Design Team Research Articles

Stakeholders’ perceptions of and willingness to pay for circular economy in the construction sector

Adopting Circular Economy practices in the construction industry can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, many barriers exist to adoption, and current perceptions of and willingness to pay for circularity have yet to be quantified. This study seeks to understand the various perceptions of circularity in the construction industry, characterize uncertainties and risks, and identify economic incentives and opportunities that could accelerate circular adoption via an industry survey of three stakeholder groups. 58 stakeholders filled out part of the survey, and 42 stakeholders completed the majority of questions. Real estate developers are willing to pay an average premium of 10% for construction costs if there’s a minimum embodied carbon reduction of 53%. Design and construction professionals and material suppliers were also surveyed. Reasons for adopting circular practices were primarily driven by client, design team, and net zero goals. The results of this survey begin to characterize the economic landscape of what is needed for a circular transition in the built environment.

Embracing Levin’s Legacy: Advancing Socio-Technical Learning and Development in Human-Robot Team Design Through STS Approaches

AbstractThis paper investigates the synergy between Levin’s theories on technology transfer as a socio-technical learning and developmental process (TLD process), and what we learnt about socio-technical systems (STS) theories in a case study developing human robot solutions for the construction sector. Levin’s extensive work highlights the significance of technology transfer as a means for organizational development. His TLD process emphasizes the intricate interplay between technology, organizational change, and learning and highlights the importance of incorporating cultural knowledge and skills into the technological transfer process. Contemporary STS views developed through our own work are introduced to complement and extend Levin’s theories by providing a systemic lens to understand the broader socio-technical context in which technology transfer occurs. To illustrate the synergies and potential challenges from Levin’s theories of technology transfer with contemporary STS concepts, we use a qualitative study of a unique case about the design and development of human-robot teams (HRTs) for construction tasks. Our findings reveal that while Levin’s theories provide a valuable foundation for understanding technology transfer and organizational change, contemporary socio-technical systems face unique challenges in the context of AI-driven human-robot teams, where intelligent robots also contribute to the socio-technical learning process. Moreover, the rapidly evolving nature of technology and innovations could exponentially impact on multidisciplinary design teams, stakeholder participation and inter-organizational dynamics. The discussions suggest an extension of co-generative learning to incorporate ‘collaborative intelligence’ between human-robot teams enabled by artificial intelligence (AI). Consequently, we suggest that Levin’s theories of technology transfer, developed before the rapid application of AI, may not have fully considered further social challenges caused by the introduction of autonomous systems such as AI-driven HRT systems. We extend Levin’s important work by suggesting that addressing such challenges requires ongoing dialogue and collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with different disciplinary backgrounds to develop robust and reliable socio-technical systems frameworks to navigate the complexities of robotics and AI in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape.

A multi-label text classifier: application on an Italian public tender procedure, project ISCOL@

The main means of communication during the pre-design phase is natural language. Effective communication during the pre-design phase through text documents and reports is essential to the success of a design and construction project. The study develops and evaluates a Natural Language Processing (NLP) tool called ArchiBERTo to process textual data related to design tender documents in the Italian public procurement process. Documenti di Indirizzo alla Progettazione (DIPs) are key documents, as they outline the demands, needs, and objectives of the public appointing party. ArchiBERTo is developed to process and convert DIP quality objective sentences into a hierarchy of objectives and criteria. The performances are evaluated by comparing the tool’s rankings with those provided by a group of domain experts. The results demonstrate ArchiBERTo's capability to reflect the collective ability of a panel of experts and to properly reflect the different contents of the DIP in the objectives hierarchy. The proposed system aims to address the issue of information asymmetry and potential misunderstandings, or varying interpretations, among the key actors of the Italian tendering procedure, namely the public appointing party, the design teams, and the external committee, regarding the relative importance of quality objectives and evaluation criteria. The utilization of the NLP systems ArchiBERTo to establish a shared hierarchy of objectives is expected to enhance communication and promote consensus during the pre-design phase. The minimization of the consensus issue among the actors can have a positive impact on the overall quality of the design proposals and facilitate the evaluation process conducted by the external committee, bridging the gap between expected and actual quality, ensuring that design proposals align with the quality objectives and demands of the public actor.

