A methodological approach to modelling design led innovation across secondary education : an Australian case study

Incorporating design thinking as a generic capability at a school level is needed to ensure future generations are empowered for business innovation and active citizenship. This paper describes the methodology of an investigation into modelling design led innovation approaches from the business sector to secondary education, as part of a larger study. It builds on a previously discussed research agenda by outlining the scope, significance and limitations of currently available research in this area, examining an action research methodology utilising an Australian design immersion program case study, and discussing implications and future work. It employs a triangulated approach encompassing thematic analysis of qualitative data collection from student focus groups, semi-structured convergent interviews with teachers and facilitators, and student journals. Eventual outcomes will be reviewed and analysed within the framework of a proposed innovation matrix model for educational growth, synthesising principles responding to 21st century student outcomes. It is anticipated this research will inform a successful design led secondary education innovation model, facilitating new engagement frameworks between tertiary and secondary education sectors, as well as providing new insight into the suitability of action research in prototyping social innovation in Australia.

Hidden Innovation : Policy, Industry and the Creative Sector

The latest book in the internationally acclaimed Creative Economy series. The term ‘two cultures’ was coined more than 50 years ago by scientist and novelist C.P. Snow to describe the divergence in the world views and methods of scientists and the creative sector. This divergence has meant that innovation systems and policies have focussed for decades on science, engineering, technology and medicine and the industries that depend on them. The humanities, arts and social sciences have been bitt players at best; their contributions hidden from research agendas, policy and program initiatives, and the public mind. But structural changes to advanced economies and societies have brought services industries and the creative sector to greater prominence as key contributors to innovation. Hidden Innovation peels back the veil, tracing the way innovation occurs through new forms of screen production enabled by social media platforms as well as in public broadcasting. It shows that creative workers are contributing fresh ideas across the economy, and how creative cities debates need reframing. It traces how policies globally are beginning to catch up with the changing social and economic realities. In his new book, Cunningham argues that the innovation framework offers the best opportunity in decades to reassess and refresh the case for the public role of the humanities, particularly the media, cultural and communication studies disciplines.

An optimal under-frequency load shedding strategy considering distributed generators and load static characteristics

The well-established under-frequency load shedding (UFLS) is deemed to be the last of effective remedial measures against a severe frequency decline of a power system. With the ever-increasing size of power systems and the extensive penetration of distributed generators (DGs) in power systems, the problem of developing an optimal UFLS strategy is facing some new challenges. Given this background, an optimal UFLS strategy for a distribution system with DGs and load static characteristics taken into consideration is developed. Based on the frequency and the rate of change of frequency, the presented strategy consists of several basic rounds and a special round. In the basic round, the frequency emergency can be alleviated by quickly shedding some loads. In the special round, the frequency security can be maintained, and the operating parameters of the distribution system can be optimized by adjusting the output powers of DGs and some loads. The modified IEEE 37-node test feeder is employed to demonstrate the essential features of the developed optimal UFLS strategy in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment.

Digital Copyright Exchange Feasibility Study : Response to the Hooper Consultation from the Big Innovation Centre

In this submission, we provide evidence for our view that copyright policy in the UK must encourage new digital business models which meet the changing needs of consumers and foster innovation in the UK both within, and beyond, the creative industries. We illustrate our arguments using evidence from the music industry. However, we believe that our key points on the relationship between the copyright system and innovative digital business models apply across the UK creative industries.

