Examining intuitive navigation in airports

Airports accommodate passengers with a range of prior experience, from frequent flyers, to passengers who fly every couple of years, to those who have never flown before. Passengers with varying levels of prior experience may use different visual elements when navigating the airport. Ensuring all passengers can navigate to the processing activities intuitively is important for passengers, airports and airlines. This paper examines how participants with Low, Medium and High airport familiarity navigate through the departures area at an Australian international airport. Three navigation activities are investigated: (i) navigating to the check-in row, (ii) navigating through the Liquids, Aerosols and Gels (LAGs) preparation area before security screening, and; (iii) navigating to either the boarding gate first or to a discretionary activity first, after exiting customs. In the three activities, differences were observed between the familiarity groups. These differences include the use of different information to locate the check-in desk, different actions when navigating through the LAG preparation area, and evidence that Low familiarity passengers have a desire to locate the boarding gate as soon as possible once through customs. This research provides evidence based design reccomendations for airports to benefit from intuitive passenger navigation.

Agent-based application on different boarding strategies

In this paper we implemented six different boarding strategies (Wilma, Steffen, Reverse Pyramid, Random, Blocks and By letter) in order to minimize boarding time and turnaround time for Boeing 777 and Airbus 380 aircrafts by using Agent-based modelling approach. In the simulation, we divided passengers into six different categories which are group size more than 5 people, passengers with child, gold members, first class passengers, business class passengers and economy class passengers. Results from the simulation demonstrates Reverse Pyramid method is the best boarding method for Boeing 777 and Steffen method is the best boarding method for Airbus 380.

Passenger experience and their implications for airports retail environment design

This project develops new knowledge on the full range of activities and interactions that make up airport passengers' retail experiences. The practical application of this new knowledge will improve the design of airport retail environments and will, in turn, improve passenger experiences, leading to further growth in the airport retail market. The novel methodological approach developed allowed for a new and deeper understanding of how passengers actually experience airport retail environments. Four significant outcomes were discovered: (i) the categorisation of the full range of retail activities and interactions passengers actually undertake, (ii) a new understanding of how passengers use and experience their free airport time, (iii) two new passenger market segments, and (iv) two passenger retail experience tools, with these identifying the broad range of airport-specific factors which influence passengers retail experiences.

Business continuity management in airports : securing continuity in the face of crisis

This thesis investigated both the potential for Business Continuity Management to enhance organisational reliability, and appropriate levels of Business Continuity Management capability resident in a number of Australian international and regional airports. Findings indicated that a host of regulatory and business processes including Business Continuity Management can assist in creating reliability in aviation infrastructure systems in Australia. Further, the thesis developed a multi-level maturity assessment framework for defining the depth of implementation of Business Continuity Management capabilities in airports, along with other recommendations to improve functional reliability of airport operations.

Relating urban airborne particle concentrations to shipping using carbon based elemental emission ratios

This study demonstrates a novel method for testing the hypothesis that variations in primary and secondary particle number concentration (PNC) in urban air are related to residual fuel oil combustion at a coastal port lying 30 km upwind, by examining the correlation between PNC and airborne particle composition signatures chosen for their sensitivity to the elemental contaminants present in residual fuel oil. Residual fuel oil combustion indicators were chosen by comparing the sensitivity of a range of concentration ratios to airborne emissions originating from the port. The most responsive were combinations of vanadium and sulfur concentration ([S], [V]) expressed as ratios with respect to black carbon concentration ([BC]). These correlated significantly with ship activity at the port and with the fraction of time during which the wind blew from the port. The average [V] when the wind was predominantly from the port was 0.52 ng.m-3 (87%) higher than the average for all wind directions and 0.83 ng.m-3 (280%) higher than that for the lowest vanadium yielding wind direction considered to approximate the natural background. Shipping was found to be the main source of V impacting urban air quality in Brisbane. However, contrary to the stated hypothesis, increases in PNC related measures did not correlate with ship emission indicators or ship traffic. Hence at this site ship emissions were not found to be a major contributor to PNC compared to other fossil fuel combustion sources such as road traffic, airport and refinery emissions.