A student-partnered approach to design a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in biological sciences

Immersive research opportunities allow students to take ownership of their learning, explore based on curiosity, and engage in the scientific process while developing confidence and skills. However, research positions for biology undergraduates are limited, and conventional teaching labs are often restricted to pre-designed experiments without opportunities for curiosity-driven research. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are discovery-based research experiences that provide students with accessible avenues to explore research. Here we describe a unique student-partnered approach to the design of a foundation-level CURE in biological sciences (BIO-CURE). As student partners, we were mentored by faculty as we designed CURE projects that considered the interests and abilities of our peers to create a course structured around student-driven scientific exploration. We anticipate that this case study of our approach and experiences as the student partners of the CURE design team will serve as a helpful resource for other departments and institutions.

Exploring the Lived Experiences of Members of a Faculty Research Hub Design Team in a College of Education at an HSI

ABSTRACT Researchers used a transcendental phenomenological approach to explore the experiences of faculty members in a Faculty Research Hub design team at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Through data analysis, several themes emerged: (1) Support and leadership, (2) Commitment to improvement, (3) Individual motivation, (4) Structure and collaborative nature of the team, (5) Small team size with diverse expertise, and (6) Faculty learning and development. These themes align with the input, process, or outcome stages of Binkhorst et al.’s (2015) integrative descriptive framework for Teacher Design Teams (TDTs). The study suggests that Hispanic-Serving Institutions aspiring to become R1 institutions should consider implementing and evaluating Faculty Design Teams (FDTs) to enhance faculty research productivity and doctoral student success.

Planning for and Assessing Rigor in Rapid Qualitative Analysis (PARRQA): a consensus-based framework for designing, conducting, and reporting

BackgroundThe use of rapid qualitative methods has increased substantially over the past decade in quality improvement and health services research. These methods have gained traction in implementation research and practice, wherein real-time adjustments are often made to optimize processes and outcomes. This brisk increase begs the questions: what does rigor entail in projects that use rapid qualitative analysis (RQA)? How do we define a pragmatic framework to help research teams design and conduct rigorous and valid rapid qualitative projects? How can authors articulate rigor in their methods descriptions? Lastly, how can reviewers evaluate the rigor of rapid qualitative projects?.MethodsA team of seven interdisciplinary qualitative methods experts developed a framework for ensuring rigor and validity in RQA and methods suitable for this analytic approach. We conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis to identify gaps in the literature and then drew upon literature, standard procedures within our teams, and a repository of rapid qualitative training materials to create a planning and reporting framework. We iteratively refined this framework through 11 group working meetings (60-90 minutes each) over the course of one year and invited feedback on items to ensure their completeness, clarity, and comprehensibility.ResultsThe Planning for and Assessing Rigor in Rapid Qualitative Analysis (PARRQA) framework is organized progressively across phases from design to dissemination, as follows: 1) rigorous design (rationale and staffing), 2) semi-structured data collection (pilot and planning), 3) RQA: summary template development (accuracy and calibration), 4) RQA: matrix analysis (matrices), and 5) rapid qualitative data synthesis. Eighteen recommendations across these sections specify best practices for rigor and validity.ConclusionsRapid qualitative methods play a central role in implementation evaluations, with the potential to yield prompt information and insights about context, processes, and relationships. However, guidance on how to assess rigor is nascent. The PARRQA framework enhances the literature by offering criteria to ensure appropriate planning for and assessment of rigor in projects that involve RQA. This framework provides a consensus-based resource to support high-level qualitative methodological rigor in implementation science.

Gaming the Industrial Revolution. Participatory design with historical data for classroom learning

Industrial Re:evolution is an educational game developed by a collaborative team of educators, historians, game designers, and developers. The game allows students to hypothesise about the underlying causal mechanisms of the Industrial Revolution while managing population and resources across 19 discrete regions in England and Wales from 1600 to 1851. The game was developed through a series of participatory workshops, which led to a gameplay concept based on a comprehensive model of the Industrial Revolution, centred on key theoretical frameworks. Through role-playing, problem solving, and in-class discussions, students are encouraged to explore various factors that contribute to the Industrial Revolution and their interdependencies. It helps them develop a deeper understanding of the intricate relationships between different causal factors, improving their ability to explain and analyse complex historical events, and promoting quantitative skills. The game is an open-ended historical simulation based on state-of-the-art research, providing students with the opportunity to interact with real historical data. To enhance classroom implementation, the game is provided with structured activities, lesson plans, student booklets, and multimedia materials, while an online platform will eventually offer a community for educators to share best practices. This study describes the design choices and development of the game.

