124 research outputs found
Pervasive Memory, Locative Narratives
No full textGianni, C. Shingleton, D. Speed, C., (2010) Pervasive Memory, Locative Narratives, Research Education and Media Journal Vol 2 n.
Sixth sense logistics: challenges in supporting more flexible, ‘human-centric’ scheduling in the service sector
No full textThe need to conform to tight delivery and collection schedules can lead to increased pressures for logistics providers and inefficiencies in the services provided from an asset utilisation perspective. Transport behaviours, habits and practices in contemporary Westernized clock-time cultures are often situated around the notion of time being viewed as a scarce resource, with a high value placed on carving up this commodity into activities running punctually back-to-back (Norgate, 2006; Southerton et al., 2001). Using an example from the service sector, this paper explores how service engineer jobs can be dynamically scheduled during the round in response to new job requests received to minimise client waiting time and transport costs (a multi-period dynamic vehicle scheduling problem (Angelelli et al., 2009)). The potential benefits of such an approach are presented along with the challenges of delivering it, with respect to the technology needed to help visualise the engineer’s current and future trajectories in relation to the incoming client calls. The research is being undertaken as part of the RCUK 6th Sense Transport project which is investigating how mobile technologies coupled to social networking principals can be leveraged to provide individuals with different ways to relate to time (present and future) and new understanding of the relationships between their own future transport plans and those of others around them (Davies et al., 2012). <br/
Negative space of things: a practice-based research approach to understand the role of objects in the Internet of Things
No full textThis is a practice-based research thesis situated in the research context of the ‘Internet of Things’, and
critiques contemporary theoretical discourse related to the 21st century turn of connecting everyday
objects to the World Wide Web. In the last decade we have seen the ‘Internet of Things’ articulated
predominately through three commercial design fictions, each a response to the shift towards
pervasive”, “ubiquitous” (Weiser 1991), or “context-ware” (Schilit, 1994) computing; where we inhabit
spaces with objects capable of sensing, recording and relaying data about themselves and
their environments. Through reflecting upon these existing design fictions, through a new combination
of theories and practice-based research that embodies them, this thesis proposes a recovery to
understanding the role of objects in the ‘Internet of Things’, which this author believes has been lost
since its conception in the mid 2000s.
In 2000, HP Labs presented Cooltown, which addressed what HP identified as the ‘convergence of
Web technology, wireless networks, and portable client devices provides’. Cooltown’s primary discourse
was to provide ‘new design opportunities for computer/communications systems, through an
infrastructure to support "web presence" for people, places and things.’ (Anders 1998; Barton &
Kindberg 2002). IBM’s Smarter Planet followed this in 2008 and shifted importance from the act of
connecting objects to understanding the value of data as it flows between these objects in a network
(Castells 1996; Sterling 2005; Latour 2005). Finally, Cisco presented The Internet of Everything in 2012
and moved the argument on one stage further, identifying that the importance of connected objects lies
in the sum of their communication across silos of networks, where data can provide potential insight
from which you can improve services (Bleecker 2006).
Despite these design and theoretical fictions, the affordances of the Internet of Things first proposed in
the mid 2000s has regressed from data to product, driven largely by unchanged discourse argued by
those designers at its conception and also the enticement of being the next Google acquisition; instead
of pigeons reporting on the environmental conditions of a city (Da Costa 2006), we have thermostats
controllable from your smartphone (www.scottishpower.co.uk/connect).
