Enhancing the shopping experience with ambient displays: A field study in a retail store

This paper discusses the prototypical implementation of an ambient display and the results of an empirical study in a retail store. It presents the context of shopping as an application area for Ambient Intelligence (AmI) technologies. The prototype consists of an ambient store map that enhances the awareness of customer activity. The results of our study indicate potentials and challenges for an improvement of the shopping experience with AmI technologies. Based on our findings we discuss challenges and future developments for applying AmI technologies to shopping environments.

Calculations of the free energy of interaction of the c-Fos−c-Jun coiled coil: Effects of the solvation model and the inclusion of polarization effects

The leucine zipper region of activator protein-1 (AP-1) comprises the c-Jun and c-Fos proteins and constitutes a well-known coiled coil protein−protein interaction motif. We have used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in conjunction with the molecular mechanics/Poisson−Boltzmann generalized-Born surface area [MM/PB(GB)SA] methods to predict the free energy of interaction of these proteins. In particular, the influence of the choice of solvation model, protein force field, and water potential on the stability and dynamic properties of the c-Fos−c-Jun complex were investigated. Use of the AMBER polarizable force field ff02 in combination with the polarizable POL3 water potential was found to result in increased stability of the c-Fos−c-Jun complex. MM/PB(GB)SA calculations revealed that MD simulations using the POL3 water potential give the lowest predicted free energies of interaction compared to other nonpolarizable water potentials. In addition, the calculated absolute free energy of binding was predicted to be closest to the experimental value using the MM/GBSA method with independent MD simulation trajectories using the POL3 water potential and the polarizable ff02 force field, while all other binding affinities were overestimated.

Predicting single-layer technetium dichalcogenides (TcX2, X = S, Se) with promising applications in photovoltaics and photocatalysis

One of the least known compounds among transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) is the layered triclinic technetium dichalcogenides (TcX2, X = S, Se). In this work, we systematically study the structural, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of TcS2 and TcSe2 monolayers based on density functional theory (DFT). We find that TcS2 and TcSe2 can be easily exfoliated in a monolayer form because their formation and cleavage energy are analogous to those of other experimentally realized TMDCs monolayer. By using a hybrid DFT functional, the TcS2 and TcSe2 monolayers are calculated to be indirect semiconductors with band gaps of 1.91 and 1.69 eV, respectively. However, bilayer TcS2 exhibits direct-bandgap character, and both TcS2 and TcSe2 monolayers can be tuned from semiconductor to metal under effective tensile/compressive strains. Calculations of visible light absorption indicate that 2D TcS2 and TcSe2 generally possess better capability of harvesting sunlight compared to single-layer MoS2 and ReSe2, implying their potential as excellent light-absorbers. Most interestingly, we have discovered that the TcSe2 monolayer is an excellent photocatalyst for splitting water into hydrogen due to the perfect fit of band edge positions with respect to the water reduction and oxidation potentials. Our predictions expand the two-dimensional (2D) family of TMDCs, and the remarkable electronic/optical properties of monolayer TcS2 and TcSe2 will place them among the most promising 2D TMDCs for renewable energy application in the future.

Paradigmatic considerations for creative practice in Creative Industries research: The case of Australia's Indie 100

This paper begins with the assertion that research grounded in creative practice constitutes a new paradigm. We argue both for and against the idea. We argue against the idea in terms of applying it to the idealised ‘lone artist’ engaged in the production of their art, whose focus of research is a self-reflection upon the art they produce, and whose art is also the findings of the research. Our position is that such an approach cannot be considered as anything other than a form of auto-phenomenography, that such efforts are part of qualitative research, and they are thus trivial in paradigmatic terms. However, we argue in the positive for understanding the artistic event – by which we mean any mass ecology of artistic practice – as being paradigmatically new in terms of research potentials and demands. Our exemplar for that argument is a practice-led, large-scale annual event called Indie 100 which has run for five years and has demonstrated a distinct paradigmatic ‘settling in’ over its duration while clearly pushing paradigmatic boundaries for research into creative practice.

The InstaBooth: Making common ground for media architectural design

Media architecture has emerged from and relies upon a range of different disciplinary traditions and areas of expertise. As this field develops, it is timely to reflect upon the ways in which designers of different disciplinary stripes can be brought together to collaborate in a design process. What are the means by which design teams can establish a ‘common ground’ where design work can take place while recognizing the diversity of ways of working those different disciplines bring to the process? A co-design approach has been the fundamental backbone of the InstaBooth project, which has brought together a multidisciplinary design team of academics and practitioners. The intention of this project has been to explore the combination of digital and physical interactions within a small media architecture installation to intervene with urban environments and public places for the purposes of community engagement. It is by exploring the design process of the InstaBooth project that we highlight the value of multi-disciplinary collaborations, the lessons that can be learned, and the struggles and hurdles along the way. This paper highlights the iterative process of design, the materials and physical prototypes that were employed to ultimately create a working version of the InstaBooth, a media architecture that evolves as users push its boundaries and take ownership of the installation. The concept of the InstaBooth continues to develop not only as more data are collected on its mechanics and potentials through observations, interviews and workshops, but also as more and more users engage with the installation in their individual ways.

Through the Colour Lens

Colour is used to adorn and decorate and many have tried to find an organisational system that could concretely states how colour is to be used correctly. In this book Marisha McAuliffe examines the concept of colour and its uses for those who design professionally or those who simply want to appreciate the complexities of colour. It examines light and contrast, and explains the pitfalls that are to be avoided in colour design. The book explores different concepts relating to, and including, colour history, systems and theories, requirements for a colour-based design project, research, and generation of colour schemes so as to create optimal experiences for colour in architecture, interior architecture and design. To fully understand colour, the book ventures into its scientific and ‘non-scientific’ elements compiling key points about its many characteristics. Taken together, this book is a compressive guide for those who seek to work with colour and to tap its enormous potentials for design effect.