Exploratory Research Methods for the Extremely Mobile: Supporting Community Interaction Amongst Backpackers

Mobile communities of backpackers represent a challenging population to study because of frequent and long-duration of movement, distributed group structure, and adventuresome activities. Five types of mobile group studies are presented here, which address challenges posed by this context to existing methods. Methods used include: contextual interviews, site surveys, participatory activities, field trips, team ethnography, contextual questionnaires, and electronic diary methods. The structure of each method is described, reflected upon and recommendations are made for its effective use. Many existing mobile and CSCW methods have difficulties when applied to mobile groups, and many are not designed for exploratory research dealing with product conceptualization or requirements analysis. We propose that improvising with a diverse set of available methods is appropriate for many mobile research situations. It may also be advantageous to use multiple methods which explore different aspects of target user groups' behaviour from a variety of perspectives. Furthermore, piloting studies to test methods with new user groups or situations, and using in-situ methods is advisable

Co-Creating New Mobile Devices for Groups During Field Trips: MIS-2 Study

The second iteration of the Mobile Information Sharing studies (MIS-2) aimed to validate results from the previous study and to introduce mobile low-fidelity prototypes in a natural tourist activity. Seven foam prototypes with fictional functionality descriptions were carried and used by backpackers during the course of a tourist field trip. The trip consisted of walking through a city centre to a boat, taking a boat cruise, walking around an animal park and then taking the same journey back to their hostel. Backpackers added features and discussed these devices in a workshop. Variations to previous research methods included increased use of digital cameras and the use of three simultaneous observers for ethnographic observation. A repetition of the previous social pairing activity was conducted which explored different types of social ties with more participants. Study results include a rich understanding of travel conversation, in-situ effects of mobile device usage, and verification of research methods. Subgroups of participants within the study didn’t communicate much between each other and provided an interesting case of backpackers failing to connect even though they desired to. A field trip representing a typical tourist activity produced a number of situations where mobile device features were requested by participants. The social pairing activity produced some useful information for participants and provided design recommendations for social pairing systems. 11 design requirements for mobile travel devices were generated from observations and discussions with backpackers. Additional analysis produced 23 proposed product features. Recommendations have been made for improvements to the study design and methods for future mobile group research

Exploring the Experiences of Fathers Raising Sons with Asperger Syndrome: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

My study explores the life-worlds of fathers who are raising a son diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. It was inspired by previous research where I considered the emotional journeys of parents and the support offered for parenting this group of children (Axup, 2003). Mothers were more accessible and willing to take part than fathers. Findings suggested that fathers had a very different experience from mothers and were rarely heard. This study seeks to uncover this group of fathers‟ specific needs and recognises they have an important story to tell. Exploring fathers‟ stories could aid both understanding and support offered, whilst giving them a voice. Fathers‟ journeys suggested cyclical patterns, where events and transitions surrounding their sons triggered feelings of denial, guilt, worry, frustration, hope and fear (Roll-Pettersson, 2001). I took a relativist epistemological stance, whereby multiple realities are assumed and social construct, interpretivism and the concept of phenomena are important in uncovering how participants make sense of their experience (Smith, Flowers and Larkin, 2009). The methodology I selected was Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Nine fathers took part in individual semi-structured interviews where I explored their experiences of raising a son with Asperger Syndrome. I analysed my data case by case and identified six main themes. These revolved around different aspects of selfhood which featured within the fathers‟ stories: Self through time, the importance of identity, relating to the syndrome, position within the family dynamic, their place in the world, and the practice of parenting. I also explored core values and beliefs in relation to fatherhood and their sons‟ difficulties. My findings revealed the significance of the phenomena of being a father raising a son with Asperger Syndrome pervading all aspects of their lives. All had a great deal to say, yet some had never been heard by family, friends or professionals. Although a small-scale study, the narratives are supported by literature which suggested that fathers are frequently isolated by their families and professionals (Page, Whitting and Mclean, 2008). Research implications for iii Educational Psychologists and wider children‟s service professionals suggested pro-active work is needed to help fathers engage with their sons and services. Fathers felt a caseworker whom they could trust would help them make sense of bureaucratic systems and provide support from the early years, during diagnosis and transition periods into adolescence and adulthood