Design for steel structures deconstruction: an analytics system for construction waste minimization in a circular economy through BIM technology

This study focuses on shifting from traditional demolition methods to more sustainable deconstruction procedures in the steel structures building sector, specifically through Design for Deconstruction (DfD) techniques. The aim is to identify factors for BIM for deconstruction (BIMfD) implementation in Egypt’s construction industry and create a BIM-based Deconstructability Assessment Score (BIM-DAS). A literature review is conducted to determine the design principles for effective building deconstruction, the performance evaluation of DfD, and existing views on BIM implementation. The development of the BIM-DAS & SP includes mathematical modelling rooted in material demand planning. The model was implemented in Building Information Modelling (BIM) environment and it was tested using a case study design. Custom parameters related to deconstruction are added and used in the mathematical model to calculate DAS and salvage performance (SP), followed by a questionnaire and analytical hierarchy process analysis. These findings highlight demountable connections and reusable components as crucial drivers of DfD. Also, the results show that the key variables affecting BIMfD deployment include the availability and acceptance of BIM tools for deconstruction technology among industry professionals, and collaboration between project design and deconstruction teams through integrated platforms. This study demonstrates the usefulness of BIM-DAS and SP as indicators of efficient disassembly of buildings. This study will benefit all stakeholders in designing steel structure deconstruction by providing baseline specifications and a hierarchical model for implementing the BIMfD using current software tools. The results provide the needed technological support for developing tools for BIM-compliant DfD tools in Egypt to encourage deconstruction.

Collaborative Design Capacity for Enactment Framework: An Analytic Tool for Conceptualizing Pedagogical Design Capacity Within Social Context

ABSTRACTThis study examines an urban middle school teacher design team's capacity for creating integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula. Using Brown's pedagogical design capacity (PDC) theory, which highlights interactions between personal and curricular resources, this paper introduces an extended framework that includes social interactions as key influences on teachers' design abilities. Findings show that individual teachers' spontaneous curriculum modifications were adopted by the team, becoming collective resources for ongoing redesign and improving their design capacity. Teachers effectively used each other as resources to address unexpected challenges in integrating science, engineering, and mathematics concepts. Three types of social interactions were identified as collaborative resources: (i) Storytelling: sharing experiences to make abstract concepts actionable for curriculum development; (ii) Protocols: structured methods to address curricular problems related to integration; and (iii) Assessment “for” curriculum redesign: using assessment tools to inform and improve the curriculum. The Collective Design Capacity for Enactment framework is introduced to describe PDC within a social context, highlighting the importance of social interactions in bridging curriculum use and development, thus extending the literature on PDC.

Vibration of creativity: Exploring the relationship between appraisal shift and creative process in design teams

Appraisals, particularly their positive or negative valences, play a critical regulatory role in design thinking. The shift in appraisals holds significant research potential in the realm of team creativity. This study examines the relationship between appraisal shifts and the creative process within design teams, with a focus on collaborative design in a service design environment.By observing the dynamic changes in appraisals among team members at the micro-process level, we explore how these shifts are associated with team creativity. The study analyzed the interactions of 11 teams engaged in a structured experiment based on the double diamond model, utilizing video recordings and a comprehensive coding system to track the positive-negative shifts in appraisals.The findings indicate that appraisal shifts not only play a crucial role in the design process but also that their dynamic characteristics are somewhat related to the teams' creative performance. The study also compares how design teams perform differently in the problem and solution phases, emphasizing balanced attention to both phases. Additionally, a novel aspect of this study is the use of timeline visualizations to illustrate appraisal shifts, providing deeper insights into the interactions between team members and creative outputs.This research contributes to our understanding of the dynamic creative processes within design teams, offering valuable insights for optimizing team interaction patterns and enhancing the efficiency of design innovation.

