Design Office Research Articles

Factors That Affect Saudi Population Preferences Toward Their Dentist.

ObjectiveTo explore the preference of Saudi population when selecting their dentist.DesignCross-sectional observational study.MethodsAn online questionnaire was distributed in Arabic language. The inclusion criteria were Saudi participants, aged 18 years or above. The questionnaire was divided into four sections that included participants’ demographic data, preferred criteria on dentists and dental office design, and table for the importance of each of the factors studied.ResultsA sample size of 5317 participants completed the questionnaire with a mean age of 30.5 ± 11.6 years old, 57% were females. Most of the participants had no preference on their dentist’s nationality (63%) or gender (44%). There was a preference for dentists who are consultants (38%), well known (83%), and has an explanatory-style consultation (78%). Participants preferred scrub and lab coat attires for their male (41%) and female (38%) dentists. Less than half of the participants (44.8%) preferred the dentist to have a social media account. Of all social media platforms, Twitter was the most preferred one (37%). White clinic color was more preferable than other colors (56%). Of all the factors studied, dentist’s reputation, clinical rank and cost of treatment were considered very important for most of the participants when selecting their dentist.ConclusionOverall, Saudi participants have specific preferences on their dentists and dental office design. Dentists might consider these factors to improve their dental practice and their patients’ experience.

SITUATION ANALYSIS OF YACHT FURNITURE SECTOR BUSINESSES

Yacht Industry is one of the important and developing sectors and yacht furniture manufactory is a branch of this sector those are growing day by day. Important that yacht and yacht furniture are both as status symbols and integrate each other. Seeing yachts and furniture as status symbols is important for these two complementary sectors. This importance is even more significant as yacht furniture manufacturing is the second largest cost item in yacht building after engine equipment.Yacht furniture manufactoring has important position in the yacht industry, in the future this importance will be understood better. It is significant to make researches on yacht furniture manufactoring’s technology use, quality, institutionalization, efficiency, employment, added value, branding and design will help to develop and improve our economy. When The Turkish Yacht Furniture Sector is compared to its competitors it has a cheap but qualified workforce and a central location close to all markets. Using results obtained from this study; although companies mostly solve their design and production drawings with architects and engineers in their own design offices, the most important problem is production managment and planning. Also the most crucial problem about production side is that qualified workers do not have sufficient skills. For those problems, the sector should be introduced correctly and yacht educational schools should be increased. In our country, yacht furniture sector which is sub-sector under the yacht building industy that is dynamicly developing in last decate despite the contraction in developed countries.

Effect of bidirectional ground shaking on structures in the elastic and post-elastic range: Adequacy of design provisions

During an earthquake, structures are generally excited to multiple ground motion components: two orthogonal horizontal components and one vertical component. However, the interaction of the deformations along two principal orthogonal directions in the presence of various levels of axial force in columns in post elastic range can be successfully captured if nonlinear dynamic analysis can be carried out using the bidirectional hysteresis model. On the other hand, the seismic codes prescribed simple combination rules to capture this effect in an equivalent sense even without consideration of axial force in columns. Though these rules may be valid in the elastic range, they may not be applicable in the post-elastic range as mentioned in a few seismic codes. Surprisingly, these codes did not specify any user-friendly provision needed by design offices. Hence, the applicability and efficacy of these rules in the post-elastic range is needed to be compared with that obtained from detailed nonlinear tine history analysis under orthogonal pair of bidirectional ground motions obtained from a number of chosen seismic acceleration data for performance-based design. In this study, idealized low-rise buildings with small, medium, and long periods were investigated, considering the presence of axial force in columns. Most of the current design codes and standards suggest that the addition of response of 30% of ground motion in other direction if added to the response of unidirectional ground motion in the considered direction of analysis or the resultant responses obtained by square root of sum of square from the unidirectional analyses carried out separately in both principal directions (referred as SRSS response) may predict the response with reasonable accuracy. The results obtained from the current study makes an attempt to exhibit the trends of post elastic range response for the structures. Further, it shows that seismic codes options significantly underestimate the post-elastic range seismic demand though they are proved to be adequate to predict elastic range response. This paper may prove helpful in improving code provisions.

