“Are you a Delia or a Chantelle?” Engaging Stakeholders in Branding Exercises

This short paper describes the development and implementation of tools and methods used to consult stakeholders in the development of a brand identity for a software development company, and the further refinement of those tools for use in the redesign and branding of a beauty treatment product and its packaging. A cultural probe approach was used in the form of word and image cards (‘Explorer Cards’) to elicit stakeholders’ opinions, emotions and perceptions regarding the project at hand. This method provided the design team with a pragmatic and rapid approach to the elicitation of information from stakeholders with varying degrees of design literacy

Recognizing risk-of-failure in communication design projects

The pace of commercial graphic design practice presents very few opportunities to conduct user research after a project’s launch. This makes the design team’s ability to anticipate and address risks during the design development phase even more important, recognized in the astute observation from Tim Brown, CEO of leading international design group IDEO, that sometimes you must “fail early to succeed early.” This paper presents the methods and strategies used by the Centre for Design Research’s (CfDR) creative team to mitigate risk during three communication design case-study projects. Elements of failure are identified in each of the three cases and presented, with discussion of where and why they occurred, and the possible approaches for reducing the risk of such problems re-occurring. To provide structure to the discussion, the paper frames each contributory issue as either a usability, communication or technical failing. The analysis demonstrates that the factors contributing to design process failures are often complex and multi-layered. To avoid a poor design project outcome, it is evident that consistent risk monitoring is present in all stages of a design project, but might be improved by better understanding how issues change their degree of importance and potential negative impact during the course of the project. Developing a mechanism to enable teams to objectively identify and manage these fluctuating project risks, will contribute to a more coherent and effective strategy for recognizing and managing future design projects

A psychological approach to providing self-management education for people with type 2 diabetes : the diabetes manual

Background: The objectives of this study were twofold (i) to develop the Diabetes Manual, a selfmanagement educational intervention aimed at improving biomedical and psychosocial outcomes (ii) to produce early phase evidence relating to validity and clinical feasibility to inform future research and systematic reviews. Methods: Using the UK Medical Research Council's complex intervention framework, the Diabetes Manual and associated self management interventions were developed through preclinical, and phase I evaluation phases guided by adult-learning and self-efficacy theories, clinical feasibility and health policy protocols. A qualitative needs assessment and an RCT contributed data to the pre-clinical phase. Phase I incorporated intervention development informed by the preclinical phase and a feasibility survey. Results: The pre-clinical and phase I studies resulted in the production in the Diabetes Manual programme for trial evaluation as delivered within routine primary care consultations. Conclusion: This complex intervention shows early feasibility and face validity for both diabetes health professionals and people with diabetes. Randomised trial will determine effectiveness against clinical and psychological outcomes. Further study of some component parts, delivered in alternative combinations, is recommended

An experimental and finite element study of the low-cycle fatigue failure of a galvanised steel lighting column

This paper presents the results of a low-cycle fatigue test on a lighting column. The wind induced vibration phenomena responsible for low cycle fatigue in such structures is discussed and the failure mechanism is examined. It was initially thought that poor quality weld detail was the major influence on the fatigue life of such columns. However, the significant role of the galvanised coating in the failure process is also highlighted. The experimental results are compared with those from a detailed 3D finite element model. Various methods of calculating hot-spot stresses at welded joints are examined and use of a simple peak stress removal approach is shown to produce significantly different values compared with the other methods examined