A meta-analysis of the schematic design process of deep retrofit projects

Deep retrofits of the existing building stock will be necessary to meet global emissions reductions targets. One building archetype, low-rise MURBs have been neglected in terms of research and funding for deep retrofits. A meta-analysis was conducted that compares and contrasts the schematic design approach taken for six such buildings in British Columbia which are scheduled to undergo deep retrofits with the goal of reducing GHG emissions by 80%. The analysis showed that design teams had converged toward common solutions for each building while achieving the GHG reduction target. The recommended measures include electrification of space and domestic hot water heating, adding insulation through overcladding, air sealing, ventilators for each unit, and double pane windows. A life cycle cost analysis showed that the economic viability of deep retrofits were dependent on energy price forecasts, capital cost reductions through market forces and transformation, or incentives cover the non-monetizable co-benefits of deep retrofits such as improved resiliency to climate-change or reducing overheating and air quality risks. The meta-analysis can help to streamline the early-stage and schematic design process for such buildings, which is critical to increasing the retrofit rate. This process could be replicated for other building types and construction archetypes.

Assessing the Impact of Teacher Design Teams on the Professional Development of Vocational Education Teachers

Assessing the Impact of Teacher Design Teams on the Professional Development of Vocational Education Teachers

Distributed Electric Propulsion and Flight Control Concept to Meet EASA SC-VTOL-01 10‐9 Catastrophic Failure Criteria

The objective of the current work was to develop an all-electric distributed propulsion and flight control (DPFC) architecture that will have no more than 10‐9 catastrophic failures per flight hour (pfh). The DPFC architecture was broken into four system design teams: (i) electrical power and distribution system, (ii) drive and power system, (iii) thermal management system, and (iv) flight control system. System designs were updated and iterated upon, working with reliability and safety analysis teams to develop compliant designs. The firm designs were reflected in a preliminary system safety assessment (PSSA) for initial verification of compliance. Additionally, design and analysis excursions are presented in which aircraft attributes were modified to investigate sensitivities to propulsion type, number of rotors, and control schemes. Excursion results found that all aircraft evaluated likely have paths to comply with the stringent, probabilistic catastrophic failure criteria. However, stability and control models showed large power transients that must be addressed, and PSSA results show that future work is needed in single load path structures, high voltage power storage and distribution, and motor/rotor overspeed protection.

The We All Speak Math Campaign for Meaningful Discourse

Improving mathematical discourse in high school classrooms through a statewide campaign draws on the images of high-quality instruction promoted in Principles to Actions. The High School Visions Design Team of the North Carolina Collaborative for Mathematics Learning

Toward sustainable urban health: defining hospital outdoor spaces for community well-being

Abstract The challenges that Bologna is facing belonging to the 100-carbon neutral city list are largely related to the quality of its urban fabric. The site hosting the IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero - Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico di Sant’Orsola represents one of the largest green areas of the city. The renovation plan the hospital has launched represents an opportunity to contribute to the city’s sustainability goals and to enhance the value of the hospital’s outdoor spaces for users. The hospital experiences over 20, 000 accesses per day, with a significant proportion of these being for work or medical visits; the informal use of outdoor spaces often leads to tensions among users with diverse needs, discouraging access and depriving individuals of potential benefits that could be derived from spending time outdoors. Reflecting the management’s commitment towards two of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), the hospital created a design team with the cooperation of the University of Bologna to research the technical and functional requirements for adapting outdoor spaces to meet the needs of users. The research is based on a human-centred design approach while the methods are grounded in Service Design practices.

Application of BIM and Virtual Reality of System Integration Design and Development in Medical Building Projects: A Case Study in China

Design outcomes in the Medical Building Projects (MBPs) must satisfy the demand of the medical staff and stakeholders. However, they often do not have the relevant engineering expertise, so the design team is prone to misunderstandings when communicating with them using traditional two-dimensional (2D) Computer-Aided Design (CAD) drawings. The medical staff may not readily visualize and understand the design and then provide feedback to the designer through professional medical requirements or advice, which results in the need to redesign and carry out additional work during the design phase, thus delaying the progress of the MBPs. To address these challenges, this study aims to develop an integrated system based on BIM, advanced rendering engines, and VR technology for use in non-immersive and immersive VR environments. Moreover, in this study, the integrated system was applied to the infection-building project of the People's Hospital of Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu City, and semi-structured interviews were distributed to 16 engineers, designers, contractors, and medical staff who had been involved in the whole project to validate the practicality and effectiveness of the integrated system. The results indicate that this system integration is an efficient visual communication and simulation tool in medical design. Key advantages include enhanced communication efficiency between the design team and medical stakeholders, improved visual interaction, and streamlined decision-making processes within a 3D VR/BIM environment. The successful implementation of this integrated system is expected to significantly aid design teams and stakeholders in effectively managing medical design tasks in future projects.

