Cybernetic transdisciplinarity as pedagogy

A core characteristic of cybernetics is the construction of transdisciplinary theory through the creation of analogies between different situations in terms of feedback processes. Feedback, which can be understood as processes where the observed outcomes of action are taken as input for new action, is widespread across social, ecological, biological, and technological contexts, giving cybernetics its transdisciplinary character. Cybernetics is often abstract in character, seeking to understand principles that apply in many situations. For instance, Wiener characterized cybernetics as relevant to both “the animal and the machine”, Ashby saw it as concerned with “all possible machines”, and Mead understood it as form of language “sufficiently abstract to make it possible to cross disciplinary boundaries”. This abstraction affords cybernetics its extraordinarily broad scope, explanatory power, and transgressive character, with ideas able to move between contexts. However, this abstraction also brings limitations. First, it focuses attention on general principles at the expense of material embodiment and the specifics of a situation. Second, positioning cybernetics as explanatory tends to characterize its relation to practice in terms of a theory-application relationship that is, at least to some extent, at odds with cybernetics’ core ideas about circularity. Third, the ease with which cybernetics moves ideas between contexts risks uncritical deployments of its analogies as if they represent equivalencies, such as thinking of machines as if they are brains or vice versa. In this paper, we present a way in which cybernetic analogies may be deployed in a manner which is embodied (rather than abstract) and methodological (rather than explanatory). The example we take is from our own teaching practices, focusing on a curriculum developed in the context of supporting postgraduate architecture and design students in understanding research. This is an area in which cybernetics has theory to offer, notably Glanville’s argument that research (including scientific research) is designed. By outlining the approach to teaching and learning developed in this curriculum, we describe how Glanville’s theoretical stance may be reformulated as a pedagogic process, where students reposition their growing expertise in design as expertise in (designing) research. We discuss the advantages of this in the context of education for design research, such as avoiding positioning research as something external to design and opening research to the sorts of critique that one may apply to other design outcomes. Reviewing the legacy of this curriculum in students’ subsequent project work, we conclude by speculating on the extent to which the pedagogic approach presented here may be taken up in other practical situations

One-pot radioiodination of aryl amines via stable diazonium salts: preparation of 125I-imaging agents

An operationally simple, one-pot, two-step tandem procedure that allows the incorporation of radioactive iodine into aryl amines via stable diazonium salts is described. The mild conditions are tolerant of various functional groups and substitution patterns, allowing late-stage, rapid access to a wide range of 125I-labelled aryl compounds and SPECT radiotracers

Leaky Bodies and Environments: Infant feeding and design

It is well established that breastfeeding or chestfeeding is immensely beneficial to breastfeeding mothers, chestfeeding parents, and infants throughout their life spans. There are wide-ranging and far-reaching benefits to increasing breastfeeding rates in all areas of the world (Victora et al., 2016). Despite the many benefits, recorded rates in the UK remain among the lowest in the world (Renfew et al., 2012). Mainstream British culture, support, and literature positions infant feeding as a personal choice and a local issue. However, choosing how to feed a child is not an open and unrestricted choice (Brown, 2021). This illusion of choice is coupled with public health messaging encouraging new mothers and birthing people to exclusively breastfeed or chestfeed their children. However, parents and infants are surrounded by a systemic and cultural lack of support to do so, placing the mother or parent in a double bind. Shame and guilt commonly occur in association with infant feeding experiences, regardless of how a child is fed (Jackson et al., 2021). In this paper, I argue that it is possible and necessary to move outside binary expectations of infant feeding dyads, expanding the field of vision or situation of focus when seeking to understand UK infant feeding practices. I argue that human bodies and (often designed) environments are ‘leaky’ and permeate each other. This leakage happens in different ways, from the physical to the cultural and behavioural. The consequences of the leakage are substantive and insidious. I discuss how lactating bodies, feeding bodies and eating bodies are among many interrelating leaky ecological bodies. Furthermore, these and other ecological and environmental systems, matters and meanings’ leak’ into and between infant feeding and design. I argue that how infants are fed (in the UK or elsewhere) is a critical issue of planetary health, that issues of planetary health impact infant feeding bodies, and that these relationships are mediated by design. Therefore, recognising and discussing ‘leaky systems’ in and through design enable possibilities for understanding and responding to complex planetary health issues

Rapid iododeboronation with and without gold catalysis: application to radiolabelling of arenes

Radiopharmaceuticals incorporating radioactive iodine in combination with SPECT imaging play a key role in nuclear medicine, with applications in drug development and disease diagnosis. Despite this importance, there are relatively few general methods for incorporating radioiodine into small molecules. Here we describe a rapid, air- and moisture-stable ipso-iododeboronation procedure using NIS, in the non-toxic and green solvent dimethyl carbonate. The fast reaction and mild conditions of the gold-catalysed method led to the development of a highly efficient process for radiolabelling of arenes, which constitutes the first example of an application of homogenous gold catalysis to selective radiosynthesis. This has been exemplified with an effective synthesis of radiolabelled meta-[125I]iodobenzylguanidine, a radiopharmaceutical used for the imaging and therapy of human norepinephrine transporter-expressing tumours

Psychometric validation of the Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale-Revised Short Form

Aim: To develop a parsimonious, shortened version of the Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale-Revised for perioperative nurses to complete as part of their specialty training while retaining good psychometric properties. Design: A longitudinal online survey was adopted. Methods: A national sample of perioperative nurses from Australia completed an online survey at two different time points 6 months apart between February and October 2021. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for item reduction and construct validity, while criterion, convergent validity and internal consistency were examined. Results: Usable data for psychometric assessment were obtained from 485 operating room nurses at time 1 and 164 nurses at time 2. The original 40-item revised scale was reduced to an 18-item measure, maintaining its six domains. Cronbach's alpha for the 18-item scale was .92 at time 1 and .90 at time 2. Scale validation demonstrated moderate to weak positive relationships in perceived competence scores relative to general self-efficacy, years of operating room experience, postgraduate education and recency of training. Conclusions: Results suggest the 18-item Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale-Revised Short Form has initial robust psychometric properties and may be implemented in clinical settings as part of perioperative transition-to-practice, orientation programs and yearly professional development reviews. Implications for the Profession: This short-form scale can help prepare perioperative nurses to demonstrate clinical competence in a climate of increasing professional demands using a valid measure of competence required in clinical practice. Impact: Short and validated scales of perioperative competence are needed in clinical practice. Assessment of practising operating room nurses' perceived competence is essential in quality care provision, workforce planning and human resource management. This study provides an 18-item measure of the previously validated 40-item Perceived Perioperative Competence Scale-Revised. This scale can help provide an option for future testing of perioperative nurses' competence in clinical or research settings. Patient or Public Contribution: Perioperative nurses were involved in the design of the study, particularly in the assessment of validation of the tools used in the study