Co-creation and user innovation: The role of online 3D printing platforms

The aim of this article is to investigate the changes brought about by online 3D printing platforms in co-creation and user innovation. As doing so requires a thorough understanding of the level of user involvement in productive processes and a clear view of the nature of co-creative processes, this article provides a ‘prosumption’ framework and a typology of co-creation activities. Then, based on case studies of 22 online 3D printing platforms, a service-based taxonomy of these platforms is constructed. The taxonomy and typology are then matched to investigate the role played by online 3D platforms in regard to the various types of co-creation activities and, consequently, how this impacts user innovation

Impact of Social Media on Economic Growth - Evidence from Social Media

This paper attempts to investigate the impact of social media on economic growth. Using information obtained from memberships to social networks, we find that social media has a negative and significant impact on economic growth. This provides evidence in favour of our hypothesis that social media increases the search costs for information and also increases the substitution effect from labour to leisure thereby producing a negative impact on growth

Involving Consumers: The Role of Digital Technologies in Promoting 'Prosumption' and User Innovation

Since the First Industrial Revolution, consumers have been mainly considered as playing a passive role with regard to production. However, the recent decades have seen a progressive growth in consumer involvement in production processes, for instance, in the form of user innovation, DIY and mass customisation. Yet, it was not until the advent of digital technologies that consumers’ input in production processes could become really significant in all dimensions of production (design, manufacturing and distribution). This increased (sometimes leading) role of consumers in production has been referred to as ‘prosumption’. While prosumption has so far been mainly significant online (where consumers have arguably taken over the creation and distribution of content), recent advances in digital technologies (mobile networks, 3D printing) have enabled prosumption to reach to world of physical objects, as illustrated by the increased importance of consumer-made goods (‘makers’ movement) and of the ‘sharing economy’. Although prosumption can be highly disruptive to markets, there has not been so far a thorough investigation of the nature of this phenomenon. Yet, understanding this nature is critical to apprehend disruptions. Furthermore, while digital technologies have been acknowledged as a key factor in the rise of prosumption, the exact role of each set of technologies has not yet been studied, which is a problem, as different technologies enable different types of prosumption. The aim of this article is to fill these two gaps. To do so, a framework of prosumption, which encompasses both inputs and outputs of consumer contribution, is introduced. This framework is then applied to multiple case studies, which enables to show how prosumption has evolved and what changes lie ahead

360° business model innovation: Toward an integrated view of business model innovation

OVERVIEW: Business model innovation has arguably become a critical way to innovate, but its success factors are poorly understood. A lack of tools allowing the examination of business models in their entirety combined with the complex relationship between business model changes and market outcomes makes this especially difficult. This article introduces a comprehensive framework that addresses these two issues, by providing an integrated, value-based view of all of the critical components of the business model. The framework is applied to two well-known cases - Netflix and Spotify - to demonstrate how the tool can be used to highlight the critical differences in business models that may at first seem very similar and show how the framework enables managers to envisage the dynamics of business model innovation

Pricing music using personal data: mutually advantageous first-degree price discrimination

In addition to customized products and services, personal data also enables personalized pricing. However, consumers are often unwilling to accept being price discriminated for fear that they would end up paying more for the same product or service. This article demonstrates that by rewarding consumers for disclosing personal information it is possible to achieve a situation where first-degree price discrimination is mutually advantageous and both buyers and sellers gain by adopting such a pricing model. The conditions required for this to happen are investigated and the impact on social welfare is discussed. Finally, the article considers the robustness of this model when consumers adopt an opportunistic behavior which consists in manipulating personal data in order to masquerade as a consumer with a lower willingness to pay

Cryptic diversity of a widespread global pathogen reveals expanded threats to amphibian conservation

Biodiversity loss is one major outcome of human-mediated ecosystem disturbance. One way that humans have triggered wildlife declines is by transporting disease-causing agents to remote areas of the world. Amphibians have been hit particularly hard by disease due in part to a globally distributed pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [Bd]). Prior research has revealed important insights into the biology and distribution of Bd; however, there are still many outstanding questions in this system. Although we know that there are multiple divergent lineages of Bd that differ in pathogenicity, we know little about how these lineages are distributed around the world and where lineages may be coming into contact. Here, we implement a custom genotyping method for a global set of Bd samples. This method is optimized to amplify and sequence degraded DNA from noninvasive skin swab samples. We describe a divergent lineage of Bd, which we call BdASIA3, that appears to be widespread in Southeast Asia. This lineage co-occurs with the global panzootic lineage (BdGPL) in multiple localities. Additionally, we shed light on the global distribution of BdGPL and highlight the expanded range of another lineage, BdCAPE. Finally, we argue that more monitoring needs to take place where Bd lineages are coming into contact and where we know little about Bd lineage diversity. Monitoring need not use expensive or difficult field techniques but can use archived swab samples to further explore the history—and predict the future impacts—of this devastating pathogen

Effects of a multicomponent wellness intervention on dyslipidemia in an overweight adolescent population

