Connected learning in the library as a product of hacking, making, social diversity and messiness

Learning is most effective when intrinsically motivated through personal interest, and situated in a supportive socio-cultural context. This paper reports on findings from a study that explored implications for design of interactive learning environments through 18 months of ethnographic observations of people’s interactions at “Hack The Evening” (HTE). HTE is a meetup group initiated at the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and dedicated to provide visitors with opportunities for connected learning in relation to hacking, making and do-it-yourself technology. The results provide insights into factors that contributed to HTE as a social, interactive and participatory environment for learning – knowledge is created and co-created through uncoordinated interactions among participants that come from a diversity of backgrounds, skills and areas of expertise. The insights also reveal challenges and barriers that the HTE group faced in regards to connected learning. Four dimensions of design opportunities are presented to overcome those challenges and barriers towards improving connected learning in library buildings and other free-choice learning environments that seek to embody a more interactive and participatory culture among their users. The insights are relevant for librarians as well as designers, managers and decision makers of other interactive and free-choice learning environments.

Molecular dynamics simulation of fracture strength and morphology of defective graphene

Different types of defects can be introduced into graphene during material synthesis, and significantly influence the properties of graphene. In this work, we investigated the effects of structural defects, edge functionalisation and reconstruction on the fracture strength and morphology of graphene by molecular dynamics simulations. The minimum energy path analysis was conducted to investigate the formation of Stone-Wales defects. We also employed out-of-plane perturbation and energy minimization principle to study the possible morphology of graphene nanoribbons with edge-termination. Our numerical results show that the fracture strength of graphene is dependent on defects and environmental temperature. However, pre-existing defects may be healed, resulting in strength recovery. Edge functionalization can induce compressive stress and ripples in the edge areas of graphene nanoribbons. On the other hand, edge reconstruction contributed to the tensile stress and curved shape in the graphene nanoribbons.

International tax and the Australian wine industry: Is your client’s product destined to sail the seven seas?

The export market for Australian wine continues to grow at a rapid rate, with imported wines also playing a role in market share in sales in Australia. It is estimated that over 60 per cent of all Australian wine is exported, while 12 per cent of wine consumed in Australia has overseas origins. In addition to understanding the size and direction (import or export) of wines, the foreign locales also play an important role in any tax considerations. While the export market for Australian produced alcohol continues to grow, it is into the Asian market that the most significant inroads are occurring. Sales into China of bottled wine over $7.50 per litre recently overtook the volume sold our traditional partners of the United States and Canada. It is becoming easier for even small to medium sized businesses to export their services or products overseas. However, it is vital for those businesses to understand the tax rules applying to any international transactions. Specifically, one of the first tax regimes that importers and exporters need to understand once they decide to establish a presence overseas is transfer pricing. These are the rules that govern the cross-border prices of goods, services and other transactions entered into between related parties. This paper is Part 2 of the seminar presented on transfer pricing and international tax issues which are particularly relevant to the wine industry. The predominant focus of Part 2 is to discuss four key areas likely to affect international expansion. First, the use of the available transfer pricing methodologies for international related party transactions is discussed. Second, the affects that double tax agreements will have on taking a business offshore are considered. Third, the risks associated with aggressive tax planning through tax information exchange agreements is reviewed. Finally, the paper predicts future ‘trip-wires’ and areas to ‘watch out for’ for practitioners dealing with clients operating in the international arena.

Numerical simulation of anomalous diffusion with application to medical imaging

The first objective of this project is to develop new efficient numerical methods and supporting error and convergence analysis for solving fractional partial differential equations to study anomalous diffusion in biological tissue such as the human brain. The second objective is to develop a new efficient fractional differential-based approach for texture enhancement in image processing. The results of the thesis highlight that the fractional order analysis captured important features of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation and can be used to improve the quality of medical imaging.

Sampling stored-product insect pests : a comparison of four statistical sampling models for probability of pest detection

Background: Developing sampling strategies to target biological pests such as insects in stored grain is inherently difficult owing to species biology and behavioural characteristics. The design of robust sampling programmes should be based on an underlying statistical distribution that is sufficiently flexible to capture variations in the spatial distribution of the target species. Results: Comparisons are made of the accuracy of four probability-of-detection sampling models - the negative binomial model,1 the Poisson model,1 the double logarithmic model2 and the compound model3 - for detection of insects over a broad range of insect densities. Although the double log and negative binomial models performed well under specific conditions, it is shown that, of the four models examined, the compound model performed the best over a broad range of insect spatial distributions and densities. In particular, this model predicted well the number of samples required when insect density was high and clumped within experimental storages. Conclusions: This paper reinforces the need for effective sampling programs designed to detect insects over a broad range of spatial distributions. The compound model is robust over a broad range of insect densities and leads to substantial improvement in detection probabilities within highly variable systems such as grain storage.

