Driving in the wrong lane: towards a longer life-span of cars

Within the context of product longevity, one especially impactful and ubiquitous product demands further research: the car. Car longevity has been addressed in the context of product life extension and product lifetime optimisation but there have been a few studies on car longevity in the context of business and none specifically from an industrial design context. This paper presents initial findings from preliminary interviews with key industry representatives such as car designers and engineers. It discusses the barriers to and opportunities for designing a car with a longer life-span. This and further data will later be analysed in order to produce a design framework to inform car designers on life-span and usage optimization through design. Strategies such as increased longevity or use-intensity can potentially reduce the throughput - and thereafter the consumption - of cars. Such a shift in the automotive sector would support the transition from a linear economy to a more sustainable one. The initial findings, however, suggest that a longer life car is not an uncompromised solution and important concessions would have to be made in order to make this an acceptable product

Late time cosmological phase transitions 1: Particle physics models and cosmic evolution

We described a natural particle physics basis for late-time phase transitions in the universe. Such a transition can seed the formation of large-scale structure while leaving a minimal imprint upon the microwave background anisotropy. The key ingredient is an ultra-light pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone boson with an astronomically large (O(kpc-Mpc)) Compton wavelength. We analyze the cosmological signatures of and constraints upon a wide class of scenarios which do not involve domain walls. In addition to seeding structure, coherent ultra-light bosons may also provide unclustered dark matter in a spatially flat universe, omega sub phi approx. = 1

User-intensive cars; design contributions for more sustainable approaches to personal transportation

Social changes in Europe and increase in urban population globally may generate new opportunities to develop different forms of personal transportation and ownership models, e.g. reducing the number of cars. Different solutions have been suggested in order to reduce their environmental burden. There is currently little evidence on whether user-intensive cars are fit for purpose or overcome issues such as ownership, cleanliness, and performance under different driving styles. This paper presents initial findings from ten interviews concerning user-intensive passenger cars with industry representatives such as car designers and engineers. It identifies, mainly from a design and development point of view, the barriers and opportunities to user-intensive vehicles. This will contribute to a better understanding of the car as a user-intensive product shared by a number of consumers as opposed to the dominant model of private ownership

Politics of innovation and development: The role of industry associations in integrating political, bureaucratic, industrial and health systems in India and South Africa

Integrating political, bureaucratic, industrial and healthcare systems has been a major challenge for politics of innovation and development policy in low- and middle-income countries. This challenge has so far been understood in terms of separate industrial and health-related innovation policies without paying adequate attention to the institutional roles of biopharmaceutical and other umbrella associations. This article seeks to examine such roles in the developmental contexts of South Africa and India. The argument put forward is that, in both countries, biopharmaceutical and umbrella associations have evolved from lobbying organizations to institutional partners who influence the politics of innovation and development—and therefore the degree of integration and fragmentation—of political, bureaucratic, industrial innovation and health systems

Si3AlP: A new promising material for solar cell absorber

First-principles calculations are performed to study the structural and optoelectronic properties of the newly synthesized nonisovalent and lattice-matched (Si2)0.6(AlP)0.4 alloy [T. Watkins et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 16212.] We find that the ordered CC-Si3AlP with a basic unit of one P atom surrounded by three Si atoms and one Al atom is the most stable one within the experimentally observed unit cell.1 Si3AlP has a larger fundamental band gap and a smaller direct band gap than Si, thus it has much higher absorption in the visible light region. The calculated properties of Si3AlP suggest that it is a promising candidate for improving the performance of the existing Si-based solar cells. The understanding on the stability and band structure engineering obtained in this study is general and can be applied for future study of other nonisovalent and lattice-matched semiconductor alloys

Minor degree of hypohydration adversely influences cognition: a mediator analysis

Background: The assumption that small changes in hydration statusare readily compensated by homeostatic mechanisms has been littlestudied. In this study, the influence of hypohydration on cognition wasexamined.Objectives: We assessed whether a loss of ,1% of body mass dueto hypohydration adversely influenced cognition, and examined thepossible underlying mechanisms.Design: A total of 101 individuals were subjected to a temperature of308C for 4 h and randomly either did or did not consume 300 mLH2O during that period. Changes in body mass, urine osmolality,body temperature, and thirst were monitored. Episodic memory, focusedattention, mood, and the perceived difficulty of tasks weremeasured on 3 occasions. The data were analyzed with the use ofa regression-based approach whereby we looked for variables that mediatedthe influence of hypohydration on psychological functioning.Results: Drinking water improved memory and focused attention.In the short-term, thirst was associated with poorer memory. Later,a greater loss of body mass was associated with poorer memory andattention (mean loss: 0.72%). At 90 min, an increase in thirst wasassociated with a decline in subjective energy and increased anxietyand depression, effects that were reduced by drinking water. At180 min, subjects found the tests easier if they had consumed water.Conclusions: Drinking water was shown, for the first time to ourknowledge, to benefit cognitive functioning when there was a lossof ,1% body mass at levels that may occur during everydayliving. Establishing the variables that generate optimal fluid consumptionwill help to tailor individual advice, particularly in clinicalsituations