Are we there yet? Insights to support the use of reflective practice methods for explorative practice-led doctoral research into real-world design problems

This paper concerns the use of design thinking in practice-led doctoral design research. It examines methodological appropriateness for research through design. Much practice-led design research begins with the aim of improving knowledge and understanding for design practitioners involved in real-world problem-solving. However this can be compromised in both its applicability and/or relevance as the context of the practice or the articulation of the theory/practice relationship becomes esoteric to those other than design theorists. It is our observation, as supervisors and examiners of Design PhD students, that practice-led design researchers often get caught up in a research paradigm and process that reduces their project to a post-hoc rationalisation of the problem, the methodology and resulting knowledge; creating an output that alienates the intended primary audience. This paper examines methodological appropriateness for practice-led design research. It is based on a correlation of critical literature and reflection on several practice-led doctoral design projects. It considers the theoretical frameworks and research processes to support exploratory practice-led design research by expert designers. It argues that for this type of research the research question(s) and research design should co-evolve in order to generate new insight and understanding of future design directions; documenting this evolution forms a vital element of the research content

The Chinese Diaspora and Philanthropy

This paper explores philanthropic links between the Chinese diaspora and the People's Republic of China. It draws on a wide range of sources and aims to sketch the range and nature of those links

Holographic Nambu Jona-Lasinio Interactions

NJL interactions are introduced into the D3/ probe D7 system using Witten's double trace operator prescription which includes the operator as a classical term in the effective potential. In the supersymmetric system they do not induce chiral symmetry breaking which we attribute to the flat effective potential with quark mass in the supersymmetric theory. If additional supersymmetry breaking is introduced then standard NJL behaviour is realized. In examples where chiral symmetry breaking is not preferred such as with a B field plus an IR cut off chiral condensation is triggered by the NJL interaction at a second order transition after a finite critical coupling. If the model already contains chiral symmetry breaking, for example in the B field case with no IR cut off, then the NJL interaction enhances the quark mass at all values of the NJL coupling. We also consider the system at finite temperature: the temperature discourages condensation but when combined with a magnetic field we find regions of parameter space where the NJL interaction triggers a first order chiral transition above a critical coupling.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

E, B, \mu, T Phase Structure of the D3/D7 Holographic Dual

The large N_c N=4 gauge theory with quenched N=2 quark matter displays chiral symmetry breaking in the presence of a magnetic field. We previously studied the temperature and chemical potential phase structure of this theory in the grand canonical ensemble - here we, in addition, include the effect of an electric field which acts to counter chiral symmetry breaking by disassociating mesons. We compute using the gravity dual based on the D3/probe-D7 brane system. The theory displays two transition at one of which chiral symmetry is restored. At the other transition density switches on, the mesons of the theory become unstable and a current forms, making it a conductor-insulator transition. Through the temperature, electric field, chemical potential volume (at fixed magnetic field parallel to the electric field) these transitions can coincide or separate at critical points, and be first order or second order. We map out this full phase structure which provides varied computable examples relevant to strongly coupled gauge theories and potentially condensed matter systems.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure