Towards proximity-based passenger sensing on public transport buses

While substantial research on intelligent transportation systems has focused on the development of novel wireless communication technologies and protocols, relatively little work has sought to fully exploit proximity-based wireless technologies that passengers actually carry with them today. This paper presents the real-world deployment of a system that exploits public transit bus passengers’ Bluetooth-capable devices to capture and reconstruct micro- and macro-passenger behavior. We present supporting evidence that approximately 12% of passengers already carry Bluetooth-enabled devices and that the data collected on these passengers captures with almost 80 % accuracy the daily fluctuation of actual passengers flows. The paper makes three contributions in terms of understanding passenger behavior: We verify that the length of passenger trips is exponentially bounded, the frequency of passenger trips follows a power law distribution, and the microstructure of the network of passenger movements is polycentric.

Engaging students in authoring and playing computer games

Computer games have become a commonplace but engaging activity among students. They enjoy playing computer games as they can perform larger-than-life activities virtually such as jumping from great heights, flying planes, and racing cars; actions that are otherwise not possible in real life. Computer games also offer user interactivity which gives them a certain appeal. Considering this appeal, educators should consider integrating computer games into student learning and to encourage students to author computer games of their own. It is thought that students can be engaged in learning by authoring and using computer games and can also gain essential skills such as collaboration, teamwork, problem solving and deductive reasoning. The research in this study revolves around building student engagement through the task of authoring computer games. The study aims to demonstrate how the creation and sharing of student-authored educational games might facilitate student engagement and how ICT (information and communication technology) plays a supportive role in student learning. Results from this study may lead to the broader integration of computer games into student learning and contribute to similar studies. In this qualitative case study, based in a state school in a low socio-economic area west of Brisbane, Australia, students were selected in both junior and senior secondary classes who have authored computer games as a part of their ICT learning. Senior secondary students (Year 12 ICT) were given the task of programming the games, which were to be based on Mathematics learning topics while the junior secondary students (Year 8 ICT) were given the task of creating multimedia elements for the games. A Mathematics teacher volunteered to assist in the project and provided guidance on the inclusion of suitable Mathematics curricular content into these computer games. The student-authored computer games were then used to support another group of Year 8 Mathematics students to learn the topics of Area, Volume and Time. Data was collected through interviews, classroom observations and artefacts. The teacher researcher, acting in the role of ICT teacher, coordinated with the students and the Mathematics teacher to conduct this study. Instrumental case study was applied as research methodology and Third Generation Activity Theory served as theoretical framework for this study. Data was analysed adopting qualitative coding procedures. Findings of this study indicate that having students author and play computer games promoted student engagement and that ICT played a supportive role in learning and allowed students to gain certain essential skills. Although this study will suggest integrating computer games to support classroom learning, it cannot be presumed that computer games are an immediate solution for promoting student engagement.

How to achieve maximum charge carrier loading on heteroatom-substituted graphene nanoribbon edges: density functional theory study

The practical number of charge carriers loaded is crucial to the evaluation of the capacity performance of carbon-based electrodes in service, and cannot be easily addressed experimentally. In this paper, we report a density functional theory study of charge carrier adsorption onto zigzag edge-shaped graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs), both pristine and incorporating edge substitution with boron, nitrogen or oxygen atoms. All edge substitutions are found to be energetically favorable, especially in oxidized environments. The maximal loading of protons onto the substituted ZGNR edges obeys a rule of [8-n-1], where n is the number of valence electrons of the edge-site atom constituting the adsorption site. Hence, a maximum charge loading is achieved with boron substitution. This result correlates in a transparent manner with the electronic structure characteristics of the edge atom. The boron edge atom, characterized by the most empty p band, facilitates more than the other substitutional cases the accommodation of valence electrons transferred from the ribbon, induced by adsorption of protons. This result not only further confirms the possibility of enhancing charge storage performance of carbon-based electrochemical devices through chemical functionalization but also, more importantly, provides the physical rationale for further design strategies.

Rapid microwave-assisted synthesis of Mn3O4–graphene nanocomposite and its lithium storage properties

A nanocomposite of Mn3O4 wrapped in graphene sheets (GSs) was successfully synthesized via a facile, effective, energy-saving, and scalable microwave hydrothermal technique. The morphology and microstructures of the fabricated GS–Mn3O4 nanocomposite were characterized using various techniques. The results indicate that the particle size of the Mn3O4 particles in the nanocomposite markedly decreased to nearly 20 nm, significantly smaller than that for the bare Mn3O4. Electrochemical measurements demonstrated a high specific capacity of more than 900 mA h g−1 at 40 mA g−1, and excellent cycling stability with no capacity decay can be observed up to 50 cycles. All of these properties are also interpreted by experimental studies and theoretical calculations.

