Think of the children! The decline of the big day out and mega-festivals

What does the future look like for music festivals in Australia? This article examines the decline of the large festivals that have grown to dominate the scene in Australia in the last twenty years, and the rise of small, specialized festivals that offer a boutique experience.

Learning in and out of university : Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ conceptions and strategies used to learn

Research suggests that students’ approaches to learning and learning outcomes are closely related to their conceptions of learning. This paper describes a phenomenographically inspired investigation into conceptions of formal learning held by 22 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from three Australian universities in Queensland; experiences of informal learning, reasons for studying and strategies used to learn were also investigated. The attrition rate for these students in tertiary education is higher than that of any other group of students. It was hoped that information gained may delineate factors that contribute to high attrition rates and therefore inform courses of action that may lead to improved teaching and learning practices for these students. Additionally, success in tertiary education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students may increase their involvement in mainstream society. Results showed that they view and approach university learning in much the same way as other university students. It was also apparent that, generally, the strategies these students used did not match the conceptions of learning they held. An interesting result was the difference between the conceptions of formal learning and explanations of informal learning

When to pull the plug and when to take the plunge : timing strategic decisions about new ventures

It is not uncommon for firms to explore a new venture under the belief it will generate profits, only to find out later that although costs accumulated, profits did not materialize. To manage the high level of uncertainty involved in this process, new ventures are generally designed as vehicles of exploration (Wu, 2012) that allow for a staged investment of resources, starting with small initial investments that can be scaled up or discontinued as uncertainty is resolved over time (Folta, 1998; Li and Chi, 2013). As such, new ventures provide firms a vehicle by which they can probe an uncertain future (Brown and Eisenhardt, 1997) without fully committing early on to an irreversible course of action (Folta, Johnson, and O’Brien, 2006). Our focus in the present paper is on the timing of strategic decisions that firms make regarding their exploration ventures. Prior research in the fields of entrepreneurship, real options reasoning, and decision speed has demonstrated a link between the timing of making decisions and performance (Baum and Wally, 2003; Eisenhardt, 1989; Judge and Miller, 1991). The antecedents to the timing of decisions, however, are less understood and pose an interesting dilemma.

Intravitreal drug delivery in retinal disease : are we out of our depth?

Introduction With the ever-increasing global burden of retinal disease, there is an urgent need to vastly improve formulation strategies that enhance posterior eye delivery of therapeutics. Despite intravitreal administration having demonstrated notable superiority over other routes in enhancing retinal drug availability, there still exist various significant physical/biochemical barriers preventing optimal drug delivery into the retina. A further complication lies with an inability to reliably translate laboratory-based retinal models into a clinical setting. Several formulation approaches have recently been evaluated to improve intravitreal therapeutic outcomes, and our aim in this review is to highlight strategies that hold the most promise. Areas covered We discuss the complex barriers faced by the intravitreal route and examine how formulation strategies including implants, nanoparticulate carriers, viral vectors and sonotherapy have been utilized to attain both sustained delivery and enhanced penetration through to the retina. We conclude by highlighting the advances and limitations of current in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo retinal models in use by researchers globally. Expert opinion Various nanoparticle compositions have demonstrated the ability to overcome the retinal barriers successfully; however, their utility is limited to the laboratory setting. Optimization of these formulations and the development of more robust experimental retinal models are necessary to translate success in the laboratory into clinically efficacious outcomes.

The kite string tangle : blissed-out beats at the Brisbane Festival

Danny Harley has had a pretty big year with his one-man band project The Kite String Tangle. There have been festival appearances, both at home and abroad, a song in the top 20 of Triple J’s iconic Hottest 100 annual music poll and a sold-out tour to mark the release of his debut EP, which wrapped up this week with two shows in the Spiegeltent at the Brisbane Festival...

When the five giants of post war reconstruction meet the four pillars of welfare reform-young people lose out, again

This paper discusses proposed changes to the Australian welfare state in the Welfare Review chaired by Patrick McClure and launched by Kevin Andrews, Minister for Social Services in the Abbott government, in a recent address to the Sydney Institute. Andrews cited the Beveridge Report of 1942, referring to Lord William Beveridge as the “godfather of the British post-war welfare state”, commending him for putting forward a plan for a welfare state providing a minimal level of support, constituting a bare safety net, rather than “stifling civil society and personal responsibility” through generous provision. In line with a key TASA conference theme of challenging institutions and identifying social and political change at local and global levels, this paper examines both the Beveridge Report and the McClure Report, identifying key issues and themes of relevance to current times in Australia.

