Digital strategy in airports

As airports continue to become more ‘customer-centric’ their digital customer-facing technologies are increasingly embedded within the passenger journey. This study takes a customer-centric view of airport digital technology by exploring the ways that digital technologies are being applied within airports to improve passenger perspectives of service quality during their journey. The literature review develops a framework encompassing the themes of airport service quality (function, interaction and diversion) and digital strategy. This framework has been applied to six airports exhibiting high service quality. Currently, the findings suggest that the improvement of customer function involves the use of automated and self-service technologies providing passengers greater efficiency and effectiveness during processing points. Additionally, technology to improve experience during wait times may entail either aesthetic qualities, or provide some form of productivity to passengers. Alternatively, customer interaction is influenced by digital technology through constant passenger engagement during their journey. As the research nears completion, the influence of these themes on the framework will become more apparent.

Analyzing causes for reworks in construction projects in China

Although rework is a common phenomenon in the Chinese construction industry and significantly affects project success, the reasons for rework remain largely unknown and most construction companies are unable to manage the issue effectively. To investigate the causes of rework in construction projects, a total of 39 causes were first identified through a comprehensive literature review and semi-structured interviews with 13 experienced construction professionals in China. A questionnaire survey was further conducted to prioritize these causes, in which unclear project process management, poor quality of construction technology, and the use of poor construction materials rank the highest. Finally, a factor analysis revealed 11 major underlying dimensions of these causes, relating to design management, communication management, field management, project scope management, project process management, active rework, project plan changes, subcontractor management, contract management, owner capability, and the external environment. The contribution of this work lies in its examination of the underlying causes of rework perceived by construction professionals in the world’s largest developing country, which is characterized by its unique economic and social systems. In particular, newly identified causes of contract management, active rework, and scope management help expand existing knowledge of the underlying causes of rework for the global construction community.

Beyond the Producer/Consumer Divide : Key Principles of Produsage and Opportunities for Innovation

Though popular, concepts such as Toffler's 'prosumer' (1970; 1980; 1990) are inherently limited in their ability to accurately describe the makeup and dynamics of current co-creative environments, from fundamentally non-profit initiatives like the Wikipedia to user-industry partnerships that engage in crowdsourcing and the development of collective intelligence. Instead, the success or failure of such projects can be understood best if the traditional producer/consumer divide is dissolved, allowing for the emergence of the produser (Bruns, 2008). A close investigation of leading spaces for produsage makes it possible to extract the key principles which underpin and guide such content co-creation, and to identify how innovative pro-am partnerships between commercial entities and user communities might be structured in order to maximise the benefits that both sides will be able to draw from such collaboration. This chapter will outline these principles, and point to successes and failures in applying them to pro- am initiatives.

Cultural and linguistic localization of games to bridge the digital and cultural divide in indigenous populations

Localization of technology is now widely applied to the preservation and revival of the culture of indigenous peoples around the world, most commonly through the translation into indigenous languages, which has been proven to increase the adoption of technology. However, this current form of localization excludes two demographic groups, which are key to the effectiveness of localization efforts in the African context: the younger generation (under the age of thirty) with an Anglo- American cultural view who have no need or interest in their indigenous culture; and the older generation (over the age of fifty) who are very knowledgeable about their indigenous culture, but have little or no knowledge on the use of a computer. This paper presents the design of a computer game engine that can be used to provide an interface for both technology and indigenous culture learning for both generations. Four indigenous Ugandan games are analyzed and identified for their attractiveness to both generations, to both rural and urban populations, and for their propensity to develop IT skills in older generations.

Large scale multiuser digital mind mapping tool : a study in usability

Project work can involve multiple people from varying disciplines coming together to solve problems as a group. Large scale interactive displays are presenting new opportunities to support such interactions with interactive and semantically enabled cooperative work tools such as intelligent mind maps. In this paper, we present a novel digital, touch-enabled mind-mapping tool as a first step towards achieving such a vision. This first prototype allows an evaluation of the benefits of a digital environment for a task that would otherwise be performed on paper or flat interactive surfaces. Observations and surveys of 12 participants in 3 groups allowed the formulation of several recommendations for further research into: new methods for capturing text input on touch screens; inclusion of complex structures; multi-user environments and how users make the shift from single- user applications; and how best to navigate large screen real estate in a touch-enabled, co-present multi-user setting.

