rescomp: An R package for defining, simulating and visualizing ODE models of consumer-resource interactions

Mechanistic models of resource competition underpin numerous foundational concepts and theories in ecology, and continue to be employed widely to address diverse research questions. Nevertheless, current software tools present a comparatively steep barrier to entry. I introduce the R package rescomp to support the specification, simulation and visualisaton of a broad spectrum of consumer-resource interactions. rescomp is compatible with diverse model specifications, including an unlimited number of consumers and resources, different consumer functional responses (type I, II and III), different resource types (essential or substitutable) and supply dynamics (chemostats, logistic and/or pulsed), delayed consumer introductions, time dependent growth and consumption parameters, and instantaneous changes to consumer and/or resource densities. Several examples on implementing rescomp are provided. In addition, a wide variety of additional examples can be found in the package vignettes, including using rescomp to reproduce the results of several well known studies from the literature. rescomp provides users with an accessible tool to reproduce classic models in ecology, to specify models resembling a wide range of experimental designs, and to explore diverse novel model formulations.

SkinKit

The emergence of on-skin interfaces has created an opportunity for seamless, always-available on-body interactions. However, developing a new fabrication process for on-skin interfaces can be time-consuming, challenging to incorporate new features, and not available for quick form-factor preview through prototyping. We introduce SkinKit, the first construction toolkit for on-skin interfaces, which enables fast, low-fidelity prototyping with a slim form factor directly applicable to the skin. SkinKit comprises modules consisting of skin-conformable base substrates and reusable Flexible Printed Circuits Board (FPCB) blocks. They are easy to attach and remove under tangible plug-and-play construction but still offer robust conductive connections in a slim form. Further, SkinKit aims to lower the barrier to entry in building on-skin interfaces without demanding technical expertise. It leverages a variety of preprogrammed modules connected in unique sequences to achieve various function customizations. We describe our iterative design and development process of SkinKit, comparing materials, connection mechanisms, and modules reflecting on its capability. We report results from single- and multi- session workshops with 34 maker participants spanning STEM and design backgrounds. Our findings reveal how diverse maker populations engage in on-skin interface design, what types of applications they choose to build, and what challenges they faced.

Iterative Design for Approachable, Mobile-Based Collaborative Electronic Music Instruments

<p>The steep learning curve for technology for electronic music creation enforces a barrier to entry for new electronic musicians that prevents them from enjoying the playful process of creating music, without significant investment of time, energy, or money. This thesis argues that this barrier to entry should be abolished by using creative technology as a platform in order to begin the democratisation of electronic music creation processes. By drawing upon specific values inherent to the playful process of creating music, this thesis suggests a framework for iterative design of social, electronic musical instruments. The combination of implementing this framework and informing design directions upon user feedback has resulted in the creation of Pyxis Minor, a new, smartphone and tablet based, electronic musical interface/instrument that allows users of any prior musical background to have a playful creative and social experience of making music. This is important for distinguishing that the apparent barrier to entry for electronic music creation may be unnecessary, and it is possible to develop instruments and interfaces for the playful creation of electronic music that fulfil the needs and requirements of a diverse range of users.</p>

Iterative Design for Approachable, Mobile-Based Collaborative Electronic Music Instruments

<p>The steep learning curve for technology for electronic music creation enforces a barrier to entry for new electronic musicians that prevents them from enjoying the playful process of creating music, without significant investment of time, energy, or money. This thesis argues that this barrier to entry should be abolished by using creative technology as a platform in order to begin the democratisation of electronic music creation processes. By drawing upon specific values inherent to the playful process of creating music, this thesis suggests a framework for iterative design of social, electronic musical instruments. The combination of implementing this framework and informing design directions upon user feedback has resulted in the creation of Pyxis Minor, a new, smartphone and tablet based, electronic musical interface/instrument that allows users of any prior musical background to have a playful creative and social experience of making music. This is important for distinguishing that the apparent barrier to entry for electronic music creation may be unnecessary, and it is possible to develop instruments and interfaces for the playful creation of electronic music that fulfil the needs and requirements of a diverse range of users.</p>

TVET engineering students’ perceptions of the value of their qualification and the prospects of employment

The study described in this article explored the ways in which selected technical and vocational education and training (TVET) engineering students perceived their qualifications and employment prospects, given the youth unemployment rate in general and, in particular, that among TVET graduates. While the unemployment rate among South Africans with a tertiary qualification stood at 7%, it appeared to be a staggering 33% among TVET graduates in 2017. In order to gather data from a sample of TVET engineering students, a self-administered qualitative questionnaire was used to collect data from two colleges. A total of 113 TVET engineering students at the two colleges completed the questionnaire. The gender profile of the participants was 64 females and 49 males, who were all between the ages of 18 and 29 years. The findings showed that the TVET engineering qualification does not guarantee employment because of the lack of jobs in the South African economy. Moreover, the participants perceived unemployment as a function of job scarcity rather than of a lack of skills. However, some participants perceived a TVET engineering qualification to be in demand, and this demand is attributed to the electricity crisis/load-shedding in South Africa. The majority of the 79 participants, who perceived unemployment to be an economic crisis, recommended that a solution to unemployment should be to make voluntary service compulsory in both the public and the private sector. To this end, the government should make available funding for small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and also encourage and fund students to study beyond their undergraduate qualification. As an entry-level requirement for employment, experience is seen as an unfair practice and a barrier to entry for graduates.

