Social reader : following social networks in the wilds of the blogosphere

The social interactions manifest in blogs by the network of comments left by owners and readers are an under-used resource, both for blog pundits and industry. We present a web-based feed reader that renders these relationships with a graph representation, and enables exploration by displaying people and blogs who are proximate to a user's network. Social Reader is an example of Casual Information Visualization, and aims to help the user understand and explore blog-based social networks in a daily, real-life setting. A six week study of the software involving 20 users confirmed the usefulness of the novel visual display, via a quantitative analysis of use logs, and an exit survey.

Intelligent machines : an introduction

In this chapter, an introduction to intelligent machine is presented. An explanation on intelligent behavior, and the difference between intelligent and repetitive natural or programmed behavior is provided. Some learning techniques in the field of Artificial Intelligence in constructing intelligent machines are then discussed. In addition, applications of intelligent machines to a number of areas including aerial navigation, ocean and space exploration, and humanoid robots are presented.

Finding a common story : synthesising findings from two research programs

In this research the authors tackled the issue of synthesising the findings of two independent research programs with common themes into a coherent analysis of teaching and learning across disciplines and school sectors. Through an ongoing dialogue and iterative exploration of emerging themes a synthesis generated new understandings of the use of narrative pedagogies in maths, science and technology, and the aesthetic nature of such learning experiences. This process demonstrates how a comparative lens enables a higher level of analysis of both research programs and generates broader narratives that can be applied to contexts beyond the original research foci.

Locating cosmopolitanism within academic mobility

Intensified academic mobility is an enticing platform for examining the emerging manifestations of cosmopolitanism in expanding intercultural encounters. Cosmopolitanism calls for a dialogue between cultures and for reciprocal appropriation and internalisation of cultures within one’s own culture. This paper endeavours to locate empirical evidence on evolving cosmopolitanism in everyday intercultural interactions and academic experiences. It is guided by the methodological applications of cosmopolitanism and the way cosmopolitanism is redefining the sociological frame of reference. This paper presents discussion and empirical testing of three defining features of cosmopolitanism according to Beck (2002): globality, plurality and civility. Mirroring these guiding principles, this research attempted to identify and analyse cosmopolitan values and dispositions in everyday intercultural encounters, discourses, situations and experiences. This paper presented an argument that cosmopolitan values and dispositions tend to create mutually beneficial conditions for intercultural inclusion and academic mobility provides a fertile ground for their current and future exploration. 

Changing media landscapes: visual networking

 Combines theory, key issues for debate and an exploration of legacy and digital media industries to provide a holistic approach to communication and media.Activities, study questions and further reading/weblinks at the end of each chapter to help students put theory into context and further their understanding of key concepts.It covers the latest trends emerging from the deregulation of many media industries and then outlines future scenarios for a globally competitive digital media environment.Explores the contemporary intersections between social media, legacy media and communications with other studies in history, statistics, privacy and surveillance, public policy, media law and economics. The nature of media forms and industries is changing rapidly and constantly. As such, Changing Media Landscapes explores the concept of visual networking to describe the ways multiple media devices are used now for a variety of tasks. Visual networking extends the ability to engage in human communication particularly in today's context where most of our daily activities and routines are carried out with the help of various forms of communication technologies. It explores the changing media landscape through contemporary and developing latest trends, issues and developments including multicasting, cloud computing, privacy and social networking. It combines theory, key issues for debate and an exploration of legacy and digital media industries to provide a holistic approach to communication and media.