Integrating collaborative filtering and matching-based search for product recommendations

Currently, recommender systems (RS) have been widely applied in many commercial e-commerce sites to help users deal with the information overload problem. Recommender systems provide personalized recommendations to users and, thus, help in making good decisions about which product to buy from the vast amount of product choices. Many of the current recommender systems are developed for simple and frequently purchased products like books and videos, by using collaborative-filtering and content-based approaches. These approaches are not directly applicable for recommending infrequently purchased products such as cars and houses as it is difficult to collect a large number of ratings data from users for such products. Many of the ecommerce sites for infrequently purchased products are still using basic search-based techniques whereby the products that match with the attributes given in the target user’s query are retrieved and recommended. However, search-based recommenders cannot provide personalized recommendations. For different users, the recommendations will be the same if they provide the same query regardless of any difference in their interest. In this article, a simple user profiling approach is proposed to generate user’s preferences to product attributes (i.e., user profiles) based on user product click stream data. The user profiles can be used to find similarminded users (i.e., neighbours) accurately. Two recommendation approaches are proposed, namely Round- Robin fusion algorithm (CFRRobin) and Collaborative Filtering-based Aggregated Query algorithm (CFAgQuery), to generate personalized recommendations based on the user profiles. Instead of using the target user’s query to search for products as normal search based systems do, the CFRRobin technique uses the attributes of the products in which the target user’s neighbours have shown interest as queries to retrieve relevant products, and then recommends to the target user a list of products by merging and ranking the returned products using the Round Robin method. The CFAgQuery technique uses the attributes of the products that the user’s neighbours have shown interest in to derive an aggregated query, which is then used to retrieve products to recommend to the target user. Experiments conducted on a real e-commerce dataset show that both the proposed techniques CFRRobin and CFAgQuery perform better than the standard Collaborative Filtering and the Basic Search approaches, which are widely applied by the current e-commerce applications.

A microscopic simulation model to estimate bus rapid transit station bus capacity

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station is the interface between passengers and services. The station is crucial to line operation as it is typically the only location where buses can pass each other. Congestion may occur here when buses maneuvering into and out of the platform lane interfere with bus flow, or when a queue of buses forms upstream of the platform lane blocking the passing lane. Further, some systems include operation where express buses do not observe the station, resulting in a proportion of non-stopping buses. It is important to understand the operation of the station under this type of operation and its effect on BRT line capacity. This study uses microscopic traffic simulation modeling to treat the BRT station operation and to analyze the relationship between station bus capacity and BRT line bus capacity. First, the simulation model is developed for the limit state scenario and then a statistical model is defined and calibrated for a specified range of controlled scenarios of dwell time characteristics. A field survey was conducted to verify the parameters such as dwell time, clearance time and coefficient of variation of dwell time to obtain relevant station bus capacity. The proposed model for BRT bus capacity provides a better understanding of BRT line capacity and is useful to transit authorities in BRT planning, design and operation.

Simulation of retrofitted unreinforced concrete masonry unit walls under blast loading

This paper describes an investigation into the effectiveness of using spray-on nano-particle reinforced polymer and aluminium foam as new types of retrofit material to prevent the breaching and collapse of unreinforced concrete masonry walls subjected to blast over a whole range of dynamic and impulsive regimes. Material models from the LSDYNA material library were used to model the behaviors of each of the materials and its interface for retrofitted and unretrofitted masonry walls. Available test data were used to validate the numerical models. Using the validated LS-DYNA numerical models, the pressure-impulse diagrams for retrofitted concrete masonry walls were constructed. The efficiency of using these retrofits to strengthen the unreinforced concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls under various pressures and impulses was investigated using pressure-impulse diagrams. Comparisons were made to find the most efficient retrofits for masonry walls against blasts.

A micro perspective analysis of capability renewal through knowledge integration within product innovation projects

The aim of this paper is examine how firms renew their organisational capabilities based on micro organisational processes. Organisational capability development literature points to firms’ failure in capability renewal process. To overcome this inefficiency, it is proposed to integrate dynamic capability and ambidexterity perspectives by studying knowledge integration within product innovation. In this relation, applying micro perspective in studying technology diffusion within Iranian Auto industry revealed micro co-evolutionary relationships between knowledge integration within product innovation and capability development. Furthermore, based on near decomposability principals, the analysis suggested relationships among modularity of product architecture, modularity of organisational modularity and modularity of industry architecture in downstream and upstream value chain. Based on these micro-macro co evolutionary effects, capability development process underlying successful corporate entrepreneurship may be verified.