Catch-up in the IT Service Sector and the Role of the Government in China

Chapter 7 analyzes the market and technological catch-up of indigenous Chinese firms in two information technology service sectors, namely, games and business software (enterprise resource planning (ERP) and security software) and focuses on two aspects. The first aspect is about how latecomer firms have been able to access and learn from foreign knowledge bases and acquire their innovation capabilities. The second aspect is the role of the government and regulation in the catch-up process. Indigenous firms in China have selected different learning and catch-up strategies in different technological regimes. For the online game sector, where imitation is easier and incremental innovation is more important than radical innovation, Chinese firms started with handling the publishing (or distribution) of games developed by foreign incumbents and later secured in-house game development capabilities by imitating the products of global leaders. In the business software sector, where imitation and creative innovation are difficult, Chinese firms acquired third-party technologies through mergers and acquisitions and then differentiated their products by taking advantage of local specificities. In general, intellectual property rights (IPRs) are critical in the business of these two segments. Despite the entry barrier effect of IPR protection by the foreign incumbents, the latecomer firms discussed in this chapter seem to have circumvented the barrier to entry and learning and to acquire their innovation capabilities. However, such learning and acquisition would not have led to commercial success without government regulation against foreign companies, such as business restrictions in online gaming and exclusive procurement of indigenous products in applied software (ERP and security software). Such restrictions against foreign companies were a critical constraining factor against their market share expansion in the Chinese market.

Selective interference: Emergent complexity informed by programmatic, social and performative criteria

<p>Parametric design tools and visual programming languages are fast becoming an important part of the architects design process. A review of current literature notes that the barrier to entry into the medium is lowering while the power of the tools available is increasing. The purpose of this research is to use these emerging tools to explore complex architectural issues related to space planning and massing. This research aims to bring these aspects of the design process together to generate an architecture where programme and aesthetic are derived in equal measure by the architect and the computer. The project began with a series of technical studies focusing primarily on space planning, massing, site analysis and circulation with the purpose of using an amalgamation of these techniques to develop into a final generative algorithm. These ideas are explored through an open ended design process of iterative research and testing, self and peer review, development and critical reflection. The viability of the algorithm is then tested through the generation a number of test buildings, across variety of sites. In order to provide a direction and author a degree of creative friction within the research process, the projects are framed around the development of a mid-size, urban sited secondary school. The final algorithm provides constraints in such a way that the architecture evolves in a natural, predictable way that can still surprise and inform, as well as consistently producing viable, interesting iterations of buildings. This process, described as an “open box” structure, produced a wide variety of working concepts and provided a high level of control as a designer.</p>

Selective interference: Emergent complexity informed by programmatic, social and performative criteria

<p>Parametric design tools and visual programming languages are fast becoming an important part of the architects design process. A review of current literature notes that the barrier to entry into the medium is lowering while the power of the tools available is increasing. The purpose of this research is to use these emerging tools to explore complex architectural issues related to space planning and massing. This research aims to bring these aspects of the design process together to generate an architecture where programme and aesthetic are derived in equal measure by the architect and the computer. The project began with a series of technical studies focusing primarily on space planning, massing, site analysis and circulation with the purpose of using an amalgamation of these techniques to develop into a final generative algorithm. These ideas are explored through an open ended design process of iterative research and testing, self and peer review, development and critical reflection. The viability of the algorithm is then tested through the generation a number of test buildings, across variety of sites. In order to provide a direction and author a degree of creative friction within the research process, the projects are framed around the development of a mid-size, urban sited secondary school. The final algorithm provides constraints in such a way that the architecture evolves in a natural, predictable way that can still surprise and inform, as well as consistently producing viable, interesting iterations of buildings. This process, described as an “open box” structure, produced a wide variety of working concepts and provided a high level of control as a designer.</p>

Formal Female Entrepreneurship and the Shadow Economy

Although female entrepreneurship yields products, markets, and business models that might not exist otherwise and are relevant to economic growth and development as well as issues related to gender equality, the factors that drive female entrepreneurship is largely understudied. The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between the size of a country’s informal sector and the prevalence of female entrepreneurship in the formal economy. This relationship is empirically tested using a regression analysis that employs a cross-country data set of 70 countries. The analysis results indicate a significant inverse relationship between the size of the informal sector and the prevalence of formal sector female entrepreneurship. It is argued that a larger informal economy implies a greater number of women working in the informal sector due to discriminatory barriers to the formal economy. Both formal sector entrepreneurship and work in the informal economy can lessen the barrier to entry women face related to work-life balance by allowing greater flexibility in work hours; however, employment in the informal sector is a relatively poor substitute to formal sector employment as informal sector work does not include benefits, nor is it taxed or included in official statistics. Policy recommendations for encouraging formal female entrepreneurship are made. Promoting female entrepreneurship in the formal sector not only helps to close gender, inequality gaps, but also serves to improve tax systems, lessen distortions in national accounts and official indicators, and improve the provision of public goods.