Pervasive limitations : innovating with ambient intelligence (AmI) technologies and restricted absorptive capacity in Australian SME manufacturers

The last 25 years have seen rapid increases in the number and sophistication of technological and process innovations in large manufacturers, producing dramatic improvements in productivity and efficiency. However, smaller manufacturers’ adoption of such innovations has been uneven. Ambient Intelligence (AmI) technologies are being positioned as the next performance and productivity enhancing purchase for manufacturers. This paper defines and gives examples of AmI technologies in current use, summarises AmI technologies of potential interest to small and medium enterprise (SME) manufacturers, and identifies potential impacts of restricted absorptive capacity in SMEs on the adoption of AmI technologies. Comparing two SME manufacturers, one from Germany and one from Australia illustrates a potential application of generic AmI technology based business solutions to a range of SME manufacturers.

Emergence of creativity in learning via social technologies

Creativity is an elusive skill desired by many. Debates on 'What is Creativity' and how it can best be nurtured and supported had resurgence in the 1950's after Guildford's address to the American Psychology Association about the positive benefits of creativity. Since then creativity has been investigated in many forms and within many disciplines. Of note is that creativity is apparent within four components: the person, the process, the product and the environment. On some level creativity is assessed within one of the four components of creativity: person, process, product or environment. In this study creativity and the environment is under investigation, with a number of factors presented that allow creativity to be supported. This paper explores the role of creativity within the education of tertiary students studying Games Design and Development (within an IT discipline) from an Australian University. Particularly this paper focuses on how social factors, such as purpose built collaborative environments and virtual communities, aid in the creative pursuits of the students.

Using e Technologies for active learning

This paper describes a study of educators at an Australian University who are using eTechnolo-gies in their teaching. The perceptions of the educators of the technologies are discussed as well as how they believe these technologies help students to learn. Outcomes from the study offer suggestions of how appropriate eTechnologies can be incorporated into online learning environments for effective teaching. Particular emphasis is made of eTechnologies which support active learning by students, one of the goals of the principles of good teaching practice in undergraduate education.

Corporate intranet implementation : managing emergent technologies and organizational practices

This paper examines the adoption and development of intranets in large business organizations. The authors demonstrate that intranet technology introduces a host of new managerial and technical challenges and requires new approaches to IS development. Evidence from two European corporations indicates that the traditional division of labor and definition of work roles in IS development breaks down. The distinction between developers and users becomes increasingly blurred and new organizational roles and structures associated with intranets are emerging. However, ready-made organizational models for implementing and managing intranets do not exist and the two organizations in this study have followed two different approaches. One organization favors a “planned change” approach, emphasizing management control and careful planning. The other organization prefers an “improvisational” approach, emphasizing experimentation, innovation and local initiative.

Research progress and materials selection guidelines on mixed conducting perovskite-type ceramic membranes for oxygen production

Oxygen production by air separation is of great importance in both environmental and industrial processes as most large scale clean energy technologies require oxygen as feed gas. Currently the conventional cryogenic air separation unit is a major economic impediment to the deployment of these clean energy technologies with carbon capture (i.e. oxy-fuel combustion ). Dense ceramic perovskite membranes are envisaged to replace the cryogenics and reduce O2 production costs by 35% or more; which can significantly cut the energy penalty by 50% when integrated in oxy-fuel power plant for CO2 capture. This paper reviews the current progress in the development of dense ceramic membranes for oxygen production. The principles, advantages or disadvantages, and the crucial problems of all kinds of membranes are discussed. Materials development, optimisation guidelines and suggestions for future research direction are also included. Some areas already previously reviewed are treated with less attention.

Application of novel technologies in water reclamation, reuse and recycle

Water reuse has become an integral element of the "total water resources planning and management" along with the other elements such as water conservation, water use efficiency and management of the allocation of existing water sources. Researchers are working actively on the following aspects of water reuse: identification and characterization of different wastewaters that could be reclaimed, development of treatment technologies and effluent standards, quantification of potential gains due to recycling and risk management. The wastewaters that can be reclaimed are domestic and industrial wastewaters, grey water, black water, stormwater and rain water and their potential reuse lies in agriculture, aquaculture, industries, non-potable use in residential and community fronts and indirect and direct potable use. The treatment of wastewater ranges from secondary treatment to advanced treatment, which produces different "Classes" of reclaimed water. This paper evaluates the current status of the research on the above-mentioned important aspects of water reuse with relevant case studies and the future demand for reuse water. The direction in which the future-reuse schemes should be formulated so that they are safe, environmentally sustainable and cost effective are also discussed.

Food, passion and marginalised young people : technologies of the self in Jamie's kitchen

A passion for food that is understood in certain ways – slow, organic, not industrialised – plays a central role in the drama of the successful and popular Jamie’s Kitchen (2002) and Jamie’s Kitchen Australia (2006). Large parts of the drama in these shows revolve around an apparent lack of passion that is displayed by the marginalised, unemployed young people that are the central characters in this story. In this paper I examine the ways in which these accounts of food, passion, and the training of marginalised young people expose some of the challenges and opportunities faced by marginalised young people as they seek to transition into the uncertain and risky labour markets of 21st century capitalism. I argue that Michel Foucault’s (1988) concept of technologies of the self enables us to understand passion, and its particular manifestations in Jamie’s Kitchen, and in the training of marginalised young people, as a powerful technology of self transformation. The drama of Jamie’s Kitchen suggests that as a technology of the self passion for food promises to provide precarious, possibly temporary, forms of salvation, meaning and purpose for the young people engaged in the Fifteen Foundation’s social enterprise transitional labour market program.

An Australian/UK comparison of contemporary teaching and learning technologies

The last decade has delivered substantial changes in construction and property education in Australia and the UK. There has been an increase in the number of courses offered in built environment education and the profile of a typical student has changed. In both countries students are under pressure to balance study and work due to the higher costs of living and education. This has placed demands on providers to deliver teaching and learning which meets student, industry and professional needs. Simultaneously there has been an increase in the application of technology in the business and corporate world which has resulted in increased efficiencies and new challenges. This paper evaluates changes in construction and property education courses to embrace new technology. The focus is on the delivery of innovative teaching and learning materials and the interaction between students, staff and the community. Results from questionnaires from new and existing students at Deakin University and Nottingham Trent University were used alongside examples of teaching and learning as illustrative case studies, the emphasis is placed on pushing the boundaries of the conventional built environment education process. The findings show that by embracing technology there can be a „win-win‟ scenario for students, staff and industry stakeholders. Whilst courses adopt varying levels of technology, it seems inevitable that educators must evolve the delivery of education to become efficient and effective as the century progresses.

Placing space/time through photography’s old and new technologies

The discovery that an impressively strong 3-dimensional effect in a 2-dimensional photographic representation of natural outdoor scenes occurs when a single camera is directed around one point in the scene, thus drawing into relief the subject of attention and blurring the surrounding space, has important implications for understanding basic processes in 3-dimensional vision. For the development of new ways for generating 3D effects in motion and static representations of scenes we might well learn from photography’s old technologies, as well as digital technologies of the static print, which have yet to release the full impact of their potential in the representation of motion and space.