POSIWID and determinism in design for behaviour change

Copyright @ 2012 Social Services Research GroupWhen designing to influence behaviour for social or environmental benefit, does designers' intent matter? Or are the effects on behaviour more important, regardless of the intent involved? This brief paper explores -- in the context of design for behaviour change -- some treatments of design, intentionality, purpose and responsibility from a variety of fields, including Stafford Beer's "The purpose of a system is what it does" and Maurice Broady's perspective on determinism. The paper attempts to extract useful implications for designers working on behaviour-related problems, in terms of analytical or reflective questions to ask during the design process

Airborne Microalgae: Insights, Opportunities and Challenges

Airborne dispersal of microalgae has largely been a blind spot in environmental biological studies because of their low concentration in the atmosphere and the technical limitations in investigating microalgae from air samples. Recent studies show that airborne microalgae can survive air transportation and interact with the environment and possibly influence their deposition rates. This minireview presents a summary of these studies and traces the possible route, step-by-step, from established ecosystems to new habitats through air transportation over a variety of geographic scales. Emission, transportation, deposition and adaptation to atmospheric stress are discussed, as well as the consequences of their dispersal on health and environment, and the state-of-the-art techniques to detect and model airborne microalgae dispersal. More detailed studies on microalgae atmospheric-cycle, including for instance ice nucleation activity and transport simulations, are crucial for improving our understanding of microalgae ecology, identifying their interactions with the environment and preventing unwanted sanitary events or invasions

Tubulin-binding dibenz[c,e]oxepines: Part 2 Structural variation and biological evaluation as tumour vasculature disrupting agents

5,7-Dihydro-3,9,10,11-tetramethoxybenz[c,e]oxepin-4-ol 1, prepared from a dibenzyl ether precursor via Pd-catalysed intramolecular direct arylation, possesses broad-spectrum in vitro cytotoxicity towards various tumour cell lines, and induces vascular shutdown, necrosis and growth delay in tumour xenografts in mice at sub-toxic doses. The biological properties of 1 and related compounds can be attributed to their ability to inhibit microtubule assembly at the micromolar level, by binding reversibly to the same site of the tubulin αβ-heterodimer as colchicine 2 and the allocolchinol, N-acetylcolchinol 4

The academic–vocational divide in three Nordic countries : implications for social class and gender

In this study we examine how the academic–vocational divide is manifested today in Finland, Iceland and Sweden in the division between vocationally (VET) and academicallyoriented programmes at the upper-secondary school level. The paper is based on a critical re-analysis of results from previous studies; in it we investigate the implications of this divide for class and gender inequalities. The theoretical lens used for the synthesis is based on Bernstein´s theory of pedagogic codes. In the re-analysis we draw on previous studies of policy, curriculum and educational praxis as well as official statistics. The main conclusions are that contemporary policy and curriculum trends in all three countries are dominated by a neo-liberal discourse stressing principles such as “market relevance” and employability. This trend strengthens the academic–vocational divide, mainly through an organisation of knowledge in VET that separates it from more general and theoretical elements. This trend also seems to affect VET students’ transitions in terms of reduced access to higher education, particularly in male-dominated programmes. We also identify low expectations for VET students, manifested through choice of textbooks and tasks, organisation of teacher teams and the advice of career counsellors.Peer reviewe

Languages at Work: Defining the Place of Work-Integrated Learning in Language Studies

This chapter makes an argument for the place of Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) in tertiary language studies, with specific reference to the Spanish and German programs at the University of Melbourne. Incorporating WIL into our curricula has enabled us to connect students with local communities and cultural institutions, as well as provide them with work-relevant skills, in particular intercultural competence. Providing students with opportunities to develop work-relevant skills has seen us focus our energies not just on the more advanced-level language subjects where students are clearly suited to placements and internships, but also on beginner- and intermediate-level language subjects. An advantage of this whole-of-curriculum approach is that students understand the contemporary relevance of language study from the outset of their degree. Language study is often seen as something that adds value to another core degree and, as we incorporate WIL into our curriculum, it is our hope that we are able to articulate more clearly the value of language study to our diverse cohort of students