Post-disaster reconstruction projects : a logical framework for community participation

In a post-disaster environment, housing reconstruction projects frequently face enormous difficulties due to the various, often apparently ill-considered, internal and external factors. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in post-disaster settings such as in Afghanistan continue to face blame over the failure of reconstruction projects, and worse, they are sometimes even viewed as being corrupt entities. While it is not always possible for NGOs to eliminate or reduce the impact of factors that are outside their control, they certainly can increase the chances of project success by placing considerable emphasis on working more effectively with the affected communities. To achieve maximum community participation in reconstruction projects , this research develops a specific logical framework to guide the process of community participation in post-disaster housing reconstruction in Afghanistan.

Six theories of neoliberalism

This article takes as its starting point the observation that neoliberalism is a concept that is ‘oft-invoked but ill-defined’. It provides a taxonomy of uses of the term neoliberalism to include: (1) an all-purpose denunciatory category; (2) ‘the way things are’; (3) an institutional framework characterizing particular forms of national capitalism, most notably the Anglo-American ones; (4) a dominant ideology of global capitalism; (5) a form of governmentality and hegemony; and (6) a variant within the broad framework of liberalism as both theory and policy discourse. It is argued that this sprawling set of definitions are not mutually compatible, and that uses of the term need to be dramatically narrowed from its current association with anything and everything that a particular author may find objectionable. In particular, it is argued that the uses of the term by Michel Foucault in his 1978–9 lectures, found in The Birth of Biopolitics, are not particularly compatible with its more recent status as a variant of dominant ideology or hegemony theories. It instead proposes understanding neoliberalism in terms of historical institutionalism, with Foucault’s account of historical change complementing MaxWeber’s work identifying the distinctive economic sociology of national capitalisms.

Design research for the real world : a design-led innovation model for action research

The aim of this paper is to aid researchers in undertaking action research within industry with a particular focus on the study of design-led innovation. This paper presents the research design of a case study shaped to solve real world problems concerning a major Australian Airport Corporation by bridging the chasm between academia and industry. The researcher’s role is one of design-innovation catalyst, facilitating the integration of design as a new strategic capability and innovation approach within an organisation’s fabric. A discussion of the researcher experience within industry will provide evidence on the challenges facing such a research role, with strategies for overcoming these barriers presented. Based on the authors’ experience as a researcher within industry and reflection within practice, a project progression model for action research is presented to enable the improved management of industry based research.

Air pollution and invisible violence

In recent years air pollution has been referred to as an ‘invisible killer’, and ‘an invisible health crisis’ (European Respiratory Society 2012). As other chapters in this collection have argued, the invisibility of crime is manifested through various lenses: lack of knowledge, lack of political and media attention, an absence of policing and regulatory focus, and an unwitting and ill-informed public. All such arguments pertain to air pollution; however, toxic emissions are also literally invisible from sight and consciousness, as are the associated consequences.

Wicked problems in designing open online learning

This paper will report on the “wicked” problems encountered when designing an online course with bounded content in an unbounded learning environment. It will describe the dilemmas faced and decisions made by academics in an Australian university challenged by an institutional initiative to design radical, disruptive learning experiences making use of readily available online media. This bounded/unbounded environment demands new roles for instructors in adopting innovative pedagogies and teaching and learning strategies. It also creates changing and challenging roles for course designers as they deal with ill-defined parameters and unknown audiences. In this paper, we propose a novel methodology for making curricular decisions in ill-defined spaces.

