Investigating early hominin dispersal patterns: developing a framework for climate data integration

An investigation using the Stepping Out model of early hominin dispersal out of Africa is presented here. The late arrival of early hominins into Europe, as deduced from the fossil record, is shown to be consistent with poor ability of these hominins to survive in the Eurasian landscape. The present study also extends the understanding of modelling results from the original study by Mithen and Reed (2002. Stepping out: a computer simulation of hominid dispersal from Africa. J. Hum. Evol. 43, 433-462). The representation of climate and vegetation patterns has been improved through the use of climate model output. This study demonstrates that interpretative confidence may be strengthened, and new insights gained when climate models and hominin dispersal models are integrated. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Supporting Computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) in conceptual design

In order to gain a better understanding of online conceptual collaborative design processes this paper investigates how student designers make use of a shared virtual synchronous environment when engaged in conceptual design. The software enables users to talk to each other and share sketches when they are remotely located. The paper describes a novel methodology for observing and analysing collaborative design processes by adapting the concepts of grounded theory. Rather than concentrating on narrow aspects of the final artefacts, emerging “themes” are generated that provide a broader picture of collaborative design process and context descriptions. Findings on the themes of “grounding – mutual understanding” and “support creativity” complement findings from other research, while important themes associated with “near-synchrony” have not been emphasised in other research. From the study, a series of design recommendations are made for the development of tools to support online computer-supported collaborative work in design using a shared virtual environment.

The role of sketches in supporting near-synchronous remote communication in computer supported collaborative design

This paper presents recent research into the functions and value of sketch outputs during computer supported collaborative design. Sketches made primarily exploiting whiteboard technology are shown to support subjects engaged in remote collaborative design, particularly when constructed in ‘nearsynchronous’ communication. The authors define near-synchronous communication and speculate that it is compatible with the reflective and iterative nature of design activity. There appears to be significant similarities between the making of sketches in near-synchronous remote collaborative design and those made on paper in more traditional face-to-face settings With the current increase in the use of computer supported collaborative working (CSCW) in undergraduate and postgraduate design education it is proposed that sketches and sketching can make important contributions to design learning in this context

Interdisciplinarity: perceptions of the value of computer-supported collaborative work in design for the built environment

This paper presents the findings from a study into the current exploitation of computer-supported collaborative working (CSCW) in design for the built environment in the UK. The research is based on responses to a web-based questionnaire. Members of various professions, including civil engineers, architects, building services engineers, and quantity surveyors, were invited to complete the questionnaire. The responses reveal important trends in the breadth and size of project teams at the same time as new pressures are emerging regarding team integration and efficiency. The findings suggest that while CSCW systems may improve project management (e.g., via project documentation) and the exchange of information between team members, it has yet to significantly support those activities that characterize integrated collaborative working between disparate specialists. The authors conclude by combining the findings with a wider discussion of the application of CSCW to design activity-appealing for CSCW to go beyond multidisciplinary working to achieve interdisciplinary working.

Design for design: support for creative practice in computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) in design

This paper describes a novel methodology for observing and analysing collaborative design by using the concepts of cognitive dimensions related to concept-based misfit analysis. The study aims at gaining an insight into support for creative practice of graphical communication in collaborative design processes of designers while sketching within a shared white board and audio conferencing environment. Empirical data on design processes have been obtained from observation of groups of student designers solving an interior space-planning problem of a lounge-diner in a shared virtual environment. The results of the study provide recommendations for the design and development of interactive systems to support such collaborative design activities.

From activity to active learning: drawing and dialogue interaction in virtual learning environments for computer-supported collaborative work in design.

Virtual learning environments (VLEs) would appear to be particular effective in computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) for active learning. Most research studies looking at computer-supported collaborative design have focused on either synchronous or asynchronous modes of communication, but near-synchronous working has received relatively little attention. Yet it could be argued that near-synchronous communication encourages creative, rhetorical and critical exchanges of ideas, building on each other’s contributions. Furthermore, although many researchers have carried out studies on collaborative design protocol, argumentation and constructive interaction, little is known about the interaction between drawing and dialogue in near-synchronous collaborative design. The paper reports the first stage of an investigation into the requirements for the design and development of interactive systems to support the learning of collaborative design activities. The aim of the study is to understand the collaborative design processes while sketching in a shared white board and audio conferencing media. Empirical data on design processes have been obtained from observation of seven sessions with groups of design students solving an interior space-planning problem of a lounge-diner in a virtual learning environment, Lyceum, an in-house software developed by the Open University to support its students in collaborative learning.

Innovation dynamics and capability in open collaborative cyber communities: implications for cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a complex challenge that has emerged alongside the evolving global socio-technical environment of social networks that feature connectivity across time and space in ways unimaginable even a decade ago. This paper reports on the preliminary findings of a NATO funded project that investigates the nature of innovation in open collaborative communities and its implications for cyber security. In this paper, the authors describe the framing of relevant issues, the articulation of the research questions, and the derivation of a conceptual framework based on open collaborative innovation that has emerged from preliminary field research in Russia and the UK.

Intellectual property law on architectural design in collaborative design communication as digital assets

Digital Economy is one of the crucial elements promoted by the Digital Britain Report June 2009 and its Implementation Plan August 2009 in order to maintain and further the UK’s position as one of the world’s leading digital knowledge economies. Therefore, the application of Digital Technologies is high in the agenda. As pervasive digital technologies become more widely available, it becomes increasingly important to understand the legal implications of digital assets produced via digital technologies in collaborative design communication. Architects and engineers depend on intellectual property law to protect their original works. Copyright protection is automatic once a tangible medium of expression in any form of an innovative material, conforming the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, is created. Although copyright law provides automatic protection to all original architectural plans, the limitation is that it only protects the expression of ideas but not the ideas themselves. The purpose of this research is to explore how effective the UK’s copyright law regime is for protecting the rights and interests of architects and engineers in their works as digital assets. The UK’s copyright law is ripe for modernisation not only to protect the rights of designers but also to further UK’s position in digital economy.