SnowSports interactive a global start-up's challenges

A case study based on the experiences of (at the time of writing) Brisbane-based start-up SnowSports Interactive and their plans for global expansion. This case study questions whether SnowSports interactive is ready for global expansion, and if so which country should be its primary target? Once a country has been chosen, how should SnowSports approach and enter the market? This case study prompts business (in particular international business students) to consider a company's readiness in entering a global market, utlising evaluating tools in a wide range of discipline - product, human resources, capital, busines strategy. Furthermore students are asked to match SnowSports' unique characteristics with a country and an entry strategy. Ability to answer questions posed in this case study will demonstrate high level understanding in entrepreneurship and innovation, international business strategy, and cultural awareness; and demonstrate ability in theoretical and framework application

GameFlow heuristics for designing and evaluating real-time strategy games

The GameFlow model strives to be a general model of player enjoyment, applicable to all game genres and platforms. Derived from a general set of heuristics for creating enjoyable player experiences, the GameFlow model has been widely used in evaluating many types of games, as well as non-game applications. However, we recognize that more specific, low-level, and implementable criteria are potentially more useful for designing and evaluating video games. Consequently, the research reported in this paper aims to provide detailed heuristics for designing and evaluating one specific game genre, real-time strategy games. In order to develop these heuristics, we conducted a grounded theoretical analysis on a set of professional game reviews and structured the resulting heuristics using the GameFlow model. The resulting 165 heuristics for designing and evaluating real-time strategy games are presented and discussed in this paper.

A hierarchical structural model of assessing innovation and project performance

Research in construction innovation highlights construction industry as having many barriers and resistance to innovations and suggests that it needs champions. A hierarchical structural model is presented, to assess the impact of the role of the project manager (PM) on the levels of innovation and project performance. The model adopts the structural equation modelling technique and uses the survey data collected from PMs and project team members working for general contractors in Singapore. The model fits well to the observed data, accounting for 24%, 37% and 49% of the variance in championing behaviour, the level of innovation and project performance, respectively. The results of this study show the importance of the championing role of PMs in construction innovation. However, in order to increase their effectiveness, such a role should be complemented by their competency and professionalism, tactical use of influence tactics, and decision authority. Moreover, senior management should provide adequate resources and a sustained support to innovation and create a conducive environment or organizational culture that nurtures and facilitates the PM’s role in the construction project as a champion of innovation.

Dynamic modeling for construction innovation

Previous research on construction innovation has commonly recognized the importance of the organizational climate and key individuals, often called “champions,” for the success of innovation. However, it rarely focuses on the role of participants at the project level and addresses the dynamics of construction innovation. This paper therefore presents a dynamic innovation model that has been developed using the concept of system dynamics. The model incorporates the influence of several individual and situational factors and highlights two critical elements that drive construction innovations: (1) normative pressure created by project managers through their championing behavior, and (2) instrumental motivation of team members facilitated by a supportive organizational climate. The model is qualified empirically, using the results of a survey of project managers and their project team members working for general contractors in Singapore, by assessing casual relationships for key model variables. Finally, the paper discusses the implications of the model structure for fostering construction innovations.

Utility of an alternative bicycle commute route of lower proximity to motorised traffic in decreasing exposure to ultra-fine particles, respiratory symptoms and airway inflammation - a structured exposure experiment

Background: Bicycle commuting in an urban environment of high air pollution is known as a potential health risk, especially for susceptible individuals. While risk management strategies aimed to reduce motorised traffic emissions exposure have been suggested, limited studies have assessed the utility of such strategies in real-world circumstances. Objectives: The potential of reducing exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP; < 0.1 µm) during bicycle commuting by lowering interaction with motorised traffic was investigated with real-time air pollution and acute inflammatory measurements in healthy individuals using their typical, and an alternative to their typical, bicycle commute route. Methods: Thirty-five healthy adults (mean ± SD: age = 39 ± 11 yr; 29% female) each completed two return trips of their typical route (HIGH) and a pre-determined altered route of lower interaction with motorised traffic (LOW; determined by the proportion of on-road cycle paths). Particle number concentration (PNC) and diameter (PD) were monitored in real-time in-commute. Acute inflammatory indices of respiratory symptom incidence, lung function and spontaneous sputum (for inflammatory cell analyses) were collected immediately pre-commute, and one and three hours post-commute. Results: LOW resulted in a significant reduction in mean PNC (1.91 x e4 ± 0.93 x e4 ppcc vs. 2.95 x e4 ± 1.50 x e4 ppcc; p ≤ 0.001). Besides incidence of in-commute offensive odour detection (42 vs. 56 %; p = 0.019), incidence of dust and soot observation (33 vs. 47 %; p = 0.038) and nasopharyngeal irritation (31 vs. 41 %; p = 0.007), acute inflammatory indices were not significantly associated to in-commute PNC, nor were these indices reduced with LOW compared to HIGH. Conclusions: Exposure to PNC, and the incidence of offensive odour and nasopharyngeal irritation, can be significantly reduced when utilising a strategy of lowering interaction with motorised traffic whilst bicycle commuting, which may bring important benefits for both healthy and susceptible individuals.

