The creative citizen : understanding the value of design education programs in the knowledge economy

The knowledge economy relies on the diffusion and use of knowledge as well as its creation (Houghton and Sheenan, 2000). The future success of economic activity will depend on the capacity of organisations to transform by increasing their flexibility. In particular, this transformation is dependant on a decentralised, networked and multi-skilled workforce. To help organisations transition, new strategies and structures for education are required. Education systems need to concentrate less on specialist skills and more on the development of people with broad-based problem solving skills that are adaptable, with social and inter-personal communication skills necessary for networking and communication. This paper presents the findings of a ‘Knowledge Economy Market Development Mapping Study’ conducted to identify the value of design education programs from primary through to tertiary level in Queensland, Australia. The relationship of these programs to the development of the capacities mentioned above is explored. The study includes the collection of qualitative and quantitative data consisting of a literature review, focus groups and survey. Recommendations for the future development of design education programs in Queensland, Australia are proposed, and future research opportunities are presented and discussed.

Critical timescales and time intervals for coupled linear processes

In 1991, McNabb introduced the concept of mean action time (MAT) as a finite measure of the time required for a diffusive process to effectively reach steady state. Although this concept was initially adopted by others within the Australian and New Zealand applied mathematics community, it appears to have had little use outside this region until very recently, when in 2010 Berezhkovskii and coworkers rediscovered the concept of MAT in their study of morphogen gradient formation. All previous work in this area has been limited to studying single–species differential equations, such as the linear advection–diffusion–reaction equation. Here we generalise the concept of MAT by showing how the theory can be applied to coupled linear processes. We begin by studying coupled ordinary differential equations and extend our approach to coupled partial differential equations. Our new results have broad applications including the analysis of models describing coupled chemical decay and cell differentiation processes, amongst others.

An automated tool for assessing security-critical designs and programs

This paper describes in detail our Security-Critical Program Analyser (SCPA). SCPA is used to assess the security of a given program based on its design or source code with regard to data flow-based metrics. Furthermore, it allows software developers to generate a UML-like class diagram of their program and annotate its confidential classes, methods and attributes. SCPA is also capable of producing Java source code for the generated design of a given program. This source code can then be compiled and the resulting Java bytecode program can be used by the tool to assess the program's overall security based on our security metrics.

Critical theory and literacy

This handbook chapter explores the relationship between critical theory and seminal studies of literacy which investigate inequities in education. It identifies new research questions to explore the connections between literacy and power, but go beyond promises of emancipation.

Does the social inclusion discourse add value?

The election of a national Labor Government in 2007 saw ‘social inclusion’ emerge as Australia’s overarching social policy agenda. Being ‘included’ has since been defined as being able to ‘have the resources, opportunities and capabilities needed to learn, work, engage and have a voice’. Various researchers have adopted the social inclusion concept to construct a multi-dimensional framework for measuring disadvantage, beyond poverty alleviation. This research program has enabled various forms of statistical modelling based on some agreement about what it means to be ‘included’ in society. At the same time it is acknowledged that social inclusion remains open and contestable and can be used in the name of both progressive and more punitive programs and policies. This ambiguity raises questions about whether the social inclusion framework, as it is presently defined, has the potential to be a progressive and transformative discourse. In this paper we examine whether the Australian social inclusion agenda has the capacity to address social inequality in a meaningful way, concluding with a discussion about the need to understand social inequality and social disadvantage in relational terms.

The continuing relevance of the library as a third place for users and non-users of IT : the case of Canada Bay

The purpose of this paper is to consider how libraries support the development of community networks both physically and digitally. To do this, a case-study methodology was employed, including a combination of data about the library and qualitative interviews with library users considering their experience of the library. This paper proposes that libraries act as ‘third places’ spatially connecting people; libraries also build links with online media and play a critical role in inclusively connecting non-technology users with the information on the Internet and digital technology more generally. The paper establishes the value of libraries in the digital age and recommends that libraries actively seek ways to develop links between non-technology users and activity on the Internet. It addresses the need to reach these types of non-technology users in different ways. Further, it suggests that libraries utilise their positioning as third places to create broader community networks, to support local communities beyond existing users and beyond the library precinct.