Methods of Understanding and Designing For Mobile Communities

Society is increasingly on the move, mobile devices are commonly being used to coordinate group actions, and group communication features are rapidly being added to existing technologies. Despite this, little is known about how mobile groups act, or how communications technologies should be designed to augment existing behaviour. This is partially due to minimal research being done on the topic, but also to the lack of research methods available to study the topic with. Mobile groups are challenging to study because of frequent and long-duration movement, frequent distribution, and the rapidly changing environments they operate within. To address these issues, this research focuses on methodological issues surrounding the development of mobile devices for mobile groups and communities. More specifically it addresses backpackers, who are a relevant example of this type of community. The research primarily explores the convergence of computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) and the field of mobile device development. This enables the combination of emphasis on designing technologies for groups, social implications, mobile device design, and mobile settings. Major research outcomes presented in this thesis lie in three areas: 1) methods, 2) technology designs, and 3) backpacker culture. Five studies of backpacker behaviour and requirements form the core of the research. The methods used are in-situ and exploratory, and apply both novel and existing techniques to the domain of backpackers and mobile groups. Methods demonstrated in this research include: field trips for exploring mobile group behaviour and device usage, a social pairing exercise to explore social networks, contextual postcards to gain distributed feedback, and blog analysis which provides post-hoc diary data. Theoretical contributions include: observations on method triangulation, a taxonomy of mobility research, method templates to assist method usage, and identification of key categories leading to mobile group requirements. Design related outcomes include: 57 mobile tourism product ideas, a format for conveying product concepts, and a design for a wearable device to assist mobile researchers. Our understanding of backpacker culture has also improved as a consequence of the research. It has also generated user requirements to aid mobile development, methods of visualising mobile groups and communities, and a listing of relevant design tensions. Additionally, the research has added to our understanding of how new technologies such as blogs, SMS and iPods are being used by backpackers and how mobile groups naturally communicate

Laser Flash Spectroscopy of Zinc/Ruthenium Myoglobins: An Investigation of Distance and Medium Effects on Photoinduced Long-Range Intraprotein Electron Transfers

An experimental investigation of the distance dependence of long-range intramolecular electron transfer in ruthenium-modified zinc myoglobins has been performed. The zinc/ruthenium-modified metalloproteins were prepared by substitution of zinc-mesoporphyrin IX diacid (ZnP) into four previously characterized pentaammineruthenium(III) (a5Ru) derivatives of sperm whale myoglobin (Mb). The derivatives are a5Ru(His-48)Mb, a5Ru(His-12)Mb, a5Ru(His-116)Mb, and a5Ru(His-81)Mb. Pulsed laser excitation of the zinc myoglobin produces the long-lived and highly reducing triplet excited state (3ZnP*). Electron transfer from this triplet to the ruthenium, 3znP*-Ru3+ → ZnP+-Ru2+ (ΔE° ≅ 0.8 V), was measured by time-resolved transient absorption techniques. The observed electron-transfer rates are 7.0 x 104, 100, 89, and 85 s-1 for the His-48, -12, -116, and -81 derivatives, respectively, at 25°C The electron-transfer distances were evaluated using computer modelling in which rotation about the Cα-Cβ bond of the imidazole side chain in the ruthenium-modified histidines is restricted by nonbonded repulsions with atoms at the protein surface. Recent crystallographic results for a5Ru(His-48)Mb indicate that the histidine has considerable rotational flexibility. The estimated accessible distances, both heme edge to inner coordination sphere ligand (e-e) and metal-to-metal (m-m), are as follows. For the His-48 derivative, the e-e range is 13.4-16.6 Å and the m-m range is 18.6-24.1 Å; His-12 ranges are 22.1-22.4 Å and 28.8-30.4 Å; His-116 ranges are 18.9-20.4 Å and 23.1-27.8 Å; and His-81 ranges are 19.0-19.4 Å and 26.3-26.9 Å. In addition, the orientation angles (θ) of the electron-transfer pathways with relation to the heme plane at a position of closest approach are 25° (His-48), 20° (His-12), 35° (His-116), and 25° (His-81). Fitting the rate data to an exponential distance dependence yields the expression ket = 8 x 109 exp(-β(R-4)) s-1, where β = 1.2 Å-1 and R - 4 ≥ 0 (R is the minimum e-e distance in Å). The electron-transfer rate in a5Ru(His-12)Mb(ZnP) is anomalously high (100 vs. 2 s-1 predicted by the rate-distance equation), thereby indicating that the 3ZnP*-Ru3+ electronic coupling may be enhanced by an intervening tryptophan residue that lies parallel-planar to the heme along the reaction pathway. Activation enthalpies calculated from the temperature dependences of the electron-transfer rates over the range 5-40°C are 1.7 ± 1.6 (His-48), 4.7 ± 0.9 (His-12), 5.4 ± 0.4 (His-116), and 5.6 ± 2.5 (His-81) kcal mol-1. Dynamic flexibility of the protein region containing His-48 may reduce the activation enthalpy with respect to the other more rigidly located derivatives.</p

Distance dependence of photoinduced long-range electron transfer in zinc/ruthenium-modified myoglobins