Introduction - There's crime out there, but not as we know it: Rural criminology - the last frontier

The idea that crime is a predominantly urban phenomenon has been pervasive in criminology, so much so that Australian criminology textbooks do not recognise rural crime as a distinct phenomenon worthy of scholarly attention (see Chappell & Wilson, 2000; Goldsmith et al, 2003; White & Haines, 2004; White & Habibis, 2005). There are no chapters or sections in Australian texts which specifically examine rural crime, despite the inclusion of a range of topics that appear to provide a broad coverage of crime in its many temporal and spatial dimensions. Nor is there so much as an index reference to "rural" issues in criminology textbooks. The standardised syllabus for crime texts provides coverage of topics such as violent crime, public crime, delinquency, race and crime, gender and crime, and crime and social class. This canon is mirrored in international texts, most of which also fail to address the issue of rural crime, but make abundant reference to crime in various urban contexts (see Carrabine et al, 2004; Conklin, 2004). This is not to suggest that Australian texts fail to localise their subject matter.

The Craving Experience Questionnaire : a brief, theory-based measure of consummatory desire and craving

Background and Aims Research into craving is hampered by lack of theoretical specification and a plethora of substance-specific measures. This study aimed to develop a generic measure of craving based on elaborated intrusion (EI) theory. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examined whether a generic measure replicated the three-factor structure of the Alcohol Craving Experience (ACE) scale over different consummatory targets and time-frames. Design Twelve studies were pooled for CFA. Targets included alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate and food. Focal periods varied from the present moment to the previous week. Separate analyses were conducted for strength and frequency forms. Setting Nine studies included university students, with single studies drawn from an internet survey, a community sample of smokers and alcohol-dependent out-patients. Participants A heterogeneous sample of 1230 participants. Measurements Adaptations of the ACE questionnaire. Findings Both craving strength [comparative fit indices (CFI = 0.974; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.039, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.035–0.044] and frequency (CFI = 0.971, RMSEA = 0.049, 95% CI = 0.044–0.055) gave an acceptable three-factor solution across desired targets that mapped onto the structure of the original ACE (intensity, imagery, intrusiveness), after removing an item, re-allocating another and taking intercorrelated error terms into account. Similar structures were obtained across time-frames and targets. Preliminary validity data on the resulting 10-item Craving Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) for cigarettes and alcohol were strong. Conclusions The Craving Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) is a brief, conceptually grounded and psychometrically sound measure of desires. It demonstrates a consistent factor structure across a range of consummatory targets in both laboratory and clinical contexts.

An investigation into the effect of infrastructure on fly-in fly-out mining workers

Objective: To explore fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mining workers' attitudes towards the leisure time they spend in mining camps, the recreational and social aspects of mining camp culture, the camps' communal and recreational infrastructure and activities, and implications for health. Design: In-depth semistructured interviews. Setting: Individual interviews at locations convenient for each participant. Participants: A total of seven participants, one female and six males. The age group varied within 20–59 years. Marital status varied across participants. Main outcome measures: A qualitative approach was used to interview participants, with responses thematically analysed. Findings highlight how the recreational infrastructure and activities at mining camps impact participants' enjoyment of the camps and their feelings of community and social inclusion. Results: Three main areas of need were identified in the interviews, as follows: (i) on-site facilities and activities; (ii) the role of infrastructure in facilitating a sense of community; and (iii) barriers to social interaction. Conclusion: Recreational infrastructure and activities enhance the experience of FIFO workers at mining camps. The availability of quality recreational facilities helps promote social interaction, provides for greater social inclusion and improves the experience of mining camps for their temporary FIFO residents. The infrastructure also needs to allow for privacy and individual recreational activities, which participants identified as important emotional needs. Developing appropriate recreational infrastructure at mining camps would enhance social interactions among FIFO workers, improve their well-being and foster a sense of community. Introducing infrastructure to promote social and recreational activities could also reduce alcohol-related social exclusion.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire – forging a career in a temporary workplace : a new perspective for HR?

Recent literature acknowledges the need for new career development models to support the way that careers evolve in the 21st century workplace (Bloch 2005). This is particularly so within temporary organisation forms, and for those pursuing a career in project management (Hölzle 2010). Our research, explores how project managers working on projects and within temporary organisation forms and those working on project-linked contracts access the development opportunities they require to remain employable in an era of project-by-project employment. Set in Australia where a project-based economy (Crawford, French and Lloyd-Walker 2013) and contract work have led to casualisation of the workforce (Connell & Burgess, 2006; McKeown & Hanley (2009) the results suggest new approaches to career development may be required.