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Whilst empathy is considered an essential component of what it means to be human, it is frequently absent as a design objective when creating modern communication systems. This paper presents an approach to designing for, as opposed to with, empathy using the example of two design interventions to create embodied rituals reflecting prayers and worries of individuals within a church community. The aim of these interventions is to facilitate conversation and support within the community, thus generating empathy between community members, and inciting prosocial behaviour through embodied cognition.

Trees provide a multitude of ecosystem services but are vulnerable to failure and limb loss under high winds. This is a natural process which initiates regeneration in forests but tree failures close to critical infrastructure networks lead to disruption to services and financial loss. Hence, network operators tend to apply the precautionary principle and remove all trees close to such infrastructure which leads to unnecessary loss of healthy trees, therefore, a more focussed approach is required. We introduce TREEFALL: an objective and scalable framework to assess tree failure risk. It builds upon well-established models to quantify tree geometry, downscale wind parameters, simulate shielding by neighbouring trees and calculate wind-induced failure risk based on meteorological data for previous storms, scenarios or forecasts. Consequently, TREEFALL can identify individual trees which pose the greatest threat to infrastructure networks which can be targeted for field survey and management interventions where necessary. The model has broad potential for application to many different types of infrastructure networks

To assess the accuracy of individual tree crown (ITC) delineation techniques the same tree needs to be identified in two different datasets, for example, ground reference (GR) data and crowns delineated from LiDAR. Many studies use arbitrary metrics or simple linear-distance thresholds to match trees in different datasets without quantifying the level of agreement. For example, successful match-pairing is often claimed where two data points, representing the same tree in different datasets, are located within 5m of one another. Such simple measures are inadequate for representing the multi-variate nature of ITC delineations and generate misleading measures of delineation accuracy. In this study, we develop a new framework for objectively quantifying the agreement between GR and remotely-sensed tree datasets: the Accuracy of Remotely-sensed Biophysical Observation and Retrieval (ARBOR) framework. Using common biophysical properties of ITC delineated trees (location, height and crown area), trees represented in different data sets were modelled as overlapping Gaussian curves to facilitate a more comprehensive assessment of the level of agreement. Extensive testing quantified the limitations of some frequently used match-pairing methods, in particular, the Hausdorff distance algorithm. We demonstrate that within the ARBOR framework, the Hungarian combinatorial optimisation algorithm improves the match between datasets, while the Jaccard similarity coefficient is effective for measuring the correspondence between the matched data populations. The ARBOR framework was applied to GR and remotely-sensed tree data from a woodland study site to demonstrate how ARBOR can identify the optimum ITC delineation technique, out of four different methods tested, based on two measures of statistical accuracy. Using ARBOR will limit further reliance on arbitrary thresholds as it provides an objective approach for quantifying accuracy in the development and application of ITC delineation algorithms.

Whilst no consensus yet exists on how the Internet of Things will be realised, a global infrastructure of networked physical objects that are readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable and controllable is undoubtedly a compelling vision. Although many implementations of the Internet of Things have presented these objects in a largely ambient sensing role, or providing some form of remote access/control, in this paper we consider the emerging convergence between games and the Internet of Things. This can be seen in a growing number of games that use objects as physical game pieces to enhance the players’ interaction with virtual games. These hybrid physical/digital objects present game designers with number of interesting challenges as they i) blur the boundaries between toys and games; ii) provide opportunities for freeform physical play outside the virtual game; and iii) create new requirements for interaction design, in that they utilise design techniques from both product design and computer interface design. Whilst in the past the manufacturing costs of such game objects would preclude their use within games from small independent games developers, the advent of low cost 3D printing and open software and hardware platforms, which are the enablers of the Internet of Things, means this is no longer the case. However, in order to maximise this opportunity game designers will need to develop new approaches to the design of their games and in this paper we highlight the design sensibilities required if they are to combine the digital and physical affordances within the design of such objects to produce good player experiences.