Craft, process and art : teaching and learning music composition in higher education

This paper explores models of teaching and learning music composition in higher education. It analyses the pedagogical approaches apparent in the literature on teaching and learning composition in schools and universities, and introduces a teaching model as: learning from the masters; mastery of techniques; exploring ideas; and developing voice. It then presents a learning model developed from a qualitative study into students’ experiences of learning composition at university as: craft, process and art. The relationship between the students’ experiences and the pedagogical model is examined. Finally, the implications for composition curricula in higher education are presented.

V2V/V2I augmented maps : state-of-the-art and contribution to real-time crash risk assessment

A number of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are currently being released on the market, providing safety functions to the drivers such as collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control or enhanced night-vision. These systems however are inherently limited by their sensory range: they cannot gather information from outside this range, also called their “perceptive horizon”. Cooperative systems are a developing research avenue that aims at providing extended safety and comfort functionalities by introducing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) wireless communications to the road actors. This paper presents the problematic of cooperative systems, their advantages and contributions to road safety and exposes some limitations related to market penetration, sensors accuracy and communications scalability. It explains the issues of how to implement extended perception, a central contribution of cooperative systems. The initial steps of an evaluation of data fusion architectures for extended perception are exposed.

The role of non-factorizability in determining "pseudo-classical" non-separability

This article introduces a “pseudo classical” notion of modelling non-separability. This form of non-separability can be viewed as lying between separability and quantum-like non-separability. Non-separability is formalized in terms of the non-factorizabilty of the underlying joint probability distribution. A decision criterium for determining the non-factorizability of the joint distribution is related to determining the rank of a matrix as well as another approach based on the chi-square-goodness-of-fit test. This pseudo-classical notion of non-separability is discussed in terms of quantum games and concept combinations in human cognition.

The ghrelin receptor isoforms (GHS-R1a and GHS-R1b) and GPR39 : an investigation into receptor dimerisation

Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Western males. Current diagnostic, prognostic and treatment approaches are not ideal and advanced metastatic prostate cancer is incurable. There is an urgent need for improved adjunctive therapies and markers for this disease. GPCRs are likely to play a significant role in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer. Over the last decade, it has emerged that G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are likely to function as homodimers and heterodimers. Heterodimerisation between GPCRs can result in the formation of novel pharmacological receptors with altered functional outcomes, and a number of GPCR heterodimers have been implicated in the pathogenesis of human disease. Importantly, novel GPCR heterodimers represent potential new targets for the development of more specific therapeutic drugs. Ghrelin is a 28 amino acid peptide hormone which has a unique n-octanoic acid post-translational modification. Ghrelin has a number of important physiological roles, including roles in appetite regulation and the stimulation of growth hormone release. The ghrelin receptor is the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a, GHS-R1a, a seven transmembrane domain GPCR, and GHS-R1b is a C-terminally truncated isoform of the ghrelin receptor, consisting of five transmembrane domains. Growing evidence suggests that ghrelin and the ghrelin receptor isoforms, GHS-R1a and GHS-R1b, may have a role in the progression of a number of cancers, including prostate cancer. Previous studies by our research group have shown that the truncated ghrelin receptor isoform, GHS-R1b, is not expressed in normal prostate, however, it is expressed in prostate cancer. The altered expression of this truncated isoform may reflect a difference between a normal and cancerous state. A number of mutant GPCRs have been shown to regulate the function of their corresponding wild-type receptors. Therefore, we investigated the potential role of interactions between GHS-R1a and GHS-R1b, which are co-expressed in prostate cancer and aimed to investigate the function of this potentially new pharmacological receptor. In 2005, obestatin, a 23 amino acid C-terminally amidated peptide derived from preproghrelin was identified and was described as opposing the stimulating effects of ghrelin on appetite and food intake. GPR39, an orphan GPCR which is closely related to the ghrelin receptor, was identified as the endogenous receptor for obestatin. Recently, however, the ability of obestatin to oppose the effects of ghrelin on appetite and food intake has been questioned, and furthermore, it appears that GPR39 may in fact not be the obestatin receptor. The role of GPR39 in the prostate is of interest, however, as it is a zinc receptor. Zinc has a unique role in the biology of the prostate, where it is normally accumulated at high levels, and zinc accumulation is altered in the development of prostate malignancy. Ghrelin and zinc have important roles in prostate cancer and dimerisation of their receptors may have novel roles in malignant prostate cells. The aim of the current study, therefore, was to demonstrate the formation of GHS-R1a/GHS-R1b and GHS-R1a/GPR39 heterodimers and to investigate potential functions of these heterodimers in prostate cancer cell lines. To demonstrate dimerisation we first employed a classical co-immunoprecipitation technique. Using cells co-overexpressing FLAG- and Myc- tagged GHS-R1a, GHS-R1b and GPR39, we were able to co-immunoprecipitate these receptors. Significantly, however, the receptors formed high molecular weight aggregates. A number of questions have been raised over the propensity of GPCRs to aggregate during co-immunoprecipitation as a result of their hydrophobic nature and this may be misinterpreted as receptor dimerisation. As we observed significant receptor aggregation in this study, we used additional methods to confirm the specificity of these putative GPCR interactions. We used two different resonance energy transfer (RET) methods; bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), to investigate interactions between the ghrelin receptor isoforms and GPR39. RET is the transfer of energy from a donor fluorophore to an acceptor fluorophore when they are in close proximity, and RET methods are, therefore, applicable to the observation of specific protein-protein interactions. Extensive studies using the second generation bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET2) technology were performed, however, a number of technical limitations were observed. The substrate used during BRET2 studies, coelenterazine 400a, has a low quantum yield and rapid signal decay. This study highlighted the requirement for the expression of donor and acceptor tagged receptors at high levels so that a BRET ratio can be determined. After performing a number of BRET2 experimental controls, our BRET2 data did not fit the predicted results for a specific interaction between these receptors. The interactions that we observed may in fact represent ‘bystander BRET’ resulting from high levels of expression, forcing the donor and acceptor into close proximity. Our FRET studies employed two different FRET techniques, acceptor photobleaching FRET and sensitised emission FRET measured by flow cytometry. We were unable to observe any significant FRET, or FRET values that were likely to result from specific receptor dimerisation between GHS-R1a, GHS-R1b and GPR39. While we were unable to conclusively demonstrate direct dimerisation between GHS-R1a, GHS-R1b and GPR39 using several methods, our findings do not exclude the possibility that these receptors interact. We aimed to investigate if co-expression of combinations of these receptors had functional effects in prostate cancers cells. It has previously been demonstrated that ghrelin stimulates cell proliferation in prostate cancer cell lines, through ERK1/2 activation, and GPR39 can stimulate ERK1/2 signalling in response to zinc treatments. Additionally, both GHS-R1a and GPR39 display a high level of constitutive signalling and these constitutively active receptors can attenuate apoptosis when overexpressed individually in some cell types. We, therefore, investigated ERK1/2 and AKT signalling and cell survival in prostate cancer the potential modulation of these functions by dimerisation between GHS-R1a, GHS-R1b and GPR39. Expression of these receptors in the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line, either alone or in combination, did not alter constitutive ERK1/2 or AKT signalling, basal apoptosis or tunicamycin-stimulated apoptosis, compared to controls. In summary, the potential interactions between the ghrelin receptor isoforms, GHS-R1a and GHS-R1b, and the related zinc receptor, GPR39, and the potential for functional outcomes in prostate cancer were investigated using a number of independent methods. We did not definitively demonstrate the formation of these dimers using a number of state of the art methods to directly demonstrate receptor-receptor interactions. We investigated a number of potential functions of GPR39 and GHS-R1a in the prostate and did not observe altered function in response to co-expression of these receptors. The technical questions raised by this study highlight the requirement for the application of extensive controls when using current methods for the demonstration of GPCR dimerisation. Similar findings in this field reflect the current controversy surrounding the investigation of GPCR dimerisation. Although GHS-R1a/GHS-R1b or GHS-R1a/GPR39 heterodimerisation was not clearly demonstrated, this study provides a basis for future investigations of these receptors in prostate cancer. Additionally, the results presented in this study and growing evidence in the literature highlight the requirement for an extensive understanding of the experimental method and the performance of a range of controls to avoid the spurious interpretation of data gained from artificial expression systems. The future development of more robust techniques for investigating GPCR dimerisation is clearly required and will enable us to elucidate whether GHS-R1a, GHS-R1b and GPR39 form physiologically relevant dimers.

Customers behaving badly : a state of the art review, research agenda and implications for practitioners

The purpose of this paper is to highlight important issues in the study of dysfunctional customer behavior and to provide a research agenda to inspire, guide, and enthuse. Through a critical evaluation of existing research, the aim is to highlight key issues and to present potentially worthy avenues for future study.

Lumia : art/light/motion

Lumia: art/light/motion is an exciting new media exhibition presented by State Library of Queensland in partnership with Queensland-based Kuuki collective artists Priscilla Bracks and Gavin Sade. The exhibition explored contemporary life and encourages thought about the future through an extraordinary collection of hand-crafted and interactive electronic creatures and installations. The beautifully crafted new media artworks in Lumia: art/light/motion combine the bespoke with art and technology to create strange but intriguing objects. Lumia invited audiences to play, learn and then ponder the way we live and the environmental and social implications of our choices.

