The Design Postgraduate Journeyman: Mapping the relationship between design thinking and doing with skills acquisition for skilful practice

The relationship between knowing, doing and skillful practice resonate in industry and design education. The connection between creativity, design and successful innovation practices in industry has been debated much recently, heightened by realization in academe and governments that 'we need a different way of thinking and doing if we are to live well and prosper in the future' This paper addresses the question; how to understand more about the relationship of design thinking and doing with learning. It describes research to correlate design knowledge and skill with the pedagogy of skilful practice, thereby supporting pedagogical theory for the design practitioner learner. The research correlates Sennett's review of craftsmanship as skillful thinking and doing, with Dreyfus and dreyfus's model of mental activitiesin the transition of novice to masterful states of skilful practice. It concludes by illustrating the critical transition points to inform educational practice

DESIGN AS A FUNCTIONAL LEADER: A case study of Philips to investigate the potential of design as a leading functional discipline

This research investigates the role of design as a functional leader in multinational industries, to drive innovation successfully at a strategic level. It involved a detailed case study of the innovation process, and practices within Philips Design based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, where design is a key decision making function within the company but not yet recognised as a leading discipline at strategic level. Philips Design wanted to use design research to build an integrated map of its actual practices and correlate these with other corporate innovation practices, to help establish strategic recognition for their value. The doctoral challenge was to explicate the process and determine whether the findings have generic capacity to support the role of design as a functional leading discipline. The investigation integrates an iterative loop of; abductive reasoning of design thinking and inductive reasoning of management thinking in an action research cycle. The case study was part of an empirical enquiry, where the researcher became a participatory observer at Philips Design, conducting one-on-one interviews for data collection and refining their analysis using a Delphi Technique. Three other multinational organisations were explored to take into account how each perceives the contribution of design and the different roles it plays in their organisation. Data triangulation was also used to validate findings with a third party expert. The research contributes to knowledge by confirming the conditions for design to act as a leading functional discipline. It shows that design cannot be the only functional lead for a multinational organisation. It identifies the major reason for this as the difference between thinkers trying to find viable options for the future and practitioners trying to defend the core business in their organisation, resulting in a gap between strategy and operation. The research further elaborates on the reasons for the gap to exist through qualitative conceptual relationships between designer behaviour and organisational culture in the different innovation cycles that exist in the organisation

The young people's consultation service: An evaluation of a consultation model of very brief psychotherapy

The Young People's Consultation Service (YPCS) is a four‐session, self‐referral, psychodynamically‐oriented psychotherapeutic consultation service for young people aged between 16 and 30, at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London. Aim: It was hypothesized that clients would show an improvement on outcome measures at the end of the four sessions. It was also hoped that the data would identify characteristics of the clients who show the most benefit. Method: A review of the case‐notes of all clients attending the service between January 2003 to April 2006 was carried out, and details were entered into a database, including demographic information, presenting issues and attendance. Clients were given the Youth Self‐Report form (YSR) (Achenbach, 1991) or the Young Adult Self Report form (YASR) (Achenbach, 1997), according to age, before the start of the intervention and at the end of the four sessions. Outcome data were analysed, comparing pre‐ and post‐treatment scores on the YSR/YASR. Results: A total of 236 clients attended the service during the study period. Pre‐ to post‐comparison data on the YSR/YASR was available for 24 clients. Of those, YSR/YASR scores reduced significantly on all subscales and severity reduced over time in all cases. In addition, there was a trend towards moving from the clinical to the non‐clinical range, reaching statistical significance on the Internalizing and Total subscales. A number of YPCS clients showed both statistically significant and clinical improvement on the Internalizing and Externalizing scales of the YSR/YASR, with a greater number showing improvement on the Internalizing scale. Conclusions: Improvements were found on all subscales of the YSR/YASR at the end of the four session intervention. A greater number of clients showed improvement on the Internalizing subscale, suggesting that this form of very brief psychotherapy is most effective for clients with emotional problems

TANF: The Past, the Present, and the Future of Ending Welfare As We Know It?

