Development of a Zoo Walk Navigation System using the Positional Measurement Technology and the Wireless Communication Technology

In this article, we propose and evaluate a Zoo Walk Navigation System consistings of the Animal Contents Registering and Editing Web Management System and the Animal Contents Browsing and Acquiring Smartphone Application. The Animal Contents Registering and Editing Web Management System for zoo staff enables to register/edit various animal contents. Thereby, this web management system provides real-time and flesh zoo information to the Animal Contents Browsing and Acquiring Smartphone Application. On the other hand, the Animal Contents Browsing and Acquiring Smartphone Application for zoo visitors enables to browse various animal contents which zoo staff registered through the Animal Contents Registering and Editing Web Management System. The Animal Contents Browsing and Acquiring Smartphone Application has the animal guide browsing function, the animal quiz function, the beacon notification browsing function, the zoo map navigating function, and the AR camera function. Zoo visitors can enjoy a zoo park using this smartphone application. This system is the new type navigation system which zoo staff can renew contents to avoid contents obsolescence. And, this system always provides new information to zoo visitors in real time by the beacon notification function

Socio-Informatics

Contents Editorial Thematic Focus: Socio-Informatics Introduction to the Thematic Focus “Socio-Informatics” / Claudia Müller Digitalisation in Small German Metal-Working Companies. Appropriation of Technology in a “Traditional” Industrial Domain / Bernhard Nett, Jennifer Bönsch Travelling by Taxi Brousse in Madagascar: An Investigation into Practices of Overland Transportation / Volker Wulf, Kaoru Misaki, Dave Randall, and Markus Rohde Mobile and Interactive Media in the Store? Design Case Study on Bluetooth Beacon Concepts for Food Retail / Christian Reuter, Inken Leopold Facebook and the Mass Media in Tunisia / Konstantin Aal, Marén Schorch, Esma Ben Hadj Elkilani, Volker Wulf Book Review Symposium Charles Goodwin Charles Goodwin’s Co-Operative Action: The Idea and the Argument / Erhard Schüttpelz, Christian Meyer Multi-Modal Interaction and Tool-Making: Goodwin’s Intuition / Christian Meyer, Erhard Schüttpelz Co-Operation is a Feature of Sociality, not an Attribute of People : “We inhabit each other’s actions.” (Goodwin, cover) / Jutta Wiesemann, Klaus Amann The Making of the World in Co-Operative Action. From Sentence Construction to Cultural Evolution / Jürgen Streeck On Goodwin and his Co-Operative Action / Jörg R. Bergman

Travelling by taxi brousse in Madagascar

Organising public mobility is a global challenge. However, most studies directed at ICT support approach the subject from the perspective of developed countries. In contrast, we conducted a modest and initial attempt to study practices of public transportation in Madagascar – one of the poorest countries in Africa. We found that central assumptions, usually unquestioned in prevailing studies, were challenged in the context of this developing country. We present an empirical study which analyses how collective taxis, locally called Taxi Brousses, are used in overland travel. The study reveals complex socio-political conditions which passengers face in this country. Security as well as corruption issues shape these transportation practices. Based on our findings, we indicate opportunities for supporting intra-organisational cooperation and the customers’ interaction with ICT artefacts

Demonstration of a Novel Charge-Free Reverse Wormlike Micelle System

We demonstrate a novel charge-free reverse wormlike micelle (RWLM) consisting of a ternary mixture of a nonionic amphiphilic block copolymer, fatty acid alkyl ester oil, and water under ambient conditions. Nonionic amphiphile tetra-[poly­(oxyethylene)-poly­(oxybutylene)]­pentaerythrityl ether (TEBPE) self-assembled into spheroid-type micelles in nonaqueous media isopropyl myristate (IPM) with viscosity comparable to that of IPM. The addition of water increases viscosity only slightly up to a certain concentration of water and then drastically, demonstrating the sphere-to-wormlike micelle transition as confirmed by small-angle X-ray scattering. Further increase in water decreases the viscosity after attaining a maximum value. The zero shear viscosity (η₀) of the 10 wt % TEBPE/IPM system reached the maximum at 2.6 wt % water and ca. 56 Pa·s, which is ∼fivefold higher than that of water. Dynamic rheological measurements on the highly viscous solutions confirmed the viscoelastic behavior and could be described by the Maxwell model. Conductivity, measured in the presence of a conductive probe, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, was found to be higher for viscous samples compared to the nonviscous samples, suggesting the static percolation caused by the RWLM formation. Decrease in η₀ and conductivity beyond a maximum suggests the shortening of reverse micelles. A similar behavior has been observed in other fatty acid alkyl ester oils of different alkyl chain lengths. Note that most of the RWLM systems previously reported are based on phosphatidylcholine (PC). Formulation and structure–properties related to non-PC-based RWLMs have been rarely explored. Non-PC-based RWLMs using chemically stable and low-cost synthetic molecules can be applied not only in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics but also in a wide range of applications including drag reduction agents for nonaqueous fluids and as a template for nanomaterial synthesis