Influencing the experience of people in urban public places through mobile mediated interactions

This study presents research findings to informthe design and development of innovativemobile services aiming to enable collocated people to interact with each other in public urban places. The main goal of this research is to provide applications and deliver guidelines to positively influence the user experience of different public urban places during everyday urban life. This study describes the design and evaluation of mobile content and services enabling mobile mediated interactions in an anonymous way. The research described in this thesis is threefold. First, this study investigates how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be utilised in particular urban public places to influence the experience of urban dwellers during everyday life. The research into urban residents and public places guides the design of three different technologies that form case studies to investigate and discover possibilities to digitally augment the public urban space and make the invisible data of our interactions in the urban environment visible. • Capital Music enables urban dwellers to listen to their music on their mobile devices as usual but also visualises the artworks of songs currently being played and listened to by other users in ones’ vicinity. • PlaceTagz uses QR codes printed on stickers that link to a digital message board enabling collocated users to interact with each other over time resulting in a place-based digital memory. • Sapporo World Window, Brisbane Hot Spots, and YourScreen are interactive content applications allowing people to share data with their mobile phones on public urban screens. The applications employ mobile phones to mediate interactions in form of location and video sharing. Second, this study sets out to explore the quality and nature of the experiences created through the developed and deployed case study applications. The development of a user experience framework for evaluating mobile mediated interactions in urban public places is described and applied within each case. Third, drawing on research from urban sociology, psychology, urban design, and the findings from this study, this thesis discusses how such interactions can have an impact on the urban experience.

A context-fusion framework for enhancing context-awareness on mobile application

Mobile devices and smartphones have become a significant communication channel for everyday life. The sensing capabilities of mobile devices are expanding rapidly, and sensors embedded in these devices are cheaper and more powerful than before. It is evident that mobile devices have become the most suitable candidates to sense contextual information without needing extra tools. However, current research shows only a limited number of sensors are being explored and investigated. As a result, it still needs to be clarified what forms of contextual information extracted from mo- bile sensors are useful. Therefore, this research investigates the context sensing using current mobile sensors, the study follows experimental methods and sensor data is evaluated and synthesised, in order to deduce the value of various sensors and combinations of sensor for the use in context-aware mobile applications. This study aims to develop a context fusion framework that will enhance the context-awareness on mobile applications, as well as exploring innovative techniques for context sensing on smartphone devices.

Computer experiment – a case study for modelling and simulation of manufacturing systems

Deterministic computer simulation of physical experiments is now a common technique in science and engineering. Often, physical experiments are too time consuming, expensive or impossible to conduct. Complex computer models or codes, rather than physical experiments lead to the study of computer experiments, which are used to investigate many scientific phenomena. A computer experiment consists of a number of runs of the computer code with different input choices. The Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments is a rapidly growing technique in statistical experimental design. This paper aims to discuss some practical issues when designing a computer simulation and/or experiments for manufacturing systems. A case study approach is reviewed and presented.

Health informatics domain knowledge analysis : an information technology perspective

Health Informatics is an intersection of information technology, several disciplines of medicine and health care. It sits at the common frontiers of health care services including patient centric, processes driven and procedural centric care. From the information technology perspective it can be viewed as computer application in medical and/or health processes for delivering better health care solutions. In spite of the exaggerated hype, this field is having a major impact in health care solutions, in particular health care deliveries, decision making, medical devices and allied health care industries. It also affords enormous research opportunities for new methodological development. Despite the obvious connections between Medical Informatics, Nursing Informatics and Health Informatics, most of the methodologies and approaches used in Health Informatics have so far originated from health system management, care aspects and medical diagnostic. This paper explores reasoning for domain knowledge analysis that would establish Health Informatics as a domain and recognised as an intellectual discipline in its own right.

Sample size considerations and augmentation of computer experiments

Computer Experiments, consisting of a number of runs of a computer model with different inputs, are now common-place in scientific research. Using a simple fire model for illustration some guidelines are given for the size of a computer experiment. A graph is provided relating the error of prediction to the sample size which should be of use when designing computer experiments. Methods for augmenting computer experiments with extra runs are also described and illustrated. The simplest method involves adding one point at a time choosing that point with the maximum prediction variance. Another method that appears to work well is to choose points from a candidate set with maximum determinant of the variance covariance matrix of predictions.

Some practical issues in the design and analysis of computer experiments

Deterministic computer simulations of physical experiments are now common techniques in science and engineering. Often, physical experiments are too time consuming, expensive or impossible to conduct. Complex computer models or codes, rather than physical experiments lead to the study of computer experiments, which are used to investigate many scientific phenomena of this nature. A computer experiment consists of a number of runs of the computer code with different input choices. The Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments is a rapidly growing technique in statistical experimental design. This thesis investigates some practical issues in the design and analysis of computer experiments and attempts to answer some of the questions faced by experimenters using computer experiments. In particular, the question of the number of computer experiments and how they should be augmented is studied and attention is given to when the response is a function over time.

