Service Futures, Proceedings of the fourth Service Design and Service Innovation Conference

ServDes2014 explores how Service Design is contributing to ‘Service Futures’ and how it is developing as a field of research and practice. We have witnessed how the concept and role of services in the economy and society have come a long way since its first definitions and studies. Services have moved from being a peripheral activity in a manufacturing - centred economy; to an engine for growth and society driven innovation. This transformation has been fully recognised with a flourishing of service innovation and service research studies aimed at deepening understanding; and at supporting the development of services both as a sector and as a concept. We suggest that Service Design is closely following this transformation. Starting from its initial focus on service interactions and experiences; Service Design research and practice have entered more strategic and transformational roles; dealing with issues of organisational change; system design; sustainability and social change; amongst others. Increasingly; Service Design is considering ways to integrate and collaborate with other service related disciplines. Also; questions are emerging on the future of this field; considering the growing areas of application and the expansion of the concept of service itself. ServDes2014 has brought these recent discussions and transformations to the fore and offered an ideal place to collectively reflect on and imagine that future. ServDes.2014 ran over three days: The first day was dedicated to practical explorations of Service Design with eight workshops led by both practitioners and academics; The second day was mostly focused on (long and short) papers presentations organised in three parallel sessions and two extra workshops; The third and final day was partly dedicated to papers presentation and came to an end with three parallel forums exploring the future of Service Design Research and Education and their relationship with Social Innovation. Working at the boundaries of Service Design; Digital and Social Innovation; the keynote speaker Dominic Campbell (Futuregov); projected novel spaces and responsibilities for Service Design in relation to complex societal transformational challenges; while Prof. Pelle Ehn (Malmö University); positioned it within a historical retrospective of Participatory Design in a constant search for more democratic (service) design practices. The conference was organised around five main themes which are reflected in the proceedings structure: Emerging Directions for Service Design; Design for Service Innovation and Transformation; Service Design and Implementation; Novel Service Design Frameworks and Tools; Service Design Across Organisations. Thanks to everyone who contributed and participated to this conference; and we look forward ServDes.2016 further developments and ideas

Buying Design, Where are we now? Associate Parliamentary Design Innovation Group Term Paper

‘Design ...The purposeful move from a current situation to a preferred situation.’ – Herbert Simon In 2010 the Associate Parliamentary Design and Innovation Group (APDIG) published a report critiquing government procurement practice as it related to design services. The main accusation was that government too often tried to buy design as though it were a discrete commodity, rather than a creative service, and that this seriously hampered the ultimate outcome for both buyer and supplier. This paper brings an update on the state of design procurement, including the results of an industry consultation conducted by our partners on the initial report, the Design Business Association

Game design in an Internet of Things

Whilst no consensus yet exists on how the Internet of Things will be realised, a global infrastructure of networked physical objects that are readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable and controllable is undoubtedly a compelling vision. Although many implementations of the Internet of Things have presented these objects in a largely ambient sensing role, or providing some form of remote access/control, in this paper we consider the emerging convergence between games and the Internet of Things. This can be seen in a growing number of games that use objects as physical game pieces to enhance the players’ interaction with virtual games. These hybrid physical/digital objects present game designers with number of interesting challenges as they i) blur the boundaries between toys and games; ii) provide opportunities for freeform physical play outside the virtual game; and iii) create new requirements for interaction design, in that they utilise design techniques from both product design and computer interface design. Whilst in the past the manufacturing costs of such game objects would preclude their use within games from small independent games developers, the advent of low cost 3D printing and open software and hardware platforms, which are the enablers of the Internet of Things, means this is no longer the case. However, in order to maximise this opportunity game designers will need to develop new approaches to the design of their games and in this paper we highlight the design sensibilities required if they are to combine the digital and physical affordances within the design of such objects to produce good player experiences

In the absence of BYPASS1-related gene function, the bps signal disrupts embryogenesis by an auxin-independent mechanism

Development is often coordinated by biologically active mobile compounds that move between cells or organs

A Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) approach to the qualitative analysis of older adults’ intentions to adopt assistive smart home technology

Background: There is a need for a broader understanding of the psychological influences impacting healthy older adults’ intentions to use assistive smart home technologies if these technologies are to succeed in helping older adults to continue to live independently in their own homes. Objective: This qualitative paper aimed to analyse healthy older adults’ intentions to adopt and use assistive smart home technologies using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF), which synthesises a large number of theories of psychology and behaviour change. Method: Using a focus group methodology, an in-person workshop presented fictitious personas representing end-user cases to participants, soliciting potential problems that may arise while living independently and solutions that might help. Online Zoom workshops facilitated discussions centred on participant opinions about how various forms of technology could support independent living for older adults. Comments were analysed using a TDF approach. Results: Key domains identified as influencing intention to adopt and use assistive smart home technologies included Knowledge, Skills, Beliefs about Capabilities, Goals, Beliefs about Consequences, Social Influences, Emotions, and Environmental Context and Resources. Conclusion: This paper has identified the eight most relevant TDF domains and mapped these to some of the theories and associated behaviour change strategies most suited to investigating and shaping intentions to use assistive smart home technology. The TDF-based analysis successfully elucidated a broad range of psychological influences driving intentions to adopt and use such technology. Knowledge of these influences can assist those involved in technology design, development, and marketing to ultimately increase the uptake of smart technology by older adults. Key advantages of the TDF include its comprehensive theoretical coverage contained within domains comprising mediators of behaviour change, and its capacity to elicit a wide range of influences with the potential to drive acceptance and adoption of smart technology among community-dwelling older adults