Therefore the aim of this thesis is to re-examine the initial potential of the Internet of Things, which is
tested through a series of design interventions as research for art and design, (produced as part of my
EPSRC funded doctoral studies on the Tales of Things and Electronic Memory research project and
also whilst employed as a research assistant on two EPSRC funded research programmes of work Sixth
Sense Transport, and The Connected High Street), to understand how we use data to allow an
alternative discourse to emerge in order to recover the role of a networked object, rather than producing
prototypical systems
Fundamental challenges in designing a collaborative travel app
No full textThe growing capabilities of smartphones have opened up new opportunities for travel coordination and transport is a fertile area for app development. One stream of development is apps that enable collaborative travel, either in the form of lift sharing or collaborative shopping, but despite growing interest from governmental agencies, there is little evidence of the efficacy of such apps. Based on trials of purpose built travel collaboration apps, deployed in tourism, urban and rural residential communities, and logistics, this paper analyses the fundamental challenges facing users adopting such travel apps. The findings suggest that transport practitioners, policy makers and app developers need to better understand the challenges associated with attracting users, the use of incentives and the types of communities most appropriate to implement collaborative travel concepts using such approaches. Also, how the users’ sense of time pressure and the issues around reciprocal exchange can impact on their long-term success and wider adoption
Improving collection efficiency through remote monitoring of charity assets
No full textCollection costs associated with servicing a major UK charity's donation banks and collecting unsold goods from their retail shops can account for up to 20% of the overall income gained. Bank and shop collections are commingled and are typically made on fixed days of the week irrespective of the amounts of materials waiting to be collected. Using collection records from a major UK charity, this paper considers what vehicle routing and scheduling benefits could accrue if bank and shop servicing requirements were monitored, the former using remote sensing technology to allow more proactive collection scheduling. A vehicle routing and scheduling algorithm employing tabu search methods was developed, and suggested time and distance savings of up to 30% over the current fixed schedules when a minimum bank and shop fill level of between 50% and 60% was used as a collection trigger. For the case study investigated, this led to a potential revenue gain of 5% for the charity and estimated CO2 savings of around 0.5 tonnes per week across the fleet of six heterogeneous vehicles
Making and appreciating art
No full textThis thesis was scanned from the print manuscript for digital preservation and is copyright the author.
Researchers can access this thesis by asking their local university, institution or public library to
make a request on their behalf. Monash staff and postgraduate students can use the link in the References field
The effect of a bilateral training intervention on sprint start performance of experienced male sprinters
No full textBilateral transference research has recently shown evidence that the training of the preferred and non-preferred leg can improve overall performance, through the development and adaption of motor processes. The current study used a bilateral training intervention on a sprint start to determine if the same effects were exhibited. Twelve male participants, all of whom were county to national level sprinters took part in the study. An intervention group (n=6) undertook an 8-week bilateral training intervention for the sprint start, consistently changing the foot on the front block between preferred and non-preferred leg. A control group (n=6) used the same programme but only with the preferred leg lead. Participants were assessed Pre, Mid and Post intervention over the 8-week period. The lab-based testing assessed a total of ten sprint starts over a five-metre distance, with both the preferred and non-preferred leg performing five trials when positioned at the front block. Results established no significant change (P= > 0.05) in five-metre sprint performance for the preferred (P = 0.136; ηp2 = 0.181) and non-preferred (P=0.716; ηp2 = 0.033) lead leg trials across stages between groups. Several significant results across stages (P=<0.05) were found for kinematic and ground reaction force variables. A key interaction (P= < 0.05) was found at the block push off during non-preferred leg trials for the intervention group, where the hip had greater extension. Further changes to performance were found across stages for both groups, for hip, knee, and ankle kinematics, as well as the braking impulse (P= < 0.05). Despite these changes the 8-week intervention implemented did not result in any changes to sprint start performance over the five-metre distance. Future research should look to further assess the application of a bilateral training program to sprint start performance, with further assessment over the acceleration phase after the first two strides
Developing a smartphone app to enhance Oxfam's supply chain visibility
No full textThis paper reports on the development of a smartphone app designed to give drivers and managers in a charity organisation greater visibility of transport, donation bank and shop stock in time and space. Trials of the app with samples of drivers and shop managers across three counties in the UK showed that users’ understanding of vehicle activity and how time was utilised in the business was enhanced. The app also informed their decision making, aided some collaboration and helped in their understanding of donation bank and shop performance, with one region altering their collection schedules. The quality of 3G signal was an issue in certain areas which impeded performance and the rules by which the messaging platform should be used in such a tool need careful consideratio
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