Railway junction conflict resolution by local search method

This study investigates the application of local search methods on the railway junction traffic conflict-resolution problem, with the objective of attaining a quick and reasonable solution. A procedure based on local search relies on finding a better solution than the current one by a search in the neighbourhood of the current one. The structure of neighbourhood is therefore very important to an efficient local search procedure. In this paper, the formulation of the structure of the solution, which is the right-of-way sequence assignment, is first described. Two new neighbourhood definitions are then proposed and the performance of the corresponding local search procedures is evaluated by simulation. It has been shown that they provide similar results but they can be used to handle different traffic conditions and system requirements.

Making space and place for knowledge production : socio-spatial development of knowledge community precincts

In the knowledge era the importance of making space and place for knowledge production is clearly understood worldwide by many city administrations that are keen on restructuring their cities as highly competitive and creative places. Consequently, knowledge-based urban development and socio-spatial development of knowledge community precincts have taken their places among the emerging agendas of the urban planning and development practice. This chapter explores these emerging issues and scrutinizes the development of knowledge community precincts that have important economic, social and cultural dimensions on the formation of competitive and creative urban regions. The chapter also sheds light on the new challenges for planning discipline, and discusses the need for and some specifics of a new planning paradigm suitable for dealing with 21st Century’s socio-economic development and urbanization problems.

Green roofs : understanding their benefits for Australia

Summary of Actions Towards Sustainable Outcomes Environmental Issues / Principal Impacts The increased growth of cities is intensifying its impact on people and the environment through: • increased use of energy for the heating and cooling of more buildings, leading to urban heat islands and more greenhouse gas emissions • increased amount of hard surfaces contributing to higher temperatures in cities and more stormwater runoff • degraded air quality and noise impact • reduced urban biodiversity • compromised health and general well-being of people Basic Strategies In many design situations boundaries and constraints limit the application of cutting EDGe actions. In these circumstances designers should at least consider the following: • Consider green roofs early in the design process in consultation with all stakeholders to enable maximised integration with building systems and to mitigate building cost (avoid constructing as a retrofit). • Design of the green roof as part of a building’s structural, mechanical and hydraulic systems could lead to structural efficiency, the ability to optimise cooling benefits and better integrated water recycling systems. • Inform the selection of the type of green roof by considering its function, for example designing for social activity, required maintenance/access regime, recycling of water or habitat regeneration or a combination of uses. • Evaluate existing surroundings to determine possible links to the natural environment and choice of vegetation for the green roof with availability of local plant supply and expertise. Cutting EDGe Strategies • Create green roofs to contribute positively to the environment through reduced urban heat island effect and building temperatures, to improved stormwater quality, increased natural habitats, provision of social spaces and opportunity for increased local food supply. • Maximise solar panel efficiency by incorporating with design of green roof. • Integrate multiple functions for a single green roof such as grey water recycling, food production, more bio-diverse plantings, air quality improvement and provision of delightful spaces for social interaction. Synergies & references • BEDP Environment Design Guide DES 53: Roof and Facade Gardens GEN 4: Positive Development – designing for Net Positive Impacts TEC 26: Living Walls - a way to green the built environment • Green Roofs Australia: www.greenroofs.wordpress.com • International Green Roof Association: www.igra-world.com • Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (USA): www.greenroofs.org • Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (Singapore): http://research.cuge.com.sg

What learners "know" through digital media production : learning by design

The power to influence others in ever-expanding social networks in the new knowledge economy is tied to capabilities with digital media production that require increased technological knowledge. This article draws on research in elementary classrooms to examine the repertoires of cross-disciplinary knowledge that literacy learners need to produce innovative digital media via the “social web”. The article builds on Learning by Design and the Knowledge Processes to describe “how” learning occurs, while presenting a model to theorise “what” students know – the Knowledge Assets – when learners produce digital and multimodal texts.

‘You can interview me, but I don’t have a story’: Local Accounts of Wandering Women, Rewondering Queensland Landscapes.

