Global start-ups profile : one size fits all?

Our research aims to answer the research questions “How do we commonly describe the global start-ups profile as evidenced in prior inductive research?” and “Does this global start-ups profile can effectively explain phenomena in Australian global start-up firms?” We systematically review 29 global start-ups (144 firms) qualitative articles to understand descriptive definitions of global-startup firms. We then triangulate this finding with an Australian high-tech firm. Our contribution is to form a descriptive profile of global start-up phenomenon and raise interesting issues that have potentially fruitful findings for both research and practice. This profile might well be just a deviant from the traditional model that describes how firms establish their footprints, first in their domestic markets followed by moves into cross-border activities. Regardless, government agencies, consultants, and entrepreneurs need to understand the phenomenon. Thus we anticipate that this phenomenon will continue to provide interesting issues for pursuit, both by researchers as well as the practitioner community.

Global reconfiguration of a team of networked mobile robots among obstacles

This paper presents a full system demonstration of dynamic sensorbased reconfiguration of a networked robot team. Robots sense obstacles in their environment locally and dynamically adapt their global geometric configuration to conform to an abstract goal shape. We present a novel two-layer planning and control algorithm for team reconfiguration that is decentralised and assumes local (neighbour-to-neighbour) communication only. The approach is designed to be resource-efficient and we show experiments using a team of nine mobile robots with modest computation, communication, and sensing. The robots use acoustic beacons for localisation and can sense obstacles in their local neighbourhood using IR sensors. Our results demonstrate globally-specified reconfiguration from local information in a real robot network, and highlight limitations of standard mesh networks in implementing decentralised algorithms.

Feminism and Global Justice

This book attempts to persuade a new generation of scholars, criminologists, activists, and policy makers sympathetic to the quest for global justice to open the envelope, to step out of their comfort zones and typical frames of analysis to gaze at a world full of injustice against the female sex, much of it systemic, linked to culture, custom and religion. In some instances the sources of these injustices intersect with those that produce global inequality, imperialism and racism. This book also investigates circumstances where the globalising forces cultivate male on male violence in the anomic spaces of supercapitalism – the border zones of Mexico and the United States, and the frontier mining communities in the Australian desert. However systemic gendered injustices, such as forced marriage of child female brides, sati the cremation of widows, genital cutting, honour crimes, rape and domestic violence against women, are forms of violence only experienced by the female sex. The book does not shirk away from female violence either. Carrington argues that if feminism wants to have a voice in the public, cultural, political and criminological debates about heightened, albeit often exaggerated, social concerns about growing female violence and engagement in terrorism, then new directions in theorising female violence are required. Feminist silences about the violent crimes, atrocities and acts of terrorism committed by the female sex leave anti-feminist explanations uncontested. This allows a discursive space for feminist backlash ideologues to flourish. This book contests those ideologies to offer counter explanations for the rise in female violence and female terrorism, in a global context where systemic gendered violence against women is alarming and entrenched. The world needs feminism to take hold across the globe, now more than ever.

Global sequence variation in the histidine-rich proteins 2 and 3 of Plasmodium falciparum: implications for the performance of malaria rapid diagnostic tests

Background Accurate diagnosis is essential for prompt and appropriate treatment of malaria. While rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) offer great potential to improve malaria diagnosis, the sensitivity of RDTs has been reported to be highly variable. One possible factor contributing to variable test performance is the diversity of parasite antigens. This is of particular concern for Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2)-detecting RDTs since PfHRP2 has been reported to be highly variable in isolates of the Asia-Pacific region. Methods The pfhrp2 exon 2 fragment from 458 isolates of P. falciparum collected from 38 countries was amplified and sequenced. For a subset of 80 isolates, the exon 2 fragment of histidine-rich protein 3 (pfhrp3) was also amplified and sequenced. DNA sequence and statistical analysis of the variation observed in these genes was conducted. The potential impact of the pfhrp2 variation on RDT detection rates was examined by analysing the relationship between sequence characteristics of this gene and the results of the WHO product testing of malaria RDTs: Round 1 (2008), for 34 PfHRP2-detecting RDTs. Results Sequence analysis revealed extensive variations in the number and arrangement of various repeats encoded by the genes in parasite populations world-wide. However, no statistically robust correlation between gene structure and RDT detection rate for P. falciparum parasites at 200 parasites per microlitre was identified. Conclusions The results suggest that despite extreme sequence variation, diversity of PfHRP2 does not appear to be a major cause of RDT sensitivity variation.

Application of GIS in understanding and communicating interaction between environmental parameters and sewer blockages

Sewer main chokes (blockages) are a key performance indicator for Australian water utilities. Blockages caused by tree roots often result in wastewater overflow posing an environmental and health risk and also requiring service interruptions to repair asset. The purpose of the research project outlined in this paper was to understand the role of environmental parameters, in particular soil type and tree density, in determining the propensity of a sewer to become blocked. The paper demonstrates the application of spatial analysis to inform and communicate the results of the analysis. GIS was used to explore the relationship between tree density and previously recorded sewer blockages for a Melbourne utility. Initial results from the research reveal a relationship between increased tree densities and occurrence of sewer blockages. An improved understanding of the influence of environmental parameters on the inherent risk of sewer blockage will enable asset managers to identify those assets requiring proactive management in order to minimise service interruptions, repairs and environmental impacts.

The True Cost of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Analysis of 1,000 Global Companies

This study elucidated the shadow price of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 1,024 international companies worldwide that were surveyed from 15 industries in 37 major countries. Our results indicate that the shadow price of GHG at the firm level is much higher than indicated in previous studies. The higher shadow price was found in this study as a result of the use of Scope 3 GHG emissions data. The results of this research indicate that a firm would carry a high cost of GHG emissions if Scope 3 GHG emissions were the focus of the discussion of corporate social responsibility. In addition, such shadow prices were determined to differ substantially among countries, among sectors, and within sectors. Although a number of studies have calculated the shadow price of GHG emissions, these studies have employed country-level or industry-level data or a small sample of firm-level data in one country. This new data from a worldwide firm analysis of the shadow price of GHG emissions can play an important role in developing climate policy and promoting sustainable development.

An e-support firm's response to local e-readiness and the global e-business environment

The purpose of this study is to understand a small e-support firm’s response to the local e-readiness and the global e-business environment in a developing context. E-Support firms provide Web development and consultancy services to user organizations, assisting them in their uptake and maintenance of their Internet applications. Within the e-readiness research area, little is known about e-support firms, particularly in connection with their interaction with their local and the global e-business environment. As yet the emphasis on e-readiness studies has been at the national level. Nevertheless, the e-support sector is very significant in the successful adoption and diffusion of the Internet and related applications in any economy. It is thus important to understand how such firms relate to their e-business environments.That said, this study draws on the interpretive case study of a small e-support firm in Ghana, a developing context, to investigate the firm’s response to the e-readiness level of the local and the global e-business environment. Findings show that the firm could employ resources from the global environment to address most of the infrastructural challenges posed by a relatively poor local e-readiness context. However, its attempt to transfer advanced e-business technologies from the global e-business environment to the local e-business context did not succeed. This chapter offers implications for practice and research concerning the notion of reconciling local and global e-business environments in the small e-support sector.

Global outsourcing, production and logistics

Supply chains are the core of most industrial networks in which your business operates. They provide the pipeline through which the products and services flow from supplier to customer across each element within the business activity system. Global supply chain relationships have become the basis for many industries with an international network of firms engaged in the supply of goods and services that must be produced to quality standards in one country and delivered just-in-time for assembly or integration into further production processes in another country, frequently many thousands of miles apart. This topic examines the nature of supply chain management and their role in strategic networking. The previous learning tasks have focused on having the correct internal mechanism to effectively manage the inputs and outputs of the organisation by implementing an effective and transparent management system. This learning task takes a look at how management intent strategy and innovation are used to measure the external factors that influence the overall performance of the organisation and develop new strategies by understanding the business cycle and the people within your market environment.

An urban design perspective to classify knowledge precincts : a typological analysis of global best practices

Purpose: The paper seeks to investigate emerging knowledge precincts under the urban design lens in order to identify recurrent spatial patterns of urban forms and functions to gather an understanding of physical aspects that contribute to the creation of place quality. Scope: This paper focuses on the physical design and layout of specific precincts. Although socio-economic and other factors come into play imparting the distinctiveness; this paper only focuses on the spatial dimensions. Method: The research first develops a design typology framework through the lead of literature, and then utilizes it to identify recurrent elements in knowledge precinct design in order to develop taxonomy of patterns and layouts. Results: The research reported in this paper provides preliminary insights into the various form and functional factors playing role in the design of knowledge precincts and evaluates the elements that contribute to the success of these urban interventions. Recommendations: The paper recommends the use of particular design-based solutions in order to enhance the place making in knowledge precincts. Conclusions: The study concludes that despite the locational, regulatory and other contextual differences, the underlying driving principle of providing place quality to people leads to the emergence of identifiable spatial patterns across the knowledge precincts.