Alien aesthetics

Melbourne was visited by Bruce Sterling, one of the founders of the science fiction genre of cyberpunk, for the very first time. Bruce's work as a future thinker and visionary who has been shaping the forefront of design and technology can be followed at his Wired column, Beyond the Beyond. His public lecture at Deakin Edge on August 18th tackled the bleeding edge of contemporary culture: Alien Aesthetics. The idea of Alien Aesthetics is better known through the work of Ian Bogost. According to Bogost, Alien Aesthetics is not concerned with trying to "satisfy our human drive for art and design, but to fashion design fictions". These kinds of alien design fictions can be seen in the images produced by Google's Inceptionism, which capture the deep dreams of artificial neural networks. Alien Aesthetics is also present in pop culture, as in the work of artist Holly Herndon, whose new album Platform has been heralded as a fusion between critical thinking about technology and creative exploration of what she calls "alien sounds". This kind of cross-pollination between contemporary theory and creative practice also took place at a free parallel event at LOOP Bar on August 17th: Conversations about Alien Aesthetics. This event was organised by a partnership between the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Deakin University and The New Centre of Research & Practice, a global research platform dedicated to transdisciplinary exchanges between art and science, and featured local and virtual speakers from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and Brazil.

In support of hydrocarbon exploration and discovery using clouds

Seismic data gathered from the Hydrocarbon Exploration and Discovery Operation is essential to identify possible hydrocarbon existence in a geologically surveyed area. However, the discovery operation takes a long time to be completed and computational processing of the acquired data is often delayed. Hydrocarbon exploration may end up needlessly covering an area without any hydrocarbon traces due to lack of immediate feedback from geophysical experts. This feedback can only be given when the acquired seismic data is computationally processed, analysed and interpreted. In response, we propose a comprehensive model to facilitate Hydrocarbon Exploration and Discovery Operation using encryption, decryption, satellite transmission and clouds. The model details the logical design of Seismic Data Processing (SDP) that exploits clouds and the ability for geophysical experts to provide on-line decisions on how to progress the hydrocarbon exploration operation at a remote location. Initial feasibility assessment was carried out to support our model. The SDP, data encryption and encryption for the assessment were carried out on a private cloud. The assessment shows that the overall process of hydrocarbon exploration from data acquisition, satellite data transmission through to SDP could be executed in a short time and at low costs.

Health impact assessment in Australia and New Zealand: an exploration of methodological concerns

This paper explores methodological issues raised by recent attempts to promote the use of health impact assessment (HIA) in Australia and New Zealand. The experiences from both countries are used to highlight important aspects of the debate about the relevance of HIA in appraising both policies and projects particularly in the three broad areas: inclusivity, legitimacy, and method. Many countries are attempting to develop HIA for use in policy development without due consideration of either important methodological issues or the workforce development and capacity-building necessary for its successful implementation.

An exploration of the relationships between food lifestyle and vegetable consumption

A short questionnaire was completed by 276 South Australian consumers, which examined postulated relationships between personal values, food lifestyle, demographics and their usual consumption of 24 vegetables. Principal components analyses showed that consumers' vegetable consumption could be divided into several categories, most notably salad and boiled vegetables. In multiple regression analyses different sets of values and lifestyle factors predicted intakes of overall vegetable (Rsq=27 per cent), salad (16 per cent) and boiled (27 per cent) vegetables. Path analysis revealed a complex set of pathways leading from values and personal demographics through motives, perceived food attributes and cooking skills to consumption. These partly confirmed the food lifestyle model proposed by Grunert et al. The findings show that vegetable consumption has a number of contextual and cognitive antecedents but strongly suggest that other likely predictive variables require investigation.

From "try it and see" to strategic exploration: characterizing young children's scientific reasoning

This article explores ways of characterizing different dimensions and levels of scientific reasoning in early elementary school children, in the context of open explorations. The article focuses on children's performance on three probes which involve using evidence to generate and evaluate knowledge claims. A number of dimensions have been used to characterize children's approaches to exploration and knowledge construction, which demonstrate the interrelationship between conceptual knowledge and scientific reasoning. Children differed markedly across these dimensions, yet individual children were relatively consistent in their approach to the tasks. The major differences in performance are linked to fundamental distinctions in the way ideas are viewed in relation to evidence.

