Meaning in movement : a gestural design game

This paper describes a design game that we called 'Meaning in Movement'. The purpose was to explore notions of professional dental practice with dental practioners in terms of gestures, actions and movements. The game represents a first step towards involving gestures, actions and movements in a design dialog with practioners for the purpose of designing future interactive systems which are more appropriate to the type of skilful actions and richly structured environments of dentists and dental assistants.

Effect of Pedestrian Movement on MIMO-OFDM Channel Capacity in an Indoor Environment

Effects of pedestrian movement on multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) channel capacity have been investigated using experiment and simulation. The experiment was conducted at 5.2 GHz by a MIMO-OFDM packet transmission demonstrator using four transmitters and four receivers built in-house. Geometric optics based ray tracing technique was used to simulate the experimental scenarios. Changes in the channel capacity dynamic range have been analysed for different number of pedestrian (0-3) and antennas (2-4). Measurement and simulation results show that the dynamic range increases with the number of pedestrian and the number of antennas on the transmitter and receiver array.

Sustainable Australia : containing travel in master planned estates

Low density suburban development and excessive use of automobiles are associated with serious urban and environmental problems. These problems include traffic congestion, longer commuting times, high automobile dependency, air and water pollution, and increased depletion of natural resources. Master planned development suggests itself as a possible palliative for the ills of low density and high travel. The following study examines the patterns and dynamics of movement in a selection of master planned estates in Australia. The study develops new approaches for assessing the containment of travel within planned development. Its key aim is to clarify and map the relationships between trip generation and urban form and structure. The initial conceptual framework of the paper is developed in a review of literature related to urban form and travel behaviour. These concepts are tested empirically in a pilot study of suburban travel activity in master planned estates. A geographical information systems methodology is used to determine regional journey-to-work patterns and travel containment rates. Factors that influence selfcontainment patterns are estimated with a regression model. This research is a useful preliminary examination of travel self-containment in Australian master planned estates.

Research Monograph : Sustainable Australia : Containing travel in master planned estates

Low density suburban development and excessive use of automobiles are associated with serious urban and environmental problems. These problems include traffic congestion, longer commuting times, high automobile dependency, air and water pollution, and increased depletion of natural resources. Master planned development suggests itself as a possible palliative for the ills of low density and high travel. The following study examines the patterns and dynamics of movement in a selection of master planned estates in Australia. The study develops new approaches for assessing the containment of travel within planned development. Its key aim is to clarify and map the relationships between trip generation and urban form and structure. The initial conceptual framework of the report is developed in a review of literature related to urban form and travel behaviour. These concepts are tested empirically in a pilot study of suburban travel activity in master planned estates. A geographical information systems (GIS) methodology is used to determine regional journey-to-work patterns and travel containment rates. Factors that influence self-containment patterns are estimated with a regression model. The key research findings of the pilot study are: - There is a strong relation between urban structural form and patterns of trip generation; - The travel self-containment of Australian master planned estates is lower than the scholarly literature implies would occur if appropriate planning principles to achieve sustainable urban travel were followed; - Proximity to the central business district, income level and education status are positively correlated with travel containment; - Master planned estates depend more on local and regional centres for employment than on the central business district; - The service sector is the major employer in and around master planned estates. It tends to provide part-time and casual employment rather than full-time employment; - Travel self-containment is negative correlated with car dependency. Master planned estates with less car dependent residents, and with good access to public transport, appear to be more self-contained and, consequently, more sustainable than the norm. This research is a useful preliminary examination of travel self-containment in Australian master planned estates. It by no means exhausts the subject. In future research we hope to further assess sustainable travel patterns with more detailed spatial analysis.

Variations in MIMO-OFDM channel capacity due to random human movement in an indoor environment

Channel measurements and simulations have been carried out to observe the effects of pedestrian movement on multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) channel capacity. An in-house built MIMO-OFDM packet transmission demonstrator equipped with four transmitters and four receivers has been utilized to perform channel measurements at 5.2 GHz. Variations in the channel capacity dynamic range have been analysed for 1 to 10 pedestrians and different antenna arrays (2 × 2, 3 × 3 and 4 × 4). Results show a predicted 5.5 bits/s/Hz and a measured 1.5 bits/s/Hz increment in the capacity dynamic range with the number of pedestrian and the number of antennas in the transmitter and receiver array.

The Melbourne Decision-Making Questionnaire : an instrument for measuring patterns for coping with decisional conflict

A study was conducted to examine the factorial validity of the Flinders Decision Making Questionnaire (Mann, 1982), a 31-item self-report inventory designed to measure tendencies to use three major coping patterns identified in the conflict theory of decision making (Janis and Mann, 1977): vigilance, hypervigilance, and defensive avoidance (procrastination, buck-passing, and rationalization). A sample of 2051 university students, comprising samples from Australia (n=262), New Zealand (n=260), the USA (n=475), Japan (n=359), Hong Kong (n=281) and Taiwan (n=414) was administered the DMQ. Factorial validity of the instrument was tested by confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL. Five different substantive models, representing different structural relationships between the decision-coping patterns had unsatisfactory fit to the data and could not be validated. A shortened instrument, containing 22 items, yielded a revised model comprising four identifiable factors-vigilance, hypervigilance, buck-passing, and procrastination. The revised model had adequate fit with data for each country sample and for the total sample, and was confirmed. It is recommended that the 22-item instrument, named the Melbourne DMQ, replace the Flinders DMQ for measurement of decision-coping patterns.

Nonlinear pedagogy : implications for teaching games for understanding (TGfU)

Nonlinear Dynamics, provides a framework for understanding how teaching and learning processes function in Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU). In Nonlinear Pedagogy, emergent movement behaviors in learners arise as a consequence of intrinsic self-adjusted processes shaped by interacting constraints in the learning environment. In a TGfU setting, representative, conditioned games provide ideal opportunities for pedagogists to manipulate key constraints so that self-adjusted processes by players lead to emergent behaviors as they explore functional movement solutions. The implication is that, during skill learning, functional movement variability is necessary as players explore different motor patterns for effective skill execution in the context of the game. Learning progressions in TGfU take into account learners’ development through learning stages and have important implications for organisation of practices, instructions and feedback. A practical application of Nonlinear Pedagogy in a national sports institute is shared to exemplify its relevance for TGfU practitioners.

The effectiveness of using a simple ARIA based geographical classification to identify road crash patterns in rural and urban areas of Queensland

Research has noted a ‘pronounced pattern of increase with increasing remoteness' of death rates in road crashes. However, crash characteristics by remoteness are not commonly or consistently reported, with definitions of rural and urban often relying on proxy representations such as prevailing speed limit. The current paper seeks to evaluate the efficacy of the Accessibility / Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA+) to identifying trends in road crashes. ARIA+ does not rely on road-specific measures and uses distances to populated centres to attribute a score to an area, which can in turn be grouped into 5 classifications of increasing remoteness. The current paper uses applications of these classifications at the broad level of Australian Bureau of Statistics' Statistical Local Areas, thus avoiding precise crash locating or dedicated mapping software. Analyses used Queensland road crash database details for all 31,346 crashes resulting in a fatality or hospitalisation occurring between 1st July, 2001 and 30th June 2006 inclusive. Results showed that this simplified application of ARIA+ aligned with previous definitions such as speed limit, while also providing further delineation. Differences in crash contributing factors were noted with increasing remoteness such as a greater representation of alcohol and ‘excessive speed for circumstances.' Other factors such as the predominance of younger drivers in crashes differed little by remoteness classification. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of remoteness as a graduated rather than binary (rural/urban) construct and the potential for combining ARIA crash data with census and hospital datasets.

The problem of measurement indeterminacy in complex neurobiological movement systems

In the study of complex neurobiological movement systems, measurement indeterminacy has typically been overcome by imposing artificial modelling constraints to reduce the number of unknowns (e.g., reducing all muscle, bone and ligament forces crossing a joint to a single vector). However, this approach prevents human movement scientists from investigating more fully the role, functionality and ubiquity of coordinative structures or functional motor synergies. Advancements in measurement methods and analysis techniques are required if the contribution of individual component parts or degrees of freedom of these task-specific structural units is to be established, thereby effectively solving the indeterminacy problem by reducing the number of unknowns. A further benefit of establishing more of the unknowns is that human movement scientists will be able to gain greater insight into ubiquitous processes of physical self-organising that underpin the formation of coordinative structures and the confluence of organismic, environmental and task constraints that determine the exact morphology of these special-purpose devices.

