Embedding Immersive Technologies into Product Design Education: Students' Awareness of Virtual Reality as a Tool to Support the Development of Design Solutions

Copyright 2022 The Authors. Using new and emerging technologies in education can increase student engagement and support teaching methods. However, using any technological tool requires prior knowledge and understanding, especially in education. An online survey was used to gather data on product design students' knowledge of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. As a case study, this survey will examine how the use of Virtual Reality technology can impact the product design development process and design thinking. A questionnaire was distributed to product design students as part of a mixed method approach. Students' views on common design solution development practices and Virtual Reality technology were quantified and analysed through open-ended and closed-ended questions. The survey revealed students' preferred modelling and rendering software, sketching methods, level of detail in sketches, prototyping materials and tools, assessment modes and aspects. The questionnaire also assessed students' knowledge of VR and their perceptions of its utility in product design. In product/industrial design education, high student awareness of technology indicates a bright future

Ancient agriculture in Southeast Arabia: A three thousand year record of runoff farming from central Oman (Rustaq)

Runoff farming is a key hydro-agricultural strategy that has proven efficient in arid areas. Research in Arabia on the function, development, maintenance, durability and abandonment of this technology is scarce. A multiproxy investigation (cartography, sedimentology, pedology, geochemistry, paleo-ecology and chronology) was conducted on a recently abandoned terraced area in Rustaq, Northern Oman. The aim was to characterize the formation, function and management of this runoff system and the driving factors behind its success. Cycles of cultivation were identified during the Iron Age II/III periods (specifically 750–450 BCE), the Early Pre-Islamic Period (PIR) (specifically 350–200 BCE), the Early and Middle Islamic periods (specifically 8–10th C CE, 13th-14th C CE) and the late Islamic period (specifically 17th C CE and later). This expansion and perenniality was possible thanks to: 1- available water (local to micro-regional orogenic precipitation despite a regional aridification during these periods); 2- suitable soils (weathered geological outcrops, probable aeolian /dust particles); 3- a system of production combining crops and husbandry; 4- a progressive increase in agricultural specialization (crops grown and techniques) in parallel with a diversification in hydraulic technology. These results are to some degree in accordance with known phases of settlement intensification and economic growth, but also reveal the persistence of small-scale rural livelihoods during periods of harsh conditions for which archaeological traces are very scarce

Modelling the built environment: Spatial patterns, siting techniques and layout works of non‐monumental architecture in Early Bronze Age Eastern Arabia

The interest in the built environment of Early Bronze Age Eastern Arabia is rapidly increasing with the emergence of new field data from the excavation of settlement sites. However, little is known about architectural planning and spatial patterns in the region. This article explores non-monumental architecture throughout the 3rd millennium BCE.A series of methods (Pythagorean triples, modular grids, interception of circles) were used to assess the geometric and metric characteristics of buildings, and to stress regularities and variation in the long term. The results of these analyses suggest the application of specific techniques in layout and construction works: the intersection of circles during the Hafit occupations, and more sophisticated techniques, combining the properties of circles and triangles, during the Umm an-Nar period.The diachronic approach allowed by the temporal span of the occupations highlights a firm progression of architectural paradigms and building crafts throughout the EBA. The evidence hints at the existence of specialized work force since the dawn of the Bronze Age, and reveals a sharp increase of technicity and standardization towards the end of the 3rd millennium.Horizon 2020(H2020)Archaeology of the Near Eas