Epidemiologic studies suggest that atherosclerotic processes begin in childhood and are associated with abnormal lipid levels. Behavioral changes are the first line of treatment for dyslipidemia in adolescents but outcome data on the effectiveness of this approach are inconsistent. This study aimed to assess the effect of a 13-week multicomponent wellness intervention program on dyslipidemia in lean and overweight/obese adolescents enrolled at a public high school in Boston, Massachusetts. The intervention was conducted at a university-based youth fitness center where 9 overweight/obese adolescents (body mass index [BMI]≥85th percentile for age and sex) and 9 lean adolescents (BMIsex) participated in weekly nutrition classes and structured cardiovascular, flexibility and strength training 2 times/week for 5 weeks, followed by up to 4 times/week for 8 weeks. Clinical measurements (BMI, percent body fat, blood pressure [BP]) and lipid profile assessment (total cholesterol [TC], high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], triglycerides [TG], and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C]) were performed at baseline and at completion of the intervention. At the completion of the study, the overweight/obese adolescents demonstrated a 15% increase in HDL-C levels (mean, 47 mg/dL vs 54 mg/dL) while there was no improvement in BMI, percent body fat, BP,TG, TC and LDL-C. The participants in the lean group showed no change in their anthropometric and serum parameters. A multicomponent wellness intervention resulted in a significant increase of cardioprotective HDL-C levels which has been associated with coronary health in adulthood. The long-term effects of this intervention on indicators of cardiometabolic health and others like it require further study

The Potential of Isoprenoids in Adjuvant Cancer Therapy to Reduce Adverse Effects of Statins

The mevalonate pathway provides sterols for membrane structure and nonsterol intermediates for the post-translational modification and membrane anchorage of growth-related proteins, including the Ras, Rac, and Rho GTPase family. Mevalonate-derived products are also essential for the Hedgehog pathway, steroid hormone signaling, and the nuclear localization of Yes-associated protein and transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif, all of which playing roles in tumorigenesis and cancer stem cell function. The phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase-AKT-mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 pathway, p53 with gain-of-function mutation, and oncoprotein MYC upregulate the mevalonate pathway, whereas adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase and tumor suppressor protein RB are the downregulators. The rate-limiting enzyme, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR), is under a multivalent regulation. Sterol regulatory element binding protein 2 mediates the sterol-controlled transcriptional downregulation of HMGCR. UbiA prenyltransferase domain-containing protein-1 regulates the ubiquitination and proteasome-mediated degradation of HMGCR, which is accelerated by 24, 25-dihydrolanosterol and the diterpene geranylgeraniol. Statins, competitive inhibitors of HMGCR, deplete cells of mevalonate-derived intermediates and consequently inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis. Clinical application of statins is marred by dose-limiting toxicities and mixed outcomes on cancer risk, survival and mortality, partially resulting from the statin-mediated compensatory upregulation of HMGCR and indiscriminate inhibition of HMGCR in normal and tumor cells. Tumor HMGCR is resistant to the sterol-mediated transcriptional control; consequently, HMGCR is upregulated in cancers derived from adrenal gland, blood and lymph, brain, breast, colon, connective tissue, embryo, esophagus, liver, lung, ovary, pancreas, prostate, skin, and stomach. Nevertheless, tumor HMGCR remains sensitive to isoprenoid-mediated degradation. Isoprenoids including monoterpenes (carvacrol, L-carvone, geraniol, perillyl alcohol), sesquiterpenes (cacalol, farnesol, β-ionone), diterpene (geranylgeranyl acetone), “mixed” isoprenoids (tocotrienols), and their derivatives suppress the growth of tumor cells with little impact on non-malignant cells. In cancer cells derived from breast, colon, liver, mesothelium, prostate, pancreas, and skin, statins and isoprenoids, including tocotrienols, geraniol, limonene, β-ionone and perillyl alcohol, synergistically suppress cell proliferation and associated signaling pathways. A blend of dietary lovastatin and δ-tocotrienol, each at no-effect doses, suppress the growth of implanted murine B16 melanomas in C57BL6 mice. Isoprenoids have potential as adjuvant agents to reduce the toxicities of statins in cancer prevention or therapy

Prosumer and Product Design Through Digital Tools

Currently, the growing interest of users and consumers in the participation of the creative process has led to the typical “maker culture” practices. Consequently, there is an increasing number of prosumers - users who produce what they consume - who want to be part of the design and transformation process of the products. In order to achieve it, prosumers have begun to use digital tools that greatly facilitate this task. These tools could vary depending on the number of users involved in the process and the freedom of participation that they have on the product. It has been presented a number of qualitative classification of cases involving the end user, individually or collectively, that has influenced as a prosumer in the product design process. The objective is to study the use of digital tools in the creative phase within the design process according to their different levels of participation with respect to the final product. The cases are shown in four tables according to the number of users involved in the process and their level of participation. In these tables, other important aspects related to the study of digital tools such as the type of contribution of the prosumer to the product or the design phase in which he participates will be identified. In conclusion, this work will show if there is a pattern in the use of digital tools according to the number of users involved in the process and the freedom of participation that they have and which are the reasons for their use