midrise apartment building. The SAFR-B framework is built on an analysis of design and regulatory objectives for fire safety and sustainability for buildings, and of risk and decision methods that can support design decisions. It makes use of risk indexing and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), with initial scoring and weighting of attributes and strategies derived from international experts in the field of fire safety and sustainability through a Delphi process.

Cultivating empathy and upgrading design decisions of students: the impact of simulating public transit experiences of individuals with mild visual impairments

Cultivating empathy and upgrading design decisions of students: the impact of simulating public transit experiences of individuals with mild visual impairments

Honoring practices of community-based educators: lessons learned from the collaborative design of a creative mobile app

ABSTRACT This paper shares reflections and stories from a collaborative design process between the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab and a global network of community-based educators to develop a creative coding app called OctoStudio, which supports children and families to create and share interactive projects on mobile devices. The app design is grounded in practices that community-based educators who are primarily from the Global South have developed around strengths, needs, and interests of children and their communities, as well as constraints and affordances of local infrastructure. We use the lens of minimal computing – which focuses on community context and constraints in decisions about technology – to describe our collaborative work on OctoStudio. We describe trade-offs involved in the design decisions, and highlight insights from the process of collaboration to develop tools and practices that are more responsive and meaningful to communities who are often excluded from design decisions that impact them.

Trade-offs in Evidence Based Design: 'the Patient Door Debate'.

The door between the semi-public corridor and the single-occupancy patient room of a newly built University Medical Centre in the Netherlands has been heavily debated during its Evidence Based Design (EBD) and experience-informed design. It was also heavily debated since the wards came into use in 2018. It is well known that, regarding door design, a trade-off has to be made between aspects such as privacy, visibility, and safety. This makes our case study exemplary for the trade-offs to be made in EBD practice. This study traces back to how the design decisions for the door, dating from 2011, were made. Safety, privacy, control, and support for the social and emotional wellbeing of patients, relatives, and staff were the aim, but this is not experienced as such by all concerned. This case study evaluation highlights the tension between EBD principles and everyday practice, where the interplay between 'bricks, bytes, and behavior' has to be considered, and every consciously debated design solution might bring new and unforeseen challenges elsewhere. Our practice-based research combines the analysis of documentation on the design decision-making process with evaluation interviews with nurse managers in 2019. Our findings on 'the (Dutch) patient door debate' can contribute to awareness of trade-offs to be made in health facility design, complemented with supportive IT systems and efficient and effective staff workflows. It can enhance the understanding of the many aspects that need to come into consideration during design dialogues with experts and end-users.

High strehl and high contrast for the ELT instrument METIS

The Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS) is a first-generation instrument for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), Europe’s next-generation 39 m ground-based telescope for optical and infrared wavelengths, which is currently under construction at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) site at Cerro Armazones in Chile. METIS will offer diffraction-limited imaging, low- and medium-resolution slit spectroscopy, and coronagraphy for high-contrast imaging between 3 and 13 microns, as well as high-resolution integral field spectroscopy between 3 and 5 microns. The main METIS science goals are the detection and characterisation of exoplanets, the investigation of proto-planetary disks, and the formation of planets. The Single-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (SCAO) system corrects atmospheric distortions and is thus essential for diffraction-limited observations with METIS. SCAO will be used for all observing modes, with high-contrast imaging imposing the most demanding requirements on its performance. The Final Design Review (FDR) of METIS took place in the fall of 2022; the development of the instrument, including its SCAO system, has since entered the Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and Testing (MAIT) phase. Numerous challenging aspects of an ELT Adaptive Optics (AO) system are addressed in the mature designs for the SCAO control system and the SCAO hardware module: the complex interaction with the telescope entities that participate in the AO control, wavefront reconstruction with a fragmented and moving pupil, secondary control tasks to deal with differential image motion, non-common path aberrations and mis-registration. A K-band pyramid wavefront sensor and a GPU-based Real-Time Computer (RTC), tailored to the needs of METIS at the ELT, are core components. This current paper serves as a natural sequel to our previous work presented in Hippler et al. (2018). It reflects all the updates that were implemented between the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and FDR, and includes updated performance estimations in terms of several key performance indicators, including achieved contrast curves. We outline all important design decisions that were taken, and present the major challenges we faced and the main analyses carried out to arrive at these decisions and eventually the final design. We also elaborate on our testing and verification strategy, and, last not least, comprehensively present the full design, hardware and software in this paper to provide a single source of reference which will remain valid at least until commissioning.