Can we do better? Researchers' experiences with ethical review boards on projects with later life as a focus

The goal of this study was to describe researchers' experiences in submitting ethical proposals focused on older adult populations, including studies with persons with dementia, to ethical review boards. Ethical approval was granted for an online survey. Researchers were recruited via listservs and snowballing techniques. Participants included 157 persons (73% female) from Australia and the United States, with a mean age of 46 (±13). Six main issues were encountered by researchers who participated in this survey. In descending order, these included questions regarding: informed consent and information requirements (61.1%), participants' vulnerability, particularly for those with cognitive impairments (58.6%), participant burden (44.6%), data access (29.3%), adverse effects of data collection/intervention (26.8%), and study methodology (25.5%). An inductive content analysis of responses revealed a range of encounters with ethical review panels spanning positive, negative, and neutral experiences. Concerns voiced about ethical review boards included committees being overly focused on legal risk, as well as not always hearing the voice of older research participants, both potential and actual. Respondents noted inability to move forward on studies, as well as loss of researchers and participant groups from gerontological and clinical research as a result of negative interactions with ethics committees. Positive interactions with the committees reinforced researchers' need to carefully construct their research approaches with persons with dementia in particular. Suggested guidelines for committees when dealing with ethics applications involving older adults include self-reflecting on potential biases and stereotypes, and seeking further clarification and information from gerontological researchers before arriving at decisions.

Standardising and assessing digital images for use in clinical trials : a practical, reproducible method that blinds the assessor to treatment allocation

With the increasing availability of high quality digital cameras that are easily operated by the non-professional photographer, the utility of using digital images to assess endpoints in clinical research of skin lesions has growing acceptance. However, rigorous protocols and description of experiences for digital image collection and assessment are not readily available, particularly for research conducted in remote settings. We describe the development and evaluation of a protocol for digital image collection by the non-professional photographer in a remote setting research trial, together with a novel methodology for assessment of clinical outcomes by an expert panel blinded to treatment allocation.

From ideation to sculpture : digital sculpting as the primary 'ideation' tool for creature design

This research project examined the potential for circumventing drawing in the ideation process by adopting digital sculpture as the primary conceptual development and design tool for the digital sculpting of creature designs. Through a series of experimental research cycles, multiple frameworks were explored with the aim of identifying a methodology for creating '3D sculpted sketches' for the initial phases of the ideation process. This research project acknowledges that drawing still remains the predominant method of visualising design ideas for characters and creatures for many artists. However, alongside other ideation techniques digital sculpting can function as a rapid and responsive tool to visualize and explore forms in a digital sculpting environment for the conceptualisation of multiple creature design variations. The results of this study are significant for emerging digital sculptors who may not necessarily have a well-defined creative brief or initial concept.

Digital Spring? New media and new politics on the campus

Whilst the dynamics informing processes have taken time to become clear, civic resistance initiated by young people using new media began in Egypt in 2010 against the Mubarak regime, soon widened to Tunisia, Yemen and Libya. Known as the 'Arab Spring', this phenomenon re-ignited discussion about the political role of digital space and its democratic potential. While parallels between authoritarian regimes and universities and educational institutions might seem overdrawn to some readers, I suggest there is value in considering the 'Digital Spring' (apropos the 'Arab Spring') as a metaphor to suggest the possibility that similar processes are taking place in schools and universities. This invites discussion about the political significance of digital space and its democratic potential in those institutions. To assess how some young people engage in digitally mediated politics within schools and universities, I identify five propositions which amalgamate descriptive and normative elements derived from Habermas and Dahlgren. These propositions offer an ideal taxonomy of normative and descriptive elements to establish whether digital technology promotes participation and debate in ways that sustain democratic practice.

The political in the age of the digital: propositions for empirical investigation

This article establishes whether there is a case for revising traditional accounts of politics and the public sphere given the ways in which digital technology is now being used in Western and non-Western settings to engage people politically. The article presents a case for framing this inquiry in terms of imaginaries. It then argues for a new political imaginary which helps to specify what is required for deliberative democratic practice in a way that shifts us away from the dominant liberal-utilitarian political imaginary that currently informs the political value systems of most Western nations. Drawing on the work of key political theorists such as Habermas and Dahlgren, five propositions or conditions for deliberative practice are identified that can be used in empirical investigation to help determine the democratic capacity and potential of new political communication and civic spaces being opened by means of digital media.