Autistic artists give clues to cognition

Certain autistic children whose linguistic ability is virtually nonexistent can draw natural scenes from memory with astonishing accuracy. In particular their drawings display convincing perspective. In contrast, normal children of the same preschool age group and even untrained adults draw primitive schematics or symbols of objects which they can verbally identify. These are usually conceptual outlines devoid of detail. It is argued that the difference between autistic child artists and normal individuals is that autistic artists make no assumptions about what is to be seen in their environment. They have not formed mental representations of what is significant and consequently perceive all details as equally important. Equivalently, they do not impose visual or linguistic schema -- a process necessary for rapid conceptualisation in a dynamic existence, especially when the information presented to the eye is incomplete.

Channel tracking in SDMA-based multi-user MIMO-OFDM communications systems

Capacity of current and future high data rate wireless communications depend significantly on how well changes in the wireless channel are predicted and tracked. Generally, this can be estimated by transmitting known symbols. However, this increases overheads if the channel varies over time. Given today’s bandwidth demand and the increased necessity for mobile wireless devices, the contributions of this research are very significant. This study has developed a novel and efficient channel tracking algorithm that can recursively update the channel estimation for wireless broadband communications reducing overheads, therefore increasing the speed of wireless communication systems.

Reflective Practice in the Arts

In creative disciplines, reflective practice is an integral and cumulative form of learning. Reflective learning generates knowledge that is specific to oneself and is a form of evidence upon which to analyse and change one’s practice. Critical reflection requires a deep knowledge of the discipline and an awareness of one’s positioning within that discipline and in relation to one’s creative performance. Meaning making through performative expression allows for personal transformation through acute awareness of and reflection on one’s own beliefs, knowledges and values through the process of creating artistic work. Self-awareness and identity are significant both in the study of the arts and in becoming an artist, as aesthetic inquiry and performance are constituted by subjective self-expression in relation to objective conditions. Reflection can be expressed using symbols or semiotic systems other than language. Depending on the disciplinary context, particular modes or forms of expression will be privileged, including material forms of practice, still and moving images, music and sound, live action and digital code. This chapter explores the problematics of what counts as reflection in the arts and how reflection is represented, expressed and performed in discursive and non-discursive ways in becoming arts literate.

Degradation modeling and monitoring of machines using operation-specific hidden Markov models

In this paper, a novel data-driven approach to monitoring of systems operating under variable operating conditions is described. The method is based on characterizing the degradation process via a set of operation-specific hidden Markov models (HMMs), whose hidden states represent the unobservable degradation states of the monitored system while its observable symbols represent the sensor readings. Using the HMM framework, modeling, identification and monitoring methods are detailed that allow one to identify a HMM of degradation for each operation from mixed-operation data and perform operation-specific monitoring of the system. Using a large data set provided by a major manufacturer, the new methods are applied to a semiconductor manufacturing process running multiple operations in a production environment.

Optimal HMM processing of differentially phase modulated communication systems

This paper investigates demodulation of differentially phase modulated signals DPMS using optimal HMM filters. The optimal HMM filter presented in the paper is computationally of order N3 per time instant, where N is the number of message symbols. Previously, optimal HMM filters have been of computational order N4 per time instant. Also, suboptimal HMM filters have be proposed of computation order N2 per time instant. The approach presented in this paper uses two coupled HMM filters and exploits knowledge of ...

Optimal HMM filtering and decision feedback equalisation for differential encoded transmission systems

In this paper conditional hidden Markov model (HMM) filters and conditional Kalman filters (KF) are coupled together to improve demodulation of differential encoded signals in noisy fading channels. We present an indicator matrix representation for differential encoded signals and the optimal HMM filter for demodulation. The filter requires O(N3) calculations per time iteration, where N is the number of message symbols. Decision feedback equalisation is investigated via coupling the optimal HMM filter for estimating the message, conditioned on estimates of the channel parameters, and a KF for estimating the channel states, conditioned on soft information message estimates. The particular differential encoding scheme examined in this paper is differential phase shift keying. However, the techniques developed can be extended to other forms of differential modulation. The channel model we use allows for multiplicative channel distortions and additive white Gaussian noise. Simulation studies are also presented.

Audio signalling as a backup communication channel for multi-robot systems

This paper presents a low-bandwidth multi-robot communication system designed to serve as a backup communication channel in the event a robot suffers a network device fault. While much research has been performed in the area of distributing network communication across multiple robots within a system, individual robots are still susceptible to hardware failure. In the past, such robots would simply be removed from service, and their tasks re-allocated to other members. However, there are times when a faulty robot might be crucial to a mission, or be able to contribute in a less communication intensive area. By allowing robots to encode and decode messages into unique sequences of DTMF symbols, called words, our system is able to facilitate continued low-bandwidth communication between robots without access to network communication. Our results have shown that the system is capable of permitting robots to negotiate task initiation and termination, and is flexible enough to permit a pair of robots to perform a simple turn taking task.

