Evolutionary design of bone scaffolds with reference to material selection

The favourable scaffold for bone tissue engineering should have desired characteristic features, such as adequate mechanical strength and three-dimensional open porosity, which guarantee a suitable environment for tissue regeneration. In fact, the design of such complex structures like bone scaffolds is a challenge for investigators. One of the aims is to achieve the best possible mechanical strength-degradation rate ratio. In this paper we attempt to use numerical modelling to evaluate material properties for designing bone tissue engineering scaffold fabricated via the fused deposition modelling technique. For our studies the standard genetic algorithm was used, which is an efficient method of discrete optimization. For the fused deposition modelling scaffold, each individual strut is scrutinized for its role in the architecture and structural support it provides for the scaffold, and its contribution to the overall scaffold was studied. The goal of the study was to create a numerical tool that could help to acquire the desired behaviour of tissue engineered scaffolds and our results showed that this could be achieved efficiently by using different materials for individual struts. To represent a great number of ways in which scaffold mechanical function loss could proceed, the exemplary set of different desirable scaffold stiffness loss function was chosen. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Determining the optimal proportion of design in design-build request for proposals (RFPs)

The design-build (DB) system is a popular and effective delivery method of construction projects worldwide. After owners decide to procure their projects through the DB system, they may wish to determine the optimal proportion of design to be provided in the DB request for proposals (RFPs), which serve as solicitations for design-builders and describe the scope of work. However, this presents difficulties to DB owners and there is little, if any, systematic research in this area. This paper reports on an empirical study in the USA entailing both an online questionnaire survey and Delphi survey to identify and evaluate the factors influencing owners’ decisions in determining the proportion of design to include in DB RFPs. Eleven factors are identified, i.e. (1) clarity of project scope; (2) applicability of performance specifications; (3) desire for design innovation; (4) site constraints; (5) availability of competent design-builders; (6) project control requirements; (7) user group involvement level; (8) third party requirements; (9) owner experience with DB; (10) project complexity; and (11) schedule constraints. A statistically significant agreement on the eleven factors was also obtained from the (mainly non-owner) Delphi experts. Although some of the experts hold different opinions on how these factors affect the proportion of design, these findings furnish various stakeholders with a better understanding of the delivery process of DB projects and the appropriate provision of project information in DB RFPs. As the result is mainly industry opinion concerning the optimal proportion of design, in addition and for completeness, future studies should be conducted to obtain a big picture of the optimal proportion of design by means of seeking owners’ inputs.

A parent-led family-focused treatment program for overweight children aged 5 to 9 years : The PEACH RCT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a healthy lifestyle intervention to reduce adiposity in children aged 5 to 9 years and assess whether adding parenting skills training would enhance this effect. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: We conducted a single-blinded randomized controlled trial of prepubertal moderately obese (International Obesity Task Force cut points) children, aged 5 to 9 years. The 6-month program targeted parents as the agents of change for implementing family lifestyle changes. Only parents attended group sessions. We measured BMI and waist z scores and parenting constructs at baseline, 6, 12, 18, 24 months. RESULTS: Participants (n = 169; 56% girls) were randomized to a parenting skills plus healthy lifestyle group (n = 85) or a healthy lifestyle–only group (n = 84). At final 24-month assessment 52 and 54 children remained in the parenting skills plus healthy lifestyle and the healthy lifestyle–only groups respectively. There were reductions (P < .001) in BMI z score (0.26 [95% confidence interval: 0.22–0.30]) and waist z score (0.33 [95% confidence interval: 0.26–0.40]). There was a 10% reduction in z scores from baseline to 6 months that was maintained to 24 months with no additional intervention. Overall, there was no significant group effect. A similar pattern of initial improvement followed by stability was observed for parenting outcomes and no group effect. CONCLUSIONS: Using approaches that specifically target parent behavior, relative weight loss of ∼10% is achievable in moderately obese prepubertal children and can be maintained for 2 years from baseline. These results justify an investment in treatment as an effective secondary obesity-prevention strategy.

UK Design as a global industry : international trade and intellectual property Executive Summary

This is an independent report comissioned by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and supported by the Design Council.

Design and fabrication of tubular scaffolds via direct writing in a melt electrospinning mode

Flexible tubular structures fabricated from solution electrospun fibers are finding increasing use in tissue engineering applications. However it is difficult to control the deposition of fibers due to the chaotic nature of the solution electrospinning jet. By using non-conductive polymer melts instead of polymer solutions the path and collection of the fiber becomes predictable. In this work we demonstrate the melt electrospinning of polycaprolactone in a direct writing mode onto a rotating cylinder. This allows the design and fabrication of tubes using 20 μm diameter fibers with controllable micropatterns and mechanical properties. A key design parameter is the fiber winding angle, where it allows control over scaffold pore morphology (e.g. size, shape, number and porosity). Furthermore, the establishment of a finite element model as a predictive design tool is validated against mechanical testing results of melt electrospun tubes to show that a lesser winding angle provides improved mechanical response to uniaxial tension and compression. In addition, we show that melt electrospun tubes support the growth of three different cell types in vitro and are therefore promising scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.

