Designing for the "cultural other"

Differences in cultural contexts constitute differences in cognition, and research has shown that different cultures may use different cognitive tools for perception and reasoning. The cultural embeddings are significant in relation to HCI, because the cultural context is also embedded in the techniques and the tools that we apply. We lack a framework for discussing what and who we are, when we talk about a person as the user of an ICT system that has to be designed, developed and implemented. As a framework, we suggest a theory of complementary positions that insists on solid accounts from all observer posi-tions in relation to perspective, standpoint and focus. We need to develop com-plementary theories that embed complexity, and we need to reflect critically upon forty years of dominance by rationalistic, empirical understandings of the user as illustrated in the literature and practice within the HCI paradigm in system development

Tree diversity and species identity effects on soil fungi, protists and animals are context dependent

Plant species richness and the presence of certain influential species (sampling effect) drive the stability and functionality of ecosystems as well as primary production and biomass of consumers. However, little is known about these floristic effects on richness and community composition of soil biota in forest habitats owing to methodological constraints. We developed a DNA metabarcoding approach to identify the major eukaryote groups directly from soil with roughly species-level resolution. Using this method, we examined the effects of tree diversity and individual tree species on soil microbial biomass and taxonomic richness of soil biota in two experimental study systems in Finland and Estonia and accounted for edaphic variables and spatial autocorrelation. Our analyses revealed that the effects of tree diversity and individual species on soil biota are largely context dependent. Multiple regression and structural equation modelling suggested that biomass, soil pH, nutrients and tree species directly affect richness of different taxonomic groups. The community composition of most soil organisms was strongly correlated due to similar response to environmental predictors rather than causal relationships. On a local scale, soil resources and tree species have stronger effect on diversity of soil biota than tree species richness per se

Embedding complementarity in HCI methods and techniques

Differences in cultural contexts constitute differences in cognition, and research has shown that different cultures may use different cognitive tools for perception and reasoning. The cultural embeddings are significant in relation to HCI, because the cultural context is also embedded in the techniques and the tools that we apply. We lack a framework for discussing what and who we are, when we talk about a person as the user of an ICT system that has to be designed, developed and implemented. As a framework, we suggest a theory of complementary positions that insists on solid accounts from all observer posi-tions in relation to perspective, standpoint and focus. We need to develop com-plementary theories that embed complexity, and we need to reflect critically upon forty years of dominance by rationalistic, empirical understandings of the user as illustrated in the literature and practice within the HCI paradigm in system development.Nona

Nitrate in Maternal Drinking Water during Pregnancy and Measures of Male Fecundity in Adult Sons

Animal studies indicate deleterious effects of nitrate exposure on fecundity, but effects in humans are unknown, both for the prenatal and postnatal periods. We aimed to investigate if exposure to nitrate in maternal drinking water during the sensitive period of fetal life is associated with measures of fecundity in the adult sons. In a sub-analysis, the potential effects of nitrate exposure in adulthood were investigated. This cohort included 985 young adult men enrolled in The Fetal Programming of Semen Quality Cohort (FEPOS). Semen characteristics, testes volume and reproductive hormones were analyzed in relation to nitrate concentration in maternal drinking water, using a negative binomial regression model. The nitrate concentration in drinking water was obtained from monitoring data from Danish waterworks that were linked with the mothers’ residential address during pregnancy. The median nitrate concentration in maternal drinking water was 2 mg/L. At these low exposure levels, which are far below the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline value of 50 mg/L, we did not find indications of harmful effects of nitrate on the investigated measures of male fecundity

Maternal vitamin D levels and male reproductive health : a population-based follow-up study

Maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may be important for reproductive health in male offspring by regulating cell proliferation and differentiation during development. We conducted a follow-up study of 827 young men from the Fetal Programming of Semen Quality (FEPOS) cohort, nested in the Danish National Birth Cohort to investigate if maternal vitamin D levels were associated with measures of reproductive health in adult sons. These included semen characteristics, testes volume, and reproductive hormone levels and were analysed according to maternal vitamin D (25(OH)D3) levels during pregnancy. In addition, an instrumental variable analysis using seasonality in sun exposure as an instrument for maternal vitamin D levels was conducted. We found that sons of mothers with vitamin D levels 75 nmol/L. Continuous models, spline plots and an instrumental variable analysis supported these findings. Low maternal vitamin D levels were associated with lower testes volume and lower total sperm count with indications of dose-dependency. Maternal vitamin D level above 75 nmol/L during pregnancy may be beneficial for testes function in adult sons