From participatory design to co-creation: Using social media to engage youth

UNICEF Pacific faced the problem of how to engage and empower Pacific youth more through social media. The proposed solution was to invite Pacific youth to contribute to the design of a climate change game, the ‘Pacific Climate Challenge’. Such an approach presents challenges including how to effectively engage co-creators, how co-creators will communicate and contribute, how contributions will be managed in a virtual environment and how decision making will be managed. This paper explores co-creation in a virtual environment using Participatory Design (PD) theory. Our findings highlight the importance of managing communication with a geographically dispersed team, managing development in an unstructured environment, the importance of leadership and access to both knowledge and skills. We identified that in co-creation environments as compared with typical PD environments, the development process can be less structured with no clear management hierarchy, roles evolve and change and standard success criteria may not apply

Regulation of atrial natriuretic peptide-stimulated cGMP production in the inner medulla

Regulation of atrial natriuretic peptide-stimulated cGMP production in the inner medulla. Studies were performed to examine the regulation of atrial natriuretic peptide-(ANP) stimulated guanylate cyclase in the the inner medulla. Primary cultures of rat inner medullary collecting tubular cells exposed to 10-7 M ANP increased cGMP formation to 31.2 ± 1.8 compared to the basal production of 2.1 ± 0.6 fm/µg protein. This response did not appear to be transduced via a Gi protein, as preincubation with pertussis toxin did not alter the response to 10-7 M ANP, and saponized cells exposed to 10 µM GTPγS did not enhance the response to ANP (77.3 ± 5.9 vs. 86.7 ± 6.3 g/µg). Likewise, changes in extracellular Ca2+ from 0.5 to 3.0 mM, decrements in intracellular Ca2+ with EGTA or increments in intracellular Ca2+ with ionomycin (5 µM) did not significantly alter the response to ANP. Neither activation of protein kinase A with forskolin (36.5 ± 5.1) nor of protein kinase C with s,n-1,2-dioctanoylglycerol (33.2 ± 2.5) altered the response to 10-7 M ANP (32.2 ± 3.3, NS). As the inner medullary environment was hypertonic, the effect of altering tonicity was studied. Cells grown for 48 hours in hypertonic media (600 mOsm/kg H2O) displayed enhanced response to 10-8 and 10-7 M ANP when osmolality was raised by either Na+ alone or in combination with urea, but not by urea alone. Our studies demonstrate that ANP-stimulated guanylate cyclase is insensitive to alterations in either intra- or extracellular Ca2+, is not subject to inhibition by protein kinase, and does not involve a pertussis-sensitive G protein. The response is highly sensitive to elevations in tonicity, with Na+ as the mediator of this effect

A Process Model of Co-Creation as an Approach to Information Systems Development

This paper investigates the development of a digital game on a social media platform which involved primarily youths as co-creators. We applied a process model for crowdsourced development as a framework to understand information systems development (ISD) as co-creation in a not-for-profit environment. Using innovation theory we further discuss why co-creation fostered the co-creators to successfully carry out the investigated project. On this background, we provide lessons learned for practical use

Applying a Taxonomic Framework to understand Co-Creation as an Approach to Information Systems Development

Our paper investigates how co-creation as an information systems development (ISD) approach is performed. Our empirical practice study of co-creation for and with youths involved in developing a digital game on a social media platform in a not-for-profit environment contributes to broadening the perspective on ISD and co-creation research. We apply an established taxonomy of co-creation and demonstrate how the taxonomy can be used as a framework to understand what co-creation is, how, when and where it can be performed as an instance of ISD practice. As a result we demonstrate the value and the shortcomings of the taxonomy

Resolution of Conflicting Signals at the Single-Cell Level in the Regulation of Cyanobacterial Photosynthesis and Nitrogen Fixation

