Creative Science Injecting Innovation into the IT Industry

Product innovation can be both an opportunity and a concern for IT companies. Those driving innovation can gain unprecedented market openings, while those trailing can risk disaster. Companies such as Kodak and Nokia clearly show how disruptive innovations can threaten even the largest technological giants. Hence, companies both small and large have a keen interest in methods with the potential of improving their product innovation capability. In this article, I will describe a new product innovation tool called Science-Fiction Prototyping (SFP) which, perhaps surprisingly, seeks to encourage scientists and engineers to write fictional stories about their work. The story of SFP began with Brian Johnson, Intel's Futurist. Intel is the dominant company in the manufacture of integrated circuits (chips) for computers. Companies producing integrated circuits face a particularly difficult challenge as it can take 7+ years from the conception of a new chip to its delivery to customers which, in terms of current product and market dynamics, is a very long time. For example, new versions of mobile phones, pads and desktops appear as frequently as every 18 months meaning that chip designers need to think up to 4 generations ahead, a daunting challenge. Compounding the difficulties, traditional engineering education doesn't always prepare engineers well for tasks that need creative skills. Step in Brian David Johnson, Intel's futurist who had the idea that, if engineers were asked to write fiction rather than fact about extrapolating their technologies forward, it might help them escape the shackles of worrying about whether the technology would work, and allow them to make imaginative leaps that, in turn, could serve as motivational visions for their R&D programmes. The fictions he advocated were based on science, but extrapolated into the future and acting as prototypes to evaluate new ideas ….. Science-Fiction Prototyping (SFP) was born! The deliberately detailed analogy to real-life was an important feature which allowed SFP to function as a prototype (a narrative based simulation of a future reality) whereby different stakeholders could assess the idea's feasibility and usefulness, which differentiated it from earlier scenario or design-fiction based approaches. In parallel, Essex University were faced with the need to make a presentation to a non-technical audience at the 2004 United Nations Habitat Forum, explaining the risks that pervasive computing technologies presented to individual privacy. For that event we adopted a series of fictional vignettes to provide a conversation bridge between the researchers and the largely non-technical audience. The final piece of the jigsaw was a chance meeting with Brian Johnson at IE'07 in Ulm which brought together these two facets of science-fiction, prototyping and communications, giving birth to the Creative Science Foundation CSf (www.creative-science.org) with a mission to facilitate conversations between professionals and society at large, connecting companies/researchers to their customers and thereby enabling conversations about the kind of futures and innovations we all want. In the remainder of this article some current SFP activities will be described

Nash Equilibrium and International Law

Game theory has been a mainstay in the international relations literature for several decades, but its appearance in the international law literature is of a far more recent vintage. Recent accounts have harnessed game theory\u27s alleged lessons in service of a new brand of realism about international law. These skeptical accounts conclude that international law loses its normative force because states that \u27follow international law merely are participants in a Prisoner\u27s Dilemma seeking to achieve self-interested outcomes. Such claims are not just vastly exaggerated; they represent a profound misunderstanding about the significance of game theory. Properly conceived, the best way to understand international law is as a Nash Equilibrium-a focal point that states gravitate toward as they make rational decisions regarding strategy in light of strategies selected by other states. In domains where international law has the greatest purchase, the preferred strategy is reciprocal compliance with international norms. This strategy is consistent with the normativity of law and morality, both of which are characterized by self-interested actors who accept reciprocal constraints on action to generate Nash Equilibria and, ultimately, a stable social contract. These agents- constrained maximizers, as the philosopher David Gauthier calls them-accept the constraints of a normative system in order to achieve cooperative benefits. This Essay concludes by explaining that it is also rational for states to comply with these constraints: agents evaluate competing plans and strategies, select the best course of action, and then stick to their decision, rather than obsessively reevaluating their chosen strategy at each moment in time. A state that defects from international law when the opportunity arises may, in the long run, reduce its overall payoff as compared to a state that selects and adheres to a strategy of constrained maximization

The effect of opioid therapy on sleep quality in patients with chronic non-malignant pain : a systematic review and exploratory meta-analysis

Current guidelines recommend opioid therapy to chronic non-malignant pain (CNP) patients when the benefits for pain and function outweigh risks. This systematic review examined the effects of opioid therapy on sleep – a valued functional outcome– in CNP. Electronic and hand searches of relevant studies up through July 2017 identified 18 eligible studies providing data from 3,746 CNP patients for analysis. Twelve of these studies were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of up to 12-month in duration. Low-medium dosed oxycodone and transdermal fentanyl were the most tested therapies (n=4 each). Only two studies used objective sleep measure in addition to self-report ratings, questionnaires or sleep diary. Whilst calmer sleep with less body/leg movements and fewer awakenings could be achieved following opioid therapy, these might occur with increased sleep-disordered breathing and a much-shortened rapid eye movement (REM) sleep latency. Both the narrative synthesis and exploratory meta-analysis suggest that opioid therapy in CNP is associated with improved self-reported sleep quality. However, the effect is inconsistent, small (Standardised Mean Difference = 0.36), and may be accompanied by excessive daytime sleepiness. As a Cochrane-recommended assessment revealed “unclear” or “high” overall risk of bias for all studies, future opioid trials of stronger methodology and better reporting are needed to confirm and elucidate the effect