This paper investigates how contemporary works of women’s travel writing are reworking canonical formations of environmental literature by presenting imaginative accounts of travel writing that are both literal and metaphorical. In this context, the paper considers how women who travel/write may intersect the spatial hybridities of travel writing and nature writing, and in doing so, create a new genre of environmental literature that is not only ecologically sensitive but gendered. As the role of female travel writers in generating this knowledge is immense but largely unexamined, this paper will investigate how a feminist geography can be applied, both critically and creatively, to local accounts of travel. It will draw on my own travels around Queensland in an attempt to explore how many female storytellers situate themselves, in and against, various discourses of mobility and morality.

iPed : pedagogy for digital text production

Reading and writing are being transformed by global changes in communication practices using new media technologies. This paper introduces iPed, a research-based pedagogy that enables teachers to navigate innovative digital text production in the literacy classroom. The pedagogy was generated in the context of a longitudinal digital literacy intervention in a school that services low-socioeconomic and ethnically diverse students. iPed synthesizes four key pedagogies that were salient in the analysis of over 180 hours of lesson observations – Link, Challenge, Co-Create, and Share. The strengths of the pedagogy include connecting to students’ home cultures, critical media literacy, collaborative and creative digital text production, and gaining cosmopolitan recognition within global communities.

Diversity of Cicadellidae in agricultural production areas in the Ovens Valley, Northeast Victoria, Australia

There is a paucity of data on the distribution of Cicadellidae (leafhoppers) in Australia. This study quantifies the relative abundance, seasonal activity and diversity of leafhoppers in the Ovens Valley region of north-east Victoria, Australia. Species diversity and abundance was assessed at four field sites in and around the field borders of commercially grown tobacco crops using three sampling techniques (pan trap, sticky trap and sweep net). Over 51 000 leafhopper samples were collected, with 57 species from 11 subfamilies and 19 tribes identified. Greater numbers and diversity of leafhoppers were collected in yellow pan traps. The predominant leafhopper collected was Orosius orientalis (Matsumura). Twenty-three leafhopper species were recorded for the first time in Victoria and eight economically important pest species were recorded. Seasonal activity of selected leafhopper species, covering two sampling seasons, is presented.

Sustainable urban development : formulation of indicator-based residential sustainability assessment framework for local level

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to formulate a conceptual framework for urban sustainability indicators selection. This framework will be used to develop an indicator-based evaluation method for assessing the sustainability levels of residential neighbourhood developments in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach–We provide a brief overview of existing evaluation frameworks for sustainable development assessment. We then develop a conceptual Sustainable Residential Neighbourhood Assessment (SNA) framework utilising a four-pillar sustainability framework (environmental, social, economic and institutional) and a combination of domain-based and goal-based general frameworks. This merger offers the advantages of both individual frameworks, while also overcoming some of their weaknesses when used to develop the urban sustainability evaluation method for assessing residential neighbourhoods. Originality/value–This approach puts in evidence that many of the existing frameworks for evaluating urban sustainability do not extend their frameworks to include assessing housing sustainability at a local level. Practical implications–It is expected that the use of the indicator-based Sustainable Neighbourhood Assessment framework will present a potential mechanism for planners and developers to evaluate and monitor the sustainability performance of residential neighbourhood developments.

Designing for participation in local social ridesharing networks : grass roots prototyping of IT systems

This abstract explores the possibility of a grass roots approach to engaging people in community change initiatives by designing simple interactive exploratory prototypes for use by communities over time that support shared action. The prototype is gradually evolved in response to community use, fragments of data gathered through the prototype, and participant feedback with the goal of building participation in community change initiatives. A case study of a system to support ridesharing is discussed. The approach is compared and contrasted to a traditional IT systems procurement approach.

Iterative design within a local community communication fabric

Our research considers the problem designing support for local community communications. We present a description of a suburban community communication fabric as revealed through observations of long-term use of a networked community noticeboard and the introduction of tailored email digest to registered noticeboard users. The paper contributes an understanding of how iterative situated design in a user community can help us to design for participation in the use of technologies that can support growth of a community communication fabric. The different roles of the situated display and email digest are discussed.