An observational study of conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians in the city centre

City centres have large volumes of pedestrians and motorised traffic and increases in walking and cycling could potentially lead to more pedestrians and cyclists being injured. In this study, observers recorded cyclist characteristics, number of pedestrians within 1m and 5m radius and type of conflict (none, pedestrian, vehicle) for 1,971 cyclists in 2010 and 2,551 cyclists in 2012 at six locations in the Brisbane Central Business District. Only 1.7% of cyclists were involved in conflicts with a motor vehicle or pedestrian and no collisions were observed. Increased odds of a pedestrian-cyclist conflict was associated with: male riders, riders not wearing correctly fastened helmets, riding on the footpath, higher pedestrian density (within 1m but not within 5m), morning peak and 2-4 pm (compared with 4-6 pm), two-way roads, roads with more lanes, higher speed limits, and yellow marked bicycle symbols on the road.

Cryptic marketing : strategic targeting of subculture markets

This research aims to understand what factors influence consumers' behaviour to subculture marketing and how companies can strategically overcome potential brand alienation. Findings validate cryptic marketing as a strategy for organizations to communicate effectively with their chosen market through the use of cryptic cues, symbols and messages while circumventing negative responses from non-target audiences. The thesis contributes to extending current understanding of marketing communication through the use of covert strategies, employing covert tactics on the non-target, wider market instead of the target, subculture market.

Preparation and characterization of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microparticles containing DNA molecules encoding a malaria vaccine candidate

Background A novel ultrasonic atomization approach for the formulation of biodegradable poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticles of a malaria DNA vaccine is presented. A 40 kHz ultrasonic atomization device was used to create the microparticles from a feedstock containing 5 volumes of 0.5% w/v PLGA in acetone and 1 volume of condensed DNA which was fed at a flow rate of 18ml h-1. The plasmid DNA vectors encoding a malaria protein were condensed with a cationic polymer before atomization. Results High levels of gene expression in vitro were observed in COS-7 cells transfected with condensed DNA at a nitrogen to phosphate (N/P) ratio of 10. At this N/P ratio, the condensed DNA exhibited a monodispersed nanoparticle size (Z-average diameter of 60.8 nm) and a highly positive zeta potential of 38.8mV. The microparticle formulations of malaria DNA vaccine were quality assessed and it was shown that themicroparticles displayed high encapsulation efficiencies between 82-96% and a narrow size distribution in the range of 0.8-1.9 μm. In vitro release profile revealed that approximately 82% of the DNA was released within 30 days via a predominantly diffusion controlledmass transfer system. Conclusions This ultrasonic atomization technique showed excellent particle size reproducibility and displayed potential as an industrially viable approach for the formulation of controlled release particles.

Creating new folk opera forms of applied theatre for HIV and AIDS education in Papua New Guinea

This research investigated the potential of folk opera as a tool for HIV and AIDS education in Papua New Guinea. It began with an investigation on the indigenous performativities and theatricalities of Papua New Guineans, conducting an audit of eight selected performance traditions in Papua New Guinea. These traditions were analysed, and five cultural forms and twenty performance elements were drawn out for further exploration. These elements were fused and combined with theatre techniques from western theatre traditions, through a script development process involving Australians, Papua New Guineans and international collaborators. The resulting folk opera, entitled Kumul, demonstrates what Murphy (2010) has termed story force, picture force, and feeling force, in the service of a story designed to educate Papua New Guinean audiences about HIV and the need to adopt safer sexual practices. Kumul is the story of a young man faced with decisions on whether or not to engage in risky sexual behaviours. Kumul's narrative is carefully framed within selected Papua New Guinean beliefs drawn from the audit to deliver HIV and AIDS messages using symbolic and metaphoric communication techniques without offending people. The folk opera Kumul was trialled in two communities in Papua New Guinea: a village community and an urban settlement area. Kumul is recognisable to Papua New Guinean audiences because it reflects their lifestyle and a worldview, which connects them to their beliefs and spirituality, and the larger cosmological order. Feedback from audience members indicated that the performance facilitated HIV and AIDS communication, increased people's awareness of HIV and AIDS, and encouraged behaviour change. Tellingly, in one performance venue, forty people queued for Voluntary Testing and Counseling immediately after the performance. Twenty of these people were tested on that night and the other twenty were tested the following day. Many of the volunteers were young men – a demographic historically difficult to engage in HIV testing. This encouraging result indicates that the Kumul folk opera form of applied theatre could be useful for facilitating communication and education regarding sexual health and safer sexual behaviours in Papua New Guinea. Feedback from participants, audience members and other research stakeholders suggests that the form might also be adapted to address other social and development issues, particularly in the areas of health and social justice.