Nurse-led trials of medical devices: General principles and good practice

Aim To provide an overview of key governance matters relating to medical device trials and practical advice for nurses wishing to initiate or lead them. Background Medical device trials, which are formal research studies that examine the benefits and risks of therapeutic, non-drug treatment medical devices, have traditionally been the purview of physicians and scientists. The role of nurses in medical device trials historically has been as data collectors or co-ordinators rather than as principal investigators. Nurses more recently play an increasing role in initiating and leading medical device trials. Review Methods A review article of nurse-led trials of medical devices. Discussion Central to the quality and safety of all clinical trials is adherence to the International Conference on Harmonization Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice, which is the internationally-agreed standard for the ethically- and scientifically-sound design, conduct and monitoring of a medical device trial, as well as the analysis, reporting and verification of the data derived from that trial. Key considerations include the class of the medical device, type of medical device trial, regulatory status of the device, implementation of standard operating procedures, obligations of the trial sponsor, indemnity of relevant parties, scrutiny of the trial conduct, trial registration, and reporting and publication of the results. Conclusion Nurse-led trials of medical devices are demanding but rewarding research enterprises. As nursing practice and research increasingly embrace technical interventions, it is vital that nurse researchers contemplating such trials understand and implement the principles of Good Clinical Practice to protect both study participants and the research team.

Assessment of precision timing and real-time data networks for digital substation automation

This project researched the performance of emerging digital technology for high voltage electricity substations that significantly improves safety for staff and reduces the potential impact on the environment of equipment failure. The experimental evaluation used a scale model of a substation control system that incorporated real substation control and networking equipment with real-time simulation of the power system. The outcomes confirm that it is possible to implement Ethernet networks in high voltage substations that meet the needs of utilities; however component-level testing of devices is necessary to achieve this. The assessment results have been used to further develop international standards for substation communication and precision timing.

The evolving emotional experience with portable interactive devices

Emotions play a significant role in people’s lives, including interactions with portable devices. The research aimed to understand the evolving emotional experience between people and portable interactive devices (PIDs). Activity Theory was the theoretical framework used to contextualise the research approach and findings. Two longitudinal experiments were conducted investigating emotional experiences with PIDs over six months. Experiment 1 focused on media / entertainment PIDs while Experiment 2 focused on medical / health PIDs. Mixed research methods consisting of diaries, interviews and codiscovery sessions were used to collect data. Results identified that more social interactions were experienced with media PIDs than medical PIDs. Different Task Categories, and their emotional responses, were also revealed including Features, Functional, Mediation and Auxiliary Categories. Functional and Mediation categories were characterised as overall positive while Features and Auxiliary Categories were characterised as overall negative. Further, the consequences of Negative Personal and Social interactions on the overall emotional experience were determined. For media PIDs, Negative Social experiences adversely impacted the evolving emotional experience. For medical PIDs, both Negative Social and Negative Personal experiences adversely impacted the evolving emotional experience. As a result of the findings the Designing for Evolving Emotional Experience framework was developed, outlining principles to promote positive, and avoid negative, emotional experiences with PIDs. Contributions to knowledge from the research include methodological contributions, advancing understanding of emotional experiences with PIDs, expanding the taxonomy of emotional interactions with PIDs and broadening emotion design theory and principles. The thesis concludes with an outline of implications to design research, design and related fields, future research potentials, as well as the positive contributions to designing for meaningful and enjoyable experiences in everyday life.

First principle study of hydrogenation of MgB2 : an important step toward reversible hydrogen storage in the coupled LiBH4/MgH2 system

Recent experiments [F. E. Pinkerton, M. S. Meyer, G. P. Meisner, M. P. Balogh, and J. J. Vajo, J. Phys. Chem. C 111, 12881 (2007) and J. J. Vajo and G. L. Olson, Scripta Mater. 56, 829 (2007)] demonstrated that the recycling of hydrogen in the coupled LiBH4/MgH2 system is fully reversible. The rehydrogenation of MgB2 is an important step toward the reversibility. By using ab initio density functional theory calculations, we found that the activation barrier for the dissociation of H2 are 0.49 and 0.58 eV for the B and Mg-terminated MgB2(0001) surface, respectively. This implies that the dissociation kinetics of H2 on a MgB2 (0001) surface should be greatly improved compared to that in pure Mg materials. Additionally, the diffusion of dissociated H atom on the Mg-terminated MgB2(0001) surface is almost barrier-less. Our results shed light on the experimentally-observed reversibility and improved kinetics for the coupled LiBH4/MgH2 system.

Computational study of methyl derivatives of ammonia borane for hydrogen storage

The structures and thermodynamic properties of methyl derivatives of ammonia–borane (BH3NH3, AB) have been studied with the frameworks of density functional theory and second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory. It is found that, with respect to pure AB, methyl ammonia–boranes show higher complexation energies and lower reaction enthalpies for the release of H2, together with a slight increment of the activation barrier. These results indicate that the methyl substitution can enhance the reversibility of the system and prevent the formation of BH3/NH3, but no enhancement of the release rate of H2 can be expected.