Balancing values and imperatives : a study of nursing service in an ICU

There has been significant attention from the managers and purchasers of health services regarding the economic advantages that result from changes to the patterns of health care delivery in the acute hospital setting. The impact of these changes, whilst often rendering advantage at the economic management level of health care, can have different consequences for the people who deliver and the people who receive health service. This paper reports on a study that was conducted with a group of nurses to investigate the practice milieu of a critical care unit in the context of changes to health service management. Interpretive methods were used to capture the perspective of the nurses and the way they interpret the multiple factors that influence their practice and their practice environment. The findings indicate that the nurses in the study setting interpret these factors according to the influences they have on the structure, the geography and the value of their work. Explication of these findings provides a research base to inform recommendations relating to improving the practice milieu of the critical care environment.

Reconceptualising mega project success in Australian Defence : recognising the importance of value co-creation

Recent literature in project management has urged a re-conceptualisation of projects as a value co-creation process. Contrary to the traditional output-focused project methodology, the value creation perspective argues for the importance of creating new knowledge, processes, and systems for suppliers and customers. Stakeholder involvement is important in this new perspective, as the balancing of competing needs of stakeholders in mega projects becomes a major challenge in managing the value co-creation process. In this study we present interview data from three Australian defence mega projects to demonstrate that senior executives have a more complex understanding of project success than traditional iron triangle measures. In these mega defence projects, customers and other stakeholders actively engage in the value creation process, and over time both content and process value are created to increase defence and national capability. Value created and captured during and post projects are the key to true success.

A critical regionalist approach to housing design in Vietnam : socio-environmental organisation of living spaces in pre- and post-reform houses

Vietnam has a unique culture which is revealed in the way that people have built and designed their traditional housing. Vietnamese dwellings reflect occupants’ activities in their everyday lives, while adapting to tropical climatic conditions impacted by seasoning monsoons. It is said that these characteristics of Vietnamese dwellings have remained unchanged until the economic reform in 1986, when Vietnam experienced an accelerated development based on the market-oriented economy. New housing types, including modern shop-houses, detached houses, and apartments, have been designed in many places, especially satisfying dwellers’ new lifestyles in Vietnamese cities. The contemporary housing, which has been mostly designed by architects, has reflected rules of spatial organisation so that occupants’ social activities are carried out. However, contemporary housing spaces seem unsustainable in relation to socio-cultural values because they has been influenced by globalism that advocates the use of homogeneous spatial patterns, modern technologies, materials and construction methods. This study investigates the rules of spaces in Vietnamese houses that were built before and after the reform to define the socio-cultural implications in Vietnamese housing design. Firstly, it describes occupants’ views of their current dwellings in terms of indoor comfort conditions and social activities in spaces. Then, it examines the use of spaces in pre-reform Vietnamese housing through occupants’ activities and material applications. Finally, it discusses the organisation of spaces in both pre- and post-reform housing to understand how Vietnamese housing has been designed for occupants to live, act, work, and conduct traditional activities. Understanding spatial organisation is a way to identify characteristics of the lived spaces of the occupants created from the conceived space, which is designed by designers. The characteristics of the housing spaces will inform the designers the way to design future Vietnamese housing in response to cultural contexts. The study applied an abductive approach for the investigation of housing spaces. It used a conceptual framework in relation to Henri Lefebvre’s (1991) theory to understand space as the main factor constituting the language of design, and the principles of semiotics to examine spatial structure in housing as a language used in the everyday life. The study involved a door-knocking survey to 350 households in four regional cities of Vietnam for interpretation of occupancy conditions and levels of occupants’ comfort. A statistical analysis was applied to interpret the survey data. The study also required a process of data selection and collection of fourteen cases of housing in three main climatic regions of the country for analysing spatial organisation and housing characteristics. The study found that there has been a shift in the relationship of spaces from the pre- to post-reform Vietnamese housing. It also indentified that the space for guest welcoming and family activity has been the central space of the Vietnamese housing. Based on the relationships of the central space with the others, theoretical models were proposed for three types of contemporary Vietnamese housing. The models will be significant in adapting to Vietnamese conditions to achieve socioenvironmental characteristics for housing design because it was developed from the occupants’ requirements for their social activities. Another contribution of the study is the use of methodological concepts to understand the language of living spaces. Further work will be needed to test future Vietnamese housing designs from the applications of the models.