Energy-based seismic retrofit and design of building frames with passive dampers

This paper aims to present retrofit and design methodologies for building frames using target energy as design criteria for passive dampers. Initially, a damper design methodology based on the energy balance concept is discussed and applied to retrofit buildings: under-designed, requiring seismic up-gradation. Furthermore, a methodology is presented for the seismic design of a new building with passive dampers. The proposed methods were applied to reinforced concrete (RC) frames with and without vertical irregularities. The design of these frames with dampers is verified using nonlinear time history analysis considering spectrum compatible near-field and far-field recorded ground accelerograms. The damping constants obtained from the proposed methodology are compared to those calculated using the FEMA 356 method. The response results indicate that the proposed methodologies effectively enhance the RC frame seismic performance for a given seismic hazard level. The proposed methods find their application to the design offices where damper design can be carried out using design spreadsheets developed while avoiding iterations in determining damping constants.

Optimizing the use of acoustic materials in office buildings

Office space designers encounter a challenge in identifying the optimal set of noise control materials to improve the acoustic quality while keeping the cost of selected acoustic materials to a minimum. To address this challenge, this paper presents a novel optimization model that provides the capability of minimizing the cost of acoustic materials while satisfying all designer-specified acoustic quality requirements. The model is developed in five main stages that focus on (1) identifying the correlated designer decisions that influence the model objective function; (2) formulating an optimization objective function; (3) identifying the model constraints that are organized into acoustic quality and materials selection constraints; (4) implementing the model using genetic algorithms (GA); and (5) evaluating the performance of the model using an office space design that is under construction to assess and improve the model feasibility and performance. The outcome of the performance evaluation stage illustrates the novel capabilities of the developed model in identifying the optimal selections for the type and area of acoustic material for each surface in the office space that achieve the desired acoustic quality while keeping the cost of selected acoustic materials to a minimum.

A healthy office and healthy employees: a longitudinal case study with a salutogenic perspective in the context of the physical office environment

ABSTRACT This two-wave study (time lag of six months and two years post-relocation) investigated ways in which employees’ perceptions of the office environment relate to their perceived health in the long term, drawing on the salutogenic approach to health and the sense of coherence theory (comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness). A mixed-method approach was adopted. The data collection involved semi-structured interviews with employees, plus structured observations. The findings indicate that employees found the office environment less comprehensible and meaningful in Wave 2, while (somewhat) equally manageable. Comprehensibility was influenced by a lack of clear behavioural rules; manageability was influenced by a lack of control over the environment; and meaningfulness was influenced by social environment and lack of personalization. The contextual aspects of the office, including tasks, flexible working culture and the change processes were critical to these findings. This study has demonstrated that negative influences caused by poor design choices do not resolve themselves over time. When there is limited support for one component of sense of coherence, the initial observed benefits wear off and negative influences may spill over into other components. Therefore, office design should be approached with balanced attention to comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness.

Digital simulation tools in aviation maintainability training

AbstractAviation maintenance needs to be continuously improved for many reasons: flight safety, the health of maintenance operators, and saving time and costs among other reasons. To preventively improve the working conditions, the Maintainability Department—the department designing the maintenance activity in the Technical Design Office—develops and uses simulation tools such as Virtual‐Reality (VR). To improve maintenance, maintainability stakeholders must perform Human Factors analysis through simulation tools. However, the use of VR requires specific knowledge and skills that should be learned by students in the university. The aim of this paper is to study the use of VR as a Teaching & Training tool as well as an Industrial tool in real on‐the‐job cases. Over 2 years (between 2018 and 2020), we have trained and observed 112 students. Two main surveys have been used, the first one at the beginning of the academic year (to better know students' previous experience in VR) and the second survey at the end of the year (to get students' feedback regarding their training year with VR). We have formulated and presented recommendations to apply better inductive‐deductive teaching approaches offering more cases studies and a better understanding of aviation maintenance by students. We have also made recommendations to improve the use of VR, for example, to reduce the discrepancies and inaccuracies between the virtual and real worlds.