Marx as a Critical Discourse Analyst : The Genesis of a Critical Method and its Relevance to the Critique of Global Capital (with Phil Graham)

In this paper we identify elements in Marx’s economic and political writings that are relevant to contemporary critical discourse analysis (CDA). We argue that Marx can be seen to be engaging in a form of discourse analysis. We identify the elements in Marx’s historical materialist method that support such a perspective, and exemplify these in longitudinal comparison of Marx’s texts.

Global dissemination of a multidrug resistant Escherichia coli clone

Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) is a globally disseminated, multidrug resistant (MDR) clone responsible for a high proportion of urinary tract and bloodstream infections. The rapid emergence and successful spread of E. coli ST131 is strongly associated with several factors, including resistance to fluoroquinolones, high virulence gene content, the possession of the type 1 fimbriae FimH30 allele, and the production of the CTX-M-15 extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). Here, we used genome sequencing to examine the molecular epidemiology of a collection of E. coli ST131 strains isolated from six distinct geographical locations across the world spanning 2000–2011. The global phylogeny of E. coli ST131, determined from whole-genome sequence data, revealed a single lineage of E. coli ST131 distinct from other extraintestinal E. coli strains within the B2 phylogroup. Three closely related E. coli ST131 sublineages were identified, with little association to geographic origin. The majority of single-nucleotide variants associated with each of the sublineages were due to recombination in regions adjacent to mobile genetic elements (MGEs). The most prevalent sublineage of ST131 strains was characterized by fluoroquinolone resistance, and a distinct virulence factor and MGE profile. Four different variants of the CTX-M ESBL–resistance gene were identified in our ST131 strains, with acquisition of CTX-M-15 representing a defining feature of a discrete but geographically dispersed ST131 sublineage. This study confirms the global dispersal of a single E. coli ST131 clone and demonstrates the role of MGEs and recombination in the evolution of this important MDR pathogen.

Melatonin synthesis : a possible indicator of intolerance to shiftwork

Hypothesis Melatonin synthesis, which is directly controlled by the central circadian pacemaker indicates the circadian phase better than rectal temperature. Methods: Thirty four men (16-32 years, 7 morning, 13 neither, 14 evening types) performed a constant routine (24-26-hr bedrest, < 30 lux, 18-20°C, hourly isocaloric diet). Salivary melatonin level was determined hourly and rectal temperature was continuously recorded. Results: The nadir of rectal temperature occurred 1.5 hr (P = 0.017), the onset of melatonin synthesis 3 hr earlier (P < 0.0001) in morning than in evening types. Morningness was not related to the quantitative but significantly to the temporal parameters, closer to those of melatonin than of rectal temperature. Conclusions: The melatonin onset is a more reliable indicator of the diurnal type than the nadir of rectal temperature. As morningness has been associated with intolerance to shiftwork, melatonin profiling provides a suitable basis for the establishment of directed preventive measures.

Global Human Trafficking : Critical Issues and Contexts

Human trafficking has moved from relative obscurity to a major area of research, policy and teaching over the past ten years. Research has sprung from criminology, public policy, women’s and gender studies, sociology, anthropology, and law, but has been somewhat hindered by the failure of scholars to engage beyond their own disciplines and favoured methodologies. Recent research has begun to improve efforts to understand the causes of the problem, the experiences of victims, policy efforts, and their consequences in specific cultural and historical contexts. Global Human Trafficking: Critical issues and contexts foregrounds recent empirical work on human trafficking from an interdisciplinary, critical perspective. The collection includes classroom-friendly features, such as introductory chapters that provide essential background for understanding the trafficking literature, textboxes explaining key concepts, discussion questions for each chapter, and lists of additional resources, including films, websites, and additional readings for each chapter. The authors include both eminent and emerging scholars from around the world, drawn from law, anthropology, criminology, sociology, cultural studies, and political science and the book will be useful for undergraduate and graduate courses in these areas, as well as for scholars interested in trafficking.