The challenge of defining guanxi in a contemporary business context : a review

Guanxi has become a common term in the wider business environment and has attracted the increasing attention of researchers. Despite this, a consistent understanding of the concept continues to prove elusive. We review the extant business literature to highlight the major inconsistencies in the way guanxi is currently conceptualized: the breadth, linguistic-cultural depth, temporality, and level of analysis. We conclude with a clearer conceptualization of guanxi which separates the core elements from antecedents and consequences of guanxi. Furthermore, we compare and contrast guanxi with western correlates such as social networks and social capitals to further consolidate our understanding of guanxi.

Pleasure Consuming Medicine : The Queer Politics of Drugs By Kane Race [Review]

The queer studies field works to deconstruct dominant western discourses which cast gay men as hedonistic partygoers. Concurrently it examines the real social ramifications for some gay men for whom partying, illegal drugs and casual sex is an everyday reality. Another reality of gay male culture is HIV/AIDS and the legal prescribed medicines which accompany these conditions. Pleasure Consuming Medicine: The Queer Politics of Drugs explores these realities and the discourses surrounding them. Exploring the embodiments of illegal and prescription drug users, this book problematises the binary between prescription medicine use, where drug use is configured as a matter of consumer choice, and 'illicit' drug use which is heavily policed and condemned. Returning to the gay community it reviews community approaches to safe sex and drug use, and individual practices, to demonstrate alternative approaches to condemning drug usage.

The Ashgate Research Companion to Queer Theory edited by Giffney and O'Rourke [Review]

The Ashgate Research Companion to Queer Theory is a solid collection providing an overview of the past, present and future applications of queer theory. The Companion confidently lives up to its name as a research companion offering useful theories and methodologies for the reader to utilise queer theory in their own work.

Pleasure Consuming Medicine : The Queer Politics of Drugs By Kane Race [Review]

The queer studies field works to deconstruct dominant western discourses which cast gay men as hedonistic partygoers. Concurrently it examines the real social ramifications for some gay men for whom partying, illegal drugs and casual sex is an everyday reality. Another reality of gay male culture is HIV/AIDS and the legal prescribed medicines which accompany these conditions. Pleasure Consuming Medicine: The Queer Politics of Drugs explores these realities and the discourses surrounding them. Exploring the embodiments of illegal and prescription drug users, this book problematises the binary between prescription medicine use, where drug use is configured as a matter of consumer choice, and 'illicit' drug use which is heavily policed and condemned. Returning to the gay community it reviews community approaches to safe sex and drug use, and individual practices, to demonstrate alternative approaches to condemning drug usage.

The Proposal [Film Review]

The Proposal is a well-executed romantic comedy that easily meets its low ambitions. Director Anne Fletcher (Step Up, 27 Dresses) and newcomer writer Peter Chiarelli team up to deliver a lighthearted comedy termpered with heartwarming family values. The cute and lovable cast, headed by Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, enriches this simple tale...

Review of de Bruijn, M., F. Nyamnjoh and I. Brinkman (eds.). 2009. Mobile phones : the new talking drums of everyday Africa

Since the late 1990s, there has been great enthusiasm expressed about the positive impact that can be obtained for poor and disadvantaged people from information and communication technologies (ICTs). This school of thought among researchers and practitioners is identified as ICTs for development (ICT4D). By contrast, a growing number of researchers eschew the technologically deterministic nature of the claims being made for development progress and seek to understand the role of technology in people’s lives, primarily through ethnographic studies. This book, which focuses on mobile telephony on the African continent, fits into the latter body of literature, with several authors explicitly stating they are examining social and cultural settings and are not taking a technologically deterministic view. The book captures the diverse ways various communities are using this communication technology. It adds to the burgeoning field of mobile phone studies, in which an increasing number of studies is emerging from developing countries.

Review of 'Laying Down the Criminal Law : A Handbook for Youth Workers'

This third edition of Laying down the criminal law: A handbook for youth workers is essential to understanding young people’s experiences with criminal justice in Queensland. The text comprises detailed scenarios of situations where a young person would have contact with the system, and young people ‘in trouble’ (for example, being excluded from school). The text discusses how workers support the young person in talking to police, going to court, or being a victim of crime. One scenario notes how a youth worker responds to 15 year old Stephen staying at a youth shelter after leaving home and having contact with police. Scenarios are supplemented with information about confidentiality and negligence, and how workers consider these concepts supporting young people...

Review of Engine

Review of Engine by NORPA in Lowdown Spetember 2010

Towards the adoption of low-cost rail level crossing warning devices in regional areas of Australia : a review of current technologies and reliability issues

This paper discusses major obstacles for the adoption of low cost level crossing warning devices (LCLCWDs) in Australia and reviews those trialed in Australia and internationally. The argument for the use of LCLCWDs is that for a given investment, more passive level crossings can be treated, therefore increasing safety benefits across the rail network. This approach, in theory, reduces risk across the network by utilizing a combination of low-cost and conventional level crossing interventions, similar to what is done in the road environment. This paper concludes that in order to determine if this approach can produce better safety outcomes than the current approach, involving the incremental upgrade of level crossings with conventional interventions, it is necessary to perform rigorous risk assessments and cost-benefit analyses of LCLCWDs. Further research is also needed to determine how best to differentiate less reliable LCCLWDs from conventional warning devices through the use of different warning signs and signals. This paper presents a strategy for progressing research and development of LCLCWDs and details how the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Rail Innovation is fulfilling this strategy through the current and future affordable level crossing projects.