Dynamic simulation of a light-weight, low-drag, hybrid-electric sports coupe

The University of Queensland UltraCommuter concept is an ultra- light, low-drag, hybrid-electric sports coupe designed to minimize energy consumption and environmental impact while enhancing the performance, styling, features and convenience that motorists enjoy. This paper presents a detailed simulation study of the vehicle's performance and fuel economy using ADVISOR, including a detailed description of the component models and parameters assumed. Results from the study include predictions of a 0-100 kph acceleration time of ≺9s, and top speed of 170 kph, an electrical energy consumption of ≺67 Wh/km in ZEV mode and a petrol-equivalent fuel consumption of ≺2.5 L/100 km in charge-sustaining HEV mode. Overall, the results of the ADVISOR modelling confirm the UltraCommuter's potential to achieve high performance with high efficiency, and the authors look forward to a confirmation of these estimates following completion of the vehicle.

An activity and resource advisory system for manufacturing process chains selection at the early stage of product development

Designers need to consider both the functional and production process requirements at the early stage of product development. A variety of the research works found in the literature has been proposed to assist designers in selecting the most viable manufacturing process chain. However, they do not provide any assistance for designers to evaluate the processes according to the particular circumstances of their company. This paper describes a framework of an Activity and Resource Advisory System (ARAS) that generates advice about the required activities and the possible resources for various manufacturing process chains. The system provides more insight, more flexibility, and a more holistic and suitable approach for designers to evaluate and then select the most viable manufacturing process chain at the early stage of product development.

Computer simulation of the fatigue behaviour of roof cladding during the passage of a tropical cyclone

This paper describes the development of an analytical model used to simulate the fatigue behaviour of roof cladding during the passage of a tropical cyclone. The model incorporated into a computer program uses wind pressure data from wind tunnel tests in combination with time history information on wind speed and direction during a tropical cyclone, and experimental fatigue characteristics data of roof claddings. The wind pressure data is analysed using a rainflow form of analysis, and a fatigue damage index calculated using a modified form of Miner's rule. Some of the results obtained to date and their significance in relation to the review of current fatigue tests are presented. The model appears to be reasonable for comparative estimation of fatigue life, but an improvement of Miner's rule is required for the prediction of actual fatigue life.

Ergonomic DHM systems - limitations and trends – a systematic literature review focused on the ‘future of ergonomics’

Digital Human Models (DHM) have been used for over 25 years. They have evolved from simple drawing templates, which are nowadays still used in architecture, to complex and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) integrated design and analysis tools for various ergonomic tasks. DHM are most frequently used for applications in product design and production planning, with many successful implementations documented. DHM from other domains, as for example computer user interfaces, artificial intelligence, training and education, or the entertainment industry show that there is also an ongoing development towards a comprehensive understanding and holistic modeling of human behavior. While the development of DHM for the game sector has seen significant progress in recent years, advances of DHM in the area of ergonomics have been comparatively modest. As a consequence, we need to question if current DHM systems are fit for the design of future mobile work systems. So far it appears that DHM in Ergonomics are rather limited to some traditional applications. According to Dul et al. (2012), future characteristics of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) can be assigned to six main trends: (1) global change of work systems, (2) cultural diversity, (3) ageing, (4) information and communication technology (ICT), (5) enhanced competiveness and the need for innovation, and; (6) sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Based on a literature review, we systematically investigate the capabilities of current ergonomic DHM systems versus the ‘Future of Ergonomics’ requirements. It is found that DHMs already provide broad functionality in support of trends (1) and (2), and more limited options in regards to trend (3). Today’s DHM provide access to a broad range of national and international databases for correct differentiation and characterization of anthropometry for global populations. Some DHM explicitly address social and cultural modeling of groups of people. In comparison, the trends of growing importance of ICT (4), the need for innovation (5) and sustainability (6) are addressed primarily from a hardware-oriented and engineering perspective and not reflected in DHM. This reflects a persistent separation between hardware design (engineering) and software design (information technology) in the view of DHM – a disconnection which needs to be urgently overcome in the era of software defined user interfaces and mobile devices. The design of a mobile ICT-device is discussed to exemplify the need for a comprehensive future DHM solution. Designing such mobile devices requires an approach that includes organizational aspects as well as technical and cognitive ergonomics. Multiple interrelationships between the different aspects result in a challenging setting for future DHM. In conclusion, the ‘Future of Ergonomics’ pose particular challenges for DHM in regards to the design of mobile work systems, and moreover mobile information access.