Product development with a focus on attractive product expression: an analysis of case studies

Creating outstanding products is vital for a company's endurance in competitive markets. A mix of functionality, ergonomics, aesthetics, symbols and price aspects all play a role in making a product desirable.Some products carry a personal meaning for its user. Others communicate its user's identity or the company's brand image. This study concentrates on communicative and meaningful aspects in a product's design. It examines how the creation of a communicative design occurs during the new product development process. The present research has an exploratory nature. For the field research, the case study method was chosen and a guideline for semi-directed interviews developed. This interview guideline was used to analyse multiple product development projects in two distinct companies. In two projects, specific attention was given to communicative aspects in the product‘s design. These two projects are examined in this paper.In the two selected projects, the product development teams carefully studied the users' preferences for aesthetics and product messages. A user-centred approach was used in both development processes. The choice to purposely improve the communicative value of the product's design was on the one hand influenced by the limited possibilities to create other advantages, such as improving the product's functionality or reducing its cost price. A weakness in the competitor's design strategy allowed the successful improvement of the product's communication on the other hand.User-centred Product ; Design Management Process ; New Product Development Process ; Development Product Expression ; Product Meaning ; Product Language ; Product Value

The precarious nature of curatorial work

Book chapte

Optimal Extraction of Fibre Optic Spectroscopy

We report an optimal extraction methodology, for the reduction of multi-object fibre spectroscopy data, operating in the regime of tightly packed (and hence significantly overlapping) fibre profiles. The routine minimises crosstalk between adjacent fibres and statistically weights the extraction to reduce noise. As an example of the process we use simulations of the numerous modes of operation of the AAOmega fibre spectrograph and observational data from the SPIRAL Integral Field Unit at the Anglo-Australian Telescope.Comment: Accepted for publication in PAS

Tissue-Engineered Larynx: Future Applications in Laryngeal Cancer

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article reviews the latest developments in tissue engineering for the larynx with a specific focus on the treatment of laryngeal cancer. RECENT FINDINGS: Challenges in tissue engineering a total larynx can be divided into scaffold design, methods of re-mucosalization, and how to restore laryngeal function. The literature described a range of methods to deliver a laryngeal scaffold including examples of synthetic, biomimetic, and biological scaffolds. Methods to regenerate laryngeal mucosa can be divided into examples that use a biological dressing and those that engineer a new mucosal layer de novo. Studies aiming to restore laryngeal function have been reported, but to date, the optimum method for achieving this as part of a total laryngeal transplant is yet to be determined. SUMMARY: There is great potential for tissue engineering to improve the treatments available for laryngeal cancer within the next 10 years. A number of challenges exist however and advances in restoring function must keep pace with developments in scaffold design

Counting statistics for mesoscopic conductors with internal degrees of freedom

We consider the transport of electrons passing through a mesoscopic device possessing internal dynamical quantum degrees of freedom. The mutual interaction between the system and the conduction electrons contributes to the current fluctuations, which we describe in terms of full counting statistics. We identify conditions where this discriminates coherent from incoherent internal dynamics, and also identify and illustrate conditions under which the device acts to dynamically bunch transmitted or reflected electrons, thereby generating super-Poissonian noise.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

MANURE BMP ADOPTION AMONG NORTH DAKOTA ANIMAL FEED OPERATIONS

Regulations governing animal waste storage are primarily a state-level issue. Protecting water resources from animal waste contamination will depend upon how effective state-level animal waste regulations are in encouraging livestock producers to handle waste appropriately. Survey results from North Dakota indicate beef cattle feeding operations do not always comply with state regulations requiring adoption of manure storage BMP's. This is most likely due to incomplete inspection schedules by the regulatory agency. Statistical results suggest herd size plays a much larger role than regulation in promoting adoption of manure storage BMP's.Livestock Production/Industries,

Qualitative Inquiry as a Method to Extract Personal Narratives: Approach to Research into Organizational Climate Change Mitigation

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that qualitative inquiry is highly effective at facilitating the extraction of personal narratives of senior managers in the New Zealand (NZ) public sector. Specifically, in this article I lay out the method used to develop theme-based narratives from semi-structured interviews with senior managers responsible for the delivery of the Communities for Climate Protection and the Carbon Neutral Public Service programs in NZ. In doing so, I demonstrate why qualitative inquiry is the ideal methodological approach for this kind of research program. Further, in demonstrating the research approach, this article may provide policy makers with insight into how to explore the cognitions of senior managers involved with carbon mitigation initiatives, and/ or the nuances of the initiatives themselves. This in turn may provide insight into how to weave climate and carbon management policies with other national strategic policies

Disease activity and cognition in rheumatoid arthritis : an open label pilot study

Acknowledgements This work was supported in part by NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre. Funding for this study was provided by Abbott Laboratories. Abbott Laboratories were not involved in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; or in the writing of the report.Peer reviewedPublisher PD