In Interaction

The field was the design of cross-cultural media art exhibition outcomes for the Japanese marketplace. The context was improved understandings of spatial, temporal and contextual exhibition design procedures as they ultimately impact upon the augmentation of cross-cultural understanding. The research investigated cross-cultural new media exhibition practices suited to the specific sensitivies of Japanese exhibition practices. The methodology was principally practice-led. The research drew upon seven years of prior exhibition design practices in order to generate new Japanese exhibition design methodologies. It also empowered Zaim Artpsace’s Japanese curators to later present a range of substantial new media shows. The project also succeeded in developing new cross-cultural alliances that led to significant IDA projects in Beijing, Australia and Europe in the years 2008-10. Through invitations from external curators the new versions of the exhibition work subsequently travelled to 4 other major venues including the prestigious Songzhang Art Museum, Beijing in 07/08, the Block, QUT, Brisbane and the Tokyo International Film festival. Inspiration Art Press printed a major catalogue for the event extensively featuring this exhibition. This project also led to the Sudamalis (2007) paper, ‘Building Capacity: Literacy And Creative Workforce Development Through International Digital Arts Projects’ (IDAprojects) Exhibition Programs And Partnerships’.

The vernacular terrain : Songzhang Art Museum, Beijing, China

The field was the curation of cross-cultural new media/ digital media practices within large-scale exhibition practices in China. The context was improved understandings of the intertwining of the natural and the artificial with respect to landscape and culture, and their consequent effect on our contemporary globalised society. The research highlighted new languages of media art with respect to landscape and their particular underpinning dialects. The methodology was principally practice-led. --------- The research brought together over 60 practitioners from both local and diasporic Asian, European and Australian cultures for the first time within a Chinese exhibition context. Through pursuing a strong response to both cultural displacement and re-identification the research forged and documented an enduring commonality within difference – an agenda further concentrated through sensitivities surrounding that year’s Beijing’s Olympics. In contrast to the severe threats posed to the local dialects of many of the world’s spoken and written languages the ‘Vernacular Terrain’ project evidenced that many local creative ‘dialects’ of the environment-media art continuum had indeed survived and flourished. --------- The project was co-funded by the Beijing Film Academy, QUT Precincts, IDAProjects and Platform China Art Institute. A broad range of peer-reviewed grants was won including from the Australia China Council and the Australian Embassy in China. Through invitations from external curators much of the work then traveled to other venues including the Block Gallery at QUT and the outdoor screens at Federation Square, Melbourne. The Vernacular Terrain catalogue featured a comprehensive history of the IDA project from 2000 to 2008 alongside several major essays. Due to the reputation IDA Projects had established, the team were invited to curate a major exhibition showcasing fifty new media artists: The Vernacular Terrain, at the prestigious Songzhang Art Museum, Beijing in Dec 07-Jan 2008. The exhibition was designed for an extensive, newly opened gallery owned by one of China's most important art historians Li Xian Ting. This exhibition was not only this gallery’s inaugural non-Chinese curated show but also the Gallery’s first new media exhibition. It included important works by artists such as Peter Greenway, Michael Roulier, Maleonn and Cui Xuiwen. --------- Each artist was chosen both for a focus upon their own local environmental concerns as well as their specific forms of practice - that included virtual world design, interactive design, video art, real time and manipulated multiplayer gaming platforms and web 2.0 practices. This exhibition examined the interconnectivities of cultural dialogue on both a micro and macro scale; incorporating the local and the global, through display methods and design approaches that stitched these diverse practices into a spatial map of meanings and conversations. By examining the contexts of each artist’s practice in relationship to the specificity of their own local place and prevailing global contexts the exhibition sought to uncover a global vernacular. Through pursuing this concentrated anthropological direction the research identified key themes and concerns of a contextual language that was clearly underpinned by distinctive local ‘dialects’ thereby contributing to a profound sense of cross-cultural association. Through augmentation of existing discourse the exhibition confirmed the enduring relevance and influence of both localized and globalised languages of the landscape-technology continuum.

