Developing a dashboard for real-time data stream composition and visualization

Technological advances have led to an influx of affordable hardware that supports sensing, computation and communication. This hardware is increasingly deployed in public and private spaces, tracking and aggregating a wealth of real-time environmental data. Although these technologies are the focus of several research areas, there is a lack of research dealing with the problem of making these capabilities accessible to everyday users. This thesis represents a first step towards developing systems that will allow users to leverage the available infrastructure and create custom tailored solutions. It explores how this notion can be utilized in the context of energy monitoring to improve conventional approaches. The project adopted a user-centered design process to inform the development of a flexible system for real-time data stream composition and visualization. This system features an extensible architecture and defines a unified API for heterogeneous data streams. Rather than displaying the data in a predetermined fashion, it makes this information available as building blocks that can be combined and shared. It is based on the insight that individual users have diverse information needs and presentation preferences. Therefore, it allows users to compose rich information displays, incorporating personally relevant data from an extensive information ecosystem. The prototype was evaluated in an exploratory study to observe its natural use in a real-world setting, gathering empirical usage statistics and conducting semi-structured interviews. The results show that a high degree of customization does not warrant sustained usage. Other factors were identified, yielding recommendations for increasing the impact on energy consumption.

Vote with your feet : hyperlocal public polling for urban screens

Technological advances have led to an ongoing spread of public displays in urban areas. However, they still mostly show passive content such as commercials and digital signage. Researchers took notice of their potential to spark situated civic discourse in public space and have begun working on interactive public display applications. Attracting people’s attention and providing a low barrier for user participation have been identified as major challenges in their design. This thesis presents Vote With Your Feet, a hyperlocal public polling tool for urban screens allowing users to express their opinions. Similar to vox populi interviews on TV or polls on news websites, the tool is meant to reflect the mindset of the community on topics such as current affairs, cultural identity and local matters. It shows one Yes/No question at a time and enables users to vote by stepping on one of two tangible buttons on the ground. This user interface was introduced to attract people’s attention and to lower participation barriers. Vote With Your Feet was informed by a user-centred design approach that included a focus group, expert interviews and extensive preliminary user studies in the wild. Deployed at a bus stop, Vote With Your Feet was evaluated in a field study over the course of several days. Observations of people and interviews with 30 participants revealed that the novel interaction technology was perceived as inviting and that Vote With Your Feet can spark discussions among co-located people.

Bone regeneration based on tissue engineering conceptions – a 21st century perspective

The role of Bone Tissue Engineering in the field of Regenerative Medicine has been the topic of substantial research over the past two decades. Technological advances have improved orthopaedic implants and surgical techniques for bone reconstruction. However, improvements in surgical techniques to reconstruct bone have been limited by the paucity of autologous materials available and donor site morbidity. Recent advances in the development of biomaterials have provided attractive alternatives to bone grafting expanding the surgical options for restoring the form and function of injured bone. Specifically, novel bioactive (second generation) biomaterials have been developed that are characterised by controlled action and reaction to the host tissue environment, whilst exhibiting controlled chemical breakdown and resorption with an ultimate replacement by regenerating tissue. Future generations of biomaterials (third generation) are designed to be not only osteo- conductive but also osteoinductive, i.e. to stimulate regeneration of host tissues by combining tissue engineer- ing and in situ tissue regeneration methods with a focus on novel applications. These techniques will lead to novel possibilities for tissue regeneration and repair. At present, tissue engineered constructs that may find future use as bone grafts for complex skeletal defects, whether from post-traumatic, degenerative, neoplastic or congenital/developmental “origin” require osseous reconstruction to ensure structural and functional integrity. Engineering functional bone using combinations of cells, scaffolds and bioactive factors is a promising strategy and a particular feature for future development in the area of hybrid materials which are able to exhibit suitable biomimetic and mechanical properties. This review will discuss the state of the art in this field and what we can expect from future generations of bone regeneration concepts.

