scholarly journals Eight Components of a Design Theory of Sonification

Author(s):  
Michael A. Nees

Despite over 25 years of intensive work in the field, sonification research and practice continue to be hindered by a lack of theory. In part, sonification theory has languished, because the requirements of a theory of sonification have not been clearly articulated. As a design science, sonification deals with artifacts—artificially created sounds and the tools for creating the sounds. Design fields require theoretical approaches that are different from theory-building in natural sciences. Gregor and Jones [1] described eight general components of design theories: (1) purposes and scope; (2) constructs; (3) principles of form and function; (4) artifact mutability; (5) testable propositions; (6) justificatory knowledge; (7) principles of implementation; and (8) expository instantiations. In this position paper, I examine these components as they relate to the field of sonification and use these components to clarify requirements for a theory of sonification. The current status of theory in sonification is assessed as it relates to each component, and, where possible, recommendations are offered for practices that can advance theory and theoretically-motivated research and practice in the field of sonification.

2021 ◽  
pp. 026839622110064
Author(s):  
Alfred Benedikt Brendel ◽  
Tim-Benjamin Lembcke ◽  
Jan Muntermann ◽  
Lutz M Kolbe

In design science research, two important challenges exist to achieve greater influence in research and practice: (1) foster frequent reuse of artifacts and design theories and (2) increase knowledge accumulation in the field. In this article, we argue that replication studies could support the accumulation and development of design theories to reach a state that encourages reuse of artifacts and design theories. However, it is unclear precisely how replication relates to design science research—that is, what outcomes replication produces and how researchers should apply it within design science research. This study proposes three overarching research questions ( Does the artifact provide utility? Is the design theory complete? What design theory components fit a larger context?) and eight categories for replication studies in design science research (Test, Redesign, Justification, Adaptation, Explanation, Update, Recreation, and Meta-Replication). We offer guidance to researchers, editors, and reviewers on how to conduct replication studies in design science research and why such studies are so critical. Our goal is to provide “food for thought” on the significance of design science research replication studies and, in turn, help facilitate their widespread implementation and publication. We conclude our study by highlighting areas for further discussion and investigation, such as defining replication procedures and conceptualizing genuine replication goals within design science research.


Author(s):  
Quentin Letesson ◽  
Carl Knappett

Architecture and urbanism have been of constant interest to Minoan archaeologists since the beginning of the twentieth century. While there is some scholarly bias to this, with the field deeply affected by Sir Arthur Evans’s focus on the monumental architecture of Knossos, Minoan Crete continues to yield abundant evidence for a substantial built environment. Focusing on urban and architectural remains creates a strong bias in favour of one block of time, the Neopalatial period, which produced the largest amount of wellpreserved settlements and buildings. Yet, in general, the evidence we now have on the Minoan built environment is an undeniable resource, one that continues to grow thanks to ongoing studies of pre-existing remains as well as new excavation and survey projects. As is clear in Evans’s magnum opus, The Palace of Minos at Knossos, the large-scale excavations typical of the dawn of the last century were heavily directed towards the urban cores of the largest Minoan sites (e.g. Boyd Hawes et al. 1908; Hutchinson 1950). The bulk of what we know about the Minoan built environment comes from the first half of the twentieth century, initially through the intensive work of the foreign schools at Malia, Phaistos, Palaikastro, Gournia, Mochlos, and Pseira, later joined by countless excavations by Greek archaeologists. Yet, synthetic treatments really only began with the work of James Walter Graham, in the form of numerous papers published in the American Journal of Archaeology (see Letesson 2009 for a detailed review), and especially his Palaces of Crete (Graham 1962). Nonetheless, his comparative analyses, which also dealt with non-palatial buildings, were largely focused on polite architecture. With a particular interest in form and function, he built on Evans’s insights to be the first to identify, across a large sample of buildings, recurring architectural patterns in the Minoan built environment (e.g. Piano Nobile, residential quarters, banquet halls). His studies also included an innovative quantitative component, emphasizing the existence of a unit of length that builders would have used to lay out the palaces and some of the so-called ‘villas’.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ville Hinkka ◽  
Maiju Häkkinen ◽  
Jan Holmström ◽  
Kary Främling

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a typology of radio frequency identification (RFID)-based tracking solution designs to fit differing fashion supply chains. The typology is presented as principles of form and function contributing toward a design theory of configurable RFID tracking for fashion logistics. Design/methodology/approach – The typology is developed based on a case study of a logistics service provider (LSP) interested in designing a tracking solution for different customers in fashion logistics. In addition to the LSP, four fashion retailers were involved in the study. The case study was carried out using a review of existing RFID tracking implementations in the fashion industry, analysis of an RFID tracking pilot conducted by the case company, and interviews with representatives of the retailers. Findings – By varying three design parameters (place of tagging, place of tracking start and place of tracking end) a tracking solution can be configured to fit the requirements and constraints of different fashion supply chains. In the fashion logistics context under investigation, such parameterization addresses retailer requirements, brings concrete and quantifiable benefits to both LSP and its customers, and enables incremental adoption of RFID tracking. Research limitations/implications – Although the typology is developed in the specific setting of a case company developing RFID tracking solutions for fashion logistics, the design parameters identified in the study can be used when considering configurable tracking solutions also in other domains and settings. However, further research is needed to evaluate the proposed typology in those settings. Practical implications – The proposed typology enables fashion companies to consider which configuration of RFID tracking best fits the requirements and constraints imposed by their particular supply chain. For fashion companies, who find adoption of RFID tracking difficult despite the obvious benefits, the proposed typology enables incremental implementation of supply chain-wide tracking. Originality/value – The developed typology, describing how RFID-based tracking solutions can be adjusted to fit the needs of fashion companies with differing supply chains and requirements, is novel. The typology is generalizable to most fashion logistics settings and probably to numerous other logistics domains.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 106-129
Author(s):  
Sirkku Inkeri Ruokkeinen ◽  
Aino Liira