Regulation of human neutrophil apoptosis by nitric oxide and peroxynitrite

Apoptosis of inflammatory cells is a critical event in the resolution of inflammation, as failure to undergo this form of cell death leads to increased tissue damage and exacerbation of the inflammatory response. Prolonged survival of the neutrophilic granulocyte has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many chronic inflammatory conditions. Many factors are able to influence the rate of apoptosis in neutrophils. Among these is the signalling molecule, nitric oxide (NO), which possesses both anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic properties in many cell types, depending on the concentration and flux of NO, and also the source from which NO is derived.Characterisation of the NO-related species generated by four 'NO-donating' compounds, spermine diazeniumdiolate (SPER/NO), diethylamine diazeniumdiolate (DEA/NO), 1,2,3,4-oxatriazolium, 5-amino-3- (3,4-dichlorophenyl)-chloride (GEA 3162) and 3-morpholinosydnonime (SIN-1) was carried out. It was demonstrated that the diazeniumdiolates, SPER/NO and DEA/NO both spontaneously liberated free NO in aqueous solution at physiological temperature and pH. In contrast, both GEA 3162 and SIN-1 produced NO and superoxide anion (O2") concomitantly, that rapidly react to form the powerful oxidant species, peroxynitrite (ONOO"). These two compounds should therefore be considered ONOO" donors rather than NO donors.Apoptosis studies demonstrated the biphasic pro- and anti-apoptotic effects of pure NO donors, SPER/NO and DEA/NO, and the pro-apoptotic effects of ONOO" donors, GEA 3162 and SIN-1, in human neutrophils. Low concentrations of the pure NO donors delayed the rate of neutrophil apoptosis, while high concentrations of all compounds tested accelerated cell death. Time course analyses of four independent events of apoptosis revealed that morphological and biochemical parameters of neutrophil apoptosis may proceed independently of internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, which has long been considered a key hallmark of apoptosis and is frequently used as the sole criterion for assessment of this form of cell death. Treatment with high concentrations of ONOO" donors and, to a lesser extent, with the longer-lasting pure NO donor, SPER/NO, induced morphological and cell surface (CD 16 shedding and phosphatidylserine exposure) changes characteristic of neutrophil apoptosis, but paradoxically inhibited internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, as measured by propidium iodide intercalation and gel electrophoresis. In contrast, treatment with the short-lasting NO donor, DEA/NO, produced no such inhibition. An oxidation reaction was shown to be responsible for the suppression of the DNA fragmentation pathway, as the reducing agent, dithiothreitol, restored DNA fragmentation back to control levels. However, GEA 3162-mediated inhibition of DNA fragmentation did not occur upstream or at the level of degradation of inhibitor of caspase-activated DNase (ICAD/DFF45), as Western blotting showed breakdown of this protein was enhanced rather than inhibited in GEA 3162-treated neutrophils.Therefore, NO can exert either pro- or anti-apoptotic effects on human neutrophil apoptosis, depending on its concentration and flux, whereas only proapoptotic effects are achieved with ONOO" donors. Cell death promoted by ONOO" or SPER/NO is independent of an increase in internucleosomal DNA fragmentation; this process is inhibited via an oxidative mechanism, but not through inhibition of ICAD/DFF45 breakdown or upstream mechanisms. Thus, NO and ONOO" are able to modulate the rate of neutrophil apoptosis, which may have implications for chronic inflammatory conditions

The Activities Of Herbicide Safeners In Wheat (Triticum aestivum L)

Commercialised herbicide safeners (also known as protectants or antidotes) are synthetic chemicals used to enhance herbicide tolerance in cereal crops. They do this by causing an up-regulation in xenobiotic detoxifying enzymes such as glutathione transferases (GSTs). Seedlings of wheat (Triticum aestivum cv ‘Einstein’) were sprayed with the safeners cloquintocet mexyl, fenchlorazole ethyl and mefenpyr diethyl. All three compounds caused an identical up regulation of GSTs from the phi, tau and lambda classes, despite their differences in chemistry. Using cloquintocet mexyl as a classic wheat safener treatment, it was found that GST induction was both dose and time dependent. Safening was found to be associated with the rapid hydrolysis of the parent ester to cloquintocet acid. When the free acid was tested, the GST-induction response obtained was identical to that determined with the parent ester, suggesting that cloquintocet itself is the active safener. GST induction was found to be tissue specific within the wheat shoots, with the lambda GSTs being preferentially expressed in the meristematic tissue. Proteomic 2 D gel analysis revealed that the tau TaGSTU3 was a major up-regulated GST. In addition, six GSTs that were previously shown in literature to be up-regulated by herbicide safeners in wheat were cloned, expressed and characterized as the respective recombinant enzymes and renamed to bring them in line with existing nomenclature. The GSTs cloned included TaGSTU3, TaGSTU6, TaGSTF4, TaGSTF10 and TaGSTL1. Metabolism studies showed that following the hydrolysis of cloquintocet mexyl, no further down- stream metabolites could be identified and none of the up-regulated GSTs showed any activity toward the safener. However TaGSTU3 was found to bind and be inhibited by cloquintocet free acid as determined by isothermal titration calorimetry. Safener treatment also led to a transient inhibition of GST activity in crude wheat extracts after spraying the seedlings. In addition to the induction of GSTs, safener treatments also resulted in an enhanced growth of wheat seedlings. The work presented in this thesis confirms that very different compounds can induce apparently identical downstream events at the level of GST enhancement and that these induction events underpin wider changes in plant physiology

Engineering Mathematics and Virtual Learning Environments: A Case Study of Student Perceptions

The study involved BTec National (level 3) engineering students studying at a large Further Education College in the South West region. The disciplines of Electrical/Electronic, Mechanical, Operations and Maintenance, Manufacturing, Telecommunications and Fabrication where all included in the study. Several students were sent by their employers on day release programmes and apprenticeships, and these formed the majority of the part time students. There were also other employed students who attended full time for terms 1 and 3 as part of a block release programme. The remaining students were full time, and mainly 16-18 years old. The study focused upon the core mathematics module everyone studied, and mathematical resources which were available through a virtual learning environment. The resources used layering, enabling earlier work to be built on and applied. Two separate cohorts were studied after substantial changes had been made to the qualification standards. The main findings were that the mathematics resources were very useful support, had a significant positive impact on student success, and enhanced the student experience. They helped part time students, especially, to improve their confidence and their achievements. The unlimited availability of these resources were a major consideration in their usefulness. The use of layering within the mathematics unit enabled better recall and comprehension.CPD activity funded by City College Plymout