Position, privacy and personnel : concerns for the (digital) future

Firms are moving away from decentralized regional offices. Last year the author spoke with a valuer working on the Sunshine Coast for a Brisbane firm. In years past this valuer would have left home in the morning to go to the office, as well as travelling during the day to client sites. Now they get up, have breakfast, change out of their pyjamas (if they have meetings!) and walk into their employer set-up home office to ‘punch-in’. Apart from travel for essential meetings at head office, or for the purpose of on-site inspections, they can attend work, engage with colleagues and clients and never leave home. While this practice may be a cost saving to the firm and a commuter-friendly way of working, it raises a range of issues to be managed.

Professional development using informal learning networks : an empirical study in Australia’s digital content industry

Informal learning networks play a key role in the skill and professional development of professionals working in micro-businesses within Australia’s digital content industry as they do not necessarily have access to a learning and development or a human resources section that can assist in mapping their learning pathway. Professionals working in this environment would typically adopt an informal learning approach to their skill and professional development by utilising their social and business networks. The overall aim of this PhD research project is to study how these professionals manage their skill and professional development, and to explore what role informal learning networks play in this professional learning context. This paper will describe the theme of the research project and how it fits with previous research and other relevant studies. Secondly, it will present the study’s research focus, and the research questions. It will also present relevant theories and perspectives, and the methods for empirical data collection. Data collection will be through three distinct phases using a mixed methods research design: an online survey, interviews, and case studies. It should be noted the findings presented in this paper offer some early results of the research project.

Optimized strategy for integrated traffic and transit signal control

This paper proposes a unique and innovative approach to integrate transit signal priority control into a traffic adaptive signal control strategy. The proposed strategy was named OSTRAC (Optimized Strategy for integrated TRAffic and TRAnsit signal Control). The cornerstones of OSTRAC include an online microscopic traffic f low prediction model and a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based traffic signal timing module. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the critical GA parameters. The developed traffic f low model demonstrated reliable prediction results through a test. OSTRAC was evaluated by comparing its performance to three other signal control strategies. The evaluation results revealed that OSTRAC efficiently and effectively reduced delay time of general traffic and also transit vehicles.

Performance comparison of four power system stabilizer

The well-known power system stabilizer (PSS) is used to generate supplementary control signals for the excitation system of a generator so as to damp low frequency oscillations in the power system concerned. Up to now, various kinds of PSS design methods have been proposed and some of them applied in actual power systems with different degrees. Given this background, the small-disturbance eigenvalue analysis and large-disturbance dynamic simulations in the time domain are carried out to evaluate the performances of four different PSS design methods, including the Conventional PSS (CPSS), Single-Neuron PSS (SNPSS), Adaptive PSS (APSS) and Multi-band PSS (MBPSS). To make the comparisons equitable, the parameters of the four kinds of PSSs are all determined by the steepest descent method. Finally, an 8-unit 24-bus power system is employed to demonstrate the performances of the four kinds of PSSs by the well-established eigenvalue analysis as well as numerous digital simulations, and some useful conclusions obtained.

Studies in power hardware in the loop (PHIL) simulation using real-time digital simulator (RTDS)

In power hardware in the loop (PHIL) simulations, a real-time simulated power system is interfaced to a piece of hardware, usually called hardware under test (HuT). A PHIL test can be realized using several simulation tools. Among them Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) is an ideal tool to perform complex power system simulations in near real-time. Stable operation of the entire system, along with the accuracy of simulation results are the main concerns regarding a PHIL simulation. In this paper, a simulated power network on RTDS will be interfaced to HuT through a voltage source converter (VSC). Issues around stability and other interface problems are studied and a new method to stabilize some unstable PHIL cases is proposed. PHIL simulation results in PSCAD and RSCAD are presented.

Life of SYN : a story of the digital generation

SYN (Student Youth Network) is a media organisation run by people between the ages of 12 and 26. In this ‘coming of age story’, Ellie Rennie follows the SYNners as they build Australia’s most unusual media empire against enormous odds. Over the course of the book, social networking becomes the most popular use of the internet and traditional media institutions are forced to acknowledge the rise of amateur content. In response, SYN rethinks its approach to the online environment, kills its print publication, deals with the introduction of digital broadcasting and teaches schoolteachers about a new kind of literacy. In just two years dozens of careers are launched, the SYN radio audience doubles and they get told off for swearing. Life of SYN takes on the big issues of the media through the story of a small media organisation. This humorous and insightful book describes a media environment in flux, where audiences and producers express their freedom in unruly and contradictory ways. Life of SYN gives structure to the new media world without curtailing its inventiveness and possibility. Life of SYN combines story with media theory, encompassing: digital literacy and media participation; the future of community media; youth media and media industries.

