Viewing an Interdisciplinary Human-Centered Design Course as a Multiteam System: Perspectives on Cooperation and Information Sharing

Many design projects, including human-centered design (HCD) projects, incorporate multiple teams cooperating within what is referred to as a Multiteam System (MTS) environment. These teams mutually rely on resources and processes provided by other teams. As an MTS increases in complexity, knowledge is distributed to more individuals. While effectively distributed knowledge increases creativity and productivity, it is also can hinder team effectiveness. Team members may fail to exchange relevant information or to integrate pertinent information into reasoning for design decisions. Our research addresses information sharing among teams and individuals in HCD by examining interactions between and within the MTS (i.e., instructional team, novice designer or student team, and stakeholder team) in an interdisciplinary design course. Specifically, we used a thematic analysis of design reviews to investigate the influence of information requests toward the quality of the information exchanged, the influence of meeting structure and flow on design team interactions and meeting outcomes, and the influence of information sharing on cooperation within the HCD process. The findings align with previous studies about information sharing in a MTS and also contribute to a broad understanding of how an integrated interpretation of information sharing can influence a cooperative design process, such as HCD. Our analysis also suggests that designers must promote a cooperative decision-making process by eliciting open and unique information relevant to the design goals. Finally, design educators can support the development of novice engineers by improving their understanding of how to elicit information from, and share information, with other teams and stakeholders

Reducing Aggressive Responses to TCAS: Evaluation of a TCAS Training Program

The Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) is an aircraft collision avoidance system designed to prevent mid-air collisions. While responding to a TCAS advisory is generally the safe course of action, instances of overly aggressive responses have resulted in injuries to crew members and passengers as well as disruptions in air traffic operations. However, current training standards do not address the need to mitigate overly aggressive responses. This paper details the design and evaluation of a training program for TCAS which incorporated a learning objective related to mitigating aggressive responses to advisories. The impact of the training program was evaluated by comparing the results of two flight simulator experiments. These experiments examined “trained” and “untrained” pilot responses to TCAS advisories in an integrated flight deck-Air Traffic Control simulator. Overall, the training program had a significant impact on the pilots’ behavior and aggressive responses to TCAS advisories were decreased

Farm technical manual 1991

The Farm Technical Manual is a versatile reference book which brings into one place all manner of essential technical information required by farmers and others involved in the farming industry. The Manual has been designed with the practitioner in mind, providing data gleaned from many sources, but presented in non-technical language wherever possible

Up-Regulated Dicer Expression in Patients with Cutaneous Melanoma

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (18-24 nucleotides) that have recently been shown to regulate gene expression during cancer progression. Dicer, a central enzyme in the multi-component miRNA biogenesis pathway, is involved in cutting precursor miRNAs to functionally mature forms. Emerging evidence shows that Dicer expression is deregulated in some human malignancies and it correlates with tumor progression, yet this role has not yet been investigated in skin cancers. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Using an anti-human monoclonal antibody against Dicer and immunohistochemistry, we compared the expression of Dicer protein among 404 clinically annotated controls and skin tumors consisting of melanocytic nevi (n = 71), a variety of melanomas (n = 223), carcinomas (n = 73) and sarcomas (n = 12). Results showed a cell-specific up-regulated Dicer in 81% of cutaneous, 80% of acrolentiginous and 96% of metastatic melanoma specimens compared to carcinoma or sarcoma specimens (P<0.0001). The expression of Dicer was significantly higher in melanomas compared to benign melanocytic nevi (P<0.0001). In patients with cutaneous melanomas, Dicer up-regulation was found to be significantly associated with an increased tumor mitotic index (P = 0.04), Breslow's depth of invasion (P = 0.03), nodal metastasis (P = 0.04) and a higher American Joint Committee on Caner (AJCC) clinical stage (P = 0.009). Using western blot analysis, we confirmed the cell-specific up-regulation of Dicer protein in vitro. A pooled-analysis on mRNA profiling in cutaneous tumors showed up-regulation of Dicer at the RNA level in cutaneous melanoma, also showing deregulation of other enzymes that participate in the biogenesis and maturation of canonical miRNAs. CONCLUSIONS: Increased Dicer expression may be a clinically useful biomarker for patients with cutaneous melanoma. Understanding deregulation of Dicer and its influence on miRNA maturation is needed to predict the susceptibility of melanoma patients to miRNA-based therapy in the future