RESTORATIVE EFFECT OF GREEN DESIGN OFFICE

In modern world, one of major causes of stress is reported at office. There have been many studies on the green effects in natural environment that improve human psychological and physiological states under stress situation. On the other hand, there is not enough space in the office for providing enough visual experiences of natural environment. Furthermore, there have been many discussions on the restorative effects of plants in the office environment based on subjective assessments but few research dealt with the physiological effect and they have not necessarily been successful in detecting clear effects of small interior plants. In this study, the authors ameliorate color and pattern of wall, floor, etc., which occupy major part of vision, of the conventional office with the plant's visual texture and conducted an experiment in which we aim at clarifying physiological restorative effects of our “green office scape” in virtual environment. The experiment consists of two Phases and 26 students participated in each phase in the same order. Each phase has two sessions of n-back tests and 30 seconds break between the sessions. Phase 1 started with the conventional office scape and it was changed to the “green office scape” at the beginning of break time, while in Phase 2, there was no change from the conventional office scape. During those phases, SCL values were measured and analyzed with the test scores as performance level. The whole experiment was conducted in virtual environment. As a result, at the break between the sessions, the average of standardized SCL values significantly increased (p < 0.05, n=22). However, the gap of these values is significantly higher when the scape changed from office to green than in no change condition (p < 0.05, n=22). In further analysis, the participants were classified into two groups who were aware of the change of the scape in Phase 1, i.e. “aware group (n=10)” and who were not, i.e. “unaware group (n=12)”. The results of the “aware group” showed that the average of standardized SCL values significantly increased when the design has changed into Green Design Office (p < 0.05) and the performance score kept a certain level, while in no change condition, the increase of SCL values was not significant and the performance score decreased significantly (p<0.01). From those results, the authors conclude that the Green Design Office may recover the worker's arousal level, and may bring the concentration. It indicates that continuous work in the same office design for a long time without the green elements may cause the difficulty in getting the restorative effect. In addition, the restorative effect by scape change into green ones may be effective when the worker is aware of the change. These results suggest that it is important to make the office workers aware of the green visual elements when changing office scape. Finally, those results imply that there is possibility of using virtual environment for the restoration of the worker's concentration.

Biophilic office design: Exploring the impact of a multisensory approach on human well-being

Experiencing nature provides a multitude of health benefits. Biophilic design has emerged as a design approach that aims to reconnect occupants with the natural environment. We evaluated the impact of a multisensory biophilic environment on occupants' cognitive performance, stress, productivity, mood, connectedness to nature, and attention. Thirty-seven participants in three cohorts were exposed to three biophilic design interventions (visual, auditory, and a combination (multisensory)) and a baseline condition, with weekly variations over eight weeks. A wrist-worn stress sensor, daily surveys, and scheduled executive function tasks were administered. Cognitive performance improved in all biophilic conditions compared to baseline. Most satisfaction with workplace appearance, and visual privacy was reported in visual and multisensory conditions, and stress ratings were lower in the multisensory condition compared to baseline. The results demonstrate that immersive biophilic environments can improve occupants’ satisfaction and cognitive performance, while reducing stress. The findings highlight the need to consider non-visual factors in biophilic design.

The Reinvented accounting firm office: Impression management for efficiency, client relations and cost control

The office has become a large scale organisational phenomenon accommodating large numbers of organisational employees most often housed in open plan and Activity Based Working settings that arguably resemble the new factory. This study examines contemporary Big 4 accounting firm office design innovations and their representation with a view to eliciting their claimed rationales, reflections of historical office design and management thinking, and apparent strategic agendas with respect to office efficiency, client relations and cost control involved in their offering of professional services. In doing so, it also explores the implications that public practice firms' office design may have for auditor independence and audit quality. Informed by Goffman's theories of impression management, the study employs historical and website analysis, finding a predominant firm focus on office efficiency and client relations with an undercurrent of cost reduction and revenue enhancement aspirations. While represented as innovative current office design and work pattern developments, public practice accounting firm office innovations and intentions are found to significantly reflect historical office design and management thinking, with dramaturgical circumspection of floor designs and props oriented towards creating front stage performances predesigned for clients' impression management. Where backstage redesign and frame breaking does not produce desired employee performance changes, some signs of retreating to more traditional floor redesign and territorial marker usage are evident. The study also signals the potential for innovative accounting firm office designs to carry some significant impacts upon audit independence and audit quality.