Engaging social customers : influencing new marketing strategies for social media information sources

A global, online quantitative study among 300 consumers of digital technology products found the most reliable information sources were friends, family or word of mouth (WOM) from someone they knew, followed by expert product reviews, and product reviews written by other consumers. The most unreliable information sources were advertising or infomercials, automated recommendations based on purchasing patterns or retailers. While a very small number of consumers evaluated products online, rating of products and online discussions were more frequent activities. The most popular social media websites for reviews were Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and e-Bay, indicating the importance of WOM in social networks and online media spaces that feature product reviews as it is the most persuasive piece of information in both online and offline social networks. These results suggest that ‘social customers’ must be considered as an integral part of a marketing strategy.

The new normativity : the innovation imperative

At a quite fundamental level, the very way in which Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) may envisage its future usually captured in the semantic shift from PSB to Public Service Media (PSM) is at stake when considering the recent history of public value discourse and the public value test. The core Reithian PSB idea assumed that public value would be created through the application of core principles of universality of availability and appeal, provision for minorities, education of the public, distance from vested interests, quality programming standards, program maker independence, and fostering of national culture and the public sphere. On the other hand, the philosophical import of the public value test is that potentially any excursion into the provision of new media services needs to be justified ex ante. In this era of New Public Management, greater transparency and accountability, and the proposition that resources for public value deliverables be contestable and not sequestered in public sector institutions, what might be the new Archimedean point around which a contemporised normativity for PSM be built? This paper will argue for the innovation imperative as an organising principle for contemporary PSM. This may appear counterintuitive, as it is precisely PSB’s predilection for innovating in new media services (in online, mobile, and social media) that has produced the constraining apparatus of the ex ante/public value/Drei-Stufen-Test in Europe, based on principles of competitive neutrality and transparency in the application of public funds for defined and limited public benefit. However, I argue that a commitment to innovation can define as complementary to, rather than as competitive ‘crowding out’, the new products and services that PSM can, and should, be delivering into a post-scarcity, superabundant all-media marketplace. The evidence presented in this paper for this argument is derived mostly from analysis of PSM in the Australian media ecology. While no PSB outside Europe is subject to a formal public value test, the crowding out arguments are certainly run in Australia, particularly by powerful commercial interests for whom free news is a threat to monetising quality news journalism. Take right wing opinion leader, herself a former ABC Board member, Judith Sloan: ‘… the recent expansive nature of the ABC – all those television stations, radio stations and online offerings – is actually squeezing activity that would otherwise be undertaken by the private sector. From partly correcting market failure, the ABC is now causing it. We are now dealing with a case of unfair competition and wasted taxpayer funds’ (The Drum, 1 August http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2818220.html). But I argue that the crowding out argument is difficult to sustain in Australia because of the PSB’s non-dominant position and the fact that much of innovation generated by the two PSBs, the ABC and the SBS, has not been imitated by or competed for by the commercials. The paper will bring cases forward, such as SBS’ Go Back to Where you Came From (2011) as an example of product innovation, and a case study of process and organisational innovation which also has resulted in specific product and service innovation – the ABC’s Innovation Unit. In summary, at least some of the old Reithian dicta, along with spectrum scarcity and market failure arguments, have faded or are fading. Contemporary PSM need to justify their role in the system, and to society, in terms of innovation.