Evolutionary algorithms for sustainable building design

This approach to sustainable design explores the possibility of creating an architectural design process which can iteratively produce optimised and sustainable design solutions. Driven by an evolution process based on genetic algorithms, the system allows the designer to “design the building design generator” rather than to “designs the building”. The design concept is abstracted into a digital design schema, which allows transfer of the human creative vision into the rational language of a computer. The schema is then elaborated into the use of genetic algorithms to evolve innovative, performative and sustainable design solutions. The prioritisation of the project’s constraints and the subsequent design solutions synthesised during design generation are expected to resolve most of the major conflicts in the evaluation and optimisation phases. Mosques are used as the example building typology to ground the research activity. The spatial organisations of various mosque typologies are graphically represented by adjacency constraints between spaces. Each configuration is represented by a planar graph which is then translated into a non-orthogonal dual graph and fed into the genetic algorithm system with fixed constraints and expected performance criteria set to govern evolution. The resultant Hierarchical Evolutionary Algorithmic Design System is developed by linking the evaluation process with environmental assessment tools to rank the candidate designs. The proposed system generates the concept, the seed, and the schema, and has environmental performance as one of the main criteria in driving optimisation.

Lightsite

Lightsite is a room-sized pinhole camera which has been transported to a number of locations throughout the south of Western Australia. Lightsite was conceived as a way to celebrate a variety of individuals and their families, who have a very strong sense of connection to the landscapes in this region. The project documented herein was completed for “Hotspot” a cultural project initiated by Mix Artists Incorporated for the 2006 Perth International Arts Festival. The photographic works illustrated within were exhibited in regional centres throughout Western Australia during 2006, and continuing into 2007.

The power of a single prototype : sustainable fashion textile design and the prevention of carcinogenic melanoma

Is there a role for prototyping (sketching, pattern making and sampling) in addressing real world problems of sustainability (People, Profit, and Planet), in this case social/healthcare issues, through fashion and textiles research? Skin cancer and related illnesses are a major cause of disfigurement and death in New Zealand and Australia where the rates of Melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer, are four times higher than in the Northern Hemisphere regions of USA, UK and Canada (IARC, 1992). In 2007, AUT University (Auckland University of Technology) Fashion Department and the Health Promotion Department of Cancer Society - Auckland Division (CSA) developed a prototype hat aimed at exploring a barrier type solution to prevent facial and neck skin damage. This is a paradigm shift from the usual medical research model. This paper provides an overview of the project and examines how a fashion prototype has been used to communicate emergent social, environmental, personal, physiological and technological concerns to the trans-disciplinary research team. The authors consider how the design of a product can enhance and support sustainable design practice while contributing a potential solution to an ongoing health issue. Analysis of this case study provides an insight into prototyping in fashion and textiles design, user engagement and the importance of requirements analysis in relation to sustainable development. The analysis and a successful outcome of the final prototype have provided a gateway to future collaborative research and product development.

Intellectual property : designing 4 success. Safeguarding your innovations - rights, obligations and opportunities in creating intellectual property by design

Design talks LOUDLY!!! Is a series of interactive presentations exploring issues and opportunities involving professional design. --------------- These seminars are organised by the Industrial Design Network Queensland (IDnetQLD) in coordination with the Design Institute of Australia (DIA). This event was held at the State Library of Queensland (SLQ) with invited public presentations by a panel of industry experts from the Australian Government – IP Australia. --------------- The first seminar "Intellectual Property : designing 4 success" highlighted to design professionals how the various forms of Intellectual Property interact, what protections and pitfalls exist, and how these impact upon the work and responsibilities of designers. The overlaps, gaps and in congruencies in the various IP protection systems were highlighted by the expert line-up of speakers. --------------- The underlying message is that a clear understanding of all IP types is necessary in order to gain the best advantage from IP protection and therefore eliminate potential IP ownership issues before they become a problem.

