Gray areas inside black boxes: Tracing actor-networks and ethics in professional design practice

In this study, I analyze professional designers’ experiences of exercising agency and enacting ethics in design practice. This research is based on a focus group and a series of individual interviews with design and technology practitioners at technology companies and design consultancies. First, based on grounded theory analysis, I present a thematic analysis of ethical issues in professional design practice and the mitigating strategies used by designers. Second, based on actor-network theory (ANT), I present three vignettes to describe the human and nonhuman networks of professional designers and how they increase agency and ethics in design. The contributions of this work include an application of actor-network theory to professional design practice, an empirical account of the human and nonhuman networks of professional design practice, and descriptions of how agency and ethical responsibility are distributed and shared across humans and nonhumans

Exploring the composite intentionality of 3D printers and makers in digital fabrication

In this paper, we identify new relationships between technologies and people in the context of digital fabrication. Our research applies a postphenomenological lens to understand and identify such relationships by using the concept of intentionality, an idea that relates to how humans and technologies, in their corporeal sense, direct themselves at the world rather than their purpose of action. We conducted a study wherein we first modified four 3D printers that highlight technological intentionality by either reducing, redirecting, reshaping, or redistributing the CAD model and filament of a given print. Next, experienced makers were invited to print models with one of four printers and reflect upon the effects of the coupling between their intentionality and that of the 3D printer. We contribute descriptions for new ways to frame human-technology relationships within the context of digital fabrication and highlight three relationships with machines: anticipatory, itineration and resistance, and their implications

Recent Advances and Prospects in the Differentiation of Pancreatic Cells From Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Recent studies with human embryonic stem (hES) cells have established new protocols for substantial generation of pancreatic progenitors from definitive endoderm. These findings add to the efficient derivation of definitive endoderm, which is controlled by Wnt and Nodal pathways, and delineate a step forward in the quest for alternative β-cell sources. It also indicates that critical refining of the available strategies might help define a universal protocol for pancreatic differentiation applicable to several cell lines, therefore offering the possibility for transplantation of immune-matched or patient-specific hES–derived β-cells. We appraise here the fundamental role that bone morphogenetic protein, fibroblast growth factor, and retinoid signaling play during pancreas development, and describe a fundamental emergence of their combination in recent studies that generated pancreatic cells from hES cells. We finally enumerate some prospects that might improve further differentiation of the progenitor cells into functional β-cells needed in diabetes cell therapy

Baselining UBC’s Urban Forest : Vancouver Campus

The University of British Columbia (UBC) Vancouver campus houses a plethora of natural assets- most notably, its urban forest. UBC Campus is infamous for its coastal forest setting, which is arguably one of the most important factors in developing its identity and attracting its outstanding student body. While the urban forest supplies many benefits to the socio­ecological environment, it is still insufficiently recognized in urban planning and development. In the broader context of campus, the City of Vancouver has developed an Urban Forest Strategy and associated targets and, as a separate entity, UBC needs to follow suit. An emerging campus Urban Forest Management Plan (UFMP) is in its beginning phases, however in order to produce a valuable mechanism for management and decision-making, there is an urgent need for more information and research to sufficiently recognize and baseline the campus urban forest to inform the future management and monitoring of UBC's most prominent natural asset. This study aims to inform the development of the UBC Urban Forest Management Plan by further exploring the status of the campus urban forest, associated ecosystem services, and providing recommendations for planting locations and species selection to maximize value. Specific project objectives are to: 1. Represent the current status of the campus urban forest given pre-existing and derived data; 2. Identify and quantify namely the environmental benefits associated with the campus urban forest; and 3. Develop recommendations and priorities for campus urban forest management. Collectively these objectives seek to increase the vigour, resiliency, and functionality of the campus urban forest, enhancing its full suite of associated socio-ecological benefits, in addition to its mitigation and adaptive capacity. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Forestry, Faculty ofUnreviewedGraduat

Intentional communities: the next generation. Providing guidance for community building outside of traditional planning processes

Bibliography: p. 105-113Some pages are in colour

Halo neutrons and the beta decay of ¹¹Li

The beta decay of Li-11 has been investigated at TRIUMF-ISAC using a high-efficiency array of Compton suppressed HPGe detectors. From a line-shape analysis of the Doppler-broadened peaks observed in the Be-10 gamma spectrum, both the half-lives of states in Be-10 and the energies of the beta-delayed neutrons feeding those states were obtained. Furthermore, it was possible to determine the excitation energies of the parent states in Be-11 with uncertainties comparable to those obtained from neutron spectroscopy experiments. These data suggest that the beta decay to the 8.81 MeV state in Be-11 occurs in the Li-9 core and that one neutron comprising the halo of Li-11 survives in a halolike configuration after the beta-delayed neutron emission from this level.</p