Stine Maria Louring Nielsen

Designing User Centred Intelligent Classroom Lighting

Through a case study, this paper presents a new way of designing intelligent classroom lighting to meet the users’ needs. A mix of ethnographic methods (field observations and interviews) were used to investigate the everyday learning activities at a middle school in Copenhagen in order to determine how lighting can support the learning environment. Based on the investigations, lighting design criteria and three predefined lighting scenes are proposed as a new design for meeting the needs of students and teachers during three types of activities. The scenes focus on smartboard visibility and on creating a visual focus on the teacher who is the centre of attention during most activities. It is hypothesised that if the scenes are used according to the different types of activities this would enable the teacher to create structure in the lessons and through this improve the behaviour of the students.

The Significance of Certain Elements in Art for Patients’ Experience and Use

Focusing on the interactional aspects of art in health interventions, we qualify guidelines for art in hospitals. Patients in this user-oriented study primarily ranked items to favor figurative art painted in light colors; however both figurative and abstract art in light and dark colors figured among the highest ratings. The role of spatial context, motif, color and shapes seems to have an effect on patients’ experience of a hospital stay. This article draws attention to the application of visual art as a source of stimulus and healing—and a means to affect patient satisfaction in hospitals.

The Impact of Dynamic Lighting in Classrooms. A Review on Methods

In order to understand how research can support lighting designs to improve nurturing environments for learning, a literature review was carried out. The review examined lighting research methods and parameters used for evaluating the effect of dynamic lighting in classrooms. The test parameter gaining most attention in the studies is academic performance; whereas qualitative test parameters, such as behaviour and mood, are addressed in less than a third of the selected studies. The analysis of these methods leads to a conclusion that learning environments to a broader extent should be studied and designed holistically through a mixed method approach. It is suggested that the potentials of dynamic lighting in learning environments are explored through design driven innovation and the use of mixed methods, in order to be able to put more emphasis on the students’ and teachers’ needs for dynamic lighting scenarios.

How do patients actually experience and use art in hospitals?: The significance of interaction. A user-oriented experimental case study.

ABSTRACT This article aims to understand patient wellbeing and satisfaction and to qualify the current guidelines for the application of art in hospitals. Employing anthropological methods, we focus on the interactional aspects of art in health interventions. A user-oriented study ranked 20 paintings, followed by an experiment using paintings in the dayroom of five medical wards. Fieldwork was done over a two-week period. During the first week, dayrooms were configured without the presence of art and in the second week were configured with the artworks. Semi-structured interviews, observation, participant observation and informal conversation were carried out and were informed by thermal cameras, which monitored the usage, patient occupation and flow in two of the dayrooms. The study shows that art contributes to creating an environment and atmosphere where patients can feel safe, socialize, maintain a connection to the world outside the hospital and support their identity. We conclude that the presence of visual art in hospitals contributes to health outcomes by improving patient satisfaction as an extended form of health care. The article draws attention to further research perspectives and methods associated with the development of art in hospitals.