Learning to talk to users in participatory design situations

In participatory design situations the competence of the facilitator will influence the opportunities for a user group to become engaged in the process of design. Based on the observation of the conversations from a series of design workshops, the performance of design facilitation expertise by an expert architect is compared with a less experienced architectural graduate. The skills that are the focus of this research are the conversational competences deployed by architects to engage users in the design of an architectural project. The difference between the conversational behaviour of a project architect and a less experienced graduate was observed to illustrate with examples the effect the performance of facilitation had on the opportunity for user engagement in design, and of learning the skill of facilitation that occurred in these situations.

Antioxidant and cellular activities of anthocyanins and their corresponding vitisins A - studies in platelets, monocytes, and human endothelial cells

During red wine aging, there is a loss of anthocyanins and the formation of various other pigments, so-called vitisins A, which are formed through the chemical interaction of the original anthocyanins with pyruvic acid. The objective of this study was to investigate the antioxidant activities of the most abundant anthocyanins present in red wine (glycosides of delphinidin, petunidin, and malvidin) and their corresponding vitisins A. Anthocyanins exhibited a higher iron reducing as well as 2,2'-azinobis (3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) and peroxyl radical scavenging activity than their corresponding vitisins A. Delphinidin showed the highest antioxidant effect of the tested compounds in all of the assays used. Furthermore, we studied the effect of anthocyanins and vitisins A on platelet aggregation and monocyte and endothelial function. Anthocyanins and vitisins did not affect nitric oxide production and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) secretion in lipopolysaccharide plus interferon-gamma-activated macrophages. Furthermore, anthocyanins and vitisins did not change collagen-induced platelet aggregation in vitro. However, anthocyanins and to a lesser extent vitisins exhibited protective effects against TNF-alpha-induced monocyte chemoattractant protein production in primary human endothelial cells.

Advances in module design for membrane distillation

This review looks at the work carried out over the past 15 years on membrane distillation and reports the conditions utilized for research. The process is still used mainly at the laboratory scale, but a few pilot plants have been built across the world, mostly for desalination and the production of potable water. Studies into membrane distillation have been concerned with the effect of mass transfer, heat transfer, and stirring rate, but the most important effect that has to be considered with this process is temperature polarization. A section on temperature polarization and the effect of boundary layers is included in this review.

Context-based interaction design for smart homes

This paper presents the notion of Context-based Activity Design (CoBAD) that represents context with its dynamic changes and normative activities in an interactive system design. The development of CoBAD requires an appropriate context ontology model and inference mechanisms. The incorporation of norms and information field theory into Context State Transition Model, and the implementation of new conflict resolution strategies based on the specific situation are discussed. A demonstration of CoBAD using a human agent scenario in a smart home is also presented. Finally, a method of treating conflicting norms in multiple information fields is proposed.

Organizational design as an enabler for innovation: evidence from a German Mechanical Engineering Company

Over the past two decades there has been a profusion of empirical studies of organizational design and its relationship to efficiency, productivity and flexibility of an organization. In parallel, there has been a wide range of studies about innovation management in different kind of industries and firms. However, with some exceptions, the organizational and innovation management bodies of literature tend to examine the issues of organizational design and innovation management individually, mainly in the context of large firms operating at the technological frontier. There seems to be a scarcity of empirical studies that bring together organizational design and innovation and examine them empirically and over time in the context of small and medium sized enterprises. This dissertation seeks to provide a small contribution in that direction. This dissertation examines the dynamic relationship between organizational design and innovation. This relationship is examined on the basis of a single-case design in a medium sized mechanical engineering company in Germany. The covered time period ranges from 1958 until 2009, although the actual focus falls on the recent past. This dissertation draws on first-hand qualitative empirical evidence gathered through extensive field work. The main findings are: 1. There is always a bundle of organizational dimensions which impacts innovation. These main organizational design dimensions are: (1) Strategy & Leadership, (2) Resources & Capabilities, (3) Structure, (4) Culture, (5) Networks & Partnerships, (6) Processes and (7) Knowledge Management. However, the importance of the different organizational design dimensions changes over time. While for example for the production of simple, standardized parts, a simple organizational design was appropriate, the company needed to have a more advanced organizational design in order to be able to produce customized, complex parts with high quality. Hence the technological maturity of a company is related to its organizational maturity. 2. The introduction of innovations of the analyzed company were highly dependent on organizational conditions which enabled their introduction. The results of the long term case study show, that some innovations would not have been introduced successfully if the organizational elements like for example training and qualification, the build of network and partnerships or the acquisition of appropriate resources and capabilities, were not in place. Hence it can be concluded, that organizational design is an enabling factor for innovation. These findings contribute to advance our understanding of the complex relationship between organizational design and innovation. This highlights the growing importance of a comprehensive, innovation stimulating organizational design of companies. The results suggest to managers that innovation is not only dependent on a single organizational factor but on the appropriate, comprehensive design of the organization. Hence manager should consider to review regularly the design of their organizations in order to maintain a innovation stimulating environment.