Uncertainties that matter : risk, response-ability, ethics and the moment of exchange in Live Art

This article examines the moment of exchange between artist, audience and culture in Live Art. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, including examples from the Exist in 08 Live Art Event in Brisbane, Australia, in October 2008, it argues that Live Art - be it body art, activist art, site-specific performance, or other sorts of performative intervention in the public sphere - is characterised by a common set of claims about activating audiences, asking them to reflect on cultural norms challenged in the work. Live Art presents risky actions, in a context that blurs the boundaries between art and reality, to position audients as ‘witnesses’ who are personally implicated in, and responsible for, the actions unfolding before them. This article problematises assumptions about the way the uncertainties embedded in the Live Art encounter contribute to its deconstructive agenda. It uses the ethical theory of Emmanuel Levinas, Hans-Thies Lehmann and Dwight Conquergood to examine the mechanics of reductive, culturally-recuperative readings that can limit the efficacy of the Live Art encounter. It argues that, though ‘witnessing’ in Live Art depends on a relation to the real - real people, taking real risks, in real places - if it fails to foreground theatrical frame it is difficult for audients to develop the dual consciousness of the content, and their complicity in that content, that is the starting point for reflexivity, and response-ability, in the ethical encounter.

Contribution to the Pamela Croft Sandhills Studio Consultancy for the Yeppoon Public Art Project in 2000

A small collection of creative works developed to acompany some of the artistic images developed by visual artist Dr Pamela Croft for the Yeppoon Public Art Project in 2000.

Retracing the Roots and Ideals of Confucian Principles of Governance: the Art of Regulating Governance without Legal Rules in Chinese Societies

Confucius was and still is one of the most eminent Chinese philosophers. Such is the importance of Confucius’s teachings; it had influenced all aspects of social life in Chinese societies. In the post-Enron, post-Worldcom, and post-Global Financial Crisis era there are raising doubts in the mantra of the so-called conventional wisdom about law and economic order. Whilst many recent publications offered solutions to those problems like advocating for more laws, rules or reforms in regulatory institutions to enhance the regulation of corporate governance. What Confucius advocated was a non-legal, social mode of regulation based on moral ideals that should be embedded into the minds of every person. Whilst this is an ancient concept from primitive societies, its relevance and merits could be seen in modern Chinese societies like Hong Kong. In essence, Confucian principles of governance build on relational and paternalistic order based on moral ideals.

The art of careful listening : children as co-artists in the making of live performance

Since 2007 Kite Arts Education Program (KITE), based at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), has been engaged in delivering a series of theatre-based experiences for children in low socio-economic primary schools in Queensland. The twelve-week workshop experience culminates in a performance developed by the children with the assistance of the teacher artists from KITE for their community and parents/carers in a peak community cultural institution. Using Wartella’s notion of the socially competent child this analysis interrogates the performance product Precious, child participation modes, the intersection between the professional artists, teacher artists and child artists and outcomes in terms of building capacities for the development of social competencies in children.

Lumia : Art | light | motion. The Art of Kuuki.

The State Library of Queensland is delighted to present Lumia: art/light/motion, a culmination of many years of collaboration by the Kuuki collective led by Priscilla Bracks and Gavin Sade. This extraordinary exhibition not only showcases the unique talent of these Queenslanders, it also opens up a world of future possibilities while re-presenting the past and present. These contemporary new media installations sit comfortably within the walls of the library as they are the distinctive products of inquisitive and philosophical minds. In a sense the exhibition highlights the longevity and purposefulness of a cultural learning institution, through the non-traditional use of data, information, research and collection interpretation. The exhibition simultaneously articulates one of our key objectives – to progress the state’s digital agenda. Two academic essays have been commissioned for this joint Kuuki and State Library of Queensland publication. The first is by artist and writer Paul Brown, who has specialised in art, science and technology since the late 1960s and in computational and generative art since the mid 1970s. Brown investigates the history of new media, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, and clearly places Sade and Bracks at the forefront of this genre nationally. The second essay is by arts writer Linda Carroli, who has delved deeply into the thoughts and processes of the artists to bring to light the complex workings of the artists’ minds. The publication also features an interview Carroli conducted with the artists. This exhibition is playful, informative and contemplative. The audience is invited to play, and consequently to ponder the way we live and the environmental and social implications of our choices. The exhibition tempts us to travel deep into the Antarctic, plunge into the Great Barrier Reef, be swamped by an orchestra of crickets, enter the Charmed world and travel back in time to a Victorian parlour where you can interact with a ‘new-world’ lyrebird and consider a brave new world where our only link to the animal world is with robotic representations. In essence this exhibition is about ideas and knowledge and what better institution than the State Library of Queensland to partner such a project?. State Library is committed to preserving culture, exploring new media and creating new content as a lasting legacy of Queensland for all Queenslanders.