An experimental investigation of the distance dependence of long-range electron transfer in zinc/ruthenium-modified myoglobins has been performed. The modified proteins were prepared by substitution of zinc mesoporphyrin IX diacid (ZnP) for the heme in each of four previously characterized pentaammineruthenium(III) (a_5Ru;a = NH_3) derivatives of sperm whale myoglobin (Mb): a_5Ru(His-48)Mb, a_5Ru(His-12)Mb, a_5Ru(His-116)Mb, a_5Ru(His-81)Mb. Electron transfer from the ZnP triplet excited state (^3ZnP*) to Ru^3+, ^3ZnP*-Ru^3+ → ZnP^+-Ru^2+ (ΔE° ~ 0.8V) was measured by time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy: rate constants (k_f) are 7.0 × 10^4 (His-48), 1.0 × 10^2 (His-12), 8.9 × 10^1 (His-116), and 8.5 × 10^1 (His-81) s^-1 at 25 °C. Activation enthalpies calculated from the temperature dependences of the electron-transfer rates over the range 5-40 °C are 1.7 ± 1.6 (His-48), 4.7 ± 0.9 (His-12), 5.4 ± 0.4 (His-116), and 5.6 ± 2.5 (His-81) kcal mol^-1. Electron-transfer distances (d = closest ZnP edge to a_5Ru(His) edge; angstroms) were calculated to fall in the following ranges: His-48, 11.8-16.6; His-12, 21.5-22.3; His-116, 19.8-20.4; His-81, 18.8-19.3. The rate-distance equation is k_f = 7.8 × 10^8 exp[-0.9l(d - 3)] s^-1 . The data indicate that the ^3ZnP*-Ru(His-12)^3+ electronic coupling may be enhanced by an intervening tryptophan (Trp-14)

Virtual laboratories for education in science, technology, and engineering: A review

Within education, concepts such as distance learning, and open universities, are now becoming more widely used for teaching and learning. However, due to the nature of the subject domain, the teaching of Science, Technology, and Engineering are still relatively behind when using new technological approaches (particularly for online distance learning). The reason for this discrepancy lies in the fact that these fields often require laboratory exercises to provide effective skill acquisition and hands-on experience. Often it is difficult to make these laboratories accessible for online access. Either the real lab needs to be enabled for remote access or it needs to be replicated as a fully software-based virtual lab. We argue for the latter concept since it offers some advantages over remotely controlled real labs, which will be elaborated further in this paper. We are now seeing new emerging technologies that can overcome some of the potential difficulties in this area. These include: computer graphics, augmented reality, computational dynamics, and virtual worlds. This paper summarizes the state of the art in virtual laboratories and virtual worlds in the fields of science, technology, and engineering. The main research activity in these fields is discussed but special emphasis is put on the field of robotics due to the maturity of this area within the virtual-education community. This is not a coincidence; starting from its widely multidisciplinary character, robotics is a perfect example where all the other fields of engineering and physics can contribute. Thus, the use of virtual labs for other scientific and non-robotic engineering uses can be seen to share many of the same learning processes. This can include supporting the introduction of new concepts as part of learning about science and technology, and introducing more general engineering knowledge, through to supporting more constructive (and collaborative) education and training activities in a more complex engineering topic such as robotics. The objective of this paper is to outline this problem space in more detail and to create a valuable source of information that can help to define the starting position for future research

Site-selective incorporation and ligation of protein aldehydes

The incorporation of aldehyde handles into proteins, and subsequent chemical reactions thereof, is rapidly proving to be an effective way of generating homogeneous, covalently linked protein constructs that can display a vast array of functionality. In this review, we discuss methods for introducing aldehydes into target proteins, and summarise the ligation strategies for site-selective modification of proteins containing this class of functional handles

Site-selective protein-modification chemistry for basic biology and drug development.

Nature has produced intricate machinery to covalently diversify the structure of proteins after their synthesis in the ribosome. In an attempt to mimic nature, chemists have developed a large set of reactions that enable post-expression modification of proteins at pre-determined sites. These reactions are now used to selectively install particular modifications on proteins for many biological and therapeutic applications. For example, they provide an opportunity to install post-translational modifications on proteins to determine their exact biological roles. Labelling of proteins in live cells with fluorescent dyes allows protein uptake and intracellular trafficking to be tracked and also enables physiological parameters to be measured optically. Through the conjugation of potent cytotoxicants to antibodies, novel anti-cancer drugs with improved efficacy and reduced side effects may be obtained. In this Perspective, we highlight the most exciting current and future applications of chemical site-selective protein modification and consider which hurdles still need to be overcome for more widespread use.We thank FCT Portugal (FCT Investigator to G.J.L.B.), the EU (Marie-Curie CIG to G.J.L.B. and Marie-Curie IEF to O.B.) and the EPSRC for funding. G.J.L.B. is a Royal Society University Research Fellow.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from NPG via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nchem.239