ФІЛОСОФСЬКІ АСПЕКТИ РОЗРОБКИ РАКЕТНО-КОСМІЧНОЇ ТЕХНІКИ

Objects and processes inherent in rocket and space technology, for the most part, are by their nature diverse systems, the existence of which is due to the interconnections and mutual influence of their components. According to the well-known philosophical concept of Hegel's dialectical triad, cognition of the system as a whole occurs at three levels, which are called thesis, antithesis and synthesis. The first level (thesis) corresponds to the intuitive understanding of the object as a whole. The second, analytical, assumes the division of the whole into several parts. The third level of object cognition is a systems approach, which, in fact, is a synthesis of intuitive and analytical methods. The first place in it is put forward a set of systemic properties of the whole, which do not always coincide with the properties of the constituent parts, taken separately. The systems approach focuses on precisely those relationships that give rise to systemic properties. As a result of the application of the systemic approach, there is a reverse transition from the second level (antithesis) to a holistic, systemic representation of the object, which is characteristic of the intuitive approach (theses), but already at a new level of high quality of understanding. The need to apply a systematic approach in modern conditions is due to the paradigm of human development. In the rocket and space industry, this method is a powerful incentive for the further development of innovative processes that are possible only on the basis of creativity and interdisciplinary synthesis of knowledge. Right now, due to the unprecedented build-up and deepening of information and specialization, only systems thinking is able to provide an opportunity to see and understand objects and processes in general, in perspective.This paper briefly outlines the philosophical essence of the systemic methodology and its influence on solving the problems of the formation and development of the world rocket and space technology. The features of application and an example of the implementation of the provisions of the system approach to the design and construction of missiles in the Yuzhnoye design office are noted. The importance of taking into consideration the patterns of behavior of large systems during the current stage of large-scale structural transformation of the enterprise is emphasized.

Effects of acoustic environment on design work performance based on multitask visual cognitive performance in office space

The acoustic environment in the office space is a significant factor affecting workers' performance. Whereas existing research focuses mainly on the impact of the acoustic environment on single visual cognitive work performance, this study considers multitask visual cognitive work. Forty-one respondents were selected to participate in the multitask visual cognitive–behavioural cognitive experiment under different acoustic environments. The effects of different typical sound source types, sound pressure levels, and reverberation times on the performance of multitask visual cognition in design offices were examined. The results revealed the following. First, the sound source types have a significant impact on the reaction time of participants' work performance. Compared to the ambient environment (mean = 2.838 s), the reaction time performance is shortest under music sound (mean = 2.560 s). Second, the increase in traffic noise and air-conditioning noise will significantly reduce the memory accuracy of the location. For instance, when the traffic noise increases from 50 dBA to 65 dBA, the memory accuracy of the location is reduced by 4.42%. Third, the increase in the reverberation of speech will effectively shorten the reaction time and increase the memory accuracy of graphics. As the reverberation time of speech increases from 0.3 s to 1.5 s, the reaction time is reduced by 0.274 s. Meanwhile, 2.03% of the memory accuracy of graphics increased. Furthermore, the personal characteristics of the participants also affected visual cognitive work. Therefore, it is expected to improve the visual cognitive work performance of employees for room acoustic design.

