Práticas contra-hegemônicas; interação dinâmica entre agonismo, commoning e design estratégico

Today we can see new policies that suggest more participatory models to address societal challenges. The interest in design and different forms of urban labs is also increasing. This includes participatory design (PD) that has moved out of the workplace into the urban territory. In this paper we will argue that the main contribution from PD is to set up processes that can support and critically reflect on local democracy in relation to these challenges. We will look closer into the notions of commoning and agonism, two concepts that both contest the concept of participation and expand what could be required to constitute local democracy. Through a project journey spanning over seven years, we will discuss how these concepts could be used to guide processes of infrastructuring in democratic urban development processes. However, working with them poses several obstacles, including tensions between them as well as with the notion of strategic design. We will argue that in order to introduce them in a strategic design perspective, you need to consider long-term interventions and diverse levels of engagement as well as different phases where agonistic and commoning approaches are alternated with more strategic engagements of developing networks with powerful alliances.Keywords: participatory design, democracy, infrastructuring, agonism, commoning.Hoje podemos ver novas políticas que sugerem modelos mais participativos para enfrentar os desafios da sociedade. O interesse no design e em diferentes formas de laboratórios urbanos também está aumentando. Isto inclui o design participativo (PD) que saiu do local de trabalho e se deslocou para o território urbano. Neste artigo vamos argumentar que a principal contribuição do PD é a criação de processos que podem apoiar e refletir criticamente sobre a democracia local em relação a estes desafios. Aprofundaremos as noções de commoning e agonismo; dois conceitos que tanto contestam o conceito de participação quanto expandem o que poderia ser necessário para a constituição de uma democracia local. Discutiremos, por meio da observação de um projeto de sete anos, como esses conceitos poderiam ser usados para orientar os processos de infraestruturação em processos democráticos de desenvolvimento urbano. No entanto, eles trazem consigo vários obstáculos, entre as quais as tensões entre eles, bem como com a noção de design estratégico. Sustentaremos que, para que eles sejam introduzidos em uma perspectiva de design estratégico, torna-se necessário considerar intervenções de longo prazo e diversos níveis de envolvimento, bem como diferentes fases onde abordagens agonistas e de commoning se alternam com os compromissos mais estratégicos da construção de redes com alianças poderosas.Palavras-chave: design participativo, democracia, infraestruturação, agonismo, commoning

Educazione sanitaria sugli effetti della guerra: progetto pilota di comunicazione scientifica nelle scuole

Deaths and injuries are the most immediate effects of war, but war also causes living conditions to fall below minimum levels, favours the spread of disease and makes health interventions difficult. Thus the first victims of modern war are civilians. A communication project aimed at raising awareness among youth on the effects of conflicts on the health conditions of the population has been developed. Three case studies have been identified: acute emergency (Darfur), chronic conflict (Palestine), historic conflict (Vietnam) - collecting scientific documentation on the health effects of war in these countries. Three school modules have been developed, providing the students with extracurricular scientific tools for dealing with the subject "war and health". This document describes the implementation of the modules on a class of secondary school and offers suggestions for further implementations by epidemiologists and teachers

Prevalence and prenatal ultrasound detection of clubfoot in a non-selected population: an analysis of 549 931 births in Tuscany

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and prenatal ultrasound detection of clubfoot in Tuscany during a period of 20 years. Methods: This is a descriptive analysis on data from the Tuscan register of congenital defects, covering a 20-year period from 1992 to 2011. The Tuscan registry of congenital defects is a population-based register for the epidemiologic surveillance of congenital anomalies. The study included all cases of pre- or postnatally diagnosed clubfoot (isolated clubfoot and cases associated with other congenital defects). Overall prevalence and pre-natal detection rates were calculated. Results: Among the 549 931 deliveries recorded in Tuscany between 1992 and 2011, 858 cases of clubfoot were registered, with a prevalence of 1.56/1000. Seventy-eight percent of cases were isolated. The detection rate was higher when the defect was associated with other anomalies compared to isolated forms. Over the study period, there was a substantial improvement in the prenatal detection of clubfoot (from 11 to 31% overall). For isolated forms, detection rate improved from 4 to 16%, and for cases associated with other congenital defects, it increased from 43 to 73%. Conclusion: Prevalence of clubfoot in Tuscany is 1.56 per 1000 births, in agreement with the incidence reported in epidemiological studies in Europe. Prenatal detection of clubfoot improved over time. The detection rate was higher in cases associated with other anomalies

The breakdown of the municipality as caring platform: lessons for co-design and co-learning in the age of platform capitalism

If municipalities were the caring platforms of the 19-20th century sharing economy, how does care manifest in civic structures of the current period? We consider how platforms - from the local initiatives of communities transforming neighbourhoods, to the city, in the form of the local authority - are involved, trusted and/or relied on in the design of shared services and amenities for the public good. We use contrasting cases of interaction between local government and civil society organisations in Sweden and the UK to explore trends in public service provision. We look at how care can manifest between state and citizens and at the roles that co-design and co-learning play in developing contextually sensitive opportunities for caring platforms. In this way, we seek to learn from platforms in transition about the importance of co-learning in political and structural contexts and make recommendations for the co-design of (digital) platforms to care with and for civil society

