Developing human-centred framework and guidelines for disc golf application design

Abstract. Disc golf is an increasingly popular sport, especially in Finland and the USA. The disc golf industry and Professional Disc Golf Association have proceeded in the digital transformation; therefore, disc golf applications have penetrated the markets. There is a need for evaluating and developing the current quality of disc golf application design and looking for general guidelines for designing comprehensive applications. This thesis aims to study what kind of framework is hidden behind the disc golf application design from a human-centred perspective when also several stakeholders are concerned. The study is based on theoretical and empirical research. Theoretical research is conducted by literary review of existing disc golf application design guidelines, together with human-centred design, user-centred design, and stakeholder-centred design theory and methodologies in general. Nevertheless, a research gap is found as far as disc golf, golf, and sports application design are concerned. Thus, the review expands to study field practitioners and mobile health context. The literary review also examines disc golf as a sport and in numbers, together with current disc golf applications. Empirical research adapts human-centred design methods by studying users’ expectations, needs, and wishes in the mean of questionnaires, and interviews. Also, the context of use is identified and visited, user requirements are mapped, disc golf personas are created, and the disc golf application’s stakeholders are identified. Then, the method adapted from service-dominant logic is used for preparing value proposals for all disc golf application users, and other stakeholders. By adapting the design guidelines from the literature and empirical findings, the human-centred guidelines for disc golf application design (HGDG) framework is presented as the first main finding of the thesis. The HGDG framework can be used for disc golf application design and ensuring the usage of the human-centred approach. The second main finding, 15 design guidelines and instructions for disc golf application design reinforces the HGDG framework. The third main finding suggests using 15 design guidelines as a metric for evaluating if the designed application achieves an ideal win-win-…-win situation between of application provider, users, and other stakeholders

Dexamethasone and RU24858 induce survival and growth factor receptor bound protein 2, leukotriene B4 receptor 1 and annexin-1 expression in primary human neutrophils

Glucocorticoids are widely used anti-inflammatory medication in diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Glucocorticoids can either activate (transactivation) or inhibit (transrepression) transcription. RU24858 was introduced as a dissociated glucocorticoid and it has been reported to transrepress but not to transactivate. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of RU24858 and dexamethasone in human neutrophils. RU24858 delayed spontaneous neutrophil apoptosis and further enhanced GM-CSF- induced neutrophil survival to a similar extent as dexamethasone. Like dexamethasone RU24858 also reduced CXCL8 and MIP-1α. Unexpectedly however, RU24858 increased the expression of the glucocorticoid-inducible genes BLT-1, Annexin-1 and Grb-2 in neutrophils to a similar level as seen with dexamethasone. We have shown here that dexamethasone and RU24858 both increase Grb-2, BLT1 and Annexin-1 expression and inhibit CXCL8 and MIP-1α production. This suggests that RU24858 was not able to dissociate between transactivation and transrepression in human neutrophils but enhanced neutrophil survival. © the author(s), publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Ltd

A method for calculating minimum biodiversity offset multipliers accounting for time discounting, additionality and permanence