О функциональном программировании

The article is devoted to the description of the features of functional programming, considered as a methodology for solving new and research problems of applied and system programming. The technique of analysis and comparison of programming paradigms is involved, taking into account the priorities of decision-making in the process of developing programs. The methodology for comparing languages and programming paradigms is based on an informal definition of the term “programming paradigm”, according to which, when comparing paradigms, it is necessary to highlight the distinctive testable features that allow verification. As such signs, it turned out to be useful to use priorities in decision-making at different stages of studying the problem statement, and then developing and debugging a program for solving it. Accounting of priority allows you to predict the complexity of the application of programmable solutions, starting with planning, studying and organizing the development of long-lived programs. The material of the article is somewhat debatable. The article gives a clear formulation of the principles of the functional programming paradigm, which distinguish it from other paradigms. Based on these principles, the derivation of consequences that allow the successful application of functional programming in solving complex problems is carried out, they are concretized to the tasks of organizing parallel computing and improving the performance of programs created within the framework of the functional programming paradigm. The complexity of creating programs for solving new problems is shown on the example of parallel computing and the requirements for a universal multi-paradigm language for parallel computing are described. For functional programming problems, the correctness and completeness of solutions is more important than the efficiency and productivity of the resulting programs. It is this choice of priorities that allows functional programming to be considered as a general technique for preparing prototypes or functional models. We can say that functional programming acts as a design office for production programming.

Analytical Study in Algeria: The Question of the Division of Labor between Architects and Engineers Based On the Concept of the Oath and Complementarity

Nowadays, in Algeria, the institutional and practical context differs between the profession of architects and engineers. The latter are devoid of the concept of an oath. This concept can be the catalyst and generator of responsibility, equality, and merit between these two professions. To achieve complementarity between these two professions, an approach based on a questionnaire and interview on this situation is carried out at architectural design offices and minimal technical design offices in Algeria in order to bridge the gap created by the division of labor. Nationally, the work situation is sequential and linear. I.e. the engineer works under the responsibility of the architect. At the international level, the process is organized between architectural design offices and technical design offices, an iterative process. How to achieve this culture of complementarity of international practices. To validate this oath-based complementarity, this article reports on the results obtained and the prospects envisaged following this study.

The effect of sound masking on employees' acoustic comfort and performance in open-plan offices in Canada

Sound masking systems are commonly used in open-plan offices to generate a controlled minimum level of background sound, in order to decrease the signal-to-noise ratio of intrusive speech and blend out transient office noise. However, a question in the acoustical design of offices is whether the self-generated noise of occupants may alone be sufficient to provide the background sound level conditions necessary to achieve similar levels of speech privacy and acoustic comfort as sound masking systems. This study examines the relationship between occupant-perceived speech privacy and acoustic comfort under three different acoustic scenarios (no masking, controlled 42 dBA, and 47 dBA masking sound levels). The study was conducted pre-COVID-19 in two separate open-plan offices located in Quebec, Canada that at the time were close to full occupancy. Employees completed subjective questionnaires before and after each change in conditions, focusing on how the sound environment impacted their comfort and work performance during the study. Statistical results show that the occupants were significantly more satisfied during the two sound masking conditions in comparison to the no-masking condition, where only the occupant-generated and exterior/mechanical system noise was present as the background sound. Implications for open-plan offices with lower occupancy conditions post-COVID-19 are discussed.

Reprint of: Where and how to find bio-inspiration?: A comparison of search approaches for bio-inspired design

Biologicalisation calls for the integration of biological knowledge in manufacturing. Although biologists have been cataloguing biological knowledge for centuries, for the non-biologist finding this inspiration as input for bio-inspired design is a major challenge. In this paper, three different methods are used to find bio-inspiration for a case study on the clamping interface of a flexible mobile machining unit: the AskNature database, a natural language processing (NLP) approach, drawing on a large corpus of biological publications, and an informal consultation of an expert biologist as could be organised by a design office. The comparison of the retrieved principles with AskNature as a baseline indicates that the NLP approach allows retrieving publications about relevant biological strategies with a good recall performance, without involving an expert. However, extracting the working principles from the biological articles retrieved with the NLP approach is found to be error-prone and time consuming.

Productivity, Satisfaction, Work Environment and Health after Relocation to an Activity-Based Flex Office-The Active Office Design Study.

