1.3.2 Human/product interaction The balance of properties needed in a particular product varies enormously, depending on the exact duty that product will perform in service, the environment in which it will operate, and the way it will interact with the user or consumer. The last factor has assumed much greater influence in product design as competition between different manufacturers sharpens the perception of quality in users’ eyes. The study of human-product interactions is variously known as human factors or
Introduction Polymers are materials composed of long molecular chains that are well-accepted for a wide variety of applications. This unit explores these materials in terms of their chemical composition, associated properties and processes of manufacture from petrochemicals. The unit also shows a range of products in which polymers are used and explains why they are chosen in preference to many conventional materials. This unit is from our archive and it is an adapted extract from Design and ma
Acknowledgements Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material within this unit
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Transparent, Opaque and Translucent Objects
A sorting activity for children involving transparent, opaque and translucent materials. Simpler terminology/vocabulary may also be used.
Floating and Sinking 1
Printable worksheet that works through a hands-on exploration of floating and sinking. Introduces the practice of recording ideas and observations.
The Power of Self-Portraits
Exploration of the topic of self-portraiture. Offers ideas on experimenting and developing ideas, culminating in a set number of finished pieces of work.
Number Strips (1-20)
Number strips which teachers can photocopy, cut out and use with the pupils for number activities that involve addition or subtraction up to the number 20.
Introduction Maps and plans, architects‗ and engineers‗ drawings, graphs and tables: all are models we use in everyday life. This unit will introduce you to the modelling process enabling you to recognise that systems models may be used in different ways as part of a process for: improving understanding of a situation; identifying problems or formulating opportunities and supporting decision making. This unit is from our archive and is an adapted extract from a course which is no longe
Acknowledgements The following material is Proprietary and is used under licence: Various pages: Arup, O., material accessed in January 2002 and December 2000, from. Box 1: Inman, P. ‘Chaotic scheme that left families relying on food parcels’, The Guardian, 6 July 2005. © Guardian News and Media Ltd 2005. Box 2: ‘Fly-away drones put robot air force
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6.6 Long-term energy scenarios
Access to safe, clean and sustainable energy supplies is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity during the twenty-first century. This unit will survey the world’s present energy systems and their sustainability problems, together with some of the possible solutions to those problems and how these might emerge in practice.
4 Identification and naming
What is ecology and why is it important to our understanding of the world around us? This unit looks at how we can study ecosystems to explore the effect that humans are having on the environment.
Introduction The aim of this unit is to answer five questions: Why is systems engineering important? What is modern engineering? What is systems? What is systems engineering? What approach to systems engineering does the course adopt? This unit is from our archive and is an adapted extract from Systems engineering (T837) which is no longer taught by The Open University. If you wan
4.3.2 Setting goals and objectives
Are you always the quiet one when it comes to group discussion? This unit will help you improve your working relationships with other people in groups of three or more. This unit also deals with project life cycles, project management and the role of the leader.
The Big Bang and the Creation of Earth
This 1:17 long video does a short review of what happened to create the Big Bang and the events that followed. Good graphics and narration.
5 Conclusion Knowledge technologies, as software systems, embody formal models of how the world works: for example, networks between people, what their roles are, how information should flow, rules about interdependences between variables, and how to index and categorise information. If well designed, such models relieve people of mundane activities, allowing them to focus on what they do best: communication, negotiation, creative problem solving: that is, the construction of new shared meaning. At their
2.1 Representation, interpretation and communities of practice Let us start with a thought experiment. Where is the music? The music is in the musical notation. No, the music is in the mind Acknowledgements Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: 4.2 Pose Pose followed expression on the list of the portrait photographer's priorities. A sitter's pose was intended to assist idealization by highlighting physical beauty. Photographers were required to select a pose that displayed the sitter to advantage. If your sitter be tall and thin, or short and stout, select a pose which may render such peculiarities least prominent …A sitter's personal defects may be freque Introduction Culture is just one perspective that can help us to understand more about a business. 'Business culture' is not just about how others see a business, but also about how the individuals within an organisation understand it. In this unit we explore how the concept of culture developed from research into differences between cultures at a national level. It is possible to see, or ‘feel’, that one business is different from another, and that this involves more than just how it presents it Acknowledgements Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence All materials included in this unit are derived from content originated at the Open University.
Activity 2.1
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