Improving the design of online applications for social benefit through a behaviour change model

Community support agencies routinely employ a web presence to provide information on their services. While this online information provision helps to increase an agency’s reach, this paper argues that it can be further extended by mapping relationships between services and by facilitating two-way communication and collaboration with local communities. We argue that emergent technologies, such as locative media and networking tools, can assist in harnessing this social capital. However, new applications must be designed in ways that both persuade and support community members to contribute information and support others in need. An analysis of the online presence of community service agencies and social benefit applications is presented against Fogg’s Behaviour Model. From this evaluation, design principles are proposed for developing new locative, collaborative online applications for social benefit.

Metastability and emergent performance of dynamic interceptive actions

Objectives: Adaptive patterning of human movement is context specific and dependent on interacting constraints of the performer–environment relationship. Flexibility of skilled behaviour is predicated on the capacity of performers to move between different states of movement organisation to satisfy dynamic task constraints, previously demonstrated in studies of visual perception, bimanual coordination, and an interceptive combat task. Metastability is a movement system property that helps performers to remain in a state of relative coordination with their performance environments, poised between multiple co-existing states (stable and distinct movement patterns or responses). The aim of this study was to examine whether metastability could be exploited in externally paced interceptive actions in fast ball sports, such as cricket. Design: Here we report data on metastability in performance of multi-articular hitting actions by skilled junior cricket batters (n = 5). Methods: Participants’ batting actions (key movement timings and performance outcomes) were analysed in four distinct performance regions varied by ball pitching (bounce) location. Results: Results demonstrated that, at a pre-determined distance to the ball, participants were forced into a meta-stable region of performance where rich and varied patterns of functional movement behaviours emerged. Participants adapted the organisation of responses, resulting in higher levels of variability in movement timing in this performance region, without detrimental effects on the quality of interceptive performance outcomes. Conclusions: Findings provide evidence for the emergence of metastability in a dynamic interceptive action in cricket batting. Flexibility and diversity of movement responses were optimised using experiential knowledge and careful manipulation of key task constraints of the specific sport context.

How emergent roles and structures create trust In hastily formed inter-organizational teams

Many activities, from disaster response to project management, require cooperation among people from multiple organizations who initially lack interpersonal relationships and trust. Upon entering inter-organizational settings, pre-existing identities and expectations, along with emergent social roles and structures, may all influence trust between colleagues. To sort out these effects, we collected time-lagged data from three cohorts of military MBA students, representing 2,224 directed dyads, shortly after they entered graduate school. Dyads that shared organizational identity, boundary-spanning roles, and similar network positions (structural equivalence) were likely to have stronger professional ties and greater trust.

Group behaviour in physical, chemical and biological systems

Groups exhibit properties that either are not perceived to exist, or perhaps cannot exist, at the individual level. Such `emergent' properties depend on how individuals interact, both among themselves and with their surroundings. The world of everyday objects consists of material entities. These are, ultimately, groups of elementary particles that organize themselves into atoms and molecules, occupy space, and so on. It turns out that an explanation of even the most commonplace features of this world requires relativistic quantum field theory and the fact that Planck's constant is discrete, not zero. Groups of molecules in solution, in particular polymers ('sols'), can form viscous clusters that behave like elastic solids ('gels'). Sol-gel transitions are examples of cooperative phenomena. Their occurrence is explained by modelling the statistics of inter-unit interactions: the likelihood of either state varies sharply as a critical parameter crosses a threshold value. Group behaviour among cells or organisms is often heritable and therefore can evolve. This permits an additional, typically biological, explanation for it in terms of reproductive advantage, whether of the individual or of the group. There is no general agreement on the appropriate explanatory framework for understanding group-level phenomena in biology.

The double dance of agency: a socio-theoretic account of how machines and humans interact

The nature of the relationship between information technology (IT) and organizations has been a long-standing debate in the Information Systems literature. Does IT shape organizations, or do people in organisations control how IT is used? To formulate the question a little differently: does agency (the capacity to make a difference) lie predominantly with machines (computer systems) or humans (organisational actors)? Many proposals for a middle way between the extremes of technological and social determinism have been put advanced; in recent years researchers oriented towards social theories have focused on structuration theory and (lately) actor network theory. These two theories, however, adopt different and incompatible views of agency. Thus, structuration theory sees agency as exclusively a property of humans, whereas the principle of general symmetry in actor network theory implies that machines may also be agents. Drawing on critiques of both structuration theory and actor network theory, this paper develops a theoretical account of the interaction between human and machine agency: the double dance of agency. The account seeks to contribute to theorisation of the relationship between technology and organisation by recognizing both the different character of human and machine agency, and the emergent properties of their interplay.