Unicellular, diazotrophic cyanobacteria temporally separate dinitrogen (N-2) fixation and photosynthesis to prevent inactivation of the nitrogenase by oxygen. This temporal segregation is regulated by a circadian clock with oscillating activities of N-2 fixation in the dark and photosynthesis in the light. On the population level, this separation is not always complete, since the two processes can overlap during transitions from dark to light. How do single cells avoid inactivation of nitrogenase during these periods? One possibility is that phenotypic heterogeneity in populations leads to segregation of the two processes. Here, we measured N-2 fixation and photosynthesis of individual cells using nanometer-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) to assess both processes in a culture of the unicellular, diazotrophic cyanobacterium Crocosphaera watsonii during a dark-light and a continuous light phase. We compared single-cell rates with bulk rates and gene expression profiles. During the regular dark and light phases, C. watsonii exhibited the temporal segregation of N-2 fixation and photosynthesis commonly observed. However, N-2 fixation and photosynthesis were concurrently measurable at the population level during the subjective dark phase in which cells were kept in the light rather than returned to the expected dark phase. At the single-cell level, though, cells discriminated against either one of the two processes. Cells that showed high levels of photosynthesis had low nitrogen fixing activities, and vice versa. These results suggest that, under ambiguous environmental signals, single cells discriminate against either photosynthesis or nitrogen fixation, and thereby might reduce costs associated with running incompatible processes in the same cell

Evaluation of the ACE employment programme: helping employers to make tailored adjustments for their autistic employees

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the views of autistic people, carers and practitioners regarding the barriers autistic employees face at work (Study 1) and to use these views to inform the design of an employment programme for autistic employees without learning disabilities (Study 2). Design/methodology/approach In Study 1, 16 (20%) carers, 17 (21%) practitioners and 47 (59%) autistic adults who had been or were currently employed, answered a survey regarding barriers at work. Study 2 evaluates the efficacy of a set of profiling assessment tools (PA) developed to help employers make individually-tailored adjustments for their autistic employees by delivering an employment programme consisting of 15, 8-week work placements. Findings In Study 1, only 25% of autistic adults reported having had adjustments in the workplace and all groups reported this as the main barrier – alongside employers’ lack of understanding. Two sets of results demonstrate the efficacy of the PA tools in addressing this barrier. First, a comparative cost simulation revealed a cost-saving in terms of on-job support of £6.67 per participant per hour worked relative to published data from another programme. Second, 83% of autistic employees reported having had the right adjustments at work. Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study that did not include a comparison group. Hence, it was not possible to evaluate the efficacy of the PA tools relative to a standard employment programme intervention, nor to assess cost reduction, which currently is only estimated from already available published data. Practical implications Overall the findings from these studies demonstrate that the time invested in the high-quality assessment of the profile of autistic employees results in saving costs over time and better outcomes. Originality/value The originality of the Autism Centre for Employment programme resides in that, unlike other programmes, it shifts the focus from helping autistic employees to helping their employers

Niche differentiation within a cryptic pathogen complex: climatic drivers and hyperparasitism at multiple spatial scales

Pathogens are embedded in multi-trophic food webs, which often include co-occurring cryptic species within the same pathogen complex. Nonetheless, we still lack an understanding of what dimensions of the ecological niche might allow these cryptic species to coexist. We explored the role of climate, host characteristics (tree autumn phenology) and attack by the fungal hyperparasite Ampelomyces (a group of fungi attacking plant pathogens) in defining the niches of three powdery mildew species (Erysiphe alphitoides, E. hypophylla and E. quercicola) within a cryptic pathogen complex on the pedunculate oak Quercus robur at the continental (Europe), national (Sweden and France) and landscape scales (a 5 km(2) island in southwestern Finland). Previous studies have shown that climate separated the niches of three powdery mildew species (E. alphitoides, E. hypophylla and E. quercicola) in Europe and two species (E. alphitoides and E. quercicola) in France. In our study, we did not detect a significant relationship between temperature or precipitation and the distribution of E. alphitoides and E. hypophylla present in Sweden, while at the landscape scale, temperature, but not relative humidity, negatively affected disease incidence of E. alphitoides in an exceptionally warm year. Tree variation in autumn phenology did not influence disease incidence of powdery mildew species, and hyperparasite presence did not differ among powdery mildew species at the continental, national and landscape scale. Climate did not affect the distribution of the hyperparasite at the continental scale and at the national scale in Sweden. However, climate affected the hyperparasite distribution in France, with a negative relationship between non-growing season temperature and presence of the hyperparasite. Overall, our findings, in combination with earlier evidence, suggest that climatic factors are more important than species interactions in defining the niches of cryptic species within a pathogen complex on oak