Panel studies of new venture creation: a methods-focused review and suggestions for future research

Longitudinal panel studies of large, random samples of business start-ups captured at the pre-operational stage allow researchers to address core issues for entrepreneurship research, namely, the processes of creation of new business ventures as well as their antecedents and outcomes. Here, we perform a methods-orientated review of all 83 journal articles that have used this type of data set, our purpose being to assist users of current data sets as well as designers of new projects in making the best use of this innovative research approach. Our review reveals a number of methods issues that are largely particular to this type of research. We conclude that amidst exemplary contributions, much of the reviewed research has not adequately managed these methods challenges, nor has it made use of the full potential of this new research approach. Specifically, we identify and suggest remedies for context-specific and interrelated methods challenges relating to sample definition, choice of level of analysis, operationalization and conceptualization, use of longitudinal data and dealing with various types of problematic heterogeneity. In addition, we note that future research can make further strides towards full utilization of the advantages of the research approach through better matching (from either direction) between theories and the phenomena captured in the data, and by addressing some under-explored research questions for which the approach may be particularly fruitful.

Workplace sexual harassment 30 years on : a review of the literature

Despite its proscription in legal jurisdictions around the world, workplace sexual harassment (SH) continues to be experienced by many women and some men in a variety of organizational settings. The aims of this review article are threefold: first, with a focus on workplace SH as it pertains to management and organizations, to synthesize the accumulated state of knowledge in the field; second, to evaluate this evidence, highlighting competing perspectives; and third, to canvass areas in need of further investigation. Variously ascribed through individual (psychological or legal consciousness) frameworks, sociocultural explanations and organizational perspectives, research consistently demonstrates that, like other forms of sexual violence, individuals who experience workplace SH suffer significant psychological, health- and job-related consequences. Yet they often do not make formal complaints through internal organizational procedures or to outside bodies. Laws, structural reforms and policy initiatives have had some success in raising awareness of the problem and have shaped rules and norms in the employment context. However, there is an imperative to target further workplace actions to effectively prevent and respond to SH.

International review of computer usage and applications by construction project managers

As computer applications become more available—both technically and economically—construction project managers are increasingly able to access advanced computer tools capable of transforming the role that project managers have typically performed. Competence at using these tools requires a dual commitment in training—from the individual and the firm. Improving the computer skills of project managers can provide construction firms with a competitive advantage to differentiate from others in an increasingly competitive international market. Yet, few published studies have quantified what existing level of competence construction project managers have. Identification of project managers’ existing computer application skills is a necessary first step to developing more directed training to better capture the benefits of computer applications. This paper discusses the yet to be released results of a series of surveys undertaken in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and the United States through QUT’s School of Construction Management and Property and the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction at the University of Florida. This international survey reviews the use and reported competence in using a series of commercially-available computer applications by construction project managers. The five different country locations of the survey allow cross-national comparisons to be made between project managers undertaking continuing professional development programs. The results highlight a shortfall in the ability of construction project managers to capture potential benefits provided by advanced computer applications and provide directions for targeted industry training programs. This international survey also provides a unique insight to the cross-national usage of advanced computer applications and forms an important step in this ongoing joint review of technology and the construction project manager.

A literature review on research methodologies of gross pollutant traps

This paper presents a comprehensive review of scientific and grey literature on gross pollutant traps (GPTs). GPTs are designed with internal screens to capture gross pollutants—organic matter and anthropogenic litter. Their application involves professional societies, research organisations, local city councils, government agencies and the stormwater industry—often in partnership. In view of this, the 113 references include unpublished manuscripts from these bodies along with scientific peer-reviewed conference papers and journal articles. The literature reviewed was organised into a matrix of six main devices and nine research areas (testing methodologies) which include: design appraisal study, field monitoring/testing, experimental flow fields, gross pollutant capture/retention characteristics, residence time calculations, hydraulic head loss, screen blockages, flow visualisations and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). When the fifty-four item matrix was analysed, twenty-eight research gaps were found in the tabulated literature. It was also found that the number of research gaps increased if only the scientific literature was considered. It is hoped, that in addition to informing the research community at QUT, this literature review will also be of use to other researchers in this field.

Direct instruction in mathematics : issues for schools with high Indigenous enrolments : a literature review

Direct instruction, an approach that is becoming familiar to Queensland schools that have high Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, has been gaining substantial political and popular support in the United States of America [USA], England and Australia. Recent examples include the No Child Left Behind policy in the USA, the British National Numeracy Strategy and in Australia, Effective Third Wave Intervention Strategies. Direct instruction, stems directly from the model created in the 1960s under a Project Follow Through grant. It has been defined as a comprehensive system of education involving all aspects of instruction. Now in its third decade of influencing curriculum, instruction and research, direct instruction is also into its third decade of controversy because of its focus on explicit and highly directed instruction for learning. Characteristics of direct instruction are critiqued and discussed to identify implications for teaching and learning for Indigenous students.