SCAPE sustainable urban design simulation

SCAPE is an interactive simulation that allows teachers and students to experiment with sustainable urban design. The project is based on the Kelvin Grove Urban Village, Brisbane. Groups of students role play as political, retail, elderly, student, council and builder characters to negotiate on game decisions around land use, density, housing types and transport in order to design a sustainable urban community. As they do so, the 3D simulation reacts in real time to illustrate what the village would look like as well as provide statistical information about the community they are creating. SCAPE brings together education, urban professional and technology expertise, helping it achieve educational outcomes, reflect real-world scenarios and include sophisticated logic and decision making processes and effects.---------- The research methodology was primarily practice led underpinned by action research methods resulting in innovative approaches and techniques in adapting digital games and simulation technologies to create dynamic and engaging experiences in pedagogical contexts. It also illustrates the possibilities for urban designers to engage a variety of communities in the processes, complexities and possibilities of urban development and sustainability.

Alternate reality games and education innovation

An Alternate Reality Game (ARG) is a unique experience that blurs the edges between our everyday lives and imagined game worlds. Players are invited to interact with each other and fictional characters using familiar tools such as emails, websites, telephones, and sometimes newspapers, radio and television. ARGs come in all shapes and sizes, tell a variety of different stories and inspire all kinds of interactions between people, their networks and the very streets in which they live. Some ARGs simply immerse you in fictional scenarios and indulge you in quirky challenges. While others reveal hidden histories of a city and teach us about important political causes. But the most exciting thing about ARGs is that they have the potential to inspire participants to imagine their everyday tools and places as resources for their own creative endeavors. Deb Polson will be presenting some of the most inspiring ARGs of recent years and revealing some of the design techniques that were used to create them. Most significantly Deb will discuss ways in which educators can imagine using ARGs as rich teaching tools that inspire collaborative learning and motivate students to engage in all kinds of subject matter.

A constraints-led perspective to understanding skill acquisition and game play: A basis for integration of motor learning theory and physical education praxis?

Background: In order to design appropriate environments for performance and learning of movement skills, physical educators need a sound theoretical model of the learner and of processes of learning. In physical education, this type of modelling informs the organization of learning environments and effective and efficient use of practice time. An emerging theoretical framework in motor learning, relevant to physical education, advocates a constraints-led perspective for acquisition of movement skills and game play knowledge. This framework shows how physical educators could use task, performer and environmental constraints to channel acquisition of movement skills and decision making behaviours in learners. From this viewpoint, learners generate specific movement solutions to satisfy the unique combination of constraints imposed on them, a process which can be harnessed during physical education lessons. Purpose: In this paper the aim is to provide an overview of the motor learning approach emanating from the constraints-led perspective, and examine how it can substantiate a platform for a new pedagogical framework in physical education: nonlinear pedagogy. We aim to demonstrate that it is only through theoretically valid and objective empirical work of an applied nature that a conceptually sound nonlinear pedagogy model can continue to evolve and support research in physical education. We present some important implications for designing practices in games lessons, showing how a constraints-led perspective on motor learning could assist physical educators in understanding how to structure learning experiences for learners at different stages, with specific focus on understanding the design of games teaching programmes in physical education, using exemplars from Rugby Union and Cricket. Findings: Research evidence from recent studies examining movement models demonstrates that physical education teachers need a strong understanding of sport performance so that task constraints can be manipulated so that information-movement couplings are maintained in a learning environment that is representative of real performance situations. Physical educators should also understand that movement variability may not necessarily be detrimental to learning and could be an important phenomenon prior to the acquisition of a stable and functional movement pattern. We highlight how the nonlinear pedagogical approach is student-centred and empowers individuals to become active learners via a more hands-off approach to learning. Summary: A constraints-based perspective has the potential to provide physical educators with a framework for understanding how performer, task and environmental constraints shape each individual‟s physical education. Understanding the underlying neurobiological processes present in a constraints-led perspective to skill acquisition and game play can raise awareness of physical educators that teaching is a dynamic 'art' interwoven with the 'science' of motor learning theories.

Adiabatic compression testing - part I : historical development and evaluation of fluid dynamic processes including shock-wave considerations

Adiabatic compression testing of components in gaseous oxygen is a test method that is utilized worldwide and is commonly required to qualify a component for ignition tolerance under its intended service. This testing is required by many industry standards organizations and government agencies. This paper traces the background of adiabatic compression testing in the oxygen community and discusses the thermodynamic and fluid dynamic processes that occur during rapid pressure surges. This paper is the first of several papers by the authors on the subject of adiabatic compression testing and is presented as a non-comprehensive background and introduction.