Comparison of two suspension control strategies for multi-axle heavy truck

Two simple and effective control strategies for a multi-axle heavy truck, modified skyhook damping (MSD) control and proportional-integration-derivative (PID) control, were implemented into functional virtual prototype (FVP) model and compared in terms of road friendliness and ride comfort. A four-axle heavy truck-road coupling system model was established using FVP technology and validated through a ride comfort test. Then appropriate passive air suspensions were chosen to replace the rear tandem suspensions of the original truck model for preliminary optimization. The mechanical properties and time lag of dampers were taken into account in simulations of MSD and PID semi-active dampers implemented using MATLAB/Simulink. Through co-simulations with Adams and MATLAB, the effects of semi-active MSD and PID control were analyzed and compared, and control parameters which afforded the best comprehensive performance for each control strategy were chosen. Simulation results indicate that compared with the passive air suspension truck, semi-active MSD control improves both ride comfort and road-friendliness markedly, with optimization ratios of RMS vertical acceleration and RMS tyre force ranging from 10.1% to 44.8%. However, semi-active PID control only reduces vertical vibration of the driver’s seat by 11.1%, 11.1% and 10.9% on A, B and C level roads respectively. Both strategies are robust to the variation of road level.

Optimized strategy for integrated traffic and transit signal control

This paper proposes a unique and innovative approach to integrate transit signal priority control into a traffic adaptive signal control strategy. The proposed strategy was named OSTRAC (Optimized Strategy for integrated TRAffic and TRAnsit signal Control). The cornerstones of OSTRAC include an online microscopic traffic f low prediction model and a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based traffic signal timing module. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to determine the critical GA parameters. The developed traffic f low model demonstrated reliable prediction results through a test. OSTRAC was evaluated by comparing its performance to three other signal control strategies. The evaluation results revealed that OSTRAC efficiently and effectively reduced delay time of general traffic and also transit vehicles.

The role of, and key considerations for, advertising campaigns and educational awareness workshops within the work-related road safety context

Australian and international evidence suggests that, in the work-related driving context, road crashes account for a substantial number of occupational incidents. In the attempt to reduce injury and improve safety, organisations may implement an array of strategies and interventions ranging from policy development and implementation, vehicle selection and incident monitoring through to education and awareness-raising. This conceptual paper discusses aspects relating to the latter collection of interventions and, in particular, the role, and some key considerations with respect to the content and dissemination, of advertising campaigns and educational awareness workshops. In relation to advertising campaigns, this paper discusses how some of the overarching principles associated with advertising in the broader general community road safety strategy also apply within the work-related road safety context. Specifically, advertising campaigns/materials should be viewed as a key component within a dedicated organisational approach to road (driver) safety. This dedicated approach would need to comprise of a number, and varied array, of strategies. In addition, the content of, and medium/s (e.g., posters) by which to deliver such advertising campaigns, cannot be addressed by a one-size-fits all approach but, rather, requires careful consideration of the needs as well as characteristics of specific organisations and their driver fleet. The paper provides a summary of some key considerations when devising an advertising campaign, including the nature of campaign/message content as well as the processes by which to devise and refine such content. In relation to driver education awareness workshops, this paper outlines the key considerations for delivering a series of workshops specifically aimed at occupational driving within the organisational context. A case study approach will be utilised to demonstrate the manner in which educational awareness workshops can compliment successful advertising campaigns promoting safer work related driving through better risk management practice. Research underpinning the development of driver behaviour modification tools incorporated within the workshops will also be discussed along with the mechanisms utilised to encourage improvements in driver monitoring and behaviour. In an effort to assist organisations with their continual search for cost-effective approaches which may, ultimately, contribute to improvements in driver behaviour and safety, the current paper offers some clear and practical suggestions in relation to the development and dissemination of two types of interventions, advertising campaigns and education awareness workshops.