Vote with your feet : local community polling on urban screens

Falling prices have led to an ongoing spread of public displays in urban areas. Still, they mostly show passive content such as commercials and digital signage. At the same time, technological advances have enabled the creation of interactive displays potentially increasing their attractiveness for the audience, e.g. through providing a platform for civic discourse. This poses considerable challenges, since displays need to communicate the opportunity to engage, motivate the audience to do so, and be easy to use. In this paper we present Vote With Your Feet, a hyperlocal public polling tool for urban screens allowing users to express their opinions. Similar to vox populi interviews on TV or polls on news websites, the tool is meant to reflect the mindset of the community on topics such as current affairs, cultural identity and local matters. It is novel in that it focuses on a situated civic discourse and provides a tangible user interface, tackling the mentioned challenges. It shows one Yes/No question at a time and enables users to vote by stepping on one of two tangible buttons on the ground. This user interface was introduced to attract people’s attention and to lower participation barriers. Our field study showed that Vote With Your Feet is perceived as inviting and that it can spark discussions among co-located people.

Identification of double bond position in lipids : From GC to OzID

Recent developments in mass spectrometry and chromatography provide new possibilities for the identification and in some instances quantification of a wide range of lipids in complex matrices. These advances in analytical technologies have provided a tantalizing glimpse of the true structural diversity of lipids in nature and have reinvigorated interest in the role of lipids in biology. While technological advances have been impressive, difficulties in the ready identification of sites of unsaturation (i.e., double bond position) within these molecules presents a significant impediment to understanding lipid biochemistry. This is of particular importance given the growing body of literature suggesting that the presence of naturally occurring lipid double bond isomers can have a significant influence, both positive and negative, on the development of pathologies such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. This article provides a critical review of the Current suite of analytical approaches to the challenge of identification of the position of carbon-carbon double bonds in intact lipids. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Systems modelling of mine water and energy tradeoffs

In the coming decades, the mining industry faces the dual challenge of lowering both its water and energy use. This presents a difficulty since technological advances that decrease the use of one can increase the use of the other. Historically, energy and water use have been modelled independently, making it difficult to evaluate the true costs and benefits from water and energy improvements. This paper presents a hierarchical systems model that is able to represent interconnected water and energy use at a whole of site scale. In order to explore the links between water and energy four technologies advancements have been modelled: use of dust suppression additives, the adoption of thickened tailings, the transition to dry processing and the incorporation of a treatment plant. The results show a synergy between decreased water and energy use for dust suppression additives, but a trade-off for the others.

Pituitary tumours : all silent on the epigenetics front

Investigation of the epigenome of sporadic pituitary tumours is providing a more detailed understanding of aberrations that characterise this tumour type. Early studies, in this and other tumour types adopted candidate-gene approaches to characterise CpG island methylation as a mechanism responsible for or associated with gene silencing. However, more recently, investigators have adopted approaches that do not require a priori knowledge of the gene and transcript, as example differential display techniques, and also genome-wide, array-based approaches, to 'uncover' or 'unmask' silenced genes. Furthermore, through use of chromatin immunoprecipitation as a selective enrichment technique; we are now beginning to identify modifications that target the underlying histones themselves and that have roles in gene-silencing events. Collectively, these studies provided convincing evidence that change to the tumour epigenome are not simply epiphenomena but have functional consequences in the context of pituitary tumour evolution. Our ability to perform these types of studies has been and is increasingly reliant upon technological advances in the genomics and epigenomics arena. In this context, other more recent advances and developing technologies, and, in particular, next generation or flow cell re-sequencing techniques offer exciting opportunities for our future studies of this tumour type.

Review of direct measurement of inner prosthesis loading in transfemoral amputation: Potential benefits for evidence-based practice

The understanding of the load applied on the residuum through the prosthesis of individuals with transfemoral amputation (TFA) is essential to address a number of concerns that could strongly reduce their quality of life (e.g., residuum skin lesion, prosthesis fitting, alignment). This inner prosthesis loading could be estimated using a typical gait laboratory relying on inverse dynamics equations. Alternative, technological advances proposed over the last decade enabled direct measurement of this kinetic information in a broad variety of situations that could potentially be more relevant in clinical settings. The purposes of this presentation are (A) to review the literature about recent developments in measure and analyses of inner prosthesis loading of TFA, and (B) to extract information that could potentially contribute to a better evidence-based practice.