An Optimization Method for Design Solutions to Active Reflective Surface Control Systems Based on Axiomatic Design and Multi-Criteria Decision Making

The design of an Active Reflective Surface Control System (ARCS) is a complex engineering task involving multidimensional and multi-criteria constraints. This paper proposes a novel methodological approach for ARCS design and optimization by integrating Axiomatic Design (AD) and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) techniques. Initially, a structured design plan is formulated within the axiomatic design framework. Subsequently, four MCDM methods—Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), Entropy Weight Method (EWM), Multi-Criteria Optimization and Compromise Solution (VIKOR), and the integrated TOPSIS–Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) approach—are used to evaluate and compare the alternative solutions. Additionally, fuzzy information axioms are used to calculate the total information content for each alternative to identify the optimal design. A case study is conducted, selecting the optimal actuator for a 5 m diameter scaled model of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), followed by digital control experiments on the chosen actuator. Based on the optimal design scheme, an ARCS prototype is constructed, which accelerates project completion and substantially reduces trial-and-error costs.

Optimal Configuration of Spatial Planning for Energy-Efficient Buildings

The project phase is where the life-cycle of a building starts. The best decisions are made during the design or pre-project step. In terms of both economic resources and time, changes to specific design decisions made at this step are inexpensive compared to subsequent steps of architectural planning, not to mention the course of the construction's operation itself. The choices made during the design phase determine to a large extent whether the architectural design decisions of a building are achieved, whether the building and site can be used appropriately, and whether the project is economically viable. With BIM, building spatial planning is possible. As a result, architects can evaluate the proposed structure, its impact on the ecology, and the ecology's impact on the structure more comprehensively and at an earlier stage. This research proposes an energy modeling approach for the BIM-based spatial planning phase of a construction. The proposed method will result in an energy model for specific sites and building resolutions when utilized to create a spatial modelling for a construction. The energy model can then be used for new architectural creations. In this study, 36 different alternative scenarios were designed in terms of the rate of construction height to construction spacing, orientation factor, and form factor. With the help of BIM and GBS softwares, the energy consumption values of the alternative scenarios in cooling and heating load conditions were compared, and the alternative scenario with the minimum energy consumption was tried to be determined with spatial planning parameters.Ključne riječi

(Invited) Applications of a Mechano-Electrochemical Battery Model for Electric Vehicle Development

The electric vehicle (EV) revolution has prompted automotive manufacturers to develop new battery cell and pack technology at an extremely rapid pace--dictating the need to employ modeling methods to become resilient to material delays and remove strain from experimental capability. Automotive manufacturers are concerned with how material, electrode, cell, and pack design decisions impact each other, some of which are hard to measure until after development. Therefore, multi-scale models are of particular interest to help improve the EV and battery pack development process. One phenomenon that can greatly impact design decisions is the volume change of active material upon lithiation, especially considering the promising materials with high volume change, like silicon. The active material volume change can lead to changes in the electrode's porosity and volume, impacting performance. The volume change of the electrode can lead to swelling of the full pouch cell (or pressure generated in a prismatic cell). And finally, the cell volume and pressure change can impact design decisions at the full module or pack scales. To address this, the authors have launched an industrially-led project focused on the development of a multi-scale, mechano-electrochemical battery model, with particular focus on automotive applications. Initially, theoretical models were developed to capture how volume change may impact performance in a single electrode[1] and dual insertion electrodes.[2] Then, applied models were developed to account for volume change impacts on the cell and pack scales[3], incorporate realistic, thermodynamically non-ideal active material volume change[4], and accurately simulate electrodes with blended active materials to account for preferential lithiation and unique volume change behavior.[5] In this presentation, the development of these models will be briefly summarized. Throughout the presentation, the discussion will have a particular emphasis on how each modeling topic may be useful to automotive manufacturers. Additionally, brief discussion will be provided on concepts that would improve the usefulness of this type of model, such as accounting for the impact of battery aging.[6,7] The authors thank the GM Global Propulsion System's team for computing resources and partial funding. This work was partially funded by the IGERT Program at University of South Carolina under NSF Award #1250052.