Space within the surface : the patterned surfaces of Florence Broadhurst and Jim Thompson

The Woods Bagot 2007 refurbishment of the Qantas and British Airways Bangkok Business lounge in the Survarnabhumi Airport features wall finishes designed by wallpaper designer, Florence Broadhurst (1899-1977) and Thai Silk trader, Jim Thompson (1906-1967). This distinctive selection, which is proclaimed on the airport’s website, of patterned wall surfaces side by side draws attention to their striking similarities and their defining differences . Thompson and Broadhurst would appear to be worlds apart, but here in the airport their work brings them together. Thompson, the son of a wealthy cotton family in America, worked as an architect before joining the army. He moved to Bangkok to start The Thai Silk Company in 1948. Broadhurst was born on a farm in Mt. Perry, Queensland. She began her career as a performance artist, as part of an Australian troupe in Shanghai, moving onto pursue a career in fashion design, catering to the middle and upper classes in London. Upon her return to Australia, Broadhurst started a print design company in 1959. Both Broadhurst and Thompson pursued multiple careers, lived many lives, and died under mysterious circumstances. Broadhurst was murdered in 1977 at her Sydney print warehouse, which remains an unsolved crime. Thompson disappeared in Malaysia in 1967 and his body has never been found. This chapter investigates the parallels between Thompson and Broadhurst and what lead them to design such popular patterns for wall surfaces towards the end of their careers. While neither designer was a household name, their work is familiar to most, seen in the costume and set design of films, on the walls of restaurants and cafes and even in family homes. The reason for the popularity of their patterns has not previously been analysed. However, this chapter suggests that the patterns are intriguing because they contain something of their designers’ identities. It suggests that the coloured surface provides a way of camouflaging and hiding its subjects’ histories, such that Broadhurst and Thompson, consciously or unconsciously, used the patterned surface as a plane in which their past lives could be buried. The revealing nature of the stark white wall, compared with the forgiveness provided by the pattern in which to hide, is elaborated by painter and advocate for polychromatic architecture, Fernand Léger in his essay, “The Wall, The Architect, The Painter (1965).” Léger writes that, “the modern architect has gone too far in his magnificent attempts to cleanse through emptiness,” and that the resultant white walls of modernity create ‘an impalpability of air, of slick, brilliant new surfaces where nothing can be hidden any longer …even shadows don’t dare to enter’. To counter the exposure produced by the white wall, Thompson and Broadhurst designed patterned surfaces that could harbour their personal histories. Broadhurst and Thompson’s works share a number of commonalities in their design production, even though their work in print design commenced a decade apart. Both designers opted to work more with traditional methods of pattern making. Broadhurst used hand-operated screens, and Thompson outsourced work to local weavers and refrained from operating out of a factory. Despite humble beginnings, Broadhurst and Thompson enjoyed international success with their wall patterns being featured in a number of renowned international hotels in Bahrain, Singapore, Sydney, and London in the 1970s and 1980s. Their patterns were also transferred to fabric for soft furnishings and clothing. Thompson’s patterns were used for costumes in films including the King and I and Ben Hur. Broadhurst’s patterns were also widely used by fashion designers and artists, such as Akira Isogowa‘s costume design for Salome, a 1998 production by the Sydney Dance Company. Most recently her print designs have been used by skin illustrator Emma Hack, in a series of works painting female bodies into Broadhurst’s patterns. Hack’s works camouflage the models’ bodies into the patterned surface, assimilating subject and surface, hinting at there being something living within the patterned wall. More than four decades after Broadhurst’s murder and five decades since Thompson’s disappearance, their print designs persist as more than just a legacy. They are applied as surface finishes with the same fervour as when the designs were first released. This chapter argues that the reason for the ongoing celebration of their work is that there is the impalpable presence of the creator in the patterns. It suggests that the patterns blur the boundary between subject and surface.

Computational strategies for surface fitting using thin plate spline finite element methods

Thin plate spline finite element methods are used to fit a surface to an irregularly scattered dataset [S. Roberts, M. Hegland, and I. Altas. Approximation of a Thin Plate Spline Smoother using Continuous Piecewise Polynomial Functions. SIAM, 1:208--234, 2003]. The computational bottleneck for this algorithm is the solution of large, ill-conditioned systems of linear equations at each step of a generalised cross validation algorithm. Preconditioning techniques are investigated to accelerate the convergence of the solution of these systems using Krylov subspace methods. The preconditioners under consideration are block diagonal, block triangular and constraint preconditioners [M. Benzi, G. H. Golub, and J. Liesen. Numerical solution of saddle point problems. Acta Numer., 14:1--137, 2005]. The effectiveness of each of these preconditioners is examined on a sample dataset taken from a known surface. From our numerical investigation, constraint preconditioners appear to provide improved convergence for this surface fitting problem compared to block preconditioners.