A cross cultural examination of consumer behaviour and GM food products : results from Australian and South Korean female consumers

The call for the cross cultural examination and validation of commonly accepted relationships within consumer behaviour is strengthening. Consequently, this paper seeks to address this call by examining consumer risk perceptions, reliance on country of origin information and willingness to buy Genetically Modified (GM) food products on Australian and South Korean consumers. Findings indicate a number of cross cultural similarities and differences that have both theoretical and practical implications.

Design and evaluation of an MRI compatible axial compression device for 3D assessment of spinal deformity and flexibility

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) offers a valuable research tool for the assessment of 3D spinal deformity in AIS, however the horizontal patient position imposed by conventional scanners removes the axial compressive loading on the spine which is an important determinant of deformity shape and magnitude in standing scoliosis patients. The objective of this study was to design, construct and test an MRI compatible compression device for research into the effect of axial loading on spinal deformity using supine MRI scans. The compression device was designed and constructed, consisting of a vest worn by the patient, which was attached via straps to a pneumatically actuated footplate. An applied load of 0.5 x bodyweight was remotely controlled by a unit in the scanner operator’s console. The entire device was constructed using non-metallic components for MRI compatibility. The device was evaluated by performing unloaded and loaded supine MRI scans on a series of 10 AIS patients. The study concluded that an MRI compatible compression device had been successfully designed and constructed, providing a research tool for studies into the effect of axial loading on 3D spinal deformity in scoliosis. The 3D axially loaded MR imaging capability developed in this study will allow future research investigations of the effect of axial loading on spinal rotation, and for imaging the response of scoliotic spinal tissues to axial loading.

Building research capacity in the nursing workforce : the design and evaluation of the nurse researcher role

Objectives: The Nurse Researcher Project (NRP) was initiated to support development of a nursing research and evidence based practice culture in Cancer Care Services (CCS) in a large tertiary hospital in Australia. The position was established and evaluated to inform future directions in the organisation.---------- Background: The demand for quality cancer care has been expanding over the past decades. Nurses are well placed to make an impact on improving health outcomes of people affected by cancer. At the same time, there is a robust body of literature documenting the barriers to undertaking and utilising research by and for nurses and nursing. A number of strategies have been implemented to address these barriers including a range of staff researcher positions but there is scant attention to evaluating the outcomes of these strategies. The role of nurse researcher has been documented in the literature with the aim to provide support to nurses in the clinical setting. There is, to date, little information in relation to the design, implementation and evaluation of this role.---------- Design: The Donabedian’s model of program evaluation was used to implement and evaluate this initiative.---------- Methods: The ‘NRP’ outlined the steps needed to implement the nurse researcher role in a clinical setting. The steps involved the design of the role, planning for the support system for the role, and evaluation of outcomes of the role over two years.---------- Discussion: This paper proposes an innovative and feasible model to support clinical nursing research which would be relevant to a range of service areas.---------- Conclusion: Nurse researchers are able to play a crucial role in advancing nursing knowledge and facilitating evidence based practice, especially when placed to support a specialised team of nurses at a service level. This role can be implemented through appropriate planning of the position, building a support system and incorporating an evaluation plan.

An exploration of two female principals’ leadership in mainland China

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore two dimensions of leadership practices (i.e. teaching and learning and sources of power) used by two exemplary principals in mainland China against a background of education reform and to identify how broader contextual factors have shaped these two dimensions of their leadership.--------- Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory case study was used that drew upon semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Interviews were conducted with two principals, six teachers from each of the two schools and a superintendent who was the supervisor of the two principals.---------- Findings: The findings reveal that there are some common elements in both of the leaders’ practices but also some subtle differences. Both leaders emphasise teaching and learning. One sees herself as curriculum expert; the other delegate teaching responsibilities. While both uses a top down approach, one principal uses an adversarial approach and the other a more facilitative approach.---------- Research limitations/implications: The study used a small sample size. It explored the leaders’ practices in the light of broader contextual factors rather than personal factors or gender-based factors Originality/value – Given the limited empirical research conducted on female principals in mainland China, this qualitative study provides insights into two dimensions of leadership used by two exemplary principals and explains their practices in the light of critical contextual factors such as contemporary and traditional Chinese culture and the school’s organisational context.