Exploring human movement as a source of inspiration in contemporary art and design through biomechanics

This study explores the integration of biomechanical data into the creative process of contemporary art and design, intending to assess how human movement can serve as a source of inspiration for artists and designers. The central hypothesis is that biomechanical insights—such as joint angles, muscle activation, and movement trajectories—can enhance creative outputs by providing a scientific foundation for design decisions, resulting in more innovative, dynamic, and functional outcomes than traditional inspiration methods. To test this hypothesis, 36 participants were divided into two groups: a control group using conventional design approaches and an experimental group using biomechanical data. Key findings from the study indicate that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group across all measured creative outcomes. The experimental group demonstrated higher levels of originality (mean difference = 1.72, p < 0.001), complexity (mean difference = 1.84, p < 0.001), functionality (mean difference = 2.02, p < 0.001), and aesthetic appeal (mean difference = 1.57, p < 0.001). Additionally, the experimental group completed their designs more efficiently, with a notable reduction in the time to complete the creative process. Correlation analysis revealed that movement features such as velocity and muscle activation positively influenced originality and complexity, while joint angles and acceleration were more closely related to functionality.

Understanding older adults’ needs for and perceptions of shared autonomous vehicle interior features: A focus group and user enactment study

Shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) can help older adults maintain mobility and independence throughout the later stages of life. However, research is critically needed to assess the design of SAV interior features and quantify potential mobility challenges for older populations. This paper presents a study that adopted a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the needs and perceptions of adults aged 65 years and older regarding interior features of SAVs during user enactment, and offers data-driven insights on task performance to inform design decisions. Thirty participants interacted with an SAV mock-up and participated in subsequent focus group discussions regarding their interaction experiences and general perceptions of SAV. Quantitative video-based time-motion analysis and qualitative thematic analysis of the focus group discussion highlighted concerns related to a) ingress and egress accessibility; b) seat and cabin comfort; c) appropriate social interactions with co-riders; and d) SAV operational functionality. Staggered seating arrangements and multi-functional use of available space were preferred features. The analysis also identified potential improvements, such as the inclusion of additional handholds and efficient HVAC systems, and underscored the need for central monitoring for emergency interventions during SAV operations. Ultimately, findings from this research can provide valuable insights for researchers and engineers to design equitable transportation solutions tailored to a broad range of traveler abilities and needs.

EXPRESS: Team Composition and Incentive Design in Collaborative Product Development

Choosing the right development team is crucial for companies. We investigate how project collaboration requirements and uncertainty levels affect the choice between “specialists” with higher levels of task-specific abilities and “generalists” with higher levels of collaboration skills. We also examine how these factors affect optimal team incentives. In addition to performance-enhancing helping, we consider another type of collaboration that has received less attention in the incentive literature: information-sharing, which can reduce uncertainty and lead to more compatible design decisions. In the case of helping, we show that if uncertainty is high then specialists might be preferred in order to reduce risk exposure—even if their task-specific abilities are only slightly better. Conversely, if information-sharing can significantly reduce uncertainty then generalists may be favored even if their task-specific abilities are much lower. Our study also reveals that task and collaboration incentives can be either complements or substitutes depending on the type of collaboration and level of project uncertainty: in projects that benefit from helping, firms will always substitute task incentives for collaboration incentives when selecting a team of specialists (rather than a team of generalists), yet this need not be the case with information-sharing. In such projects, it can be optimal to offer higher task incentives and also higher collaboration incentives to a team of specialists (than to a team of generalists) even though specialists’ collaboration skills are relatively lower.

The impact of lifespan assumptions in LCA: Comparing the replacement of building parts versus building layers—A housing case study

The circular economy transition of the built environment is of high priority in the EU, a challenge even more pressing in the housing sector. Conceptualising buildings as ensembles of standardised and prefabricated products, which can be separated into both defined building parts or layers is an accepted circular design approach facilitating future replacement and reuse. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for achieving circularity by informing design choices based on predefined lifespans. However, there is conflicting top-down guidance about whether to assume individual lifespans for constituent components or to group these into building layers when carrying out whole building LCAs. This study reviews the latest guidance on building layers and parts according to the European Level(s) framework, ISO 20887 standard for Design for Disassembly and Adaptability, and the Shearing Layers concept. An energy efficient housing case study was used to compare organisation of the Life Cycle Inventory into separate lifespans for components and layers aligned to Shearing Layers, with lifespans defined by Level(s) Indicator 2.1. The study focussed on Module B4 replacements over a 100-year period. The findings reveal that assuming the replacement of building components as opposed to layers results in greater carbon emissions. In both cases, emissions were approximately double the amount of upfront carbon to produce the initial building. These findings demonstrate the importance of lifespan assumptions in LCA, which should be further developed. The study provides an LCA template for practitioners to organise the building inventory and apply lifespan assumptions, improving rationale behind design decisions.