Longitudinal patterns of weight in women diagnosed with breast cancer [Conference Abstract]

Introduction: Weight gain is a common concern following breast cancer and has been associated with negative health outcomes. As such, prevention of weight gain is of clinical interest. This work describes weight change between 6- and 18-months following a breast cancer diagnosis and explores the personal, treatment and behavioural characteristics associated with gains in weight. Methods: Body mass index was objectively assessed, at three-monthly intervals, on a population-based sample of women newly diagnosed with unilateral breast cancer (n=185). Changes in BMI between 6- and 18-months post-diagnosis were calculated, with gains of one or more being considered clinically detrimental to future health. Results: Approximately 60% of participants were overweight or obese at 6-months post-diagnosis. While BMI remained relatively stable across the testing period (range=27.3-27.8), 24% of participants experienced clinically relevant gains in BMI (median gains=1.9). Following adjustment for potential confounders, younger age (<45 years; Odds ratio, OR=9.8), being morbidly obese at baseline (OR=4.6) and receiving hormone therapy (OR=4.8) were characteristics associated with an increased odds (p<0.05) of gaining BMI. Other characteristics associated with gains in BMI were more extensive surgery and having a history of smoking, although these relationships were not supported statistically. In contrast, caring for younger children was associated with reduced risk of gaining BMI (OR=0.3, p=0.20). Conclusions: Clinically relevant weight gain between 6- and 18-months post-breast cancer diagnosis is an issue for one in four women, with certain subgroups being particularly susceptible. However, the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer are overweight or obese and gains in body weight are common. Thus, interventions that address the importance of achieving and sustaining a healthy body weight, delivered to all women with breast cancer, may have greater public health impact than interventions targeting any specific breast cancer subgroup.

Patterns of query reformulation during web searching

Query reformulation is a key user behavior during Web search. Our research goal is to develop predictive models of query reformulation during Web searching. This article reports results from a study in which we automatically classified the query-reformulation patterns for 964,780 Web searching sessions, composed of 1,523,072 queries, to predict the next query reformulation. We employed an n-gram modeling approach to describe the probability of users transitioning from one query-reformulation state to another to predict their next state. We developed first-, second-, third-, and fourth-order models and evaluated each model for accuracy of prediction, coverage of the dataset, and complexity of the possible pattern set. The results show that Reformulation and Assistance account for approximately 45% of all query reformulations; furthermore, the results demonstrate that the first- and second-order models provide the best predictability, between 28 and 40% overall and higher than 70% for some patterns. Implications are that the n-gram approach can be used for improving searching systems and searching assistance.

Patterns of fitting cosmetically tinted contact lenses

Cosmetically tinted soft contact lenses are an attractive option for contact lens wearers. Data that we have gathered from annual contact lens fitting surveys demonstrate that those wearing tinted lenses are more likely to be female (4.6% of all soft lenses fitted vs. 1.6% for males; p < 0.0001) and younger (27 11 years vs. 33 13 years for those wearing non-tinted lenses; p < 0.0001). Tinted lenses tend to be worn more on a part-time basis and are replaced less frequently than non-tinted lenses. The decline in fitting tinted lenses over the past 12 years may be due to (a) the current limited availability of tinted lenses in silicone hydrogel materials and daily disposable replacement frequencies, which together represent a significant majority (78%) of new soft lenses fits today, (b) growing concerns among lens wearers and practitioners relating to the risks of complications associated with the wearing of tinted lenses, and (c) reduced promotion of such lenses by the contact lens industry.

Relentless patterns the immersive interior

What happens when patterns become all pervasive? When pattern contagiously corrupts and saturates adjacent objects, artefacts and surfaces; blurring internal and external environment and dissolving any single point of perspective or static conception of space. Mark Taylor ruminates on the possibilities of relentless patterning in interior space in both a historic and a contemporary context.