Electronic-book Design Process Through an Investigation into History and Design Elements of the Book -on form and function with consideration of product-environment design-

This article seeks to elucidate the form and function of decorative designs on Nuaulu parrying shields from Seram, Indonesia. It builds on earlier work focusing on the shield as a sacred anthropomorphized entity with its own life-cycle, the reproduction of which mirrors the reproduction of sacred houses. It has previously been suggested that diversity in design elements is deliberately cultivated as part of a general aesthetic, connecting individuality, personhood and effervescence as features of living entities. Here the author examines the materiality of shields, documenting variation in design – especially patterns of ceramic and shell discs – and asks what significance should be attached to these. He concludes that the attribution of specific meanings to individual elements is of limited application, while the impact of the shields lies in variation itself, the perceptual affects shields have on viewers, and in abstract geometric characteristics that make them fit for ritual purpose.

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Geometrical & Interfacial Modulation of a Biomimetic Spinal Implant

Journal of Biomimetics Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/jbbte.4.41 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 41-58

Author(s):

P. Lok ◽

Philip Boughton ◽

T. Kishen ◽

Ashish D. Diwan

Keyword(s):

Surface Area ◽

Axial Loading ◽

Interfacial Stress ◽

Implant Design ◽

Tissue Remodelling ◽

Design Elements ◽

Spinal Implant ◽

Form And Function ◽

Spinal Disc ◽

And Function

The nucleus of a spinal disc is seamlessly connective and protectively supportive of the joint within which it is enveloped. A range of nucleus prosthesis configurations have been proposed and applied with some success. Those that have demonstrated clinical efficacy have approximated physiological form and function using established biomaterials while preserving key anatomical structures. The minimally invasive biostable, biomimetic Columna Disc Device (CDD) partial spinal disc replacement has been developed to clinical trial stage. It mimics the geometry and response of the nucleus that it replaces. While the implant configuration and materials have been set, the geometry and interfacial properties of this prosthesis may be modulated to account for versatility in surgical deployment, implant stiffness, and subsequent long-term tissue remodelling response. FEA models were developed to study effects of implant jacket geometry and surface properties on implant deployment and biomechanics. Studded and dimpled textures provide a method for increasing surface area to diffuse jacket-filler interfacial stress and similar for the implant-tissue junction. Surface texture design elements observed in nature can protect against delamination and interlayer slippage. This is the case with adherent outer layers of human skin. A textured implant design is also proposed to guard against third body wear by housing debris remote of wear sites and by reducing sliding. The periodically varying strain fields provided by the textured jacket may also help mitigate for tears by diverting and arresting micro-fissures. Increasing friction at the implant-tissue interface to the point of tissue-attachment was shown to increase the stiffness of the implant in axial-loading. In contrast, increasing bulk surface area is expected to contribute to a decrease in implant stiffness. This is, however, dependent on the intimacy and properties of interfacing tissues.

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THE MELDING OF FORM AND FUNCTION

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA) ◽

10.24908/pceea.v0i0.3800 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Paul Winkelman

Keyword(s):

Engineering Design ◽

Design Process ◽

Process Planning ◽

Mechanical Design ◽

Design Tool ◽

Functional Domain ◽

Form And Function ◽

Design Engineers ◽

And Function ◽

Machining Operations

The engineering design process is traditionally modelled as proceeding from the functional domain to the physical domain. Function thus represents more abstract concepts and the form or structure resulting from the design process as the more concrete. A comparison of mechanical design with process planning, however, reveals that this model does not apply to all areas of engineering design. In mechanical design, engineers select those forms they believe will perform the desired function; in process planning, engineers select those functions (i.e., machining operations) they believe will create the desired form. This reversal of form and function raises important issues concerning how engineering design should be modelled as form and function may not be as distinct as the traditional model of engineering design might suggest. This paper is an initial exploration to better understand the nature and the implications of this "reversibility". Potential benefactors of this research are computerized design tools which use form and function to aid designers. By building upon a framework which supports both the mechanical design and the process planning perspectives, the design tool promises to better serve the needs of its users.

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The Matter of Tools

ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction ◽

10.1145/3426776 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 1-38

Author(s):

Irene Posch ◽

Geraldine Fitzpatrick

Keyword(s):

Design Process ◽

Electronic Textiles ◽

Textile Materials ◽

Disciplinary Boundaries ◽

Form And Function ◽

Research Through Design ◽

And Function

Tools, as extensions of hand and mind, prescribe defining properties for a practice. We anchor our tools research within a case study of electronic textiles (eTextiles), combining textile materials and electronic and computational functionality. While the field of eTextiles is expanding into new personal and ubiquitous applications, its tools as productive means, however, are rarely investigated. We fill this gap by both proposing and exploring new tools, aiming at an integrated eTextile craft practice across disciplinary boundaries. Results from a research through design process have been developed into research products and proposed to a wider community of novices and practitioners. Research insights from making, using and reflecting on our new tools show they not only guide habits of making, but also are formative to the understanding of eTextiles as a practice and a field. Their form and function matter for the skills, processes and users, ultimately prescribing the technologies that surround us.

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Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) of DNA and RNA

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100152148 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 47 ◽

pp. 34-35

Author(s):

Patricia G. Arscott ◽

Gil Lee ◽

Victor A. Bloomfield ◽

D. Fennell Evans

Keyword(s):

Molecular Structures ◽

Inorganic Materials ◽

Resolving Power ◽

Scanning Tunneling ◽

Tunneling Microscopy ◽

Form And Function ◽

Dna And Rna ◽

Calf Thymus ◽

And Function ◽

The Relationship

STM is one of the most promising techniques available for visualizing the fine details of biomolecular structure. It has been used to map the surface topography of inorganic materials in atomic dimensions, and thus has the resolving power not only to determine the conformation of small molecules but to distinguish site-specific features within a molecule. That level of detail is of critical importance in understanding the relationship between form and function in biological systems. The size, shape, and accessibility of molecular structures can be determined much more accurately by STM than by electron microscopy since no staining, shadowing or labeling with heavy metals is required, and there is no exposure to damaging radiation by electrons. Crystallography and most other physical techniques do not give information about individual molecules.We have obtained striking images of DNA and RNA, using calf thymus DNA and two synthetic polynucleotides, poly(dG-me5dC)·poly(dG-me5dC) and poly(rA)·poly(rU).

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