The importance of the Deutsche Luxfer Prismen Syndikat, the Victoria regia lily and Gothic imitation in the design of Bruno Taut's Glashaus

Bruno Taut's Glashaus is considered a seminal example of early modernist architecture. Yet, some of the crucial factors behind the design of the Glashaus remain little understood. This PhD reveals that the Glashaus' patron, Frederick Keppler, exerted a significant influence over its design by insisting that it follow a prescriptive brief. Interpreting these rigid instructions, Taut as the architect, gained inspiration from the myths and symbols associated with the Victoria regia lily and the Gothic. This PhD therefore significantly expands the understanding of the Glashaus, and thus reinvigorates our comprehension of one of the most distinctive early examples of modern architecture.

Implicating animals: The symbolic power of scapegoating animals in marine pollution debates

Animals are often used as symbols in policy debates and media accounts of marine pollution. Images of miserable oil-soaked marine birds and mammals are prominent following high profile oil spills such as the Exxon Valdez, Prestige and Pacific Adventurer incidents. Portrayed as hapless victims, these animal actors are not only cast as powerful symbols of the effects of anthropogenic pollution but also represent an environment in crisis. Animals, like the broader environment, are seen as something which is acted upon. Less attention has been given to the ways in which animals have been cast as either the cause of marine pollution or as having the potential to actively mitigate the potential impacts of anthropogenic marine pollution. This article explores how animals are constructed with respect to vessel-sourced sewage pollution. Through a process of interpretive policy analysis, drawing on media reports and responses to an Australian regulatory review process this study found that, when defending the perceived right to pollute recreational boaters implicated animals such as dogs, fish, turtles, dolphins and seabirds in their pollution discourses. Scapegoating was an important rhetorical feature of claims-making strategies designed to avoid responsibility for changing sewage disposal practices.

A determinism and desire: Some neurological processes in perceiving the design object

The environment moderates behaviour using a subtle language of ‘affordances’ and ‘behaviour-settings’. Affordances are environmental offerings. They are objects that demand action; a cliff demands a leap and binoculars demand a peek. Behaviour-settings are ‘places;’ spaces encoded with expectations and meanings. Behaviour-settings work the opposite way to affordances; they demand inhibition; an introspective demeanour in a church or when under surveillance. Most affordances and behaviour-settings are designed, and as such, designers are effectively predicting brain reactions. • Affordances are nested within, and moderated by behaviour-settings. Both trigger automatic neural responses (excitation and inhibition). These, for the best part cancel each other out. This balancing enables object recognition and allows choice about what action should be taken (if any). But when excitation exceeds inhibition, instinctive action will automatically commence. In positive circumstances this may mean laughter or a smile. In negative circumstances, fleeing, screaming or other panic responses are likely. People with poor frontal function, due to immaturity (childhood or developmental disorders) or due to hypofrontality (schizophrenia, brain damage or dementia) have a reduced capacity to balance excitatory and inhibitory impulses. For these people, environmental behavioural demands increase with the decline of frontal brain function. • The world around us is not only encoded with symbols and sensory information. Opportunities and restrictions work on a much more primal level. Person/space interactions constantly take place at a molecular scale. Every space we enter has its own special dynamic, where individualism vies for supremacy between the opposing forces of affordance-related excitation and the inhibition intrinsic to behaviour-settings. And in this context, even a small change–the installation of a CCTV camera can turn a circus to a prison. • This paper draws on cutting-edge neurological theory to understand the psychological determinates of the everyday experience of the designed environment.

“Legit can’t wait for #Toronto #WorldPride!”: Investigating the Twitter public of a large-scale LGBTQ Festival

This article investigates whether participation on Twitter during Toronto’s 2014 WorldPride festival facilitated challenges to heteronormativity through increased visibility, connections, and messages about LGBTQ people. Analysis of 68,231 tweets found that surges in activity using WorldPride hashtags, connections among users, and the circulation of affective content with common symbols made celebrations visible. However, the platform’s features catered to politicians, celebrities, and advertisers in ways that accentuated self-promotional, local, and often banal content, overshadowing individual users and the festival’s global mandate. By identifying Twitter’s limits in fostering the visibility of users and messages that circulate nonnormative discourses, this study makes way for future research identifying alternative platform dynamics that can enhance the visibility of diversity.