Adiabatic compression testing - part II : background and approach to estimating severity of test methodology

Adiabatic compression testing of components in gaseous oxygen is a test method that is utilized worldwide and is commonly required to qualify a component for ignition tolerance under its intended service. This testing is required by many industry standards organizations and government agencies; however, a thorough evaluation of the test parameters and test system influences on the thermal energy produced during the test has not yet been performed. This paper presents a background for adiabatic compression testing and discusses an approach to estimating potential differences in the thermal profiles produced by different test laboratories. A “Thermal Profile Test Fixture” (TPTF) is described that is capable of measuring and characterizing the thermal energy for a typical pressure shock by any test system. The test systems at Wendell Hull & Associates, Inc. (WHA) in the USA and at the BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing in Germany are compared in this manner and some of the data obtained is presented. The paper also introduces a new way of comparing the test method to idealized processes to perform system-by-system comparisons. Thus, the paper introduces an “Idealized Severity Index” (ISI) of the thermal energy to characterize a rapid pressure surge. From the TPTF data a “Test Severity Index” (TSI) can also be calculated so that the thermal energies developed by different test systems can be compared to each other and to the ISI for the equivalent isentropic process. Finally, a “Service Severity Index” (SSI) is introduced to characterizing the thermal energy of actual service conditions. This paper is the second in a series of publications planned on the subject of adiabatic compression testing.

Determination of burn criterion for promoted combustion testing

Promoted ignition testing [1–3] is used to determine the relative flammability of metal rods in oxygen-enriched atmospheres. In these tests, a promoter is used to ignite each metal rod to start the sample burning. Experiments were performed to better understand the promoted ignition test by obtaining insight into the effect a burning promoter has on the preheating of a test sample. Test samples of several metallic materials were prepared and coupled to fast-responding thermocouples along their length. Various ignition promoters were used to ignite the test samples. The thermocouple measurements and test video were synchronized to determine temperature increase with respect to time and length along each test sample. A recommended length of test sample that must be consumed to be considered a flammable material was determined based on the preheated zone measured from these tests. This length was determined to be 30 mm (1.18 in.). Validation of this length and its rationale are presented.

Regulatory approaches to genetic testing in insurance

Rapid advancements in the field of genetic science have engendered considerable debate, speculation, misinformation and legislative action worldwide. While programs such as the Human Genome Project bring the prospect of seemingly miraculous medical advancements within imminent reach, they also create the potential for significant invasions of traditional areas of privacy and human dignity through laying the potential foundation for new forms of discrimination in insurance, employment and immigration regulation. The insurance industry, which has of course, traditionally been premised on discrimination as part of its underwriting process, is proving to be the frontline of this regulatory battle with extensive legislation, guidelines and debate marking its progress.

Validation of the impact of Health Information Technology (I-HIT) scale : an international collaborative

In 2005, the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Nursing Informatics Community developed a survey to measure the impact of health information technology (HIT), the IHIT Scale, on the role of nurses and interdisciplinary communication in hospital settings. In 2007, nursing informatics colleagues from Australia, England, Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States formed a research collaborative to validate the IHIT across countries. All teams have completed construct and face validation in their countries. Five out of six teams have initiated reliability testing by practicing nurses. This paper reports the international collaborative’s validation of the IHIT Scale completed to date.

Discount rates in disarray : evidence on flawed goodwill impairment testing

Carlin and Finch, this issue, compare goodwill impairment discount rates used by a sample of large Australian firms with ‘independently’ generated discount rates. Their objective is to empirically determine whether managers opportunistically select goodwill discount rates subsequent to the 2005 introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Australia. This is a worthwhile objective given that IFRS introduced an impairment regime, and within this regime, discount rate selection plays a key role in goodwill valuation decisions. It is also timely to consider the goodwill valuation issue. Following the recent downturn in the economy, there is a high probability that many firms will be forced to write down impaired goodwill arising from boom period acquisitions. Hence, evidence of bias in rate selection is likely to be of major concern to investors, policymakers and corporate regulators. Carlin and Finch claim their findings provide evidence of such bias. In this commentary I review the validity of their claims.

Location-based games : transforming everyday environments into dynamic learning spaces

Location based games (LBGs) provide an opportunity to look at how new technologies can support a reciprocal relationship between formal classroom learning and learning that can potentially occur in other everyday environments. Fundamentally many games are intensely engaging due to the resulting social interactions and technical challenges they provide to individual and group players. By introducing the use of mobile devices we can transport these characteristics of games into everyday spaces. LBGs are understood as a broad genre incorporating ideas and tools that provide many unique opportunities for us to to reveal, create and even subvert various social, cultural, technical, and scientific interpretations of place, in particular places where learning is sometimes problematic.--------- A team of Queensland game developers have learnt a great deal through designing a range of LBGs such as SCOOT for various user groups and places. While these LBGs were primarily designed as social events, we found that the players recognised and valued the game as an opportunity to learn about their environment, it's history, cultural significance, inhabitants, services etc. Since identifying the strong pedagogical outcomes of LBGs, the team has created a set of authoring tools for people to design and host their own LBGs. A particular version of this is known as MiLK the mobile learning kit for schools.---------- This presentation will include examples of how LBGs have been used to improve the teaching and learning outcomes in various contexts. Participants will be introduced to MiLK and invited to trial it in their own classrooms with students.