This article examines the relationship of material text (text of the document) and paratext in light of fourteenth to sixteenth century evidence. Despite the wealth of interest generated by paratexts and paratextuality in recent years, especially in the fields of literary studies, book history, and translation studies, theoretical approaches to paratexts and paratextuality remain scarce. The paratextual status of an element is typically determined by its function, in combination with its distance from the material text: elements within the codex which do not share space with the text are part of the paratext. Less studied, however, is the gray area of elements which are located within the codex and share the space with the text. We examine this border between text and paratext through an analysis of late medieval and early modern initials, typeface, script and notes. While the form and function of the element are a good starting point, we propose that gauging the optionality of the element, in relation to the abstract text of the work and the material text of the document, is a better indicator of its paratextual status. Optionality should therefore be taken into consideration as evidence of a type of contemporary paratextual understanding.


Author(s):  
Rafael Ángel-Bravo

There is a whole wide diversity regarding how people adapt to the natural environment conditions and how they value or relate to their everyday objects and products; outside aesthetics or functionality, users appreciate utilitarian artifacts according to assorted perspectives and factors, including traditional, emotional, and cultural approaches. This paper is envisioned to propose a reflection regarding the value and significance of utilitarian handcrafted objects as a fundamental element of popular culture, associated with tradition, heritage, and folkloric preservation. Based on direct experience, photographic record, and assorted theoretical approaches, it was viable to generate a conceptual review and reflection considering the consumers’ appreciation of traditional handcrafted artifacts, understanding these implements’ value and significance beyond their form and function, as the cultural significance of handcrafted utilitarian, decorative and traditional products, as a crucial component of tangible and intangible heritages and identities in the American context.


2013 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 815-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido L. Geerts ◽  
Lynford E. Graham ◽  
Elaine G. Mauldin ◽  
William E. McCarthy ◽  
Vernon J. Richardson

SYNOPSIS As information and communication technologies (IT) become more deeply ingrained and inextricably woven into the fabric of organizations, more perplexing research and practice questions emerge. This commentary applies an organizing information systems research framework to accounting. The framework explicitly recognizes that complexities of the accounting value chain define relevant practice issues for research. We demonstrate application of the framework with examples that integrate different accounting disciplines and different research methodologies. Using a select number of prior research studies, we emphasize how design science, archival, and behavioral research paradigms work together to advance theory and inform practice. We also demonstrate how the framework directs future research for both well-established and emerging practice issues. JEL Classifications: M15; M41.


Panta Rei ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-42
Author(s):  
Carlos Gracia Zamacona

En este artículo se propone una revisión personal de la investigación lingüística de los últimos 25 años sobre el egipcio antiguo, la lengua hablada y escrita en Egipto desde el origen de la civilización egipcia escrita (hacia 3150 a. Jc.) hasta la desaparición del copto como lengua viva (siglo XVII d. Jc.), la lengua humana documentada durante más tiempo. Con este fin, se revisarán las principales corrientes teóricas y su relación con la enseñanza del antiguo egipcio en ámbito universitario. Mediante el análisis de la bibliografía más relevante de este periodo, se comentan cuatro líneas de investigación productivas: forma y función; documentos y lengua; léxico y gramática; y metalingüística en el Egipto antiguo. El artículo finaliza con un breve comentario sobre la necesidad de más estudios basados en corpora en el futuro, en lugar de los basados en marcos teóricos para la interpretación del egipcio antiguo. This article provides a personal overview of the last 25-year linguistic research on ancient Egyptian, the language spoken and written in Egypt since the origin of the written Egyptian civilization (c. 3150 BC) until the disappearance of Coptic as a living language (17th century AC), the longest-attested human language. With this purpose, the main theoretical approaches and their relationship to teaching ancient Egyptian at the university are reviewed. Through the analysis of the more relevant bibliography of the period, four productive research lines are discussed: form and function; documents and the language; lexicon and grammar; and ancient Egyptian metalinguistics. The article ends with a short comment on the need of more corpus-based studies in the future instead of theoretically-based frameworks for interpreting the ancient Egyptian language.


2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 410-424
Author(s):  
Julia-Constance Dissel

AbstractThis essay deals with the terms “form” and “function” as well as their relationship insofar as they are still used in philosophical and design-theory discourse to determine the aesthetic dimension of designed artefacts, especially of everyday objects, and often also to distinguish them from objects of art. I discuss whether our common understanding of these terms and their relationship is an appropriate instrument for such determinations. What is up for discussion here are not only conceptions of functional beauty with regard to design methodology and the philosophical discourse on aesthetics, in which form and function become thematic, but also basic concepts of philosophical aesthetics itself. It is shown that the philosophical understanding of design aesthetics and the concepts of form and function are determined by profound preliminary decisions that restrict our access to the aesthetic dimension of designed artefacts, and a conceptualisation of an initial change in thinking is proposed.


Author(s):  
Patricia G. Arscott ◽  
Gil Lee ◽  
Victor A. Bloomfield ◽  
D. Fennell Evans

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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