Applying “Design Thinking” in the context of media management education

“Design Thinking” – a cross-disciplinary and user centered method – is an approach towards the discovery of solutions and sparks innovative thinking in many ways. It also can be argued, that designers put themselves in the place of the user rather than co-creating with the consumer. Innovation is one of the current keywords across many industries, and many attempt to find new solutions to daily problems. Design Thinking as method allows to understand user needs and understand their principle problems in daily life. The design process uses intensive collaboration in cross-disciplinary settings and is divided into the exploration of the problem space and the solution space to achieve new ways of solving existing problems. Design Thinking has to integrate into the innovation process and into organizational structures right from the beginning. It constitutes a complement to classical analytical processes for problems that require lateral, not linear thinking. This article reviews the practical application of this energetic methodology in the academic context and presents some hands-on examples. The course series has been established by the Entertainment and Media Management Lab. (EMMi Lab.) at the Tampere University of Technology (TUT) and was held in cooperation with students from the University of Tampere (UTA), and the Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK). One course has been held in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Magdeburg-Stendal, Germany. This article describes how to train students especially with strong technical background and analytical mind-sets in the development of innovations in the field of media, foster creative thinking, and achieve problem solutions beyond the current state of the art. We present the basic curriculum, course structure, goals & objectives, applied methods, settings, and theoretical aspects of Design Thinking. Our experience and reflections on conducting the courses concludes this article. The article shall be an introductory guide for anyone who intends to organize a similar course in the university context.     

Consequences of customer engagement behavior: when negative Facebook posts have positive effects

Sharing product information has become an integral part of today’s online social networking world. This research study addresses the effects of customer engagement behavior in online social networks on other consumers in order to understand how online social connections impact decision making. We investigate how different variations of a brand-related Facebook post trigger different response reactions. In particular, we analyze under which conditions negative posts can have positive consequences. The results of two online experiments set in a restaurant context suggest a difference when the user knows the restaurant brand. For users who are familiar with the restaurant brand, a positive effect of negative information posted by distant acquaintances is found with regard to the visiting intention of the user. The results of both experiments demonstrate that information posted by a close friend is perceived to be more diagnostic. For users not familiar with the restaurant brand, negative posts from strong ties induce the highest diagnosticity levels.     

Non-encapsulated thermo-liquid crystals for digital particle tracking thermography/velocimetry in microfluidics

The ever accelerating state of technology has powered an increasing interest in heat transfer solutions and process engineering innovations in the microfluidics domain. In order to carry out such developments, reliable heat transfer diagnostic techniques are necessary. Thermo-liquid crystal (TLC) thermography, in combination with particle image velocimetry, has been a widely accepted and commonly used technique for the simultaneous measurement and characterization of temperature and velocity fields in macroscopic fluid flows for several decades. However, low seeding density, volume illumination, and low TLC particle image quality at high magnifications present unsurpassed challenges to its application to three-dimensional flows with microscopic dimensions. In this work, a measurement technique to evaluate the color response of individual non-encapsulated TLC particles is presented. A Shirasu porous glass membrane emulsification approach was used to produce the non-encapsulated TLC particles with a narrow size distribution and a multi-variable calibration procedure, making use of all three RGB and HSI color components, as well as the proper orthogonally decomposed RGB components, was used to achieve unprecedented low uncertainty levels in the temperature estimation of individual particles, opening the door to simultaneous temperature and velocity tracking using 3D velocimetry techniques.     

Using GOMS and NASA-TLX to Evaluate Human–Computer Interaction Process in Interactive Segmentation

HCI plays an important role in interactive medical image segmentation. The Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection rules (GOMS) model and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire are different methods that are often used to evaluate the HCI process. In this article, we aim at improving the HCI process of interactive segmentation using both the GOMS model and the NASA-TLX questionnaire to: 1) identify the relations between these two methods and 2) propose HCI design suggestions based on the synthesis of the evaluation results using both methods. For this, we conducted an experiment where three physicians used two interactive segmentation approaches to segment different types of organs at risk for radiotherapy planning. Using the GOMS model, we identified 16 operators and 10 methods. Further analysis discovered strong relations between the use of GOMS operators and the results of the NASA-TLX questionnaire. Finally, HCI design issues were identified, and suggestions were proposed based on the evaluation results and the identified relations.     

Plate tectonic reconstructions with continuously closing plates

We present a new algorithm for modeling a self-consistent set of global plate polygons. Each plate polygon is composed of a finite list of plate margins, all with different Euler poles. We introduce a "continuously closed plate" (CCP), such that, as each margin moves independently, the plate polygon remains closed geometrically as a function of time. This method solves emerging needs in computational geodynamics to combine kinematic with dynamic models. Because they have polygons that are too widely spaced in time and have inconsistent motions between margins and plates, traditional global plate tectonic reconstructions have become inadequate for geodynamics. The CCP algorithm has been incorporated into the GPlates open-source paleogeographic system. The algorithm is a set of procedures and data structures that operate on collections of reconstructed geometric data to form closed plate polygons; the main data structures used for each plate polygon are based on a nested hierarchy of topological elements. Reconstructions with CCPs can be created, edited, visualized, and exported with GPlates. The native storage of the dynamic reconstructions is the GPlates Markup Language, GPML, which uses an XML-based file format called GML. We demonstrate the utility of the CCP method by creating a global reconstruction with continuously closing plates from 140 Ma to the present using data from existing, traditional reconstructions.     