The application of public asset management in Indonesian local government : a case study in South Sulawesi Province

Purpose To identify the challenges faced by local government in Indonesia when adopting a Public Asset Management Framework. Design A Case Study in South Sulawesi Provincial Government was used as the approach to achieving the research objective. The case study involved two data collection techniques - interviews and document analysis. Findings The result of the study indicates there are significant challenges that the Indonesian local government need to manage when adopting a public asset management framework. Those challenges are: absence of an institutional and legal framework to support the asset management application; non-profit principle of public assets; multiple jurisdictions involved in the public asset management processes; the complexity of local government objectives; unavailability of data for managing public property; and limited human resources. Research Limitation This research is limited to one case study. It is a preliminary study from larger research that uses multiple case studies. The main research also investigates opportunities for local government by adopting and implementing public asset management. Originality/Value Findings from this study provide useful input for the policy makers, academics and asset management practitioners in Indonesia to establish a public asset management framework resulting in efficient and effective organizations, as well as an increase of public services quality. This study has a potential application for other developing countries.

Research adventures in Web 2.0 : encouraging collaborative local content creation through edgeX

The intersection of current arguments about the role of creative industries in economic development, online user-generated content, and the uptake of broadband in economically disadvantaged communities provides the content for this article. From 2006 to 2008 the authors carried out a research project in Ipswich, Queensland involving local creative practitioners and community groups in their development of edgeX, a Web-based platform for content uploads and social networking. The project aimed to explore issues of local identity and community building through online networking, as well as the possibilities for creating pathways from amateur to professional practice in the creative industries through the auspices of the Website. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing technological environment that has problematic implications for research projects aiming to build new online platforms, we present several case studies from the project to illustrate the challenges to participation experienced by people with limited access to, and literacy with, the Internet.

Exploring the Pro‐Am interface between production and produsage

This conference celebrates the passing of 40 years since the establishment of the Internet (dating this, presumably, to the first connection between two nodes on ARPANET in October 1969). For a gathering of media scholars such as this, however, it may be just as important not only to mark the first testing of the core technologies upon which much of our present‐day Net continues to build, but also to reflect on another recent milestone: the 20th anniversary of what is today arguably the chief interface through which billions around the world access and experience the Internet – the World Wide Web, launched by Tim Berners‐Lee in 1989.

Interaction, privacy and profiling considerations in local mobile social software : a prototype agile ride share system

Agile ridesharing aims to utilise the capability of social networks and mobile phones to facilitate people to share vehicles and travel in real time. However the application of social networking technologies in local communities to address issues of personal transport faces significant design challenges. In this paper we describe an iterative design-based approach to exploring this problem and discuss findings from the use of an early prototype. The findings focus upon interaction, privacy and profiling. Our early results suggest that explicitly entering information such as ride data and personal profile data into formal fields for explicit computation of matches, as is done in many systems, may not be the best strategy. It might be preferable to support informal communication and negotiation with text search techniques.

Broad Bean Mottle Virus: Identification, Serology, Host Range, and Occurrence on Faba Bean (Vicia Faba) in West Asia and Norm Africa

One of the faba bean viruses found in West Asia and North Africa was identified as broad bean mottle virus (BBMV) by host reactions, particle morphology and size, serology, and granular, often vesiculated cytoplasmic inclusions. Detailed research on four isolates, one each from Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan and Syria, provided new information on the virus. The isolates, though indistinguishable in ELISA or gel-diffusion tests, differed slightly in host range and symptoms. Twenty-one species (12 legumes and 9 non-legumes) out of 27 tested were systemically infected, and 14 of these by all four isolates. Infection in several species was symptomless, but major legumes such as chickpea, lentil and especially pea, suffered severely from infection. All 23 genotypes of faba bean, 2 of chickpea, 4 of lentil, 11 out of 21 of Phaseolus bean, and 16 out of 17 of pea were systemically sensitive to the virus. Twelve plant species were found to be new potential hosts and cucumber a new local-lesion test plant of the virus. BBMV particles occurred in faba bean plants in very high concentrations and seed transmission in this species (1.37%) was confirmed. An isolate from Syria was purified and two antisera were produced, one of which was used in ELISA to detect BBMV in faba bean field samples. Two hundred and three out of the 789 samples with symptoms suggestive of virus infection collected in 1985, 1986 and 1987, were found infected with BBMV: 4 out of 70 (4/70) tested samples from Egypt, 0/44 from Lebanon, 1/15 from Morocco, 46/254 from Sudan, 72/269 from Syria and 80/137 from Tunisia. This is the first report on its occurrence in Egypt, Syria and Tunisia. The virus is a potential threat to crop improvement in the region.