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The purpose of this paper is to present the design and evolution of the Dancing Computer project. Dancing Computer is an ongoing research project at the Michigan State University, which is developing a system that aims to increase computer literacy in elementary-aged children by teaching them first to read code before they write it. The main objective is to educate children on basic concepts of computer science.

Children are given tablet computers that present a simple program line-by-line that they execute as they pretend to be a computer. The programs are acted out on a portable dance floor consisting of colored tiles, and the program statements instruct the child to move, turn and act out dance poses and terminology.

The Dancing Computer prototype was tested in six different locations in 2016, reaching approximately 250 students. Learning was demonstrated by significant improvements in both task duration and error performance as students performed the activities. The most common errors were movement errors, where participants failed to move the correct number of squares.

This project has the potential to increase the level of computer literacy for thousands of children. This project’s goal is to increase understanding of what a computer does, what a program does and the step-by-step nature of computer programs.

This is a unique and a different approach – the norm being to start students off writing code in some language. In Dancing Computer stages children as readers of programs, allowing them to pretend to be a computer in a fun and engaging activity while also learning how computers execute real programs.

Theatre Engine is a three-phase project exploring the integration of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablet computers as user interaction mechanisms for live theatrical performances. This paper aims to describe the technical details for the first performance in the series: transitions, including system design, user interface details, and lessons learned.

The Theatre Engine project consists of a network of mobile Android-based devices that communicate with a server managing a live theatrical performance. Additional systems provide projected graphics within the performance space, dynamic instructions to live musicians, and control of theatrical equipment including robotic lighting. The system is under the live control of a stage managers and show runner. The first phase produced the performance transitions, where live and virtual dancers interacted with audience members.

The user activities are described in the context of manipulations and the effects of those manipulations and a classification of the roles of users as active participants in the performance is proposed. The concept of blurring the distinction between real and virtual is explored.

Technological advances make it possible for the audience to be an active participant in a performance, converting a passive theatrical experience to an active and immersive experience. Theatre Engine is a new approach to the integration of mobile devices into the theatre and a test-bed for new user interface ideas.

“All things are in a constant state of change”, said Heraclitus of Ephesus. The waters if a river are for ever changing yet the river endures. Every particle of matter is in continual movement. All death is birth in a new form, all birth the death of the previous form. The seasons come and go. The myth of our own John Barleycorn, buried in the ground, yet resurrected in the Spring, has close parallels with the fertility rites of Greece and the Near East such as those of Hyacinthas, Hylas, Adonis and Dionysus, of Osiris the Egyptian deity, and Mondamin the Red Indian maize‐god. Indeed, the ritual and myth of Attis, born of a virgin, killed and resurrected on the third day, undoubtedly had a strong influence on Christianity.

Historians have long understood that transforming people into property was the defining characteristic of Atlantic World slavery. This chapter examines litigation in British colonial Vice Admiralty Courts in order to show how English legal categories and procedures facilitated this process of dehumanization. In colonies where people were classified as chattel property, litigants transformed local Vice Admiralty Courts into slave courts by analogizing human beings to ships and cargo. Doing so made sound economic sense from their perspective; it gave colonists instant access to an early modern English legal system that was centered on procedures and categories. But for people of African descent, it had decidedly negative consequences. Indeed, when colonists treated slaves as property, they helped to create a world in which Africans were not just like things, they were things. Through the very act of categorization, they rendered factual what had been a mere supposition: that Africans were less than human.

A distinction must be drawn between a dismissal on the one hand, and on the other a repudiation of a contract of employment as a result of a breach of a fundamental term of that contract. When such a repudiation has been accepted by the innocent party then a termination of employment takes place. Such termination does not constitute dismissal (see London v. James Laidlaw & Sons Ltd (1974) IRLR 136 and Gannon v. J. C. Firth (1976) IRLR 415 EAT).

To identify key factors that are contributing to vulnerability in business schools in Australian public universities and determine the degree of vulnerability exhibited by these schools.

Using a multi-criteria assessment (MCA) approach, a framework is developed to determine which business schools are most vulnerable to disruptions and uncertainty.

The findings show a lack of preparedness on the part of many business schools, particularly those relying heavily on international students.

The implication is that business schools in Australian public universities need to diversify revenue streams and continue to seek legitimacy through external stakeholders such as employers and international accrediting bodies.

This study presents an empirical perspective of business schools in Australian public universities and offers valuable insights for university leaders and policymakers.

President, Charles S. Goldman, M.P.; Chairman, Charles Bathurst, M.P.; Vice‐Presidents: Christopher Addison, M.D., M.P., Waldorf Astor, M.P., Charles Bathurst, M.P., Hilaire Belloc, Ralph D. Blumenfeld, Lord Blyth, J.P., Colonel Charles E. Cassal, V.D., F.I.C., the Bishop of Chichester, Sir Arthur H. Church, K.C.V.O., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., Sir Wm. Earnshaw Cooper, C.I.E., E. Crawshay‐Williams, M.P., Sir Anderson Critchett, Bart., C.V.O., F.R.C.S.E., William Ewart, M.D., F.R.C.P., Lieut.‐Colonel Sir Joseph Fayrer, Bart., M.A., M.D., Sir Alfred D. Fripp, K.C.V.O., C.B., M.B., M.S., Sir Harold Harmsworth, Bart., Arnold F. Hills, Sir Victor Horsley, M.D., F.R.C.S., F.R.S., O. Gutekunst, Sir H. Seymour King, K.C.I.E., M.A., the Duke of Manchester, P.C., Professor Sir Wm. Osler, Bart., M.D., F.R.S., Sir Gilbert Parker, D.C.L., M.P., Sir Wm. Ramsay, K.C.B., LL.D., M.D., F.R.S., Harrington Sainsbury, M.D., F.R.C.P., W. G. Savage, M.D., B.Sc., R. H. Scanes Spicer, M.D., M.R.C.S., the Hon. Lionel Walrond, M.P., Hugh Walsham, M.D., F.R.C.P., Harvey W. Wiley, M.D., Evelyn Wrench.

With their former role as “cash cows” under threat owing to COVID-19, Australian business schools are fighting not only to maintain their status but also their survival. This study aims to look at how the sector might best approach these challenges.

The study reviews the recent literature on business and management education in Australia and compares that with emerging trends and policy directions.

This analysis of current and emerging trends suggests that business education needs to find alternative arguments for legitimacy, and that business schools in public universities can no longer be regarded automatically as the “keepers of knowledge”.

The study contends that public resources would be better channelled towards fit-for-purpose business and management education, with this being administered by an array of entities, some of which would include private providers, public–private partnerships or public entities other than “business schools”.

The study articulates the current and emerging challenges faced by decision and policy makers in the field of public business education and contends that the largely homogeneous business education provided by public universities in Australia is not always in the public interest.

The value of business education provided by public institutions is becoming increasingly contested, with many stakeholders, including employers, questioning the utility of contemporary business education.

Previous studies have looked at the aspects of the future of business and management education, but no overview has hitherto synthesised the findings of such studies and drawn out the practical implications.