Food for thought : designing for critical reflection on food practices

With increasing demands on our time, everyday behaviors such as food purchasing, preparation, and consumption have become habitual and unconscious. Indeed, modern food values are focused on conve- nience and effortlessness, overshad- owing other values such as environ- mental sustainability, health, and pleasure. The rethinking of how we approach everyday food behaviors appears to be a particularly timely concern. In this special section, we explore work carried out and dis- cussed during the recent workshop “Food for Thought: Designing for Critical Reflection on Food Practices,” at the 2012 Designing Interactive Systems Conference in Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.

The legitimation and reproduction of discourse-practice gaps in work-life balance

Purpose - Critical scholarship on work-life balance (WLB) and its associated practices maintains that workplace flexibility is more than a quasi-functionalist response to contemporary problems faced by individuals, families or organisations. Beginning with Fleetwood’s contention that WLB discourses have become "detached" from their associated practices, this paper explores how workplace practices support or challenge dominant WLB discourses evident in socio-cultural, political and organisational sources. Design/methodology/approach - We analyse individual and group interview transcripts derived from 122 white-collar employees in two different organisational contexts (one public, one private) in the construction industry in Australia. Findings - Four major themes were identified in the data which illustrate discourse practice gaps. First, the demands facing this particular industry/ sector were framed as heightened and unique. Second, productivity was prioritised, dominating employees’ care-giving and lifestyle concerns. Third, employees’ caring responsibilities were communicated as personal and individual choices. Fourth, commitment and efficiency were judged on the basis of presence in the workplace. Research limitations/implications - Even in industries that have embraced WLB, workplace practices legitimate and reinforce the status quo, and maintain a gap between the promises of WLB and its potential to ameliorate conflict and assist workers to span the boundaries of paid work and other life domains. Originality/value - While the practices demonstrated in the research are focused on one industry, the study provides a critical analysis of how the contextually-influenced meaning of WLB is constructed, created and contested in these workplaces and the effects it produces.

A critical evaluation and comparison of two formative measures of system quality using criterion variables

Evaluating the validity of formative variables has presented ongoing challenges for researchers. In this paper we use global criterion measures to compare and critically evaluate two alternative formative measures of System Quality. One model is based on the ISO-9126 software quality standard, and the other is based on a leading information systems research model. We find that despite both models having a strong provenance, many of the items appear to be non-significant in our study. We examine the implications of this by evaluating the quality of the criterion variables we used, and the performance of PLS when evaluating formative models with a large number of items. We find that our respondents had difficulty distinguishing between global criterion variables measuring different aspects of overall System Quality. Also, because formative indicators “compete with one another” in PLS, it may be difficult to develop a set of measures which are all significant for a complex formative construct with a broad scope and a large number of items. Overall, we suggest that there is cautious evidence that both sets of measures are valid and largely equivalent, although questions still remain about the measures, the use of criterion variables, and the use of PLS for this type of model evaluation.

Treatment of cannabis use among people with psychotic disorders : critical review of randomised controlled trials

There is growing and converging evidence that cannabis may be a major risk factor in people with psychotic disorders and prodromal psychotic symptoms. The lack of available pharmacological treatments for cannabis use indicates that psychological interventions should be a high priority, especially among people with psychotic disorders. However, there have been few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological interventions among this group. In the present study we critically overview RCTs of psychological and pharmacologic interventions among people with psychotic disorders, giving particular attention to those studies which report cannabis use outcomes. We then review data regarding treatment preferences among this group. RCTs of interventions within "real world" mental health systems among adults with severe mental disorders suggest that cannabis use is amenable to treatment in real world settings among people with psychotic disorders. RCTs of manual guided interventions among cannabis users indicate that while brief interventions are associated with reductions in cannabis use, longer interventions may be more effective. Additionally, RCTs reviewed suggest treatment with antipsychotic medication is not associated with a worsening of cannabis cravings or use and may be beneficial. The development of cannabinoid agonist medication may be an effective strategy for cannabis dependence and suitable for people with psychotic disorders. The development of cannabis use interventions for people with psychotic disorders should also consider patients' treatment preferences. Initial results indicate face-to-face interventions focussed on cannabis use may be preferred. Further research investigating the treatment preferences of people with psychotic disorders using cannabis is needed.