Peer reviewe

Maantieajoneuvojen kuormanvarmistusvälineiden testausjärjestelmän kehittäminen

Tiivistelmä. Tämän diplomityön aiheena oli kehittää työn toimeksiantajan Global Boiler Works Oy:n asiakkaalle Fibroc Oy:lle järjestelmä maantieajoneuvojen kuormanvarmistuksen kiinnityspisteiden ja sidontavälineiden testaamiseen. Järjestelmä suunniteltiin olemassa olevaa kuormituskehää hyödyntäen. Työn motiivina oli uusien kuormanvarmistussäädösten johdosta muuttuneet testaustarpeet kuormanvarmistusvälineille. Tavoitteena oli suunnitella testausympäristö, jolla voidaan suorittaa standardin SFS-EN 12195 mukaisia testejä sekä luoda toimintaedellytykset kuormituskehän tulevaan monipuoliseen testaustoimintaan. Tutkimus alkoi muuttuneisiin kuormanvarmistuksen määräyksiin ja lainsäädäntöön perehtymisellä. Tätä seurasi tilaajan tarpeiden sekä standardien vaatimusten kartoittaminen, jonka jälkeen suunniteltiin ja valmistettiin testeissä vaaditut kiinnittimet sekä suoritettiin kuormituskehän muun laitteiston käyttöönotto. Edellä mainittujen lisäksi työhön sisältyi mittaus- ja tiedonkeruujärjestelmän kehittäminen, standardinmukaisten testaus- ja raportointimenettelyjen määrittäminen sekä koneturvallisuuden parantaminen. Lopputuloksena syntyi monipuolinen järjestelmä, jolla voidaan suorittaa tähän työhön liittyviä standardisoituja testejä tarkasti ja toistettavasti, ja joka soveltuu tehokkaasti myös muuhun materiaalin testaukseen.Development of a test system for load securing equipment. Abstract. The subject of this thesis was to develop a test system for load securing equipment used in road transportation. This thesis was commissioned by Global Boiler Works Oy for their client Fibroc Oy. The system was designed around an existing load frame. The main driver behind this work was the change in test demands concerning lashing equipment due to changes in road safety legislation. The aim was to design a test environment to be used in testing according to standard SFS-EN 12195 and also to lay the groundwork for future testing activities. Research for this project started with reading up on the changed regulations and legislation concerning load securing. This was followed by mapping out the needs of the client and the requirements of the standards. After this the required fixtures for the tests were designed and manufactured and the rest of the equipment put to use. Scope of the project also included the development of a measurement and data acquisition system, specifying the proper testing and reporting procedures and improving the overall safety of the system. The result is a versatile system that can be reliably and repeatably used in standardized testing of equipment presented in this thesis and accommodates other types of material testing as well

Examining current or future trade-offs for biodiversity conservation in north-eastern Australia

With the high rate of ecosystem change already occurring and predicted to occur in the coming decades, long-term conservation has to account not only for current biodiversity but also for the biodiversity patterns anticipated for the future. The trade-offs between prioritising future biodiversity at the expense of current priorities must be understood to guide current conservation planning, but have been largely unexplored. To fill this gap, we compared the performance of four conservation planning solutions involving 662 vertebrate species in the Wet Tropics Natural Resource Management Cluster Region in north-eastern Australia. Input species data for the four planning solutions were: 1) current distributions; 2) projected distributions for 2055; 3) projected distributions for 2085; and 4) current, 2055 and 2085 projected distributions, and the connectivity between each of the three time periods for each species. The four planning solutions were remarkably similar (up to 85% overlap), suggesting that modelling for either current or future scenarios is sufficient for conversation planning for this region, with little obvious trade-off. Our analyses also revealed that overall, species with small ranges occurring across steep elevation gradients and at higher elevations were more likely to be better represented in all solutions. Given that species with these characteristics are of high conservation significance, our results provide confidence that conservation planning focused on either current, near-or distant-future biodiversity will account for these species.Peer reviewe

Transparent planning for biodiversity and development in the urban fringe

In Australia, over 50% of threatened species occur within the urban fringe and accelerating urbanization is now a key threat. Biodiversity near and within urban areas brings much social benefit but its maintenance involves complex trade-offs between competing land uses. Urban design typically views biodiversity as a development constraint, not a value to be enhanced into the future. We argue that decisions could be more transparent and systematic and we demonstrate that efficient development solutions can be found that avoid areas important for biodiversity. We present a case study in the context of land use change across the city of Wyndham, a local Government west of Melbourne, Australia. We use reserve design tools in a novel way to identify priority development sites, based on a synthesis of ecological, social and economic data. Trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and other key development objectives and constraints (transport planning, flood risk and food production) are quantified. The analysis can be conducted dynamically with visually compelling output, facilitating more transparent, efficient and democratically derived urban planning solutions. We suggest that government agencies could adopt similar approaches to identify efficient planning solutions for both biodiversity and development in urban environments