Creative industries in China : art, design and media

Creative industries in China provides a fresh account of China’s emerging commercial cultural sector. The author shows how developments in Chinese art, design and media industries are reflected in policy, in market activity, and grassroots participation. Never has the attraction of being a media producer, an artist, or a designer in China been so enticing. National and regional governments offer financial incentives; consumption of cultural goods and services have increased; creative workers from Europe, North America and Asia are moving to Chinese cities; culture is increasingly positioned as a pillar industry. But what does this mean for our understanding of Chinese society? Can culture be industrialised following the low-cost model of China’s manufacturing economy. Is the national government really committed to social liberalisation? This engaging book is a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in social change in China. It draws on leading Chinese scholarship together with insights from global media studies, economic geography and cultural studies.

The future of design

When asked about the future of design, I immediately think of two things. Firstly, I am drawn to the concept of design thinking - the process individuals go through when critically evaluating a situation, place, space or circumstance and reframing it. Design thinking is the critical reframing process. Secondly, my thoughts turn to education and the teaching of design thinking and the late philosopher John Dewey (1910:139), who states...

Levesys : innovation management enabling a conversation about the future

This case study reports on the impact and business transformation of an IMP³rove assessment and follow-up workshop on Australian SME LEVESYS (www.levesys.com), which was undertaken by QMI Solutions. Innovation was not a foreign term to the company, which focuses on the development of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for the Australian construction sector. However, before seeing and undergoing the IMP³rove process, this company had difficulty articulating their innovation problems and, therefore, had not achieved growth targets from its R&D efforts. This case study highlights the role of IMP³rove in assisting LEVESYS to take the first step in transforming itself through innovation.

Preface to special issue on digital human modelling for vehicle design and manufacturing

The automotive industry has been the focus of digital human modeling (DHM) research and application for many years. In the highly competitive marketplace for personal transportation, the desire to improve the customer’s experience has driven extensive research in both the physical and cognitive interaction between the vehicle and its occupants. Human models provide vehicle designers with tools to view and analyze product interactions before the first prototypes are built, potentially improving the design while reducing cost and development time. The focus of DHM research and applications began with prediction and representation of static postures for purposes of driver workstation layout, including assessments of seat adjustment ranges and exterior vision. Now DHMs are used for seat design and assessment of driver reach and ingress/egress. DHMs and related simulation tools are expanding into the cognitive domain, with computational models of perception and motion, and into the dynamic domain with models of physical responses to ride and vibration. Moreover, DHMs are now widely used to analyze the ergonomics of vehicle assembly tasks. In this case, the analysis aims to determine whether workers can be expected to complete the tasks safely and with good quality. This preface provides a review of the literature to provide context for the nine new papers presented in this special issue.

Boards' contribution to strategy and innovation

Among the most disputed issues within the business arena and among academic scholars are which role boards of directors are expected to fulfill, and how they contribute to a company’s success and survival (Monks & Minow, 2008). Recent failures of large corporations worldwide has led corporate governance and strategic management scholars to call for increased board involvement in decision-making (Tricker, 2009) that has paralleled regulators’ requests for higher monitoring and punishments in the case of frauds and misbehaviors (Coffee, 2005)

Six rules for practice-led research

Recent experience of practice-led postgraduate supervision has prompted me to conclude that the practice-led research method, as it is currently construed, produces good outcomes, especially in permitting practitioners in the creative arts, design and media into the research framework, but at the same time it also generates certain recurring difficulties. What are these difficulties? Practice-led candidates tend to rely on a narrow range of formulations with the result that they assume: (i) the innovative nature of practice-led research; (ii) that its novelty is based in opposition to other research methods; (iii) that practice is intrinsically research, often leading to tautological formulations; (iv) the hyper-self-reflexive nature of practice-led research. This set of guidelines was composed in order to circumvent the shortcomings that result from these recurring formulations. My belief is that, if these shortcomings are avoided, there is nothing to prevent practice-led from further developing as a research inquiry and thus achieving rewarding and successful research outcomes. Originally composed for the purposes of postgraduate supervision, these six rules are presented here in the context of a wider analysis of the emergence of practice-led research and its current conditions of possibility as a research method.

Celebrating a Common and Uncommon Ground - A Case Study

Interaction design is about finding better ways for people to interact with each other through communication technologies. Interaction design involves understanding how people learn, work and play so that we can engineer better, more valuable technologies that are more appropriate to the contexts of their lives. As an academic discipline, interaction design is about the people-research that underpins these technologies. As a comparative tool for business it is about creating innovations that have market pull rather than a technology push. Many examples can be found which demonstrate the value of interaction design within both industry and academia, however finding the common ground between this spectrum of activity is often difficult. Differences in language, approach and outcomes often lead to researchers from either side of the spectrum complaining of an uncommon ground, which often results in a lack of collaboration within such projects. However, as demonstrated through this case study, rather than focussing on finding a common ground to assist in better collaboration between industry and academia, celebrating the uniqueness of each approach whilst bridging them with a common language can lead to new knowledge and commercial innovation. This case study will focus on the research and development phase of a Diversionary Therapy Platform, a collaboration between the Australasian CRC for Interaction Design and The Royal Children's Hospital (Brisbane, Australia). This collaborative effort has led to the formation of a new commercial venture, Diversionary Therapy Pty Ltd, which aims to bring to the market the research outcomes from the project. The case study will outline the collaborative research and development process undertaken between the many stakeholders and reflect on the challenges identified within this process. A key finding from this collaboration was allowing for the co-existence of the common and uncommon ground throughout the project. This concept will be discussed further throughout this paper.