The political in the age of the digital: propositions for empirical investigation

This article establishes whether there is a case for revising traditional accounts of politics and the public sphere given the ways in which digital technology is now being used in Western and non-Western settings to engage people politically. The article presents a case for framing this inquiry in terms of imaginaries. It then argues for a new political imaginary which helps to specify what is required for deliberative democratic practice in a way that shifts us away from the dominant liberal-utilitarian political imaginary that currently informs the political value systems of most Western nations. Drawing on the work of key political theorists such as Habermas and Dahlgren, five propositions or conditions for deliberative practice are identified that can be used in empirical investigation to help determine the democratic capacity and potential of new political communication and civic spaces being opened by means of digital media.

Children's Literature Digital Resources Project

Children's Literature Digital Resources is a full text digital repository of Australian children’s literature from 1830 to 1945. Users can read online the complete texts of a selection of early Australian children’s literature, both popular and rare. Digitised items include children’s and young adult fiction, poetry, short stories, and picture books. Users can also read related full text critical articles that were digitised as part of the project.

Digital storytelling at QUT

Digital Storytelling is a powerful means for enabling communication and social participation. Ordinary people work with expert creative practitioners to create first person narratives for a wide and growing range of purposes, including community building, cultural engagement, brand identification and public communication. A digital story usually combines 15-30 still images and a recorded script of 100-250 words to create an original personal digital story in the form of a 2-3 minute digital video. This form of co-creative media takes advantage of newly accessible technologies but is based in the ancient and universal tradition of storytelling. Digital storytelling is being adopted internationally in a variety of institutional contexts. It was introduced at QUT by Distinguished Professor John Hartley in 2004 when he brought well known UK based digital storytelling expert Daniel Meadows to the Creative Industries Faculty to trainer researchers and Faculty in the technique. Since 2005 Creative Industries Faculty researchers have adapted digital storytelling for use in a variety of research contexts including heritage, youth welfare, health, and international development, in collaboration with a range of external partner organisations. More than 300 digital stories have been produced by QUT researchers, staff and students. These have been presented on the World Wide Web, broadcast on community media, released on DVD and exhibited in various forms. In addition CIF researchers have produced numerous journal articles, conference papers and books reporting the outcomes of research projects utilising digital storytelling in research. As a result of research activity the Creative Industries Faculty is now well positioned as a leading site for teaching and learning in digital storytelling. Faculty research activity in digital storytelling has generated interest in adapting the form for use in undergraduate and postgraduate Creative Industries curriculum and in service teaching, including short courses for external clients.

Editorial

The 2nd International Digital Human Modeling (DHM) Symposium was held at the renowned University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) in Ann Arbor, Michigan in June 11–13, 2013. The symposium was co-organised by the UMTRI and Penn State University, and endorsed by the IEA Technical Committee on Human Simulation and Virtual Environments. The conference built on the very successful inaugural event DHM2011 held in Lyon two years before; and a decade of digital human modelling conferences held under the auspices of SAE International. Practitioners and scientists from 13 countries gathered to present their state-of-the-art developments and applied research, besides discussing the most recent advances in human modelling and directions for future work in DHM...

Soft tissue human thigh and buttock finite element model to simulate vehicle seat cushion indentation

Accurate modelling of automotive occupant posture is strongly related to the mechanical interaction between human body soft tissue and flexible seat components. This paper presents a finite-element study simulating the deflection of seat cushion foam and supportive seat structures, as well as human buttock and thigh soft tissue when seated. The thigh-buttock surface shell model was based on 95th percentile male subject scan data and made of two layers, covering thin to moderate thigh and buttock proportions. To replicate the effects of skin and fat, the neoprene rubber layer was modelled as a hyperelastic material with viscoelastic behaviour. The analytical seat model is based on a Ford production seat. The result of the finite-element indentation simulation is compared to a previous simulation of an indentation with a hard shell human model of equal geometry, and to the physical indentation result. We conclude that SAE composite buttock form and human-seat indentation of a suspended seat cushion can be validly simulated.