The dawn of the age of the drones:An Australian privacy law perspective

Suppose a homeowner habitually enjoys sunbathing in his or her backyard, protected by a high fence from prying eyes, including those of an adolescent neighbour. In times past such homeowners could be assured that they might go about their activities without a threat to their privacy. However, recent years have seen technological advances in the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (‘UAVs’), also known colloquially as drones, that have allowed them to become more reduced in size, complexity and price. UAVs today include models retailing to the public for less than $350 and with an ease of operation that enables them to serve as mobile platforms for miniature cameras. These machines now mean that for individuals like the posited homeowner’s adolescent neighbour, barriers such as high fences no longer constitute insuperable obstacles to their voyeuristic endeavours. Moreover, ease of access to the internet and video sharing websites provides a ready means of sharing any recordings made with such cameras with a wide audience. Persons in the homeowner’s position might understandably seek some form of redress for such egregious invasions of their privacy. Other than some kind of self-help, what alternative measures may be available?

Cross-border malaria: a major obstacle for malaria elimination

Movement of malaria across international borders poses a major obstacle to achieving malaria elimination in the 34 countries that have committed to this goal. In border areas, malaria prevalence is often higher than in other areas due to lower access to health services, treatment-seeking behaviour of marginalised populations that typically inhabit border areas, difficulties in deploying prevention programs to hard-to-reach communities, often in difficult terrain, and constant movement of people across porous national boundaries. Malaria elimination in border areas will be challenging, and key to addressing the challenges is strengthening of surveillance activities for rapid identification of any importation or reintroduction of malaria. This could involve taking advantage of technological advances, such as spatial decision support systems, which can be deployed to assist program managers to carry out preventive and reactive measures, and mobile phone technology, which can be used to capture the movement of people in the border areas and likely sources of malaria importation. Additionally, joint collaboration in the prevention and control of cross-border malaria by neighbouring countries, and reinforcement of early diagnosis and prompt treatment are ways forward in addressing the problem of cross-border malaria.

The role of design in the future of digital channels: Conceptual insights and future research directions

Purpose In the past channel literature has looked to other disciplines in developing and refining their theories, models and methods in order to evolve the field. This paper traces such history and highlights the substantial changes caused by the digital age. In light of this, the inclusion of design theory into future channel management is presented to overcome existing concerns. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive review of literature on the history of channels, the emotional experience (people), limitations of digital innovation (technology) and the role of design (business) has been conducted to create a new approach, built upon the theory of the techno-economic innovation model. Findings The findings of this study propose design-led channel management as a new research area, providing novel research questions and future research directions. The inclusion of design and emotion theories indicates that the future of digital channel design requires a deeper understanding of customers and needs to go beyond technological advances. Theoretical implications The findings provide an opportunity to explore dynamic theories and methodologies within the field of design that will broaden the horizons and challenge existing notions in channel literature. Originality/value This paper is the first paper that introduces the theory of Emotionate, as the next evolution of channel literature. The value of Emotionate lies in providing a new design-led process of integrating emotion to provide advice to practitioners as well as identifies research areas for academia, thereby extending the reach and richness of this emerging research field.

Neuroimaging and genetics: Exploring, searching, and finding

This issue on the genetics of brain imaging phenotypes is a celebration of the happy marriage between two of science's highly interesting fields: neuroscience and genetics. The articles collected here are ample evidence that a good deal of synergy exists in this marriage. A wide selection of papers is presented that provide many different perspectives on how genes cause variation in brain structure and function, which in turn influence behavioral phenotypes (including psychopathology). They are examples of the many different methodologies in contemporary genetics and neuroscience research. Genetic methodology includes genome-wide association (GWA), candidate-gene association, and twin studies. Sources of data on brain phenotypes include cortical gray matter (GM) structural/volumetric measures from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); white matter (WM) measures from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), such as fractional anisotropy; functional- (activity-) based measures from electroencephalography (EEG), and functional MRI (fMRI). Together, they reflect a combination of scientific fields that have seen great technological advances, whether it is the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array in genetics, the increasingly high-resolution MRI imaging, or high angular resolution diffusion imaging technique for measuring WM connective properties.