Spectrum sensing optimisation for dynamic primary user signal

We propose a multi-layer spectrum sensing optimisation algorithm to maximise sensing efficiency by computing the optimal sensing and transmission durations for a fast changing, dynamic primary user. Dynamic primary user traffic is modelled as a random process, where the primary user changes states during both the sensing period and transmission period to reflect a more realistic scenario. Furthermore, we formulate joint constraints to correctly reflect interference to the primary user and lost opportunity of the secondary user during the transmission period. Finally, we implement a novel duty cycle based detector that is optimised with respect to PU traffic to accurately detect primary user activity during the sensing period. Simulation results show that unlike currently used detection models, the proposed algorithm can jointly optimise the sensing and transmission durations to simultaneously satisfy the optimisation constraints for the considered primary user traffic.

Emerging methods for digital media research : an introduction

Now as in earlier periods of acute change in the media environment, new disciplinary articulations are producing new methods for media and communication research. At the same time, established media and communication studies meth- ods are being recombined, reconfigured, and remediated alongside their objects of study. This special issue of JOBEM seeks to explore the conceptual, political, and practical aspects of emerging methods for digital media research. It does so at the conjuncture of a number of important contemporary trends: the rise of a ‘‘third wave’’ of the Digital Humanities and the ‘‘computational turn’’ (Berry, 2011) associated with natively digital objects and the methods for studying them; the apparently ubiquitous Big Data paradigm—with its various manifestations across academia, business, and government — that brings with it a rapidly increasing interest in social media communication and online ‘‘behavior’’ from the ‘‘hard’’ sciences; along with the multisited, embodied, and emplaced nature of everyday digital media practice.

The naturally imperfect form : investigations of the application of digital sculpting methods - extracted art : incorporating and translating ‘found art’ into the medium of digital sculpture

This dissertation analyses how physical objects are translated into digital artworks using techniques which can lead to ‘imperfections’ in the resulting digital artwork that are typically removed to arrive at a ‘perfect’ final representation. The dissertation discusses the adaptation of existing techniques into an artistic workflow that acknowledges and incorporates the imperfections of translation into the final pieces. It presents an exploration of the relationship between physical and digital artefacts and the processes used to move between the two. The work explores the 'craft' of digital sculpting and the technology used in producing what the artist terms ‘a naturally imperfect form’, incorporating knowledge of traditional sculpture, an understanding of anatomy and an interest in the study of bones (Osteology). The outcomes of the research are presented as a series of digital sculptural works, exhibited as a collection of curiosities in multiple mediums, including interactive game spaces, augmented reality (AR), rapid prototype prints (RP) and video displays.

Digital storytelling as everyday activism : Queer identity, voice and networked publics

This thesis investigates the role of personal Digital Stories shared in public spaces as catalysts for social change. By analysing the influence of workshop facilitators, organisations, digital platforms and networked publics on voice and self-representation, it sheds light on shifting meanings of publicness and privacy, both face to face and online. This thesis argues that, despite numerous obstacles, the cumulative influence of diverse voices dispersed among networked publics shape new cultural norms, thereby contributing to gradual social change.

Digital soapboxes : towards an interaction design agenda for situated civic innovation

We argue that there are at least two significant issues for interaction designers to consider when creating the next generation of human interfaces for civic and urban engagement: (1) The disconnect between citizens participating in either digital or physical realms has resulted in a neglect of the hybrid role that public place and situated technology can play in contributing to civic innovation. (2) Under the veneer of many social media tools, hardly any meaningful strategies or approaches are found that go beyond awareness raising and allow citizens to do more than clicking a ‘Like’ button. We call for an agenda to design the next generation of ‘digital soapboxes’ that contributes towards a new form of polity helping citizens not only to have a voice but also to appropriate their city in order to take action for change.

Assessment of precision timing and real-time data networks for digital substation automation

This project researched the performance of emerging digital technology for high voltage electricity substations that significantly improves safety for staff and reduces the potential impact on the environment of equipment failure. The experimental evaluation used a scale model of a substation control system that incorporated real substation control and networking equipment with real-time simulation of the power system. The outcomes confirm that it is possible to implement Ethernet networks in high voltage substations that meet the needs of utilities; however component-level testing of devices is necessary to achieve this. The assessment results have been used to further develop international standards for substation communication and precision timing.

Women's participation in the Australian digital content industry

The research investigated women’s participation in the Australian Digital Content Industry, which encompasses both multimedia and games production. The Digital Content Industry is an area of growing economic and social significance, both in Australia and internationally. Women are under-represented in core Digital Content Industry work but there has been little theoretical or empirical investigation of the underlying issues. This research identified a range of influences on women’s participation and provides a better understanding of this complex social phenomenon by proposing that influences should be understood from the perspective of agent-driven mechanisms. The key contribution is a new theory - the Acts of Agency Theory - which was used to discuss the phenomenon and issues underpinning women’s participation and to recommend strategies that should foster greater participation of women in the Digital Content Industry.