Lateral distortional buckling design rules for back to back LiteSteel beams

A new cold-formed steel beam, known as the LiteSteel Beam (LSB), has the potential to transform the low-rise building industry. The new beam is effectively a channel section with two rectangular hollow flanges and a slender web, and is manufactured using a simultaneous cold-forming and electric resistance welding process. Research into the flexural behaviour of single LSB members showed that the LSBs are susceptible to lateral distortional buckling effects and their moment capacities are significantly reduced for intermediate spans. Build-up LSB sections are expected to improve their flexural capacity and to enhance their applications. They are also likely to mitigate the detrimental effects of lateral distortional buckling observed with single LSB members of intermediate spans. However, the behaviour of build up beams is not well understood. Currently available design rules were found to be inadequate to predict the member moment capacities of back to back LSBs. Therefore a research project based on both experimental and numerical studies was undertaken to investigate the flexural behaviour of back to back LSBs with various longitudinal connection spacings under a uniform moment. New design rules were developed using the moment capacity data obtained using finite element analyses and experimental tests. This paper presents the details of the development of design rules for the back to back LSB sections.

An examination of the knowledge barriers in participatory design and the prospects for embedded research

Participatory design has the moral and pragmatic tenet of including those who will be most affected by a design into the design process. However, good participation is hard to achieve and results linking project success and degree of participation are inconsistent. Through three case studies examining some of the challenges that different properties of knowledge - novelty, difference, dependence - can impose on the participatory endeavour we examine some of the consequences to the participatory process of failing to bridge across knowledge boundaries - syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic. One pragmatic consequence, disrupting the user's feeling of involvement to the project, has been suggested as a possible explanation for the inconsistent results linking participation and project success. To aid in addressing these issues a new form of participatory research, called embedded research, is proposed and examined within the framework of the case studies and knowledge framework with a call for future research into its possibilities.

Panel discussion and documentary screening to celebrate World Industrial Design Day (WIDD) 2010

This collaborative event was organised to coincide with International celebrations by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). The panel discussion involved industrial designers from a variety of backgrounds including academics, theorists and practitioners. Each panel member was given time to voice their opinion surrounding the theme of WIDD2010 "Industrial Design: Humane Solutions for a Resilient World". The discussion was then extended to the audience through active question and answer time. The panel included: * Professor Vesna Popovic FDIA - Queensland University of Technology * Adam Doyle, Studio Manager - Infinity Design Development * Scott Cox MDIA, Creative Director - Formwerx * Alexander Lotersztain, Director - Derlot * Philip Whiting FDIA, Design Convenor - QCA * Professor Tony Fry, Director Team D/E/S & QCA After this, the documentary by Gary Hewtsit "Objectified" was then screened (75 min).

The modern movement architecture of four South African cities

South Africa's modern architecture is not confined to the cities, but the ideas of the movement were mostly disseminated by architects and academics in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town, its four major urban centres. The lay out of significant areas of each city was also influenced by international modernist plans. In outlining the achievements and innovative designs of architects in these cities between the 1930s and 1970s, this article draws a picture of the importance of modernism in South African urban space, and of its diversity. It also draws attention to the political nature of the South African landscape and space, where modernist design was used for racial purposes, and to past and present conservation ideologies. The second part of the article concerns the conservation of modern buildings in these centres; it quotes bibliographies and lists the registers, those existing or under construction. It concludes with an overview of the conservation legislation in place and the challenges of conservation in a context of changing cultural values.