Vitamin E supplementation of newly arrived feedlot calves

Seven hundred fifteen crossbred (primarily British) calves purchased in southern Oklahoma and northern Texas auction barns were received at the Willard Sparks Beef Research Center, Stillwater, OK, and used to study effects of duration (days) of vitamin E feeding during a 42-d receiving period on animal performance, health, and serum cholesterol and vitamin E concentrations. Upon arrival, calves were blocked by load (seven loads), sorted by BW (light, n = 4 pens per load; and heavy, n = 4 pens per load), and assigned randomly to one of four dietary treatments (n = 2 pens per load; 14 pens per treatment). Experimental diets were formulated to provide 2,000 IU calf^-1 d^-1 of supplemental vitamin E (DL-alpha-tocopherol acetate) for 0 (CON), 7 (E7), 14 (E14), or 28 (E28) d. Vitamin E was delivered in a pelleted supplement that was added to the basal diet in decreasing concentrations as DMI increased (2.0 kg of DMI = 6%; 4.0 kg of DMI = 4%; and 6.0 kg of DMI = 2%). Serum samples were collected on d 0, 14, 28, and 42 for determination of cholesterol, alpha-tocopherol (d 0, 28, and 42), and antibody (IgG) concentrations. Duration of vitamin E supplementation did not affect ADG (0.98 kg/d; P = 0.56) or G:F (0.189; P = 0.87). Serum cholesterol concentrations decreased (day effect; P < 0.001) for all treatments from d 0 (average = 127 mg/100 mL) to 14 (average = 62 mg/100 mL). Serum alpha-tocopherol decreased (day effect; P < 0.001) from d 0 (5.2 micro-g/mL) to 28 (1.8 micro-g/mL); however, on d 28, a greater (P < 0.001) serum alpha-tocopherol concentration was observed for E28 (3.4 micro-g/mL) calves than for CON (1.1 micro-g/mL), E7 (1.2 micro-g/mL), or E14 (1.5 micro-g/mL) calves. Respiratory disease was diagnosed in 64.6% of calves in this study. Medical costs were less (P = 0.08) for calves fed vitamin E for 28 d ($4.88/calf) than for calves fed the control diet ($6.29/calf). Carcass characteristics were not affected (P = 0.19 to 0.88) by dietary treatments. Supplemental vitamin E formulated for 2,000 IU calf^-1 d^-1 had little influence on performance and overall health status of calves under our experimental conditions; however, the increased serum concentrations of alpha-tocopherol when vitamin E was fed for 28 d suggests that any potential effects of vitamin E on health status might be time-dependent.Peer reviewedAnimal ScienceVeterinary PathobiologyVeterinary Medicine OutreachStatistic

Design Fiction

Ein Ziel von Zukunftsbildern ist es, in der Gegenwart Handlungsoptionen anzubieten, um ein zielgerichtetes Gestaltsehen zu ermöglichen. Je breiter der Rezipientenkreis ist, für den die Zukunftsbilder aufbereitet werden müssen, desto komplizierter gestaltet sich jedoch die De- und Rekontextualisierung der Ergebnisse. Die Arbeit geht der Frage nach, wie Zukunftsbilder beschaffen sein müssen und welchen Kriterien sie zu genügen bzw. welchen Formaten sie zu entsprechen haben, um Zukunftsdenken zu inspirieren und einen breiten Kreis von Adressaten zu erreichen und in Diskurse zu involvieren. Eine Antwort darauf bietet das Konzept der “Design Fiction”, welches tangible Zukunftsentwürfe entwirft und entwickelt. Neben einer Beschreibung der historischen Genese und Typologie sowie Funktion von Design Fiction, wird die Arbeit umrahmt von einer Einführung in die Bedeutung von Denkstilen und Denkkollektiven (Ludwik Fleck) und einer literaturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchung zur Wirkungsweise von Narrationen - im speziellen in der Gattung der Science Fiction - auf die Kollektivimagination exoterischer Kreise

Characterization of KNDy Neuronal Activity in Gilts: Distribution and Effect of A Progestin