Applying negotiation skills in the design of public policies: analysis of the city of São Paulo’s invoice program

The author argues that by applying problem-solving negotiation skills in the design of public policies, public administrators benefit from more effective and wide-ranging outcomes in the realization of their goals. In order to demonstrate this idea, the author analyzes how negotiation skills – such as identifying key actors and their interests, recognizing hardbargaining tactics and changing the players, knowing your best alternative, creating value and building trust – permeated and contributed to the success of the City of São Paulo’s Invoice Program (“Programa Nota Fiscal Paulistana”), a public policy aimed at combating tax evasion of service tax in the City of São Paulo.

The mineralizing fluid in the Piaba gold deposit, São Luís cratonic fragment (NW-Maranhão, Brazil) based on fluid inclusion studies in quartz veins

O depósito aurífero de Piaba tornou-se a primeira mina em operação no fragmento cratônico São Luís, noroeste do Maranhão. Seu ambiente geológico compreende rochas metavulcanossedimentares do Grupo Aurizona e granitoides da Suíte Tromaí, entre outras unidades menores, formadas em ambiente de arcos de ilhas entre 2240 e 2150 Ma, juntamente com outras unidades menores. A mineralização é caracterizada por uma trama stockwork de veios e vênulas de quartzo com seus halos de alteração (clorita + muscovita + carbonato + pirita + calcopirita e ouro) hospedada em um granodiorito granofírico fino (Granófiro Piaba) e em rocha subvulcânica andesítica do Grupo Aurizona. O corpo mineralizado é espacialmente limitado à zona de cisalhamento ENE-WSW rúptil-dúctil (Falha Piaba). Estudos petrográficos, microtermométricos e por espectroscopia microRaman no quartzo definiram inclusões aquo-carbônicas bifásicas e trifásicas, produzidas por aprisionamento heterogêneo durante separação de fases, e fluidos aquosos tardios. A solução mineralizadora corresponde a um fluido aquo-carbônico composto por CO₂ (5 - 24 mol%, densidade de 0,96 - 0,99 g/cm³), H₂O (74 - 93 mol%), N₂ (< 1 mol%), CH₄ (<1mol%) e 5,5 % em peso NaCl equivalente. O minério depositou a 267 - 302ºC e 1,25 - 2,08 kbar, correspondendo a profundidades de 4 a 7 km, em consonância com o regime estrutural. A composição e o intervalo de P-T do fluido mineralizador, combinados com o caráter redutor (log ƒ_O2 -31,3 a -34,3) e a sulfetação da rocha hospedeira, sugerem que o ouro foi transportado como um complexo sulfetado. O minério foi depositado em consequência da separação de fase, redução da atividade de enxofre e da ƒO₂ pela interação fluido-rocha.

Farm tourism: a cross-country empirical study in Germany and Italy

PROBLEM In the last few years farm tourism or agritourism as it is also referred to has enjoyed increasing success because of its generally acknowledged role as a promoter of economic and social development of rural areas. As a consequence, a plethora of studies have been dedicated to this tourist sector, focusing on a variety of issues. Nevertheless, despite the difficulties of many farmers to orient their business towards potential customers, the contribution of the marketing literature has been moderate. PURPOSE This dissertation builds upon studies which advocate the necessity of farm tourism to innovate itself according to the increasingly demanding needs of customers. Henceforth, the purpose of this dissertation is to critically evaluate the level of professionalism reached in the farm tourism market within a marketing approach. METHODOLOGY This dissertation is a cross-country perspective incorporating the marketing of farm tourism studied in Germany and Italy. Hence, the marketing channels of this tourist sector are examined both from the supply and the demand side by means of five exploratory studies. The data collection has been conducted in the timeframe of 2006 to 2009 in manifold ways (online survey, catalogues of industry associations, face-to-face interviews, etc.) according to the purpose of the research of each study project. The data have been analyzed using multivariate statistical analysis. FINDINGS A comprehensive literature review provides the state of the art of the main differences and similarities of farm tourism in the two countries of study. The main findings contained in the empirical chapters provide insights on many aspects of agritourism including how the expectations of farm operators and customers differ, which development scenarios of farm tourism are more likely to meet individuals’ needs, how new technologies can impact the demand for farm tourism, etc. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The value of this study is in the investigation of the process by which farmers’ participation in the development of this sector intersects with consumer consumption patterns. Focusing on this process should allow farm operators and others including related businesses to more efficiently allocate resources.

