Showing papers by "Jarrod Trevathan published in 2012"

SEMAT — The Next Generation of Inexpensive Marine Environmental Monitoring and Measurement Systems

Abstract: There is an increasing need for environmental measurement systems to further science and thereby lead to improved policies for sustainable management. Marine environments are particularly hostile and extremely difficult for deploying sensitive measurement systems. As a consequence the need for data is greatest in marine environments, particularly in the developing economies/regions. Expense is typically the most significant limiting factor in the number of measurement systems that can be deployed, although technical complexity and the consequent high level of technical skill required for deployment and servicing runs a close second. This paper describes the Smart

Geological Visualisation with Augmented Reality

Abstract: Geological visualisation while working in the field often requires expensive specialised equipment that is conventionally hard to master. Knowledge and prior experience of the specific techniques and formats used by the different devices is required to create data. This paper presents a new method that applies Augmented Reality (AR) with generic smart phones and tablets to view existing geological data sets. AR is an emerging technology that is a synthesised hybrid between the virtual world and the real world. Here, this method negates the need to understand mapping techniques when referencing three-dimensional (3D) models to the above ground terrain. Geologists can explore subterranean phenomenon with datasets visually laid accurately over the environment so the need to reference diagrams and maps to the physical world while in the field is no longer necessary. Geologists can see data as though it were part of the environment, analogous to giving them x-ray vision in the field. We present a prototype that can be applied in fields of education or as device to assist the mining industry to enhance understanding of subterranean geological structures. For example, volcanic structures, faults and fractures can be seen as they would appear from the surface or mine data such as tunnels, ventilation, ore bodies and rock types. AR techniques used for geological visualisation in the field is a new application area with potential for wider commercial applications.

Overcoming the glassy-eyed nod: an application of process-oriented guided inquiry learning techniques in information technology

Abstract: Two significant problems faced by universities are to ensure sustainability and to produce quality graduates. Four aspects of these problems are to improve engagement, to foster interaction, develop required skills and to effectively gauge the level of attention and comprehension within lectures and large tutorials. Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) is a technique used to teach in large lectures and tutorials. It invokes interaction, team building, learning and interest through highly structured group work. This paper describes a new approach to teaching Information Technology (IT) using POGIL. Two IT subjects were chosen for the implementation of the POGIL technique to explore its potential to resolve the aforementioned issues. Preliminary evidence from perspectives of the institution, students and lecturer suggest that POGIL is better able to maximise engagement, foster interaction and effectively gauge the level of attention and comprehension in teaching process-oriented IT concepts than a traditional didactic approach.

Riskr: A Low-Technological Web2.0 Disaster Service to Monitor and Share Information

Abstract: Disaster management using the World Wide Web is an emergent field that uses technology to enhance user collaboration around disasters. While there exist a number of dedicated 'disaster portals', large social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, can facilitate the analysis and sharing of a collective intelligence regarding disaster information on a far greater scale. Social networks have the potential to increase accessibility to, and the use of a disaster portal. This paper presents the 'Riskr' project, which applies a low-technological solution to creating disaster portals fed by social networking messages, and the strategies used in its development. The system has been implemented using Twitter and tested by users to determine whether there is merit in having interoperability between social networks and disaster portals. Preliminary results suggest there is some benefit in using Twitter as a middleware between users and the implemented disaster service. A usability study showed that 70.5% of the users were able to estimate the location of a disaster within a certain error margin. Furthermore, 95% of users were able to successfully adapt to using the system. The results from the Riskr project suggest that the combination of online services and interoperability between disaster portals and social networks can further enhance disaster management initiatives.

Anti-Social Networking?

Abstract: Social networking is one of the most successful and popular tools to emerge from the Web 2.0 era. However, the increased interconnectivity and access to peoples' personal lives and information has created a plethora of opportunities for the nefarious side of human nature to manifest. This paper categorizes and describes the major types of anti-social behavior and criminal activity that can arise through undisciplined use and/or misuse of social media. We specifically address identity theft, misrepresentation of information posted, cyber bullying, children and social networking, and social networking in the work place. Recommendations are provided for how to reduce the risk of being the victim of a crime or engaging in embarrassing behavior that could irrevocably harm one's reputation either professionally or personally. We also discuss what responsibilities social networking companies have to protect their users and also what law enforcement and policy makers can do help alleviate the problems.

Exploring and learning about reef data in serious games

Abstract: We describe on-going work towards the development of a novel 3-dimensional environment or serious game to help visualize, explore and learn about aspects of the reef. This is part of the Smart Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Technologies (SEMAT) research project. Games for learning, or serious games as they have come to be known, use gaming technologies and rich graphics and sounds to help people "play" with the topics of learning. Serious games are increasingly being used in many sectors such as business, health, the military and especially in education as a motivational resource for the digitally-savvy generation. In our serious game, data (e.g. salinity, temperature, light, etc.) collected through remote sensor networks is used to generate/render the ambience and aesthetics of our interactive visualization by varying colour, texture, lighting and conditions of living creatures, etc. In comparison to traditional visualization techniques (e.g., 2D line graphs), our technique allows everyone from children and lay people to experts, to intuitively learn about and understand the environmental conditions in the reef. In addition it helps raise societal awareness of how sensitive ecosystems operate and the impacts humans have on them.

Supporting dynamic hypothesis modelling and alerts in marine environments

Abstract: Linking data and data fusion are important processes in knowledge discovery in all areas of research. However, there are massive amounts of scientific data being produced that cannot be effectively processed to its full potential. Sensed data is prolific and growing, so improvements in the data fusion and data analysis phase of research are becoming increasingly necessary. We describe the integration of remotely sensed data from the Smart Environmental Monitoring and Analysis Technologies (SEMAT) initiative with static data available from the Tropical Data Hub (TDH) for use in hypothesis testing in the Semantic Reef system. SEMAT is developing new sensor network technologies and processing methodologies for environmental applications. The TDH is an open data collaborative model where the data and metadata is exposed for discovery and publication. Data from the TDH is available for integration with other datasets such as live data streams from SEMAT for multi-disciplinary hypotheses. The Semantic Reef system combines semantic technologies such as well-defined ontologies and logic systems with scientific workflows to enable dynamic hypothesis-based research on environmental sustainability and/or alerts to phenomena such as algal blooms and coral bleaching. Data is collated from various sources and integrated within one knowledge-base to infer outcomes from observational hypotheses. The semantic knowledge base allows for dynamic hypothesis modelling as the lines of enquiry dictate. The data that is collected via SEMAT and used to infer knowledge by the Semantic Reef system, such as an inferred causal factor of coral bleaching and the ensuing observation and outcome of that proposition, can be ingested to the TDH for data discovery, reuse, curation and publication.

An evaluation model for semantic enablement of virtual research environments

Abstract: The Tropical Data Hub (TDH) is a virtual research environment that provides researchers with an e-research infrastructure to congregate significant tropical data sets for data reuse, integration, searching, and correlation. However, researchers often require data and metadata synthesis across disciplines for cross-domain analyses and knowledge discovery. A triplestore offers a semantic layer to achieve a more intelligent method of search to support the synthesis requirements by automating latent linkages in the data and metadata. Presently, the benchmarks to aid the decision of which triplestore is best suited for use in an application environment like the TDH are limited to performance. This paper describes a new evaluation tool developed to analyze both features and performance. The tool comprises a weighted decision matrix to evaluate the interoperability, functionality, performance, and support availability of a range of integrated and native triplestores to rank them according to requirements of the TDH.