These slides are from our 2016 national conference, A Nation That Works: What's It Going to Take? The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program has been one of the most studied, evaluated, and debated pieces of American public policy of the last 20 years. TANF has raised important questions and concerns about the role of the safety net in the lives of poor, single female heads of household. On a national scale, and in localities across the country, program designers, implementers, advocates, researchers, and thought leaders have been at odds with the program's multiple—and often times conflicting—goals. Participants are invited to join a discussion session that takes a look back at the last twenty years of TANF implementation and what we have learned, what is happening now, and what advocates and others are thinking about the future of safety net policy and supporting pathways to work and opportunity for low-income female heads of household

Impaired hydrogen sulfide protein expression in patients with peripheral artery disease

INTRODUCTION: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a gaseous signaling molecule that serves various roles in the vasculature, such as upregulating angiogenesis, vascular smooth muscle relaxation, protecting endothelial function, and regulating redox balance. Despite H2S’s positive impacts on vascular homeostasis, it is important to note that its actions depend on its concentrations. At high concentrations, H2S has been reported to increase oxidative stress damage, such as oxidation of cysteine residues and lipid peroxidation. This may indicate that H2S may act as a ‘double-edged sword’ in the field of vascular physiology. Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an atherosclerotic disease which manifested by claudication (leg pain during walking). Growing evidence suggests that abnormal H2S level may present with vascular diseases, however, only a few animal studies investigated the H2S and H2S -mediated oxidative stress damage in vascular disease models, and there are currently no available studies for human vascular disease patients, such as patients with PAD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the H2S and oxidative stress damage in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and skeletal muscle tissues from patients with PAD. METHODS: Western blot was performed using skeletal muscle tissues and PBMCs to examine protein expression of cystathionase (CTH), which catalyzes production of H2S, and glutathione peroxidase-4 (GPx-4) and catalase (CAT), which are antioxidant markers, from healthy adults (CON) and patients with PAD (PAD). RESULTS: Patients with PAD show a lower expression of CTH compared to CON (P \u3c 0.01, PAD: 1.61 ± 0.44, CON: 8.53 ± 0.46). However, CAT expression was not different between groups (P = 0.429, PAD: 0.03 ± 0.02, CON: 0.01 ± 0.01). In addition, CAT and GPx-4 expression was assessed in CON PBMCs (CAT: 5.07 ± 1.14, GPx-4: 0.63 ± 0.3). CONCLUSION: CTH protein expression in the skeletal muscle is attenuated in PAD compared to CON. However, CAT protein expression in the skeletal muscle is not different between groups. These data suggest an impairment is present in the H2S signaling system in the skeletal muscle of patients with PAD

Improving visual representations of code

This work was done in 1997 at the Centre for Software Maintenance at the University of DurhamThe contents of this paper describe the work carried out by the Visual Research Group in the Centre for Software Maintenance at the University of Durham.Publisher PD

Mitochondrial targeted antioxidant intake improves vascular function and exercise tolerance in peripheral artery disease patients

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a manifestation of atherosclerosis in the leg arteries, which causes reduced blood flow and leg pain. This may be in part due to excessive mitochondria-produced reactive oxygen species (ROS) and attenuated mitochondrial respiratory function. Mitoquinol mesylate, a mitochondrial-targeted antioxidant, has been shown to scavenge ROS and improve vascular function in older adults and animal models. However, the impacts of mitoquinol on vascular function in PAD patients are unknown. We sought to examine the impacts of mitoquinol intake (80mg) on endothelial function (flow mediated dilation, FMD), resting heart rate (RHR), blood pressure (BP), arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity, PWV), and exercise tolerance in PAD patients. 10 PAD patients (stage II-III) received either mitoquinol or placebo in a randomized crossover design. At each visit, measurements of RHR, BP, brachial and popliteal artery FMD, PWV, augmentation index (AIx), maximal walking capacity, and time to claudication (COT) were measured before and after mitoquinol and placebo. There were significant group by time interactions (ppp=0.10), carotid-to-ankle PWV (p=0.08), and increases in maximal walking time (p=0.06), and maximal walking distance (p=0.06). There were no changes in RHR, systolic BP, central BP, deceleration time, max dP/dt, carotid-to-radial PWV, carotid-to-femoral PWV, or AIx (p\u3e0.05). Mitoquinol intake may be an effective strategy for targeting mitochondrial ROS, which may be useful for treating endothelial dysfunction, leg pain, and improving walking time in PAD patients