The assessment of a global marine ecosystem model on the basis of emergent properties and ecosystem function: a case study with ERSEM

Ecosystem models are often assessed using quantitative metrics of absolute ecosystem state, but these model-data comparisons are disproportionately vulnerable to discrepancies in the location of important circulation features. An alternative method is to demonstrate the models capacity to represent ecosystem function; the emergence of a coherent natural relationship in a simulation indicates that the model may have an appropriate representation of the ecosystem functions that lead to the emergent relationship. Furthermore, as emergent properties are large-scale properties of the system, model validation with emergent properties is possible even when there is very little or no appropriate data for the region under study, or when the hydrodynamic component of the model differs significantly from that observed in nature at the same location and time. A selection of published meta-analyses are used to establish the validity of a complex marine ecosystem model and to demonstrate the power of validation with emergent properties. These relationships include the phytoplankton community structure, the ratio of carbon to chlorophyll in phytoplankton and particulate organic matter, the ratio of particulate organic carbon to particulate organic nitrogen and the stoichiometric balance of the ecosystem. These metrics can also inform aspects of the marine ecosystem model not available from traditional quantitative and qualitative methods. For instance, these emergent properties can be used to validate the design decisions of the model, such as the range of phytoplankton functional types and their behaviour, the stoichiometric flexibility with regards to each nutrient, and the choice of fixed or variable carbon to nitrogen ratios.

Mechanical behaviour analysis of polyester polymer mortars modified with recycled GFRP waste materials

In this study the effect of incorporation of recycled glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) waste materials, obtained by means of milling processes, on mechanical behaviour of polyester polymer mortars was assessed. For this purpose, different contents of recycled GFRP waste powder and fibres, with distinct size gradings, were incorporated into polyester based mortars as sand aggregates and filler replacements. Flexural and compressive loading capacities were evaluated and found better than unmodified polymer mortars. GFRP modified polyester based mortars also show a less brittle behaviour, with retention of some loading capacity after peak load. Obtained results highlight the high potential of recycled GFRP waste materials as efficient and sustainable reinforcement and admixture for polymer concrete and mortars composites, constituting an emergent waste management solution.

Emergent discourses of construction competitiveness: localized learning and embeddedness

Research is described that sought to understand how senior managers within regional contracting firms conceptualize and enact competitiveness. Existing formal discourses of construction competitiveness include the discourse of 'best practice' and the various theories of competitiveness as routinely mobilized within the academic literature. Such discourses consistently underplay the influence of contextual factors in shaping how competitiveness is enacted. An alternative discourse of competitiveness is outlined based on the concepts of localized learning and embeddedness. Two case studies of regional construction firms provide new insights into the emergent discourses of construction competitiveness. The empirical findings resonate strongly with the concepts of localized learning and embeddedness. The case studies illustrate the importance of de-centralized structures which enable multiple business units to become embedded within localized markets. A significant degree of autonomy is essential to facilitate localized entrepreneurial behaviour. In essence, sustained competitiveness was found to depend upon the extent to which de-centralized business units enact ongoing processes of localized learning. Once local business units have become embedded within localized markets the essential challenge is how to encourage continued entrepreneurial behaviour while maintaining a degree of centralized control and coordination. Of key importance is the recognition that the capabilities that make companies competitive transcend organizational boundaries such that they become situated within complex networks of relational ties.

Snapshots of complexity: using motion capture and principal component analysis to reconceptualise dance

This article brings together the disparate worlds of dance practice, motion capture and statistical analysis. Digital technologies such as motion capture offer dance artists new processes for recording and studying dance movement. Statistical analysis of these data can reveal hidden patterns in movement in ways that are semantically ‘blind’, and are hence able to challenge accepted culturo-physical ‘grammars’ of dance creation. The potential benefit to dance artists is to open up new ways of understanding choreographic movement. However, quantitative analysis does not allow for the uncertainty inherent in emergent, artistic practices such as dance. This article uses motion capture and principal component analysis (PCA), a common statistical technique in human movement recognition studies, to examine contemporary dance movement, and explores how this analysis might be interpreted in an artistic context to generate a new way of looking at the nature and role of movement patterning in dance creation.

Emergent effects in massive agent swarms in real-time game environments

 Computational efficiency and hence the scale of agent-based swarm simulations is bound by the nearest neighbour computation for each agent. This article proposes the use of GPU texture memory to implement lookup tables for a spatial partitioning based k-Nearest Neighbours algorithm. These improvements allow simulation of swarms of 220 agents at higher rates than the current best alternative algorithms. This approach is incorporated into an existing framework for simulating steering behaviours allowing for a complete implementation of massive agent swarm simulations, with per agent behaviour preferences, on a Graphics Processing Unit. These simulations have enabled an investigation of the emergent dynamics that occur when massive swarms interact with a choke point in their environment. Various modes of sustained dynamics with temporal and spatial coherence are identified when a critical mass of agents is simulated and some elementary properties are presented. The algorithms presented in this article enable researchers and content designers in games and movies to implement truly massive agent swarms in real time and thus provide a basis for further identification and analysis of the emergent dynamics in these swarms. This will improve not only the scale of swarms used in commercial games and movies but will also improve the reliability of swarm behaviour with respect to content design goals.