Empirical research in on-line trust: a review and critical assessment

Lack of trust is one of the most frequently cited reasons for consumers not purchasing from Internet vendors. During the last four years a number of empirical studies have investigated the role of trust in the specific context of e-commerce, focusing on different aspects of this multi-dimensional construct. However, empirical research in this area is beset by conflicting conceptualizations of the trust construct, inadequate understanding of the relationships between trust, its antecedents and consequents, and the frequent use of trust scales that are neither theoretically derived nor rigorously validated. The major objective of this paper is to provide an integrative review of the empirical literature on trust in e-commerce in order to allow cumulative analysis of results. The interpretation and comparison of different empirical studies on on-line trust first requires conceptual clarification. A set of trust constructs is proposed that reflects both institutional phenomena (system trust) and personal and interpersonal forms of trust (dispositional trust, trusting beliefs, trusting intentions and trust-related behaviours), thus facilitating a multi-level and multi-dimensional analysis of research problems related to trust in e-commerce.     

Terminale Sedierung aus juristischer Sicht

Definition of the problem: Terminal sedation has recently been discussed as part of the standard of care in the end of life area. Within the palliative care context the term is commonly used as the “induction and maintainance of a sedated state with the intent of relieving otherwise intractable distress, both physical and mental in a patient close to death”. While some representatives of palliative care medicine stress that terminal sedation is only used as a “last resort”, e.g. when other standard methods of palliative care have failed, the opponents express fear of a new and uncontrolled “form of active euthanasia.” Especially when instituted together with a withdrawal of nutrition and hydration, terminal sedation is often deemed to be closer to active euthanasia and a prohibition is demanded. Arguments and conclusion: This article explores the legal meaning of terminal sedation. Along the way it will demonstrate that terminal sedation is — under certain conditions — neither equivalent to active euthanasia nor is it forbidden physician-assisted suicide. Examples for practice guidelines that meet the legal framework are suggested in the article.     

Comparison of the performance of masterbatch and liquid color concentrates for mass coloration of polypropylene

The properties of polypropylene (PP) mixed with masterbatch (MB) and liquid color concentrates (LCC), respectively, were compared by preparing samples of PP with MB and PP with LCC and neat PP as a reference material using 1–4 extrusion cycles. Two colors were examined, i.e., a white color consisting of pigment white 6, and a green color consisting of pigment white 6, pigment blue 15:3, and pigment green 7. The color difference between PP prepared with MB and LCC was determined and the mechanical, rheological, and crystalline properties of PP prepared with MB and LCC were found to be generic. The color of PP obtained from MB and LCC were comparable. Further, it was found that the tensile strength, the viscosity, and the crystal structure obtained were similar when using LCC instead of MB. The viscosity of the treated PP generally decreased with increasing extruder retention time due to thermal degradation. The tensile strength and the crystal structure were independent of increased extruder retention time. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 41, 484–492, 2016     

Effect of maturation conditions on sensory and antioxidant properties of old Serbian plum brandies

?ljivovica and Prepe?enica are traditional Serbian distillated beverages made from varieties of plum, of the genus Prunus. The ageing in wooden casks not only improves the sensory characteristics, but also changes the content of total polyphenols and contributes to the other important health properties, such as the increase of their antioxidant capacity. In this study, home-made brandy (?ljivovica and Prepe?enica) samples were used, which matured in casks during the time period from 10 to 47?years. The aim of this investigation was to examine the influence of the ageing parameters (time period and type of wooden casks) and raw material (plum cultivars) on the total polyphenol content, amount of certain phenol compounds, sensory properties, colour and antioxidant properties in matured brandies. The individual phenol components were determinated using HPLC system equipped with diode array detector, while the total phenol content and antioxidant activity was estimated using spectrophotometric methods (Folin?CCiocalteu, DPPH, FRAP and TEAC). Total polyphenol content (TPC) of aged Prepe?enica samples was ranged from 230.26 to 890.26?mg/L gallic acid equivalents (GAE mg/L), whereas the TPC of ?ljivovica sample was 110.38?mg/L. Antioxidant capacity of analysed Prepe?enica samples and ?ljivovica sample was in strong correlation with TPC. Total sensory score of all samples was very high and varied between 18.2 and 19.8. The obtained results have shown that the benefit of longer maturation on sensory characteristics is well recognized, but the improvement has some limitation.