The role of collective action in the provision of agri-environmental public goods: theoretical development through case studies in Italy

The thesis aims at analysing the role of collective action as a viable alternative to the traditional forms of intervention in agriculture in order to encourage the provision of agri-environmental public goods. Which are the main benefits of collective action, in terms of effectiveness and efficiency, compared to traditional market or public intervention policies? What are the drivers that encourage farmers to participate into collective action? To what extent it is possible to incorporate collective aspects into policies aimed at providing agri-environmental public goods? With the objective of addressing these research questions, the thesis is articulated in two levels: a theoretical analysis on the role of collective action in the provision of public goods and a specific investigation of two local initiative,s were an approach collective management of agro-environmental resources was successfully implemented. The first case study concerns a project named “Custodians of the Territory”, developed by the local agency in Tuscany “Comunità Montana Media Valle del Serchio”, which settled for an agreement with local farmers for a collective provision of environmental services related to the hydro-geological management of the district. The second case study is related to the territorial agri-environmental agreement experimented in Valdaso (Marche), where local farmers have adopted integrated pest management practices collectively with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of their farming practices. The analysis of these initiatives, carried out through participatory methods (Rapid Rural Appraisal), allowed developing a theoretical discussion on the role of innovative tools (such as co-production and co-management) in the provision of agri-environmental public goods. The case studies also provided some recommendations on the government intervention and policies needed to promote successful collective action for the provision of agri-environmental public goods.

Biomolecular studies in Alzheimer’s Disease models: investigations in vitro and in vivo

The Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most prevalent form of age-related dementia, is a multifactorial and heterogeneous neurodegenerative disease. The molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of AD are yet largely unknown. However, the etiopathogenesis of AD likely resides in the interaction between genetic and environmental risk factors. Among the different factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of AD, amyloid-beta peptides and the genetic risk factor apoE4 are prominent on the basis of genetic evidence and experimental data. ApoE4 transgenic mice have deficits in spatial learning and memory associated with inflammation and brain atrophy. Evidences suggest that apoE4 is implicated in amyloid-beta accumulation, imbalance of cellular antioxidant system and in apoptotic phenomena. The mechanisms by which apoE4 interacts with other AD risk factors leading to an increased susceptibility to the dementia are still unknown. The aim of this research was to provide new insights into molecular mechanisms of AD neurodegeneration, investigating the effect of amyloid-beta peptides and apoE4 genotype on the modulation of genes and proteins differently involved in cellular processes related to aging and oxidative balance such as PIN1, SIRT1, PSEN1, BDNF, TRX1 and GRX1. In particular, we used human neuroblastoma cells exposed to amyloid-beta or apoE3 and apoE4 proteins at different time-points, and selected brain regions of human apoE3 and apoE4 targeted replacement mice, as in vitro and in vivo models, respectively. All genes and proteins studied in the present investigation are modulated by amyloid-beta and apoE4 in different ways, suggesting their involvement in the neurodegenerative mechanisms underlying the AD. Finally, these proteins might represent novel potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets in AD.

Nuclear structure studies in the xenon and radon region and the discovery of a new radon isotope by Penning trap mass spectrometry