Cone beam computed tomography in oral radiology

In dentistry, basic imaging techniques such as intraoral and panoramic radiography are in most cases the only imaging techniques required for the detection of pathology. Conventional intraoral radiographs provide images with sufficient information for most dental radiographic needs. Panoramic radiography produces a single image of both jaws, giving an excellent overview of oral hard tissues. Regardless of the technique, plain radiography has only a limited capability in the evaluation of three-dimensional (3D) relationships. Technological advances in radiological imaging have moved from two-dimensional (2D) projection radiography towards digital, 3D and interactive imaging applications. This has been achieved first by the use of conventional computed tomography (CT) and more recently by cone beam CT (CBCT). CBCT is a radiographic imaging method that allows accurate 3D imaging of hard tissues. CBCT has been used for dental and maxillofacial imaging for more than ten years and its availability and use are increasing continuously. However, at present, only best practice guidelines are available for its use, and the need for evidence-based guidelines on the use of CBCT in dentistry is widely recognized. We evaluated (i) retrospectively the use of CBCT in a dental practice, (ii) the accuracy and reproducibility of pre-implant linear measurements in CBCT and multislice CT (MSCT) in a cadaver study, (iii) prospectively the clinical reliability of CBCT as a preoperative imaging method for complicated impacted lower third molars, and (iv) the tissue and effective radiation doses and image quality of dental CBCT scanners in comparison with MSCT scanners in a phantom study. Using CBCT, subjective identification of anatomy and pathology relevant in dental practice can be readily achieved, but dental restorations may cause disturbing artefacts. CBCT examination offered additional radiographic information when compared with intraoral and panoramic radiographs. In terms of the accuracy and reliability of linear measurements in the posterior mandible, CBCT is comparable to MSCT. CBCT is a reliable means of determining the location of the inferior alveolar canal and its relationship to the roots of the lower third molar. CBCT scanners provided adequate image quality for dental and maxillofacial imaging while delivering considerably smaller effective doses to the patient than MSCT. The observed variations in patient dose and image quality emphasize the importance of optimizing the imaging parameters in both CBCT and MSCT.

Bacterial extracellular polysaccharides

Extracellular polysaccharides are as structurally and functionally diverse as the bacteria that synthesise them. They can be present in many forms, including cell-bound capsular polysaccharides, unbound "slime", and as O-antigen component of lipopolysaccharide, with an equally wide range of biological functions. These include resistance to desiccation, protection against nonspecific and specific host immunity, and adherence. Unsurprisingly then, much effort has been made to catalogue the enormous structural complexity of the extracellular polysaccharides made possible by the wide assortment of available monosaccharide combinations, non-carbohydrate residues, and linkage types, and to elucidate their biosynthesis and export. In addition, the work is driven by the commercial potential of these microbial substances in food, pharmaceutics and biomedical industries. Most recently, bacteria-mediated environmental restoration and bioleaching have been attracting much attention owing to their potential to remediate environmental effluents produced by the mining and metallurgy industries. In spite of technological advances in chemistry, molecular biology and imaging techniques that allowed for considerable expansion of knowledge pertaining to the bacterial surface polysaccharides, current understanding of the mechanisms of synthesis and regulation of extracellular polysaccharides is yet to fully explain their structural intricacy and functional variability.

A design approach to innovation in the Australian energy industry

Electricity businesses across Australia are facing many market disruptions, such as the increasing demand from the rapid uptake of domestic air conditioners and the contrasting problematic generation from solar power connections to the grid. In this context, the opportunity to proactively leverage forthcoming technological advances in battery storage and electric vehicles to address the steeply rising cost of electricity supply has emerged. This research explores a design approach to support a business to navigate such disruptions in the current market.This study examines a design-led approach to innovation conducted over a ten month action research study within a large, risk-averse firm in the Australian energy sector. This article presents results describing a current foresight gap within the business; the response of the business to using design-led innovation to address this issue; and the tools, approaches and processes used. The business responses indicate their perception of the value of qualitative customer engagement as a path to addressing, and potentially benefiting from, disruptive innovation. It is anticipated that these results will further business model development within the company, and assist in leveraging disruptive innovations for this industry participant, thus limiting future increases in the cost of electricity supply for customers in Australia.