Puberty is a process that incorporates a large array of both external factors and internal signals. The endocrinology of puberty has been studied in a number of mammalian species and typically depends upon an increase in hypothalamic secretion of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH). Neural inputs regulating GnRH secretion during the pubertal process are not completely understood. In the past decade, attention has focused on the role for a particular set of neurons located in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus. They have been named KNDy neurons because they coexpress kisspeptin, neurokinin B (NKB) and dynorphin and have been shown to stimulate (kisspeptin, NKB) or inhibit (dynorphin) GnRH and luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. While KNDy neurons have been studied extensively in primates, rodents, and sheep, almost nothing is known about this system in porcine, a species of significant agricultural importance. Our studies describe an initial foray into characterizing this system in the porcine hypothalamus. We first determined that, similar to other species, kisspeptin was expressed in the ARC and that NKB and kisspeptin were coexpressed in this region to a very high extent. We then examined the distribution of receptors for NKB (NK3R) and found them to be expressed in the preoptic area (POA) and several areas of the hypothalamus, including the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and retrochiasmatic area (RCh). However, there was no evidence of NK3R expression in the ARC. The NK3R-positive cells found in the POA did not co-localize with GnRH but expressed close contacts with GnRH neurons. We then used gilts that were ovariectomized (OVX) or OVX and treated with Altrenogest (OVXA), a progestin, to test the hypothesis that Altrenogest would suppress kisspeptin and NKB immunopositive cell numbers in the ARC and NK3R-positive cell numbers throughout the hypothalamus. Surprisingly, kisspeptin containing cell numbers tended to be increased (p = 0.09) in in OVXA gilts (n = 6) compared to their OVX, untreated counterparts (n = 6). In addition, there was no significant change in NKB-positive cell numbers in response to Altrenogest. Subsequent analysis determined a tendency (p = 0.08) for a decrease in the percentage of kisspeptin neurons expressing c-Fos, a marker of neural activation, in OVXA versus OVX gilts. There was no effect of Altrenogest on NK3R-positive cell numbers in any area. These studies mark one of the first investigations into the KNDy system in swine. Many of the characteristics examined here are similar to that previously reported for other mammalian species, with the notable exception of an absence of NK3R expression within the ARC. Treatment with a progestin did not suppress kisspeptin or NKB expression but did tend to reduce activity of kisspeptin neurons. These results suggest that, similar to other species, KNDy neurons likely play an important role in regulating reproduction in swine

Caring for Our Common Home: 'Écologie Intégrale' as Political Theology among French Catholics

This thesis is an exploration of ‘integral ecology’, a new paradigm of Catholic political theology, through an ethnography of Les Alternatives Catholiques, a prominent Lyon-based association of lay Catholic intellectuals. A cornerstone of Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home, the term ‘integral ecology’ indexes the synergy between climate change and global socioeconomic inequality, suggesting that ‘all is connected’. Drawing on Laudato Si’, Les AlterCathos host conferences on political participation and green conversion, and run a café as a microcosm for their advocacy of a holistic, environmental and human ‘Common Good’. This case study of public Catholic praxis in secular Republican France brings into conversation the concerns of three anthropological traditions, which have respectively addressed Catholic lives, the ethical self- formation of religious actors, and the presence of religion in modern public spheres. Intended as a positive counterpart to the anthropological work on pious religiosity, this thesis aims to take seriously the ‘worldly’ commitments of religious institutions and actors, suggesting political theology as a locus of anthropological and ethnographic investigation. Ethnographies of Islam in France have exposed the uneasy place of religion in the secular Republic; here, I offer a parallel inquiry into French Catholicism. I demonstrate, firstly, that the place of Catholics in the French Republic is simultaneously central and marginal – both in their political participation in the public sphere, and in their cultural relationship with the sphere of education. I situate the rise of ‘integral ecology’ as an explicitly Catholic politics in the national aftermath of the 2012-2013 anti-same-sex-marriage and anti-surrogate-pregnancy protest ‘La Manif Pour Tous’, widely viewed by the public as a religious incursion into secular politics. This bioethical protest, predating Laudato Si’, ineluctably set the stage for all subsequent attempts by French Catholics to politically or discursively defend ‘Nature’ and ‘mankind’. It is in this equivocal context that the lay philosophers of Les Alternatives Catholiques articulate Laudato Si’ and the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church into political guidelines, through public conferences. I address the ways in which Les AlterCathos authoritatively spearhead a turn to Catholic environmentalism through the day-to-day running of their café and, by including lapsed Catholics and non-Catholics as participants, negotiate the place of belief and piety in their efforts. Finally, I argue that the praxis of integral ecology relies on the cultivation of subsidiarity – and show how this advocacy of small-scale, locally-situated lifestyles runs against two hurdles: the narratives of Republican commentators who fear a reactionary promotion of the (rural and Christian) ‘roots’ of France, and the discourses of segments of the Catholic population who do uphold just such an ‘integralist’ stance. This work offers a case study of lay Catholics’ efforts to combine religious, political, and philosophical epistemologies, and to position their praxis within and besides the institutions of the Catholic Church. Attending to the modes of subjectivation of this instance of political theology, the thesis endeavours to showcase the worldly modalities of ‘caring for Our Common Home’ as a political and spiritual project.William Wyse Studentship in Social Anthropology European Scholarship (Cambridge Trust) Honorary Vice-Chancellor's Award (Cambridge Trust) University Fieldwork Fund William Wyse Fieldwork Fund Richards Fieldwork Fun