Implementation of activity-based flex offices (AFOs) are becoming increasingly common. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an AFO on perceived productivity, satisfaction, work environment and health. Questionnaire data from the longitudinal, quasi-experimental Active Office Design Study was used. The study evaluates a public organization relocating staff to either an AFO or to cell offices. Measures from baseline, 6 and 18 months after relocation, were analyzed. Employees in the AFO experienced a decreased productivity and satisfaction with the office design. Lack of privacy as well as increased noise disturbance, less satisfaction with sit comfort and work posture were reported. Employees in the AFO with work tasks requiring a high degree of concentration experienced lower productivity while those with a high proportion of teamwork rated productivity to be continually high. No significant group differences were found between the two office types in general health, cognitive stress, salutogenic health indicators or pain in the neck, shoulder or back. The study highlights the importance of taking work characteristics into account in the planning and implementation process of an AFO. Flexible and interactive tasks seem more appropriate in an AFO, whereas individual tasks demanding concentration seem less fit.

Energy saving at work: Understanding the roles of normative values and perceived benefits and costs in single-person and shared offices in the United States

Developing and maintaining efficient energy-saving behaviors in the workplace is an important factor in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Building on integrated theories, including a recently developed theoretical approach to studying the dynamics of social norms and decision-making, the theory of planned behavior, the norm activation model, and the motivation-opportunity-ability model, this study analyzes the influence of normative values, office design, and perceived benefits and costs on energy-saving behaviors in different office settings. Based on a survey from 555 U.S. employees, this study found that occupants in single-person offices were influenced by a combination of descriptive, injunctive, and personal norms, while those in shared offices tended to align their actions with injunctive norms and ascription of responsibility. Descriptive norms had a stronger effect on energy-saving behaviors in single-person offices than in shared offices. Ascription of responsibility, however, had a stronger effect on energy-saving behaviors in shared offices. The perceived ease of access to building control features significantly influenced energy-saving behaviors of shared-office occupants only. Time availability had no significant effect on energy-saving behaviors of occupants in both single-person and shared offices. This study provides policy recommendations for building architects, engineers, managers, and policymakers to enhance energy-saving behaviors.

De-scripting office design: exploring design intentions in use

Purpose This paper aims to explore how users respond to office design through their use of space. Intentions for how office spaces should be used can be not only understood as sociomaterial scripts that are inscribed into the architecture by designers but also communicated through organisational change processes. The paper elaborates on how users de-script office spaces, that is, how they respond to these scripts through use. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on a case study of an office design intervention in a public organisation. Taking a sociomaterial approach, the paper uses the concepts of scripting and de-scripting to analyse the data. Findings The findings show that users subscribe to, repair, resist or re-script design scripts. This suggests that users can enact agency in use through creative acts of appropriation. Further, both materiality and user participation play equivocal roles in user responses. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on a single case study where the design process was studied retrospectively. The case is regarded as typical of contemporary office design processes, but more studies that follow projects from design into use are needed. Practical implications This suggests that design solutions should be better adapted to the work practices instead of applying generic concepts to specific situations and that design and use should be understood as overlapping processes. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in linking aspects of the design process with user responses and in taking a sociomaterial approach to examine design and use.

İŞYERİ TASARIMININ İŞ TATMİNİ VE ALGILANAN VERİMLİLİK ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİSİNİN ÖLÇÜMÜ: ÜNİVERSİTE ÇALIŞANLARI ÜZERİNDE BİR ARAŞTIRMA

Employee job satisfaction and productivity of employees are so crucial for companies since many years. Both of them may either lead to higher performance, increased profit or lower performance, increased turnover rate and etc. That’s why, understanding the antecedents of both job satisfaction and productivity, and exploring the influence of those antecedents on job satisfaction and productivity have been important research areas since many years. According to the literature, workplace design is one of the most important factors affecting job satisfaction and productivity of employees. The aim of this study is to measure the impact of workplace design (office layout and physical environment) on job satisfaction and perceived employee productivity by means of structural equation modeling in a public university and to suggest strategies. The research was conducted on employees of Bursa Uludağ University. Face-to-face questionnaire was used as the data collection method. Convenience sampling was chosen as the sampling method. 290 surveys were confirmed for testing the model. Research findings indicate that two dimensions of workplace design were found to have influences on job satisfaction and job satisfaction was found to have an important influence on perceived productivity of employees.