Silane-Mediated Expansion of Domains in Si-Doped κ-Ga2O3 Epitaxy and its Impact on the In-Plane Electronic Conduction

Unintentionally doped (001)-oriented orthorhombic κ-Ga2O3 epitaxial films on c-plane sapphire substrates are characterized by the presence of ≈ 10 nm wide columnar rotational domains that can severely inhibit in-plane electronic conduction. Comparing the in- and out-of-plane resistance on well-defined sample geometries, it is experimentally proved that the in-plane resistivity is at least ten times higher than the out-of-plane one. The introduction of silane during metal-organic vapor phase epitaxial growth not only allows for n-type Si extrinsic doping, but also results in the increase of more than one order of magnitude in the domain size (up to ≈ 300 nm) and mobility (highest µ ≈ 10 cm2V−1s−1, with corresponding lowest ρ ≈ 0.2 Ωcm). To qualitatively compare the mean domain dimension in κ-Ga2O3 epitaxial films, non-destructive experimental procedures are provided based on X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The results of this study pave the way to significantly improved in-plane conduction in κ-Ga2O3 and its possible breakthrough in new generation electronics. The set of cross-linked experimental techniques and corresponding interpretation here proposed can apply to a wide range of material systems that suffer/benefit from domain-related functional properties

Radical radiotherapy for paediatric solid tumour metastases:An overview of current European protocols and outcomes of a SIOPE multicenter survey

Purpose/objective: About 20% of children with solid tumours (ST) present with distant metastases (DM). Evidence regarding the use of radical radiotherapy of these DM is sparse and open for personal interpretation. The aim of this survey was to review European protocols and to map current practice regarding the irradiation of DM across SIOPE-affiliated countries. Materials/methods: Radiotherapy guidelines for metastatic sites (bone, brain, distant lymph nodes, lung and liver) in eight European protocols for rhabdomyosarcoma, non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft-tissue sarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, neuroblastoma and renal tumours were reviewed. SIOPE centres irradiating >= 50 children annually were invited to participate in an online survey. Results: Radiotherapy to at least one metastatic site was recommended in all protocols, except for high-risk neuroblastoma. Per protocol, dose prescription varied per site, and information on delineation and treatment planning/delivery was generally missing. Between July and September 2019, 20/27 centres completed the survey. Around 14% of patients were deemed to have DM from ST at diagnosis, of which half were treated with curative intent. A clear cut-off for a maximum number of DM was not used in half of the centres. Regardless of the tumour type and site, conventional radiotherapy regimens were most commonly used to treat DM. When stereotactic radiotherapy was used, a wide range of fractionation regimens were applied. Conclusion: Current radiotherapy guidelines for DM do not allow a consistent approach in a multicentre setting. Prospective (randomised) trials are needed to define the role of radical irradiation of DM from paediatric ST. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd

Reworlding: participatory design capabilities to tackle socio-environmental challenges

Rising societal polarisations around health and climate crises have brought more attention to the close relations between social and environmental challenges. These polarisations triggered an interest in the participatory design (PD) field in developing approaches that enhance connections between diverse actors operating across societal and environmental sectors. However, the capabilities needed for these approaches have not been sufficiently articulated in PD research and education. To fill in this gap, we define 'reworlding' as an operation of self-critique within PD that engages with capabilities needed to reveal and articulate radical interdependencies between humans and more-than-humans, across social and environmental worlds, and within situated contexts. We propose both the redefinition of the design capabilities needed for (re)connecting these worlds (retracing, reconnecting, reimagining and reinstitutioning), as well as a reconsideration of learning environments where these capabilities can be tested and enhanced

A Multilaboratory Comparison of Calibration Accuracy and the Performance of External References in Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) is a first principles based method to determine absolute sedimentation coefficients and buoyant molar masses of macromolecules and their complexes, reporting on their size and shape in free solution. The purpose of this multi-laboratory study was to establish the precision and accuracy of basic data dimensions in AUC and validate previously proposed calibration techniques. Three kits of AUC cell assemblies containing radial and temperature calibration tools and a bovine serum albumin (BSA) reference sample were shared among 67 laboratories, generating 129 comprehensive data sets. These allowed for an assessment of many parameters of instrument performance, including accuracy of the reported scan time after the start of centrifugation, the accuracy of the temperature calibration, and the accuracy of the radial magnification. The range of sedimentation coefficients obtained for BSA monomer in different instruments and using different optical systems was from 3.655 S to 4.949 S, with a mean and standard deviation of (4.304 ± 0.188) S (4.4%). After the combined application of correction factors derived from the external calibration references for elapsed time, scan velocity, temperature, and radial magnification, the range of s-values was reduced 7-fold with a mean of 4.325 S and a 6-fold reduced standard deviation of ± 0.030 S (0.7%). In addition, the large data set provided an opportunity to determine the instrument-to-instrument variation of the absolute radial positions reported in the scan files, the precision of photometric or refractometric signal magnitudes, and the precision of the calculated apparent molar mass of BSA monomer and the fraction of BSA dimers. These results highlight the necessity and effectiveness of independent calibration of basic AUC data dimensions for reliable quantitative studies