Creative design: a new look at design principles

Abstract Gerontologists have the opportunity to step into an increasingly significant role as public educators who convene gatherings focused on expanding aging awareness and literacy, inter-generational inquiry and collaboration, and age inclusion, equity and justice. The purpose of this presentation is to share creative design principles and keen take-aways from several ongoing community-based educational interventions connected to these themes. As well, we will discuss the role such public-facing initiatives might play in making a compelling case for the importance of supporting and participating in various kinds of formal educational pathways in the field of aging. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Community College Interest Group.

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Designing Research and Action

Community Power and Empowerment ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190605582.003.0008 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 177-196

Author(s):

Brian D. Christens

Keyword(s):

Design Principles ◽

Creative Design ◽

Local Contexts ◽

Primary Focus ◽

Context Specific

Taking account of the holistic framework for empowerment processes and outcomes developed in previous chapters, this chapter provides recommendations in the form of a set of design principles that can apply to both empowerment research and the various forms of praxis that seek to catalyze, sustain, and multiply empowerment processes. Although there are common concepts that can guide and inform research and action, creative design is needed to tailor efforts for specific local contexts, issues of concern, and questions. The principles offered in this chapter are therefore intended to provide a set of recommendations for translating the frameworks that are the primary focus of the book into context-specific plans for action and research.

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A peek in the micro-sized world: a review of design principles, engineering tools, and applications of engineered microbial community

Biochemical Society Transactions ◽

10.1042/bst20190172 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 399-409

Author(s):

Baizhen Gao ◽

Rushant Sabnis ◽

Tommaso Costantini ◽

Robert Jinkerson ◽

Qing Sun

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Environmental Remediation ◽

Real Life ◽

Design Principles ◽

Microbial Interactions ◽

Potential Applications ◽

New Gene ◽

Global Biogeochemical Cycles ◽

Synthetic Microbial Communities

Microbial communities drive diverse processes that impact nearly everything on this planet, from global biogeochemical cycles to human health. Harnessing the power of these microorganisms could provide solutions to many of the challenges that face society. However, naturally occurring microbial communities are not optimized for anthropogenic use. An emerging area of research is focusing on engineering synthetic microbial communities to carry out predefined functions. Microbial community engineers are applying design principles like top-down and bottom-up approaches to create synthetic microbial communities having a myriad of real-life applications in health care, disease prevention, and environmental remediation. Multiple genetic engineering tools and delivery approaches can be used to ‘knock-in' new gene functions into microbial communities. A systematic study of the microbial interactions, community assembling principles, and engineering tools are necessary for us to understand the microbial community and to better utilize them. Continued analysis and effort are required to further the current and potential applications of synthetic microbial communities.

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