Development of a Tool for Evaluating the Influence of Engineering Students’ Perception of Generative AI on University Courses Based on Personality, Perceived Roles in Design Teams, and Course Engagement

Development of a Tool for Evaluating the Influence of Engineering Students’ Perception of Generative AI on University Courses Based on Personality, Perceived Roles in Design Teams, and Course Engagement

The social shaping of biotechnological innovation. The case of Covid-19 protein vaccine in Cuba and the US

AbstractLike other technologies, vaccines are socially shaped by socio-economic, political and organisational factors. Property rights, value capture strategies and public innovation policies guide research teams in the biochemical design of vaccines, with inevitable consequences for their price and accessibility. The Covid-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to analyse this institutional shaping process and its consequences for global public health from a political economy perspective. Indeed, the same type of invention, a recombinant protein vaccine, was simultaneously and originally developed in the US and Cuban biopharmaceutical industries and in the field of philanthropic Open Innovation. The article shows, through empirical research that collected direct testimony from scientists and privileged observers of the vaccine development fields, how certain norms and values characteristic of the US industry (financialization, assetization and de-risk) created a path dependency in the use of proprietary and experimental biotechnologies that made the US vaccine Nuvaxovid more expensive and complex to produce, but no more effective and safe than Abdala, Soberana 02 and Corbevax. In addition, the institutional constraints of the US biopharmaceutical industry on radical innovation, even within a mature biotechnology platform such as protein vaccines, would have resulted in a competitive disadvantage for Nuvaxovid, which was as expensive as an mRNA vaccine but less rapid to market and less reliable in delivery. The case of protein vaccines against Covid-19 thus shows how the institutional architectures of techno-scientific capitalism create not only inequalities but also inefficiencies, and that an innovation path with excellent results is possible even in competition where the market is not the dominant order of worth.

Fit models’ roles in identifying fit issues in the apparel technical design process and implications for improving 3D virtual fitting

Fit sessions are essential in making well-fitted clothing. During these sessions, apparel fit is determined iteratively by a team of designers, technical designers, fit models, and merchandisers. With the advent of the digitalization of new product development processes in the fashion industry, fit sessions have been seen as a bottleneck for they are still held in person. However, the process is currently still irreplaceable, and what makes the feedback provided by fit models important is an area that has never been tapped. Therefore, the present study aimed to understand fit models’ role in fit sessions as well as how they assess the fit of garments and deliver their feedback. On-site observation during fit sessions and individual interviews with fit models were conducted. It was found that fit models gave comfort, fit, and tactile comments by testing garments while standing and moving between several postures. They had knowledge that overlapped with those of technical designers and designers and this empowerment enabled them to take part in the decision-making process in fit sessions. It also was found that fit models’ feedback on garments was essential as they were the first people to try on the garments and present the customers’ points of view.

Design of a Mixed-Reality Application to Reduce Pediatric Medication Errors in Prehospital Emergency Care

Children in prehospital emergency care are particularly vulnerable to medication errors, often with serious consequences. A prior study analyzing prehospital pediatric medication dosing errors, conducted after the implementation of a statewide pediatric drug-dosing reference for emergency medical services (EMS), identified an alarmingly high error rate. This significant finding led to the current study, which aims to develop technological interventions to reduce the frequency of medication errors for children during treatment by EMS. The current study focuses on the design and development of a safety strategy to automate medication administration using mixed-reality technology. Simulations were conducted to inform the design process, focusing on three scenarios: cardiac arrest, seizure, and burns. The design team included medical and engineering researchers, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians from multiple emergency medical service agencies. Root cause analysis (RCA) and failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) were conducted after the simulations were completed. The RCA and FMEA were used to identify and prioritize failure points, which were then addressed in a mixed-reality solution using Microsoft HoloLens 2 to automate and enhance pediatric medication administration in prehospital emergency care. The resulting application will provide real-time assistance to guide paramedics through the complicated medication dosing and administration process using a detailed step-by-step guide, aiming to decrease medication errors and improve medication dosing accuracy.