Financial budget manual 1988

The information contained in the manual is that ruling on or about 1 January 1988. Prices do not remain stationary so the Manual should be used as a guide only. Inflation, market movements and exchange rate changes, are just a few of the factors which can rapidly alter costs and prices. Information quoted has been provided by traders in centres throughout New Zealand, but some variation may occur between alternative suppliers and other areas. Trade names have been used for clarity and convenience; no preferential endorsement by the College is intended, nor is any criticism implied of any product which does not appear in the Manual. It should also be noted that prices are quoted exclusive of GST unless stated otherwise.The "Financial Budget Manual 1988" continues the series of Budget Manuals published by Lincoln College. This Manual contains a wealth of up to date information relating to the agricultural and horticultural industries of New Zealand. It is an invaluable reference book for farmers and growers, consultants and students. The Manual contains information on farm (and orchard) costs and prices, on the profitability of different farming enterprises, income taxation, and estate and gift duties. To the Editors' knowledge, the 1989 Financial Budget Manual is the only publication of its type in New Zealand

TGF-b2 induction regulates invasiveness of theileria-transformed leukocytes and disease susceptibility

Theileria parasites invade and transform bovine leukocytes causing either East Coast fever (T. parva), or tropical theileriosis (T. annulata). Susceptible animals usually die within weeks of infection, but indigenous infected cattle show markedly reduced pathology, suggesting that host genetic factors may cause disease susceptibility. Attenuated live vaccines are widely used to control tropical theileriosis and attenuation is associated with reduced invasiveness of infected macrophages in vitro. Disease pathogenesis is therefore linked to aggressive invasiveness, rather than uncontrolled proliferation of Theileria-infected leukocytes. We show that the invasive potential of Theileria-transformed leukocytes involves TGF-b signalling. Attenuated live vaccine lines express reduced TGF-b2 and their invasiveness can be rescued with exogenous TGF-b. Importantly, infected macrophages from disease susceptible Holstein-Friesian (HF) cows express more TGF-b2 and traverse Matrigel with great efficiency compared to those from disease-resistant Sahiwal cattle. Thus, TGF-b2 levels correlate with disease susceptibility. Using fluorescence and time-lapse video microscopy we show that Theileria-infected, disease-susceptible HF macrophages exhibit increased actin dynamics in their lamellipodia and podosomal adhesion structures and develop more membrane blebs. TGF-b2-associated invasiveness in HF macrophages has a transcription-independent element that relies on cytoskeleton remodelling via activation of Rho kinase (ROCK). We propose that a TGF-b autocrine loop confers an amoeboid-like motility on Theileria-infected leukocytes, which combines with MMP-dependent motility to drive invasiveness and virulence

Photon echo studies of photosynthetic light harvesting

The broad linewidths in absorption spectra of photosynthetic complexes obscure information related to their structure and function. Photon echo techniques represent a powerful class of time-resolved electronic spectroscopy that allow researchers to probe the interactions normally hidden under broad linewidths with sufficient time resolution to follow the fastest energy transfer events in light harvesting. Here, we outline the technical approach and applications of two types of photon echo experiments: the photon echo peak shift and two-dimensional (2D) Fourier transform photon echo spectroscopy. We review several extensions of these techniques to photosynthetic complexes. Photon echo peak shift spectroscopy can be used to determine the strength of coupling between a pigment and its surrounding environment including neighboring pigments and to quantify timescales of energy transfer. Two-dimensional spectroscopy yields a frequency-resolved map of absorption and emission processes, allowing coupling interactions and energy transfer pathways to be viewed directly. Furthermore, 2D spectroscopy reveals structural information such as the relative orientations of coupled transitions. Both classes of experiments can be used to probe the quantum mechanical nature of photosynthetic light-harvesting: peak shift experiments allow quantification of correlated energetic fluctuations between pigments, while 2D techniques measure quantum beating directly, both of which indicate the extent of quantum coherence over multiple pigment sites in the protein complex. The mechanistic and structural information obtained by these techniques reveals valuable insights into the design principles of photosynthetic light-harvesting complexes, and a multitude of variations on the methods outlined here

A national survey of medical education fellowships

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to determine the prevalence, focus, time commitment, graduation requirements and programme evaluation methods of medical education fellowships throughout the United States. Medical education fellowships are defined as a single cohort of medical teaching faculty who participate in an extended faculty development programme. Methods: A 26-item online questionnaire was distributed to all US medical schools (n=127) in 2005 and 2006. The questionnaire asked each school if it had a medical education fellowship and the characteristics of the fellowship programme. Results: Almost half (n=55) of the participating schools (n=120, response rate 94.5 %) reported having fellowships. Duration (10&#x2013;584 hours) and length (&#60;1 month&#x2013;48 months) varied; most focused on teaching skills, scholarly dissemination and curriculum design, and required the completion of a scholarly project. A majority collected participant satisfaction; few used other programme evaluation strategies. Conclusions: The number of medical education fellowships increased rapidly during the 1990s and 2000s. Across the US, programmes are similar in participant characteristics and curricular focus but unique in completion requirements. Fellowships collect limited programme evaluation data, indicating a need for better outcome data. These results provide benchmark data for those implementing or revising existing medical education fellowships