Biology and behaviour of the neotropical ant-mimicking spider Aphantochilus rogersi (Araneae: Aphantochilidae): nesting, maternal care and ontogeny of ant-hunting techniques

Aphantochilus rogersi is an ant-mimicking spider that preys exclusively on cephalotine ants. The spiders oviposit in close proximity to nests of the model ant Zacryptocerus pusillus, and emergent spiderlings tend to remain in the vicinity of natal egg sacs. Females of A. rogersi actively defend their egg sacs against approaching workers of Z. pusillus, but the latter may sometimes destroy the eggs. Feeding specialization on these ants is confirmed by more than 300 observations of young and adult A. rogersi carrying ant corpses in the held. Although A. rogersi possesses several behavioural traits which may reduce the risk of being injured by ants during subjugation, field and laboratory observations showed that social defence by Z. pusillus may cause mutilation to the spiders. Tests in captivity revealed an ontogenetic change in the prey-capture techniques employed by A. rogersi. Early-instar spiderlings can apparently only seize the ant's petiole tightly if they are able to approach the ant from the front. As the ant is paralysed, the spiderling positions itself vertically in relation to the substratum. Larger spiders, on the other hand, attack ants most frequently from behind, and seem better equipped to seize the ant's petiole firmly with their larger chelicerae. Owing to their greater strength, late-instar spiders are able to Lift the struggling ant aloft. The selection of a suitable oviposition site, the mother's ability to defend herself and the eggs from nearby ants, and the capacity to capture and subdue ants safely from emergence to maturity, are regarded as crucial traits inherent in the mimetic and feeding specialization by A. rogersi.

A preliminary study into emergent behaviours in a lattice of interacting nonlinear resonators and oscillators

Future sensor arrays will be composed of interacting nonlinear components with complex behaviours with no known analytic solutions. This paper provides a preliminary insight into the expected behaviour through numerical and analytical analysis. Specically, the complex behaviour of a periodically driven nonlinear Duffing resonator coupled elastically to a van der Pol oscillator is investigated as a building block in a 2D lattice of such units with local connectivity. An analytic treatment of the 2-device unit is provided through a two-time-scales approach and the stability of the complex dynamic motion is analysed. The pattern formation characteristics of a 2D lattice composed of these units coupled together through nearest neighbour interactions is analysed numerically for parameters appropriate to a physical realisation through MEMS devices. The emergent patterns of global and cluster synchronisation are investigated with respect to system parameters and lattice size.

The Narrative Value of Dance Communication: "habitus", musicality and emotion

The richness of dance comes from the need to work with an individual body. Still, the body of the dancer belongs to plural context, crossed by artistic and social traditions, which locate the artists in a given field. We claim that role conflict is an essential component of the structure of collective artistic creativity. We address the production of discourse in a British dance company, with data that spawns from the ethnography ‘Dance and Cognition’, directed by David Kirsh at the University of California, together with WayneMcGregor-Random Dance. Our Critical Discourse Analysis is based on multiple interviews to the dancers and choreographer. Our findings show how creativity in dance seems to be empirically observable, and thus embodied and distributed shaped by the dance habitus of the particular social context.

Splitting centre : directing attention in trans-media dance performance

In theatrical vernacular, the term ‘splitting centre’ refers to two performers staged at an equal distance from a centre point and sharing the focus of the audience. This term encapsulates the notion that two people (or, in the case of trans-media dance, two or more performance entities) are dividing the attention of the audience, operating as equal collaborators in a performance context. The augmentation of live performance with 3D projected scenography and mobile devices offers a starting point for discussions on the potential for dramaturgy, choreographic process, and changing expectations for audience behaviour in the theatre. In 2014, Deakin Motion.Lab premiered The Crack Up, a trans-media dance work that incorporated live performance, 3D digital scenography, and The Crack Up App, an app for mobile devices that audience members were invited to interact with during the performance. This investigation into the potential of trans-media dance performance, (defined here as a live performance in which both the digital and biological elements are choreographed as artistic equals within the theatrical context) with the addition of a mobile device raises questions about how the makers of trans-media dance might direct the attention of their audiences when the work is performed simultaneously across multiple platforms.

Avian responses to an emergent, wetland weed

African boxthorn (Lycium ferocissimum Solanaceae) is a Weed of National Significance in Australia. It is particularly problematic in Victoria and is thought to not only threaten native wildlife but also provide important habitat, particularly to birds, when there is no native alternative. In a wetland ecosystem such as a saltmarsh, boxthorn has the potential to increase structural complexity because it can stand as an emergent above surrounding vegetation. We compared bird assemblages and behaviour in saltmarsh vegetation with and without boxthorn in a coastal wetland in south-east Australia. Species assemblage, but not richness, changed with the presence of boxthorn. The presence of singing honeyeaters (Lichenostomus virescens) and white-fronted chats (Epthianura albifrons), the two most common native bird species (based on numerical and spatial dominance), appeared to drive these differences; singing honeyeaters preferred boxthorn while white-fronted chats avoided it. The presence of boxthorn increased the seasonal availability of fruit and flowers, which was reflected by a high frequency of foraging for fruit and nectar where boxthorn was present. In saltmarshes without boxthorn, there was a higher frequency of foraging for insects. Some, but not all, species responded to increased structural complexity and fruit/floral resources provided by boxthorn. Consequently, management by reducing boxthorn is likely to alter bird communities and the usage of sites by some native species, thus management success should consider fine-scale biodiversity objectives, such as managing for particular types or species of birds.