Innovative approach in the stabilisation of coastal slopes

Coastal slope instability poses a risk to life and material properties and is of great concern in times of climate change, posing challenges as communities seek to adapt and ensure resilience. This paper presents two case studies of coastal slope stabilisation efforts from Scotland and reflects the growing difficultly faced by coastal communities who value intervention but are limited by uncertain ownership, funding and access to expertise. In both cases, the slopes are owned by private charities with no power of authorisation or means of procuring stabilisation works to protect the adjacent communities. The engineering solutions included an innovative eco-engineering component where vegetation was used to perform an engineering function. Based on the experience with these projects, the authors advocate this sustainable technique supported by the evidence from monitoring and testing. The case studies emphasise the importance of engaging with the community as a means of achieving acceptance of a workable solution as well as participation in its long-term development. Another significant observation was the contribution played by establishment of a learning culture that is supported through inter- and intraproject knowledge transfer deemed necessary to promote the necessary double-loop learning evident in these projects. </jats:p

Mixed Initiative Systems for Human-Swarm Interaction: Opportunities and Challenges

Human-swarm interaction (HSI) involves a number of human factors impacting human behaviour throughout the interaction. As the technologies used within HSI advance, it is more tempting to increase the level of swarm autonomy within the interaction to reduce the workload on humans. Yet, the prospective negative effects of high levels of autonomy on human situational awareness can hinder this process. Flexible autonomy aims at trading-off these effects by changing the level of autonomy within the interaction when required; with mixed-initiatives combining human preferences and automation's recommendations to select an appropriate level of autonomy at a certain point of time. However, the effective implementation of mixed-initiative systems raises fundamental questions on how to combine human preferences and automation recommendations, how to realise the selected level of autonomy, and what the future impacts on the cognitive states of a human are. We explore open challenges that hamper the process of developing effective flexible autonomy. We then highlight the potential benefits of using system modelling techniques in HSI by illustrating how they provide HSI designers with an opportunity to evaluate different strategies for assessing the state of the mission and for adapting the level of autonomy within the interaction to maximise mission success metrics.Comment: Author version, accepted at the 2018 IEEE Annual Systems Modelling Conference, Canberra, Australi

Frameworks for Strategic Leadership

I suggest two frameworks that may improve understanding of strategic thinking, strategic decision making, and strategic leadership. The first I call the Epistemology Framework. The second which was described and continues to be promoted by David Snowdon and colleagues is the Cynefin Framework

Innovation, design and CAE in new product development

There seems to be a need for clarification on a number of issues that are seminal for the design community: for example, the constructs of invention, of creativity and of innovation (or innovative) appear to be used interchangeably. They are all a vital interest for design but they are different things. Furthermore there is a failure to distinguish between what design has a legitimate interest in or should contribute to and that which is its direct responsibility. The authors of this paper will seek to clarify these and other issues. One of these interests is the increasing demand for sustainable practice: design has a crucial role here and this paper will explore how computer aids can be a powerful tool in this area and also more generally in both design and manufacture

A task-centred approach to evaluating a mobile learning environment for pedagogical soundness

The focus of this paper is how to evaluate the pedagogical soundness of a mobile learning environment in which many users (both teachers and learners) may not have previously encountered mobile technology, so may be uncertain how best to deploy it to achieve their goals. Drawing on concepts from Activity Theory and the socio-cognitive engineering method described by Sharples (2000), it describes an approach which enables an enriched view of users’ current and future activities, which in turn will allow us to understand the range of actions and opportunities open to mobile learners, and seek ways of extending this range to support what learners want to do – even if they themselves do not yet know what that is

Developing a Community of Practice for Applied Uses of Future PACE Data to Address Marine Food Security Challenges

External interaction:The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will include a hyperspectral imaging radiometer to advance ecosystem monitoring beyond heritage retrievals of the concentration of surface chlorophyll and other traditional ocean color variables, offering potential for novel science and applications. PACE is the first NASA ocean color mission to occur under the agency's new and evolving effort to directly engage practical end users prior to satellite launch to increase adoption of this freely available data toward societal challenges. Here we describe early efforts to engage a community of practice around marine food-related resource management, business decisions, and policy analysis. Obviously one satellite cannot meet diverse end user needs at all scales and locations, but understanding downstream needs helps in the assessment of information gaps and planning how to optimize the unique strengths of PACE data in combination with the strengths of other satellite retrievals, in situ measurements, and models. Higher spectral resolution data from PACE can be fused with information from satellites with higher spatial or temporal resolution, plus other information, to enable identification and tracking of new marine biological indicators to guide sustainable management. Accounting for the needs of applied researchers as well as non-traditional users of satellite data early in the PACE mission process will ultimately serve to broaden the base of informed users and facilitate faster adoption of the most advanced science and technology toward the challenge of mitigating food insecurity