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Digital learning in techno-utopia? Do-it-yourself education in Kibera, Nairobi
This article argues that, despite techno-utopian narratives of digital self-directed learning (through content freely available on the internet) and its proposed opportunities for upward social mobility, digital learning is and remains a highly contextual practice, rooted in local realities and aspirational trajectories. Through learning with a community-based organization (CBO) that offers tech training to youth from low-income neighbourhoods in Kibera, Nairobi, I argue that digital learning does not replace formal education but rather is strategically incorporated into already existing learning practices. Although Nairobi has been extensively studied as a frontrunner in technology uptake and development in Africa, it is crucial to also look at technology practices and uptake away from elite design and use, to extend and deepen our knowledge of how the digital realm plays out in the lives of the majority of urban residents.
Journal Article
Why do Students Seek Help in an Age of DIY?
National statistics indicate that academic libraries are experiencing declines in reference transactions, but the references services in some libraries continue to thrive. While many studies explore reasons that students do not seek assistance from librarians, there is limited research explaining why students do ask for help. The authors conducted a study to answer two questions: (1) How do undergraduate students look for information? (2) What prompted the students to seek out help from a librarian? To answer these questions, the authors conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students who had received reference assistance. An important theme that emerged from the interviews was students’ preferences to search independently without assistance. Despite this “do-it-yourself” mentality, students aware of library research consultation services still continue to seek out assistance for librarians when stressful and time-consuming research questions arise. The findings from this study will help librarians better market their research services and understand how students perceive the help-seeking process.
Journal Article
Makerspaces
Readers will learn about makerspaces, where makers come together to exchange ideas and share tools for creating.
Book
Colloidal diamond
Self-assembling colloidal particles in the cubic diamond crystal structure could potentially be used to make materials with a photonic bandgap
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–
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. Such materials are beneficial because they suppress spontaneous emission of light
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and are valued for their applications as optical waveguides, filters and laser resonators
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, for improving light-harvesting technologies
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and for other applications
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,
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. Cubic diamond is preferred for these applications over more easily self-assembled structures, such as face-centred-cubic structures
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,
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, because diamond has a much wider bandgap and is less sensitive to imperfections
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,
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. In addition, the bandgap in diamond crystals appears at a refractive index contrast of about 2, which means that a photonic bandgap could be achieved using known materials at optical frequencies; this does not seem to be possible for face-centred-cubic crystals
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,
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. However, self-assembly of colloidal diamond is challenging. Because particles in a diamond lattice are tetrahedrally coordinated, one approach has been to self-assemble spherical particles with tetrahedral sticky patches
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. But this approach lacks a mechanism to ensure that the patchy spheres select the staggered orientation of tetrahedral bonds on nearest-neighbour particles, which is required for cubic diamond
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,
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. Here we show that by using partially compressed tetrahedral clusters with retracted sticky patches, colloidal cubic diamond can be self-assembled using patch–patch adhesion in combination with a steric interlock mechanism that selects the required staggered bond orientation. Photonic bandstructure calculations reveal that the resulting lattices (direct and inverse) have promising optical properties, including a wide and complete photonic bandgap. The colloidal particles in the self-assembled cubic diamond structure are highly constrained and mechanically stable, which makes it possible to dry the suspension and retain the diamond structure. This makes these structures suitable templates for forming high-dielectric-contrast photonic crystals with cubic diamond symmetry.
Self-assembly of cubic diamond crystals is demonstrated, by using precursor clusters of particles with carefully placed ‘sticky’ patches that attract and bind adjacent clusters in specific geometries.
Journal Article
Open hardware: From DIY trend to global transformation in access to laboratory equipment
Open hardware solutions are increasingly being chosen by researchers as a strategy to improve access to technology for cutting-edge biology research. The use of DIY technology is already widespread, particularly in countries with limited access to science funding, and is catalyzing the development of open-source technologies. Beyond financial accessibility, open hardware can be transformational for the access of laboratories to equipment by reducing dependence on import logistics and enabling direct knowledge transfer. Central drivers to the adoption of appropriate open-source technologies in biology laboratories around the world are open sharing, digital fabrication, local production, the use of standard parts, and detailed documentation. This Essay examines the global spread of open hardware and discusses which kinds of open-source technologies are the most beneficial in scientific environments with economic and infrastructural constraints.
Journal Article
Precise, automated control of conditions for high-throughput growth of yeast and bacteria with eVOLVER
Continuous culturing of individually controlled growth experiments in parallel and at high-throughput is enabled with an automated DIY platform.
Precise control over microbial cell growth conditions could enable detection of minute phenotypic changes, which would improve our understanding of how genotypes are shaped by adaptive selection. Although automated cell-culture systems such as bioreactors offer strict control over liquid culture conditions, they often do not scale to high-throughput or require cumbersome redesign to alter growth conditions. We report the design and validation of eVOLVER, a scalable do-it-yourself (DIY) framework, which can be configured to carry out high-throughput growth experiments in molecular evolution, systems biology, and microbiology. High-throughput evolution of yeast populations grown at different densities reveals that eVOLVER can be applied to characterize adaptive niches. Growth selection on a genome-wide yeast knockout library, using temperatures varied over different timescales, finds strains sensitive to temperature changes or frequency of temperature change. Inspired by large-scale integration of electronics and microfluidics, we also demonstrate millifluidic multiplexing modules that enable multiplexed media routing, cleaning, vial-to-vial transfers and automated yeast mating.
Journal Article