Removal of directors of public companies takes centre stage in Australia : an exploration of the corporate law and governance issues

Increasing attention is being given to the legal and governance issues relating to the removal of directors in Australian public companies. This has been due mainly to the difficulties experienced by the board of National Australia Bank in attempting to remove one of its fellow directors, and the subsequent development of public companies entering into so-called 'prenuptial agreements' with new directors, requiring that the director 'resign' if the board pass a vote of no-confidence in the director. In this article, the author revisits the area of director removal in Australian public companies for two reasons. The first reason, which covers the majority of the article, is to engage in a detailed analysis of whether the pre-nuptial agreements which some public companies have indicated that they support using to remove directors, are in fact enforceable under Australia's Corporations Act The second reason is to outline a law reform proposal to enable public companies to remove directors without requiring the vote of shareholders at a general meeting. The proposal involves providing Australia' corporate  regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) with the power to grant relief from the statutory removal provisions to public companies, but in a way which balances the competing objectives of commercial efficiency and shareholder participation and, very importantly, encourages good corporate governance practices by companies in relation to the performance assessment  of directors.

It is in the interests of both shareholders and directors to agree on a set of ground rules for the effective supervision of companies that reconciles the rights of the owners to overall control with the much tougher demands on modern directors

An exploration of massively multiplayer online role playing games : their application to public relations education and possible future public relations practice

Social communication technologies present exciting and challenging opportunities for public relations professionals. Although not new the latest online attraction grabbing the attention of educators and companies around the globe are the virtual worlds known as Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). This paper will examine MMORPGs - in particular Second Life - and consider their potential as an educational medium and relevance to the practice of public relations. The paper argues that MMORPGs slwuld be taken seriously by educators and public relations professionals alike and not simply be treated as online entertainment.

Pressure injury: an exploration of the relationship between risk factors and interface pressure

Pressure injuries are a serious risk for patients admitted to hospital and are thought to result from a number of forces operating on skin tissue (pressure, shear and friction). Most research on interface pressure (IP) has taken place using healthy volunteers or mannequins. Little is currently known about the relationship between pressure injury risk and IP for hospital patients. This relationship was investigated with a sample of 121 adult hospital patients. Pressure injury risk was evaluated using the Waterlow Risk Assessment Tool (WRAT) and IP was measured at the sacrum using a Tekscan ClinSeatTM IP sensor mat. Other factors considered were body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, reason for hospital admission, comorbidities and admission route to hospital. Patients were classified according to WRAT categories (‘low risk’, ‘at risk’, ‘high risk’, ‘very high risk’) and then remained still on a standard hospital mattress for 10 minutes while IP was measured. Participants in the ‘low risk’ group were significantly younger than all other groups (p<0.001) and there were some group differences in BMI. IP readings were compared between the ‘low risk’ group and all of the participants at greater risk. The ‘low risk’ group had significantly lower IP at the sacrum on a standard hospital mattress than those at greater risk (p=0.002). Those at greater risk tended to have IP readings at the low end of the compromised IP range. This study is significant because it describes a new, clinically relevant methodology and presents findings that challenge clinician assumptions about the relationships between pressure injury risk assessment and IP.

An exploration of issues of management and intention to stay : allied health professionals in south west Victoria, Australia

Management of allied health staff and services often has implications for staff stability and retention. A survey of allied health staff in South West Victoria was conducted in 2003 to explore issues relating to recruitment and retention. Findings relating to management and retention of staff in their current job are addressed in this report. A total of 138 staff returned their questionnaires. Results were related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, level of belonging, with professional needs identified as feeling supported, orientation to the position, clear job description, and able to recommend the position to others. Qualitative data showed that recommending the position was associated with job satisfaction, autonomy, flexibility, and variety of work. The immediate management structure was significantly related to retention. Reasons given for intending to leave were related to management categories. These were management structure, lack of career structure, and lack of professional support. Reasons given by respondents for not recommending their current position were as follows: not for long-term career, risk of deskilling if staying too long, and financially unrewarding. These reasons were also related to management. Positive reasons for staying, which were related to management, included flexible work conditions, variety of clinical and management experience, good working environment, good support, and autonomy. Recommendations are given for organizational development and training for managers.