Heutzutage gewähren hochpräzise Massenmessungen mit Penning-Fallen tiefe Einblicke in die fundamentalen Eigenschaften der Kernmaterie. Zu diesem Zweck wird die freie Zyklotronfrequenz eines Ions bestimmt, das in einem starken, homogenen Magnetfeld gespeichert ist. Am ISOLTRAP-Massenspektrometer an ISOLDE / CERN können die Massen von kurzlebigen, radioaktiven Nukliden mit Halbwertszeiten bis zu einigen zehn ms mit einer Unsicherheit in der Größenordnung von 10^-8 bestimmt werden. ISOLTRAP besteht aus einem Radiofrequenz-Quadrupol zum akkumulieren der von ISOLDE gelieferten Ionen, sowie zwei Penning-Fallen zum säubern und zur Massenbestimmung der Ionen. Innerhalb dieser Arbeit wurden die Massen von neutronenreichen Xenon- und Radonisotopen (138-146Xe und 223-229Rn) gemessen. Für elf davon wurde zum ersten Mal die Masse direkt bestimmt; 229Rn wurde im Zuge dieses Experimentes sogar erstmalig beobachtet und seine Halbwertszeit konnte zu ungefähr 12 s bestimmt werden. Da die Masse eines Nuklids alle Wechselwirkungen innerhalb des Kerns widerspiegelt, ist sie einzigartig für jedes Nuklid. Eine dieser Wechselwirkungen, die Wechselwirkung zwischen Protonen und Neutronen, führt zum Beispiel zu Deformationen. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist eine Verbindung zwischen kollektiven Effekten, wie Deformationen und Doppeldifferenzen von Bindungsenergien, sogenannten deltaVpn-Werten zu finden. Insbesondere in den hier untersuchten Regionen zeigen deltaVpn-Werte ein sehr ungewöhnliches Verhalten, das sich nicht mit einfachen Argumenten deuten lässt. Eine Erklärung könnte das Auftreten von Oktupoldeformationen in diesen Gebieten sein. Nichtsdestotrotz ist eine quantitative Beschreibung von deltaVpn-Werten, die den Effekt von solchen Deformationen berücksichtigt mit modernen Theorien noch nicht möglich.

Nucleon electromagnetic structure studies in the spacelike and timelike regions

The thesis investigates the nucleon structure probed by the electromagnetic interaction. One of the most basic observables, reflecting the electromagnetic structure of the nucleon, are the form factors, which have been studied by means of elastic electron-proton scattering with ever increasing precision for several decades. In the timelike region, corresponding with the proton-antiproton annihilation into a electron-positron pair, the present experimental information is much less accurate. However, in the near future high-precision form factor measurements are planned. About 50 years after the first pioneering measurements of the electromagnetic form factors, polarization experiments stirred up the field since the results were found to be in striking contradiction to the findings of previous form factor investigations from unpolarized measurements. Triggered by the conflicting results, a whole new field studying the influence of two-photon exchange corrections to elastic electron-proton scattering emerged, which appeared as the most likely explanation of the discrepancy. The main part of this thesis deals with theoretical studies of two-photon exchange, which is investigated particularly with regard to form factor measurements in the spacelike as well as in the timelike region. An extraction of the two-photon amplitudes in the spacelike region through a combined analysis using the results of unpolarized cross section measurements and polarization experiments is presented. Furthermore, predictions of the two-photon exchange effects on the e+p/e-p cross section ratio are given for several new experiments, which are currently ongoing. The two-photon exchange corrections are also investigated in the timelike region in the process pbar{p} -> e+ e- by means of two factorization approaches. These corrections are found to be smaller than those obtained for the spacelike scattering process. The influence of the two-photon exchange corrections on cross section measurements as well as asymmetries, which allow a direct access of the two-photon exchange contribution, is discussed. Furthermore, one of the factorization approaches is applied for investigating the two-boson exchange effects in parity-violating electron-proton scattering. In the last part of the underlying work, the process pbar{p} -> pi0 e+e- is analyzed with the aim of determining the form factors in the so-called unphysical, timelike region below the two-nucleon production threshold. For this purpose, a phenomenological model is used, which provides a good description of the available data of the real photoproduction process pbar{p} -> pi0 gamma.

STrengthening the reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology-Molecular Epidemiology (STROBE-ME): an extension of the STROBE statement

Advances in laboratory techniques have led to a rapidly increasing use of biomarkers in epidemiological studies. Biomarkers of internal dose, early biological change, susceptibility, and clinical outcomes are used as proxies for investigating the interactions between external and/or endogenous agents and the body components or processes. The need for improved reporting of scientific research led to influential statements of recommendations such as STrengthening Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement. The STROBE initiative established in 2004 aimed to provide guidance on how to report observational research. Its guidelines provide a user-friendly checklist of 22 items to be reported in epidemiological studies, with items specific to the three main study designs: cohort studies, case-control studies and cross-sectional studies. The present STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology-Molecular Epidemiology (STROBE-ME) initiative builds on the STROBE Statement implementing 9 existing items of STROBE and providing 17 additional items to the 22 items of STROBE checklist. The additions relate to the use of biomarkers in epidemiological studies, concerning collection, handling and storage of biological samples; laboratory methods, validity and reliability of biomarkers; specificities of study design; and ethical considerations. The STROBE-ME recommendations are intended to complement the STROBE recommendations.