Genome-wide association study identifies a variant in HDAC9 associated with large vessel ischemic stroke

Genetic factors have been implicated in stroke risk but few replicated associations have been reported. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in ischemic stroke and its subtypes in 3,548 cases and 5,972 controls, all of European ancestry. Replication of potential signals was performed in 5,859 cases and 6,281 controls. We replicated reported associations between variants close to PITX2 and ZFHX3 with cardioembolic stroke, and a 9p21 locus with large vessel stroke. We identified a novel association for a SNP within the histone deacetylase 9(HDAC9) gene on chromosome 7p21.1 which was associated with large vessel stroke including additional replication in a further 735 cases and 28583 controls (rs11984041, combined P = 1.87×10−11, OR=1.42 (95% CI) 1.28-1.57). All four loci exhibit evidence for heterogeneity of effect across the stroke subtypes, with some, and possibly all, affecting risk for only one subtype. This suggests differing genetic architectures for different stroke subtypes

Low-dose carotid computed tomography angiography using pure iterative reconstruction

The aim of this study was to assess if a low-dose carotid computed tomography angiography (CTA) performed with pure iterative reconstruction (IR) is comparable to a conventional dose CTA protocol. Methods: Twenty patients were included. Radiation dose was divided into a low-dose acquisition reconstructed with pure IR and a conventional dose acquisition reconstructed with 40% hybrid IR. Dose, image noise, contrast resolution, spatial resolution, and carotid artery stenosis were measured. Results: Mean effective dose was significantly lower for low-dose than conventional dose studies (1.84 versus 3.71 mSv; P < 0.001). Subjective image noise, contrast resolution, and spatial resolution were significantly higher for the low-dose studies. There was excellent agreement for stenosis grading accuracy between low- and conventional dose studies (Cohen κ = 0.806). Conclusions: A low-dose carotid CTA protocol reconstructed with pure IR is comparable to a conventional dose CTA protocol in terms of image quality and diagnostic accuracy while enabling a dose reduction of 49.6%

Efficiency and safety of varying the frequency of whole blood donation (INTERVAL): a randomised trial of 45 000 donors

Background: Limits on the frequency of whole blood donation exist primarily to safeguard donor health. However, there is substantial variation across blood services in the maximum frequency of donations allowed. We compared standard practice in the UK with shorter inter-donation intervals used in other countries. Methods: In this parallel group, pragmatic, randomised trial, we recruited whole blood donors aged 18 years or older from 25 centres across England, UK. By use of a computer-based algorithm, men were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to 12-week (standard) versus 10-week versus 8-week inter-donation intervals, and women were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to 16-week (standard) versus 14-week versus 12-week intervals. Participants were not masked to their allocated intervention group. The primary outcome was the number of donations over 2 years. Secondary outcomes related to safety were quality of life, symptoms potentially related to donation, physical activity, cognitive function, haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations, and deferrals because of low haemoglobin. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN24760606, and is ongoing but no longer recruiting participants. Findings: 45 263 whole blood donors (22 466 men, 22 797 women) were recruited between June 11, 2012, and June 15, 2014. Data were analysed for 45 042 (99·5%) participants. Men were randomly assigned to the 12-week (n=7452) versus 10-week (n=7449) versus 8-week (n=7456) groups; and women to the 16-week (n=7550) versus 14-week (n=7567) versus 12-week (n=7568) groups. In men, compared with the 12-week group, the mean amount of blood collected per donor over 2 years increased by 1·69 units (95% CI 1·59–1·80; approximately 795 mL) in the 8-week group and by 0·79 units (0·69–0·88; approximately 370 mL) in the 10-week group (p&lt;0·0001 for both). In women, compared with the 16-week group, it increased by 0·84 units (95% CI 0·76–0·91; approximately 395 mL) in the 12-week group and by 0·46 units (0·39–0·53; approximately 215 mL) in the 14-week group (p&lt;0·0001 for both). No significant differences were observed in quality of life, physical activity, or cognitive function across randomised groups. However, more frequent donation resulted in more donation-related symptoms (eg, tiredness, breathlessness, feeling faint, dizziness, and restless legs, especially among men [for all listed symptoms]), lower mean haemoglobin and ferritin concentrations, and more deferrals for low haemoglobin (p&lt;0·0001 for each) than those observed in the standard frequency groups. Interpretation: Over 2 years, more frequent donation than is standard practice in the UK collected substantially more blood without having a major effect on donors' quality of life, physical activity, or cognitive function, but resulted in more donation-related symptoms, deferrals, and iron deficiency. Funding: NHS Blood and Transplant, National Institute for Health Research, UK Medical Research Council, and British Heart Foundation

The development of vegetarian omega-3 oil in water nanoemulsions suitable for integration into functional food products

Global trends show that habitual omega-3 intakes are short of recommended guidelines, particularly among vegetarians and vegans. The potential health implications of low long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC3PUFA) intakes coupled with concerns about sustainability of fish stocks call for innovative approaches to provide food based solutions to this problem. Nanoemulsions are systems with extremely small droplet sizes that could provide a solution whilst improving the bioavailability of LC3PUFA. Oil in water nanoemulsion systems were successfully created using ultrasound with oil loads of up to 50 vol % using vegetarian LC3PUFA oils. Nanoemulsions containing 50 vol % flaxseed and algae oil were created with mean droplet size measurements of 192 and 182nm respectively using combinations of the emulsifiers Tween 40 and lecithin. This technique could be applied to create vegetarian LC3PUFA nanoemulsions suitable for integration into enriched functional food products with the potential to increase LC3PUFA intakes and bioavailability