https://hdl.handle.net/2123/6338 Sun, 07 Jun 2026 09:02:27 GMT 2026-06-07T09:02:27Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/35394 Ofcom Call for Evidence on age assurance for children’s access to online content and app stores Carter, Marcus; Zhangshao, Tianyi; Egliston, Ben This submission focuses on the role of app stores in implementing and enforcing age-related regulations, with particular attention to gambling-like content and simulated gambling, classified as “non-designated content” for minors. Although our research is grounded in Australia, the findings are relevant to the UK context, as the same games and platforms are widely available. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/35394 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/35033 Misleading and Deceptive Monetisation in Roblox: Evidence of False Pricing, Manipulative Design, and Consumer Harm in a Children’s Digital Platform Carter, Marcus; Vekhande, Sanika; Fifita, Alisa-Jean Roblox is one of the world’s largest digital platforms for children, generating most of its revenue through microtransactions purchased with the virtual currency Robux. This report examines how monetisation is designed and experienced in popular Roblox games, focusing on misleading, deceptive, and manipulative practices that may cause consumer harm. Based on qualitative gameplay analysis of 15 top‑earning Roblox games conducted between October 2025 and February 2026, the study documents fourteen misleading, deceptive or unfair monetisation practices. The report argues that these practices raise serious consumer protection concerns, particularly given Roblox’s predominantly child user base and the platform’s active role in shaping and profiting from these monetisation systems. Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/35033 2026-03-25T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34817 The Australian School Travel Survey 2025 Kent, Jennifer; Hossein-Rashidi, Laya; Moylan, Emily; Delbosc, Alexa; Gilbert, Hulya This report presents the results of the Australian School Travel Survey 2025, a national survey of 4968 families containing data on school and extra-curricular travel for 7880 children in Australia. The report first presents attribute data on families and progresses to analyse children’s school travel behaviour, covering some of the common determinants of mode share such as distance and school sector. In a particularly novel contribution, the report then details children’s participation in out of school activities such as organised sport, tutoring and dance lessons, including mode of access to these activities. The report concludes with some possible avenues for future analyses. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34817 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34541 The Future End of Design Work: A Critical Overview of Managerialism, Generative AI, and the Nature of Knowledge Work, and Why Craft Remains Relevant Hernández-Ramírez, Rodrigo; Batalheiro Ferreira, João This article examines the transformation of design work under the influence of managerialism and the rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI). Drawing on John Maynard Keynes's projections of technological unemployment and the evolving nature of work, it argues that despite advancements in automation, work has not diminished but rather devalued. Design, understood as a type of knowledge work, faces an apparent existential crisis. GenAI grows adept at mimicking the output of creative processes. The article explores how the fear of the end of design work fueled by the rise of GenAI is rooted in a misunderstanding of design work. This misunderstanding is driven by managerialism— an ideology that prioritizes efficiency and quantifiable outcomes over the intrinsic value of work. Managerialism seeks to instrumentalize and automate design, turning it into a controllable procedure to generate quantifiable creative outputs. The article argues why design work cannot be turned into a procedure and automated using GenAI. Advocates of these systems claim they enhance productivity and open new opportunities. However, evidence so far shows that flawed GenAI models produce disappointing outcomes while operating at a significant environmental cost. The article concludes by arguing for a robust theory of design—one that acknowledges the unique ontological and epistemic boundaries of design work and underscores why design cannot be reduced to a procedural output. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34541 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34531 Neodesign: The Loss of Craft, Imagination and a Playful Attitude Hernández-Ramírez, Rodrigo; Meron, Yaron Since around the turn of the millennium, a “New Design” ethos gradually emerged. It is a reformulation of design entrenched enough to warrant a term of its own: Neodesign. Repackaged as a procedural, risk-averse, sandboxed version of the design process, aimed especially at non-designers, Neodesign has nevertheless come to be seen as the measure against which design practice is measured outside of design practice. In this paper, we argue that craft, imagination, and playfulness are crucial aspects of what makes design design and, arguably, one of the reasons why the discipline has been well-received in business circles. We further explore the paradox that, in dispensing with these components of design practice, the sandboxed version of design is threatening the pedagogical practices that make design unique and which inspired business organisations to adopt them in the first place. We take stock of the last three decades and discuss, sometimes polemically, what has been lost and added by this new design ethos and how the loss of craft, imagination and a playful attitude are affecting design education, as well as industry practice. Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34531 2025-11-21T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34228 "Where in the world is 'Western Sydney'?" How identities and boundaries can shape urban inequality and segregation: an empirical experiment Vo, Jodie In Greater Sydney, Australia’s largest urban region, ‘Western Sydney’ as a spatial imaginary is shorthand for the ‘other’ part of the city – its working class, multicultural and multilingual populations, industrial-based economies, and high levels of socio-economic disadvantage - but where exactly is it? This project investigates relationships between boundaries, urban inequality and segregation in the spatial imaginary of’ Western Sydney’ and its various boundaries to examine the extent they shape or reflect spatial inequalities in cities, what differences between boundaries formed by institutions and residents mean, and how conflicts between boundaries are reflected in questions of regional identity. Fri, 15 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/34228 2025-08-15T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/33930 Media Architecture Compendium Volume 2: Concepts, Methods, Practice Fredericks, Joel; Caldwell, Glenda; Tomitsch, Martin; Haeusler, M. Hank; Colangelo, Dave; de Waal, Martijn; Fatah gen. Schieck, Ava; Foth, Marcus; Hespanhol, Luke; Hoggenmueller, Marius; Tscherteu, Gernot Media architecture has evolved from illuminating iconic building façades at night to characterising all life in cities. This compendium draws on academic research and global studies to present an evolutionary account of concepts that have defined the field and inspired practice, alongside methods for bringing media architecture thinking into projects. Thirty media architecture installations that were nominated for the Media Architecture Awards in 2018 and 2020 illustrate the breadth and trends in the field, including a shift towards more-than-human futures. Through its three parts, capturing concepts, methods and practice, the compendium offers an accessible guide to media architecture for designers, architects, artists, scholars, educators and learners. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/33930 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/33157 Looking at things strangely: Defamiliarisation as a design approach for media literacy education Meron, Yaron Design methods have long been proposed as educational devices and, increasingly, as approaches for engaging with societal issues. While media, cultural and political narratives continue to debate best practices for challenging disinformation, with some countries embedding media literacy within formal education, this article speculates on how design approaches might be repurposed for media literacy education. Drawing on theories of defamiliarisation from creative practice and design research, the article postulates graphic design’s intrinsic communicative nature as a potential approach for engaging with media literacy. By interweaving diverse academic discussions, alongside case studies, the article scrutinizes defamiliarisation’s efficacy, alongside graphic design, as a research and pedagogical tool, foregrounding innovative design strategies that may be responsive to contemporary media literacy challenges. In doing so, the article speculates how such practices might be combined, leveraged, and repurposed as educational tools for media literacy, as well as for future interdisciplinary discussions and social design research. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/33157 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/33120 Disability in the Metaverse Carter, Marcus; Egliston, Ben; Clark, Kate; Goggin, Gerard; Zhuang, Victor; Ellis, Katie; Hawkins, Wayne; Tan, Wenqi This research investigates the accessibility challenges and opportunities for people with disabilities in Virtual Reality (VR) environments. Conducted from June 2023 to June 2024, the study involved 102 survey respondents and 21 in-depth interviews with VR users with disabilities, alongside 20 VR industry experts. Key findings highlight the ways current VR systems are designed around normative assumptions about bodies, often excluding those with physical, visual, neurological, and cognitive impairments. The research also notes the underrepresentation of complex care needs in existing accessibility research and the limited efforts to incorporate assistive devices in VR design. The report suggests that a more inclusive approach to VR development—one that integrates feedback from disabled users during the design process—would benefit not only disabled but also non-disabled users. The study concludes with six key recommendations for improving VR accessibility, including fostering direct communication with disabled users, providing flexible interaction options, and ensuring that VR hardware and software are designed with a wide spectrum of disabilities in mind. Mon, 30 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/33120 2024-09-30T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32789 Restorative experience in semi-outdoor spaces: from thermal pleasure to psychological well-being Lyu, Kun; de Dear, Richard; Brambilla, Arianna; Globa, Anastasia Biophilic design holds great potentials for improving built environment occupants’ psychological wellbeing through its restorative benefits. However, several limitations exist in current biophilic design research and practice, including the lack of considerations for the thermal experience and cultural aspects. This study aims to explore potential links between occupant thermal experience, their cultural backgrounds and psychological restorative benefits from exposure to biophilic inspired semi-outdoor spaces. A multisensory Virtual Reality experiment was conducted to examine the restorative responses to semi-outdoor environments. Findings highlight the relevance and importance of thermal delight for biophilic design in architecture to support occupant psychological well-being. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32789 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32589 Beyond homeliness: A photo-elicitation study of the ‘homely’ design paradigm in care settings Richards, Kieran; McLaughlan, Rebecca This paper examines perceptions of homeliness in palliative care environments through a photo-elicitation study involving 89 palliative care staff. The study finds that what is perceived as homely tends to exhibit a mutually exclusive relationship with a clinical antithesis. It also finds that antonymous or antithetical understandings of homeliness are as common as those based on actual attributes of homeliness. It is argued that a more nuanced understanding of the spatial and material constituents of homeliness is needed to make it a more realistic objective within the design and procurement of healthcare environments. It is also argued that the inverse relationship of homely and clinical environmental qualities could be translated into a design approach that aims to negotiate rather than negate their apparent mutual incompatibility. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32589 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32549 Unburdening expectation and operating between: Architecture in support of palliative care McLaughlan, Rebecca; George, Beth The role of design and materials in the enactment and experience of healthcare has gained increasing attention across the fields of evidence-based design, architecture, anthropology, sociology, and cultural geography. Evidence-based design, specifically, seeks to understand the ways in which the built environment can support the healing process. In the context of palliative care, however, the very measure of healing differs vastly. Physicians Mount and Kearney suggest that “it is possible to die healed,” and that such healing can be facilitated through the provision of “a secure environment grounded in a sense of connectedness” (2003: 657). Acknowledging this critical difference raises important questions around the various ways through which the built environment might support healing, but also about the potential of architecture to impart care. This paper reports on fifteen interviews with architects, experienced in the design of palliative care settings, from the UK, US, and Australia, to provide a deeper understanding of the questions being asked within the briefing processes for these facilities, the intentions embedded in the ways that architects respond, and the kinds of compromises deemed allowable (by various stakeholders) within the procurement process. Our findings suggest that palliative care architects often respond to two briefs, one explicit and the other unspoken. Design responses in relation to the first include: formally expressing a differentiation in the philosophy of care (signalling difference), attention to quality, extending comfort and providing “moments.” The second relates to the unburdening of palliative care facilities from their associative baggage and responding to the tension between the physical and imaginative inhabitation of space. In revealing the presence of this hidden brief, and the relationship between the two, this paper invites a broader discussion regarding the capacity of architecture to support palliative care patients, their families, and staff. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32549 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32548 Blurring disciplinary boundaries in the design studio: Bringing architecture, business, and arts students together to prototype new solutions for palliative care McLaughlan, Rebecca; Lodge, Jason, M. As complex global problems increasingly require the knowledge and skills of a broad array of disciplines, existing pedagogical approaches need to shift to support graduates to develop the skills necessary for innovation. This article reports on an experimental design studio that asked students from the disciplines of architecture, business and arts to work collaboratively to propose innovative solutions to complex real-world problems. While bringing other disciplines into the design studio is not new, in previously reported examples students were provided well defined parameters for assessment tasks, alongside clear expectations for how disciplines should work together. The studio reported here provided students with the agency to define their own artefacts in response to the problems facing palliative care, and to decide how they would work together in the process of that production. Within this context, students were forced to examine their own disciplinary limitations and to find strategies for working beyond those, and in doing so, move beyond the recognized limitations of inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches to problem solving. To understand the value of this learning experience, extensive data were gathered from students in addition to educator observations. This article provides advice for design educators wanting to augment the studio learning environment through transdisciplinary collaboration, as well as those beyond the design disciplines who may be interested in utilizing this learning approach. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32548 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32482 Simon Weir - The Sydney Surrealist Weir, Simon Exhibition catalogue of "Simon Weir - The Sydney Surrealist", Exhibition at Disorder Gallery, Darlinghurst NSW, Australia, in April 2024. The catalogue contains images of exhibited works and statements by the artist Simon Weir, the gallery Director Elliott Cole, and author and journalist Margie Smithurst. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32482 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32440 Design thinking: Standing on the shoulders of … graphic design! Harland, Robert G; Meron, Yaron Prominent design discourse or advocacy in the domain of “design thinking” rarely depicts graphic design consistently, or with sufficient rigour and depth of understanding about the field’s role in the development of design studies. Nor do most advocates for graphic design proffer it to be little more than a vernacular activity when competing for academic attention, despite its widespread academic presence, industry prominence, and everyday practice. The arguments presented in this paper offer a timely critical perspective on a frequently unchallenged prevailing discourse that has echoed consistent assumptions over several decades. The authors call for more integrity in respect for those who design in different communication contexts, more precision in discussing the way graphic design has evolved and been portrayed, and more rigour in the thoroughness and care that research into graphic design and its associated fields now demands as the subject is taught in Universities around the world. The outcomes will be of particular interest to researchers who draw on and re-present Buchanan’s four orders of design concept and offer an alternative perspective to those who suggest graphic design relies overly on intuition when deliberating on design thinking. Tue, 09 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32440 2024-04-09T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32321 ‘What a funny looking video’: Using allegorical representations of technological change to reflect on future digital communication and design challenges Meron, Yaron This paper presents a reflective examination of challenges to design and communication from the current digital revolution, using the prism of a 1980s television advertisement for the Yellow Pages. Originating at the same time as the height of the desktop publishing revolution, the advert illuminates a transitional period in the evolution of digital technology and media communications, marked by changing user practices and experiences. The advert’s storyline follows a young man’s quest to convert an old cine film (of his father) to videotape for his mother’s birthday, in the process showcasing the impending shift from analogue to digital technologies and encapsulating the multifaceted implications and transitional challenges of the period. The hybrid setting of technologies, alongside the tensions, confusion and ambiguities of different stakeholders metaphorically symbolises and can be contrasted alongside, the challenges impacting the design, media and communications industry of the period and can inform reflection on contemporary challenges. Engaging with the narrative, the Yellow Pages advert is used as a creative device which functions as a cultural, historical, narrative lens with which to contrast against contemporary (and future) transitional challenges within the digital revolution. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/32321 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31941 Artificial intelligence in design education: evaluating ChatGPT as a virtual colleague for post-graduate course development Meron, Yaron; Tekmen Araci, Yasemin This article explores the ability of ChatGPT to function as a virtual colleague in helping to design materials for higher education design students. Using a self-study methodology, two university educators attempted to collaborate with ChatGPT to create course materials targeted at higher education design students, before reflecting on its strengths and weak- nesses during the process. Contextualising ChatGPT as the latest acute example of digital disruptors that design practices and processes have faced, the authors evaluated its current and potential threats and opportunities for the creation of design-focused learning content. The authors found that ChatGPT was a competent partner with regard to saving time, structuring textual content and documentation, and as a brainstorming tool. However, ChatGPT’s weaknesses included content generation that was often generic, usually requir- ing much human prompting, cajoling, and manual editing to produce desirable outcomes. Overall, ChatGPT was found to excel at its stated functionality as a language model, with some potentially useful functionality for the creation of higher education design course materials and outlines, as well as limitations. The reflections discussed can be used to inform design educators who may want to work with ChatGPT when designing course materials. However, acknowledging limitations and potential ethical challenges, the authors’ caution that educators may have to evaluate for themselves whether ChatGPT’s potential advantages outweigh its disadvantages. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31941 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31939 Designing for palliative care: Three ideas toward an architecture of generosity McLaughlan, Rebecca; Richards, Kieran; Kirby, Emma; George, Beth; Lipson-Smith, Ruby; Collins, Anna; Philip, Jennifer Palliative care has a distinct philosophy that is not always reflected in the architecture created for it. From a study conducted to better understand the relationship of the built environment to patient and family experiences of palliative care, this article discusses the benefits of access to nature, the provision of semi-private spaces beyond the patient room, and environments that support the rituals of home. Research methods included semi-structured interviews, an online survey, and an architectural precedent study. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31939 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31906 Designing the physical environment for inpatient palliative care: a narrative review Wong, Kevin; McLaughlan, Rebecca; Collins, Anna; Philip, Jennifer Background: It is essential that the physical environments in which inpatient palliative care is provided support the needs of patients and the facilitate the multidimensional delivery of palliative care. This review aims to identify the features and characteristics of inpatient palliative care environments that enhance or detract from the patient experience; and identify opportunities for progress within this field. Method: Three databases were searched: MEDLINE (1946–2020), PsycINFO (1806–2020) and CINAHL (1937–2020). Articles were screened by title and abstract with included studies read in full for data extraction. Data synthesis involved thematic analysis informed by the findings of the included literature. Inclusion criteria were studies with empirical methodology examining adult palliative care in the hospital, hospice or nursing home environment. Studies that examined palliative care delivered within the emergency department, ICU or within the home were excluded, as were those related to paediatric palliative care. Results: Four main themes were identified: the provision of privacy, facilitating interactions with family, facilitating comfort through homeliness and connections to nature. Conclusions: The board acceptance of single rooms as the preeminent design solution for supporting privacy, dignity and family interaction, alongside current conceptions of homeliness that typically focus on matters of interior design, are limiting possibilities for further design innovation within palliative care settings. Research that investigates a broader set of design strategies through which the built environment can support care, alongside enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration, could positively contribute to patient and family experiences of inpatient palliative care. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31906 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31904 Designing Palliative Care Facilities to Better Support Patient and Family Care: A Staff Perspective McLaughlan, Rebecca; Richards, Kieran; Lipson-Smith, Ruby; Collins, Anna; Philip, Jennifer Objective: To contribute staff perspectives on the design of palliative care facilities to better align with the philosophy of palliative care, in support of patient, family, and staff well-being. Background: The receipt of palliative care differs from other inpatient experiences owing to its distinct philosophy of care, longer lengths of stay, a greater presence of family members, and more frequent end-of-life events. While research regarding the optimal design of palliative care environments recognizes these differences, this knowledge has been slow to exert change on the guidelines and procurement processes that determine the design solutions possible within these settings. Sustained research attention is required. Methods: An online survey, comprising a series of open-ended questions, elicited the perceptions of palliative care staff regarding the relationship between the physical environment and the distinct philosophy of palliative care. Results: Responses from 89 Australian-based palliative care professionals confirmed the high value that staff place on environments that offer privacy, homeliness, safety, and access to gardens to assist the delivery of optimum care. Conclusions: Our findings illustrate that the implications of privacy and homeliness extend far beyond the patient room and that homeliness is about more than an aesthetic of comfort. This highlights a broader capacity for design to better support the philosophy of palliative care. Importantly, the data reveal a key relationship between staff well-being and the environments in which they work; environments that are unable to match the quality of care that staff aspire to deliver can engender frustration and distress. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31904 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31903 Mapping Healthcare Spaces: A Systematic Scoping Review of Spatial and Behavioral Observation Methods Lipson-Smith, Ruby; McLaughlan, Rebecca Objective: To provide a taxonomy of spatial observation methods that are commonly used in healthcare environments research and to describe their relative success. Background: Spatial observation is a valuable but resource intensive research method that is often used in healthcare environments research, but which frequently fails to deliver conclusive results. There is no existing catalog of the different spatial and behavioral observation methods that are used in healthcare design research and their benefits or limitations. Methods: The review adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Ten key databases were searched, and articles were screened by both authors. Results: Across 67 included studies, 79 observation methods were reported. We categorized those into four, distinct methodological approaches, outlining the benefits, limitations, and suitability of each for obtaining different types of results. Common limitations included difficulty generalizing to other contexts and a lack of detailed description during data collection which led to key environment variables not being recorded. More concrete conclusions were drawn when observation methods were combined with complimentary methods such as interview. Conclusions: The relative success of spatial observation studies is dependent on the fit of the method selected relative to the research question, approach, and healthcare setting; any complimentary methods delivered alongside it; and the analysis model employed. This article provides researchers with practical advice to guide the appropriate selection of spatial observation methods. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31903 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31421 Interior Media Architecture: Using social media as a tool for Data Informed Design Solutions Huang, Tracy; Fredericks, Joel; Maalsen, Sophia The practice of media architecture has evolved as new technologies and media are changing the relationship between the built environment and the inhabitants. Despite the wide range of topics covered within the media architecture discourse, there has been no investigation to date into ‘interior media architecture’. Interiors form a fundamental part of our urban fabric, from our museums, and libraries, to the cafes, restaurants, and shopping malls we inhabit daily. In an urban setting, our everyday experiences and social practices either occur in or transgress an interior environment, whether you’re meeting a friend for a coffee or commuting to work, it is hard to imagine our everyday lives without some sort of interaction with our urban interiors. In these spaces, media has always existed, playing a critical role in the enhancement of usability, experience, or functionality, such as providing wayfinding through interactive displays. Concurrently the interior has always been a conduit of communication, an object and a subject of media representations and culture creation. However, with the development of web 2.0, new media and increasing usage of mobile technology, the way we interact with, and consume urban interiors have changed. This transformation has been largely enabled by mobile technology and social media. Through social media, the interior as a material object is hybridised, creating new ways of experiencing, perceiving, and engaging that have resulted in emerging typologies and changing interior architectural practice. This digital transformation triggers a need to examine how our urban interiors are designed within new media constructs. This paper examines the relationship between urban interiors and social media, providing a critical discussion on how social media is transforming both the interior and the practice of interior architecture. Through a series of examples, we illustrate how interior architects can critically engage with social media within their practice and principle. We propose an interior media architecture approach to grapple with these emerging interiors and design practices. We contribute to the media architecture discourse by encompassing and considering the urban interior as a unique typological construct and interior media architecture as a line of inquiry. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31421 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31105 Auditory distraction in open-plan office environments: The effect of multi-talker acoustics Yadav, Manuj Within the soundscapes of open-plan offices, irrelevant speech has consistently been reported as the most distracting, and causing performance decrements for workers. Notwithstanding this generalization, the ‘babble’ created by multiple simultaneously active talkers can sometimes provide beneficial sound masking, but due to spatial release from masking (SRM), speech may still be sufficiently intelligible up to a certain number of talkers (estimated to be about four). This was explored within a highly-realistic office simulation, where the cognitive performance, and subjective distraction of participants were tested. The experimental design was a 4 ! 2 factorial (4 talker numbers, 2 levels of broadband sound masking, as the factors). The results indicated that within lower sound pressure level (SPL) of broadband sound masking, multi-talker sound environments degraded cognitive tasks performance more than those with a single talker, suggesting SRM effects. For higher SPL broadband sound masking, the cognitive test scores were similar within the different talker numbers. The subjective distraction increased monotonically with the number of talkers, with higher distraction within lower SPL broadband sound masking. Overall, the results call into question the single talker assumption (being the most distracting) within the international standard for measuring open-plan office acoustic environments (ISO 3382-3:2012). Soundscapes with 4 simultaneous talkers were still not adequately providing beneficial ‘babble’ masking, and were more distracting than 1 active talker. In conclusion, it is suggested that the acoustics environment of open-plan offices needs better characterization by incorporating some of the complexity and psychoacoustics of multi-talker scenarios. Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/31105 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/29653 Innovating urban governance: a research agenda McGuirk, Pauline; Baker, Tom; Sisson, Alistair; Dowling, Robyn; Maalsen, Sophia Urban governance innovation is being framed as an imperative to address complex urban and global challenges, triggering the adoption of novel institutional forms, approaches and techniques. Urban political geographers are still some way off fully apprehending the dynamics of these innovations and their potential to reconfigure the composition and politics of urban governance. This paper suggests dialogue between urban political geography and public sector innovation literatures as a productive way forward. We build from this engagement to suggest a critical research agenda to drive systematic analysis of innovatory urban governance, its heterogeneous formation, politics and possibilities. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/29653 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/29075 An Open-Ended Blended Approach to Teaching Interaction Designers to Code Grace, Kazjon; Klaassens, Brittany; Bray, Liam; Elton-Pym, Alex This article reports on a three and a half year design-led project investigating the use of open-ended learning to teach programming to students of interaction design. Our hypothesis is that a more open-ended approach to teaching programming, characterized by both creativity and self-reflection, would improve learning outcomes among our cohort of aspiring HCI practitioners. The objective of our design-led action research was to determine how to effectively embed open-endedness, student-led teaching, and self-reflection into an online programming class. Each of these notions has been studied separately before, but there is a dearth of published work into their actual design and implementation in practice. In service of that objective we present our contribution in two parts: a qualitatively-derived understanding of student attitudes toward open-ended blended learning, as well as a matching set of design principles for future open-ended HCI education. The project was motivated by a search for better educational outcomes, both in terms of student coding self-efficacy and quantitative metrics of cohort performance (e.g., failure rates). The first year programming course within our interaction design-focussed Bachelors program has had the highest failure rate of any core unit for over a decade. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic confounded any year-to-year quantitative comparison of the learning efficacy of our successive prototypes. There is simply no way to fairly compare the experiences of pre-pandemic and pandemic-affected student cohorts. However, the experience of teaching this material in face-to-face, fully online, and hybrid modalities throughout the pandemic has aided our qualitative exploration of why open-ended learning helps some students but seems to harm others. Through three sets of student interviews, platform data, and insights gained from both the instructional and platform design process, we show that open-ended learning can empower students, but can also exacerbate fears and anxieties around inadequacy and failure. Through seven semesters of iterating on our designs, interviewing students and reflecting on our interventions, we've developed a set of classroom-validated design principles for teaching programming to HCI students without strong computational backgrounds. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/29075 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/28218 ‘We’re the cheap smart home’: the actually existing smart home as rented and shared Maalsen, Sophia The definition and materialization of smart homes has changed over time in accordance with technological advancements and changing housing trajectories. Despite this, to date little research has problematized what different household types and tenure mean for the smart home. As housing markets become more diverse and technology becomes increasingly embedded in the everyday, critical attention needs to be paid to ways in which technologies are being used to mediate households beyond the owner-occupied, nuclear family home. Thinking critically about this is necessary in order to better understand the benefits and pernicious effects of technology on people who have different needs for technology within the home due to different tenures and different materializations of housing and home. This article situates the rented and shared house as the ‘actually existing’ smart home. It shows that those sharing housing use smart technologies performatively, subversively and as an infrastructure of care across all stages of the share housing cycle – from finding a place to live, to managing the household and maintaining relationships. In doing so the shared smart home offers an alternative smart home reflecting a household diversity that smart home discourse has, to date, largely been blind to. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/28218 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/27570 Sound Reflections in Indian Stepwells: Modelling Acoustically Retroreflective Architecture Cabrera, Densil; Lu, Shuai; Holmes, Jonothan; Yadav, Manuj Retroreflection is rarely used as a surface treatment in architectural acoustics but is found incidentally with building surfaces that have many simultaneously visible concave right-angle trihedral corners. Such surfaces concentrate reflected sound onto the sound source, mostly at high frequencies. This study investigated the potential for some Indian stepwells (stepped ponds, known as a kund or baori/baoli in Hindi) to provide exceptionally acoustically retroreflective semi-enclosed environments because of the unusually large number of corners formed by the steps. Two cases—Panna Meena ka Kund and Lahan Vav—were investigated using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) acoustic simulation. The results are consistent with retroreflection, showing reflected energy concentrating on the source position mostly in the high-frequency bands (4 kHz and 2 kHz octave bands). However, the larger stepped pond has substantially less retroreflection, even though it has many more corners, because of the greater diffraction loss over the longer distances. Retroreflection is still evident (but reduced) with non-right-angle trihedral corners (80°–100°). The overall results are sufficiently strong to indicate that acoustic retroreflection should be audible to an attuned visitor in benign environmental conditions, at least at moderately sized stepped ponds that are in good geometric condition. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/27570 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/27509 Acoustic modelling and simulation of Indian stepwells: Panna Meena ka Kund and Lahan Vav Cabrera, Densil; Lu, Shuai; Holmes, Jonothan; Yadav, Manuj This dataset consists of the architectural models, simulations and associated analyses used for a study of acoustic retroreflection in Indian stepwells. The concept is that the concave trihedra formed by a large number of steps form an array of retroreflectors, which concentrate reflected energy onto the source position. Simulations were performed using the finite-difference time-domain method. Most of the simulations are of two stepwells, Panna Meena ka Kund and Lahan Vav. Data is mostly using MATLAB file formats. Thu, 24 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/27509 2022-02-24T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/26565 Innovation During a Pandemic: Developing a Guideline for Infection Prevention and Control to Support Education Through Virtual Reality Moore, Nathan; Dempsey, Kathy; Hockey, Peter; Jain, Susan; Poronnik, Philip; Shaban, Ramon Z.; Ahmadpour, Naseem Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/26565 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/26560 The global pandemic is accelerating housing crises Rogers, Dallas; Power, Emma R. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/26560 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/26117 ‘Trapped’, ‘anxious’ and ‘traumatised’: COVID-19 intensified the impact of housing inequality on Australians’ mental health Bower, Marlee; Buckle, Caitlin; Rugel, Emily; Donohoe-Bales, Amarina; McGrath, Laura; Gournay, Kevin; Barrett, Emma; Phibbs, Peter; Teesson, Maree Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/26117 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/25733 Challenging the discourse around the impacts of airbnb through suburbs not cities: Lessons from australia and covid-19 Buckle, C.; Phibbs, P. Supporters of short-term rental (STR) platforms state that STRs represent a small fraction of the housing market of major cities and therefore have little impact on rents. However, there is emerging evidence that suggests that STRs have highly localised impacts. In this article, we use the natural experiment of the pause in tourism caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to highlight the impact of a decrease in STR listings on rental markets in the case study city of Hobart, Australia. We find that rental affordability has improved in Hobart's STR-dense suburbs with the increased vacancies from the underutilised STR properties. These results provide evidence of the impact of STRs on local housing markets when analysed on a finer scale than the whole-of-city approach. The focus on local housing markets helps local communities and city governments build an argument for the impact of STRs on tight housing markets. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/25733 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/25648 Speculating on Biodesign in the Future Home Gough, Phillip; Forman, Jack; Pataranutaporn, Pat; Hepburn, Leigh-Anne; Ramirez-Figueroa, Carolina; Cooper, Clare; Vujic, Angela; Kong, David Sun; Kim, Raphael; Maes, Pattie; Ishii, Hiroshi; Sra, Misha; Ahmadpour, Naseem The home is a place of shelter, a place for family, and for separation from other parts of life, such as work. Global challenges, the most pressing of which are currently the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change has forced extra roles into many homes and will continue to do so in the future. Biodesign integrates living organisms into designed solutions and can offer opportunities for new kinds of technologies to facilitate a transition to the home of the future. Many families have had to learn to work alongside each other, and technology has mediated a transition from standard models of operation for industries. These are the challenges of the 21st century that mandate careful thinking around interactive systems and innovations that support new ways of living and working at home. In this workshop, we will explore opportunities for biodesign interactive systems in the future home. We will bring together a broad group of researchers in HCI, design, and biosciences to build the biodesign community and discuss speculative design futures. The outcome will generate an understanding of the role of interactive biodesign systems at home, as a place with extended functionalities. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/25648 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/25641 Geographies of Digital Storytelling: Care and Harm in a Pandemic McLean, Jessica; Maalsen, Sophia Around the world, digital geographies have been renegotiated in the COVID-19 pandemic, from increased surveillance with digital devices to facilitation of new spatial boundaries for work and recreation. Digital storytelling has emerged as a ubiquitous way to communicate care, and sometimes enact harm, at multiple scales during COVID-19. Digital technologies are allowing people to share narratives and experiences that capture how they adapt, recover, and resist the damaging aspects of health and economic crises via digital technologies. We focus on care to appreciate the diverse ways that humans and more-than-humans are coproducing digital geographies while facilitating narratives that maintain and repair our worlds so we can live as well as possible. But harm is also facilitated by digital storytelling and considering how the same technologies facilitate opposite processes makes for challenging digital spaces and analysis. A digital geographic approach helps to read the effects of these changes as it uses an integrated lens on spatial and justice issues. As the boundaries between public and private places have blurred with spatial and physical distancing, digital devices are mediating, enabling, and constraining forms of care and harm with a new intensity. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/25641 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/24844 Research during the COVID-19 pandemic: ethics, gender and precarious work Buckle, Caitlin In this essay, I reflect on my experiences of undertaking housing research during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has had vast global impacts beyond the massive loss of life; disrupting economies, environments and social systems and creating a global housing crisis. Due to these extreme circumstances, conducting research at this time can have unforeseen challenges. I discuss these challenges, and their impacts (1) on research participants and (2) on researchers, as well as (3) on the quality of research outputs that can be produced. These challenges are situated within narratives of my own personal experiences as an early-career researcher and mother, conducting housing research on COVID-related topics. I offer advice on whether research should be conducted under the difficult circumstances created by the pandemic, and future priorities for the housing research community. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/24844 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/24772 The Hack: what is it and why it matters to urban studies Maalsen, Sophia This commentary advances the ‘hack’ as an urban concept. While the hack transcends existing literatures on the digital and informality, the hack is a distinctive concept and is being used systematically in new domains. I situate the hack conceptually, outline its empirical and methodological value, and propose a framework to research the urban hack. Importantly it is not just the technologies of hacking but the translation of computational logics to the urban, that underpin the importance of the hack, and the critical need to set out a research agenda surrounding the hack within urban studies. Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/24772 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23617 Climatic Design and Its Others Ferng, Jennifer; Chang, Jiat-Hwee; L’Heureux, Erik; Ryan, Daniel J. Drawing on cases from the tropical and subtropical worlds (in Australia and Southeast Asia), we employ southern architectural examples to interrogate normative assumptions around climatic design. As the foundation for a new history of climatic design, this article seeks not only to challenge northern, temperate views of climate in the age of the Anthropocene but also to emphasize tropical zones as a significant paradigm for architects to consider. Our three case studies (i.e., early climographs, the Singapore building code, and the Malay house) delve into some of the Others of climatic design in the southern hemisphere, reassessing the legacy of Asian vernacular architecture. Together, these examples offer new interpretations on race and labor, passive cooling, building codes, and visual models used by architects to represent tropical climates. These case studies reveal that southern climatic models are not simply neutral representations and remain deeply entangled with biased assumptions around cultural identity, place, and historical contexts. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23617 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23616 Tools for Wellbeing-Supportive Design: Features, Characteristics, and Prototypes Peters, Dorian; Ahmadpour, Naseem; Calvo, Rafael A. While research on wellbeing within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) is an active space, a gap between research and practice persists. To tackle this, we sought to identify the practical needs of designers in taking wellbeing research into practice. We report on 15 semi-structured interviews with designers from four continents, yielding insights into design tool use generally and requirements for wellbeing design tools specifically. We then present five resulting design tool concepts, two of which were further developed into prototypes and tested in a workshop with 34 interaction design and HCI professionals. Findings include seven desirable features and three desirable characteristics for wellbeing-supportive design tools, including that these tools should satisfy the need for proof, buy-in, and tangibility. We also provide clarity around the notion of design for wellbeing and why it must be distinguished from design for positive emotions. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23616 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23442 Post-Zoom: Screen Environments and the Human/Machine Interface Ferng, Jennifer Digital technologies like Zoom have become one of the hallmarks of the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring that architects and scholars stay connected to each other while reconstructing old and new ways of engaging with media. This article explores the conferencing platform of Zoom as a universe of screen environments that has transformed how we communicate and collaborate — a “warm” medium that has squeezed work conversations into messaging and compressed lectures into televised theatrical performances. Beyond the limited lifespan of computer screens, the future of international collaboration, however, will rely upon neural machines and artificial intelligence. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23442 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23367 Public housing and COVID-19: contestation, challenge and change Power, Emma R.; Rogers, Dallas; Kadi, Justin Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23367 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23205 Covid-19 and the accelerating smart home Maalsen, Sophia; Dowling, Robyn Home, digital technologies and data are intersecting in new ways as responses to the COVID-19 pandemic emerge. We consider the data practices associated with COVID-19 responses and their implications for housing and home through two overarching themes: the notion of home as a private space, and digital technology and surveillance in the home. We show that although home has never been private, the rapid adoption and acceptance of technologies in the home for quarantine, work and study, enabled by the pandemic, is rescripting privacy. The acceleration of technology adoption and surveillance in the home has implications for privacy and potential discrimination, and should be approached with a critical lens. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23205 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23195 Can We Still Choose Architectural History? Stickells, Lee Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23195 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23094 Looking Back at Distance Looks Back: Reflections on the First Combined Meeting of EAHN and SAHANZ (Sydney, 10–13 July 2019) Leach, Andrew; Stickells, Lee Distance is both conceptual and actual. It is overcome or exploited in all manner of ways that have consequences for the history of architecture. It is fostered in the critical attitude. And collapsed when history is invoked in the present. It shapes the relationship of Europe to its Antipodes, as well as of Europe to its neighbours. Its presence is necessary for claims upon disciplinarity; its absence, the dissolution of disciplinary boundaries. In what ways has distance figured in the history of architecture? What has it altered? What has it prevented? What has it allowed? What does it permit, even now? These lines opened the call for papers for Distance Looks Back, the first combined meeting of the EAHN and SAHANZ (Sydney, 10-13 July 2019, http://distance2019.sydney). This meeting served, first, to break down the distance that keeps the activities of these two highly compatible communities at a remove from one another. It also served to explore the very idea of distance as a practical consideration of the architectural historian’s work and as a persistent theme in architectural history and its conceptualisation. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23094 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23096 Economic Cities Sigler, Thomas; Searle, Glen; Martinus, Kirsten This chapter explores the economy of cities in greater detail. First, it gives a summary of the growth and development of cities over time with respect to their economic function. One of the most important trends over the past century has been rapid urbanisation tied to industrialisation. In some parts of the world, there has been subsequent deindustrialisation. Next, this chapter focusses on the spatial implications of economic change in cities. As urban economies shift over time, so do the characteristics of the built environment, including employment nodes and residential housing. Suburbanisation driven by increasing car ownership has been an important process, but has occurred unevenly in different contexts. The chapter concludes by considering how cities have changed in the recent past, and how economic functions tied to the information age continue to transform cities and urban spatial structure. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23096 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23095 Planned Cities Keane, Adrienne; Jones, Paul The practice of planning cities has come about to create better outcomes for people. Planning comprises two facets – the reasons to plan and the methods of planning – and is known for its interventionist approaches to addressing complex problems. This includes utilising policies, plans and controls over the use of land. Planning in its conservative form is criticised for not responding to the critical issues of equality, liveability and sustainability of cities. The chapter captures these challenges and outlines the key areas of change for planning’s purpose and practices for better cities. In particular, the emphasis is on the rejection of a single, top-down plan that is focused on what a city should be, to bottom-up or community-driven planning decisions; reframing planning to be concerned with the public interest over benefits to a minority; and planning at different spatial scales to enable locally driven responsiveness required to meet sustainability goals. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23095 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23067 Covid - Quid Tum? Ludewig, Jasper; Leach, Andrew Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/23067 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/22555 A Charter for Sustainable Tourism after COVID-19 Chang, Chia-Lin; McAleer, Michael; Ramos, Vicente The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease is highly infectious and contagious. The long-term consequences for individuals are as yet unknown, while the long-term effects on the international community will be dramatic. COVID-19 has changed the world forever in every imaginable respect and has impacted heavily on the international travel, tourism demand, and hospitality industry, which is one of the world's largest employers and is highly sensitive to significant shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential to investigate how the industry will recover after COVID-19 and how the industry can be made sustainable in a dramatically changed world. This paper presents a charter for tourism, travel, and hospitality after COVID-19 as a contribution to the industry. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/22555 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/22388 Housing policy and the COVID-19 pandemic: the importance of housing research during this health emergency Rogers, Dallas; Power, Emma The COVID-19 pandemic is rapidly emerging as a housing emergency. In this moment of crisis, let us state our position on COVID-19 and the journal at the outset: Housing scholars, housing policy and our homes have a pivotal role in this health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic incorporates a suite of health, economic and political challenges; housing is emerging as one of them. Housing scholars have an ethical responsibility to intervene in this evolving housing emergency both as experts and researchers. In the short term we can support rapid policy making that is done well. In the longer term we can bring perspective to the changes that are taking place across our housing systems and that are required to deal with this crisis. However, we acknowledge that new COVID-19 related personal and professional pressures are likely to significantly affect the capacity of many housing scholars to submit, revise and review articles or contribute to scholarship in other ways. Depending on housing, care and income circumstances different scholars will be affected in different ways. Our editorial response has been designed in an attempt to respond to this complex suite of issues. Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/22388 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/21906 Equitable Density: The place for lower-income and disadvantaged households in a dense city: Report 1 The Building Scale Crommelin, Laura; Easthope, Hazel; Troy, Laurence Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/21906 2017-07-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/2123/20871 Identifying a set of line manager personas to guide new product introduction strategy Straker, Karla; Mosely, Genevieve; Wrigley, Cara Mon, 01 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/2123/20871 2019-07-01T00:00:00Z