A large proportion of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections with low and sub-microscopic parasite densities in the low transmission setting of Temotu Province, Solomon Islands : challenges for malaria diagnostics in an elimination setting

Background Many countries are scaling up malaria interventions towards elimination. This transition changes demands on malaria diagnostics from diagnosing ill patients to detecting parasites in all carriers including asymptomatic infections and infections with low parasite densities. Detection methods suitable to local malaria epidemiology must be selected prior to transitioning a malaria control programme to elimination. A baseline malaria survey conducted in Temotu Province, Solomon Islands in late 2008, as the first step in a provincial malaria elimination programme, provided malaria epidemiology data and an opportunity to assess how well different diagnostic methods performed in this setting. Methods During the survey, 9,491 blood samples were collected and examined by microscopy for Plasmodium species and density, with a subset also examined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). The performances of these diagnostic methods were compared. Results A total of 256 samples were positive by microscopy, giving a point prevalence of 2.7%. The species distribution was 17.5% Plasmodium falciparum and 82.4% Plasmodium vivax. In this low transmission setting, only 17.8% of the P. falciparum and 2.9% of P. vivax infected subjects were febrile (≥38°C) at the time of the survey. A significant proportion of infections detected by microscopy, 40% and 65.6% for P. falciparum and P. vivax respectively, had parasite density below 100/μL. There was an age correlation for the proportion of parasite density below 100/μL for P. vivax infections, but not for P. falciparum infections. PCR detected substantially more infections than microscopy (point prevalence of 8.71%), indicating a large number of subjects had sub-microscopic parasitemia. The concordance between PCR and microscopy in detecting single species was greater for P. vivax (135/162) compared to P. falciparum (36/118). The malaria RDT detected the 12 microscopy and PCR positive P. falciparum, but failed to detect 12/13 microscopy and PCR positive P. vivax infections. Conclusion Asymptomatic malaria infections and infections with low and sub-microscopic parasite densities are highly prevalent in Temotu province where malaria transmission is low. This presents a challenge for elimination since the large proportion of the parasite reservoir will not be detected by standard active and passive case detection. Therefore effective mass screening and treatment campaigns will most likely need more sensitive assays such as a field deployable molecular based assay.

In Response: "Oral versus IV treatment for catheter-related bloodstream infections - by Burke A. Cunha"

In his letter Cunha suggests that oral antibiotic therapy is safer and less expensive than intravenous therapy via central venous catheters (CVCs) (1). The implication is that costs will fall and increased health benefits will be enjoyed resulting in a gain in efficiency within the healthcare system. CVCs are often used in critically ill patients to deliver antimicrobial therapy, but expose patients to a risk of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI). Our current knowledge about the efficiency (i.e. costeffectiveness) of allocating resources toward interventions that prevent CRBSI in patients requiring a CVC has already been reviewed (2). If for some patient groups antimicrobial therapy can be delivered orally, instead of through a CVC, then the costs and benefits of this alternate strategy should be evaluated...

Agent-based modelling of aircraft boarding methods

We implemented six different boarding strategies (Wilma, Steffen, Reverse Pyramid, Random, Blocks and By letter) in order to investigate boarding times for Boeing 777 and Airbus 380 aircraft. We also introduce three new boarding methods to find the optimum boarding strategy. Our models explicitly simulate the behaviour of groups of people travelling together and we explicitly simulate the timing to store their luggage as part of the boarding process. Results from the simulation demonstrates the Reverse Pyramid method is the best boarding method for Boeing 777, and the Steffen method is the best boarding method for Airbus 380. For the new suggested boarding methods, aisle first boarding method is the best boarding strategy for Boeing 777 and row arrangement method is the best boarding strategy for Airbus 380. Overall best boarding strategy is aisle first boarding method for Boeing 777 and Steffen method for Airbus 380.