K\u3csub\u3eCa\u3c/sub\u3e2 and K\u3csub\u3eCa\u3c/sub\u3e3.1 Channels in the Airways: A New Therapeutic Target

K+ channels are involved in many critical functions in lung physiology. Recently, the family of Ca2+-activated K+ channels (KCa) has received more attention, and a massive amount of effort has been devoted to developing selective medications targeting these channels. Within the family of KCa channels, three small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa2) channel subtypes, together with the intermediate-conductance KCa3.1 channel, are voltage-independent K+ channels, and they mediate Ca2+-induced membrane hyperpolarization. Many KCa2 channel members are involved in crucial roles in physiological and pathological systems throughout the body. In this article, different subtypes of KCa2 and KCa3.1 channels and their functions in respiratory diseases are discussed. Additionally, the pharmacology of the KCa2 and KCa3.1 channels and the link between these channels and respiratory ciliary regulations will be explained in more detail. In the future, specific modulators for small or intermediate Ca2+-activated K+ channels may offer a unique therapeutic opportunity to treat muco-obstructive lung diseases

Implicit theories of a desire for fame

The aim of the present studies was to generate implicit theories of a desire for fame among the general population. In Study 1, we were able to develop a nine-factor analytic model of conceptions of the desire to be famous that initially comprised nine separate factors; ambition, meaning derived through comparison with others, psychologically vulnerable, attention seeking, conceitedness, social access, altruistic, positive affect, and glamour. Analysis that sought to examine replicability among these factors suggested that three factors (altruistic, positive affect, and glamour) neither display factor congruence nor display adequate internal reliability. A second study examined the validity of these factors in predicting profiles of individuals who may desire fame. The findings from this study suggested that two of the nine factors (positive affect and altruism) could not be considered strong factors within the model. Overall, the findings suggest that implicit theories of a desire for fame comprise six factors. The discussion focuses on how an implicit model of a desire for fame might progress into formal theories of a desire for fame

Association of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C polymorphisms with coronary artery disease (CAD) in a North Indian population

There is significant variation in reported associations of the MTHFR C677T (rs1801133) and A1298C (rs1801131) polymorphisms and coronary artery disease (CAD) in different global populations. This study aims to identify any individual or combined associations between the 1298 and 677 loci of MTHFR and CAD in a North Indian population. A total of 159 patients and 166 controls were genotyped using validated TaqMan assays. Odds ratio analysis identified associations at crude level and multiple logistic regression controlled for confounding variables. Linkage disequilibrium between the loci was assessed along with haplotype association analysis. At the C677T locus, homozygosity of the T allele identified a significantly protective association (OR = 0.38, CI: 0.24–0.60). For the A1298C locus the AC genotype had a protective effect in codominant model (OR = 0.53, CI: 0.32–0.85) and CC genotype showed a susceptible association in recessive model when controlled for age, sex and lipids (OR = 2.70, CI: 1.27–5.77). This study identified that, independently, both heterozygous genotypes show a protective association with CAD. In addition the CC genotype of A1298C in recessive model was a susceptible genotype. The combined associations of MTHFR are protective (primarily due to the effects of C677T locus) suggesting an interaction between the loci and their associations with CAD within this sample