Designing spatial story-telling software

What does it mean when we design for accessibility, inclusivity and "dissolving boundaries" -- particularly those boundaries between the design philosophy, the software/interface actuality and the stated goals? This paper is about the principles underlying a research project called 'The Little Grey Cat engine' or greyCat. GreyCat has grown out of our experience in using commercial game engines as production environments for the transmission of culture and experience through the telling of individual stories. The key to this endeavour is the potential of the greyCat software to visualize worlds and the manner in which non-formal stories are intertwined with place. The apparently simple dictum of "show, don't tell" and the use of 3D game engines as a medium disguise an interesting nexus of problematic issues and questions, particularly in the ramifications for cultural dimensions and participatory interaction design. The engine is currently in alpha and the following paper is its background story. In this paper we discuss the problematic, thrown into sharp relief by a particular project, and we continue to unpack concepts and early designs behind the greyCat itself.

The little grey cat engine

The little grey cat engine (greyCat) is part of a series of projects which explore software which can enable access to the potentially empowering nature of represented space and game design. GreyCat is the result of research into the culture of the software itself in order to provide participatory environments which enable the telling of ‘small stories’ – stories and experiences which are those of the everyday or those of a cultural perspective other than that prioritised by most world building softwares or game engines. GreyCat offers a simple framework which allows participants to use their own image materials (photographs for the most part) as a basis for spatial exploration of their own places.---------- Truna aka j.turner (2008) The little grey cat engine: telling small stories (Demo), Australasian Computer Human Interaction Conference, OZCHI 2008, December 8th-12th, Cairns, Australia---------- Research Publications: truna aka j.turner & Browning, D. (2009) Designing spatial story telling software, in proceedings OZCHI09, Melbourne---------- Truna aka j.turner, Browning, D. & Champion, E. (2008) Designing for Engaged Experience, In proceedings Australasian Computer Human Interaction Conference, OZCHI 2008, December 8th-12th, Cairns, Australia---------- Truna aka. J.turner & Bidwell, N. (2007) Through the looking glass: game worlds as representations and views from elsewhere, Proceedings of the 4th Australasian conference on Interactive entertainment, Melbourne, Australia---------- Truna aka j.turner, Browning, D & Bidwell, N. (2007) Wanderer beyond game worlds, in proceedings, Hutchinson, A (ed) PerthDAC 2007: The seventh International Digital Arts and Culture Conference: The future of digital media culture, 15-18 September 2007, Perth, Australia, Curtin University of Technology---------- Truna aka j.turner (2006) To explore strange new worlds: experience design in 3 dimensional immersive environments - role and place in a world as object of interaction, In proceedings, Australasian Computer Human Interaction Conference, OZCHI 2006, November 22nd-24th, Sydney, Australia, November 20th – 24th 2006, pp 26- 29---------- Truna aka j.turner (2006) Digital songlines environment (Demonstration), In proceedings 2006 International conference on Game research and development, Perth, Australia---------- Truna aka j.turner (2006) Destination Space: Experiential Spatiality and Stories, Special Session on Experiential Spatiality, In proceedings 2006 International conference on Game research and development, Perth, Australia

Performing composition : developing a computer assisted composition system through live coding performance

This thesis maps the author's journey from a music composition practice to a composition and performance practice. The work involves the development of a software library for the purpose of encapsulating compositional ideas in software, and realising these ideas in performance through a live coding computer music practice. The thesis examines what artistic practice emerges through live coding and software development, and does this permit a blurring between the activities of music composition and performance. The role that software design plays in affecting musical outcomes is considered to gain an insight into how software development contributes to artistic development. The relationship between music composition and performance is also examined to identify the means by which engaging in live coding and software development can bring these activities together. The thesis, situated within the discourse of practice led research, documents a journey which uses the experience of software development and performance as a means to guide the direction of the research. The journey serves as an experiment for the author in engaging an hitherto unfamiliar musical practice, and as a roadmap for others seeking to modify or broaden their artistic practice.

Using virtual reality modelling in cultural management, archiving and research

This paper outlines how the Ortelia project’s 3D virtual reality models have the capacity to assist our understanding of sites of cultural heritage. The VR investigation of such spaces can be a valuable tool in 'real world' empirical research in theatre and spatiality. Through a demonstration of two of Ortelia's VR models (an art gallery and a theatre), we suggest how we might consider interpreting cultural space and sites as contributing significantly to cultural capital. We also introduce the potential for human interaction in such venues through motion-capture to discuss the potential for assessing how humans interact in such contexts.