Human resource management and innovation: what are knowledge-intensive firms doing?

An undeniable shift in focus from traditional production companies to Knowledge-Intensive Firms (KIFs) poses challenges for academics and practioners alike. In particular, effective management of an organization's human resources has become a critical issue for ensuring sustained innovation capacity. The relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) in KIFs is however still a largely unexplored arena. The objective of this paper is to explore this relationship in an effort to identify HRM practices that support innovation. To this end, the paper includes reviews of the literature relevant to HRM and innovation in KIFs and four case studies from companies in Denmark and Australia that have been recognized for excellence in innovation. On the basis of content analyses conducted on the case data, some preliminary conclusions are posited regarding the role of HRM in KIFs. More specifically, the findings from this study suggest that while there are commonalities between HRM practices in traditional manufacturing companies and KIFs, there are also important differences, especially in terms of staffing practices. The paper contributes by offering recommendations for management of HRM in innovative KIFs and potential avenues for research to further develop our understanding of how HRM can support innovation in KIFs.

Succession management as a knowledge management strategy

One of the most critical issues for building innovation capacity in organisations is the acquisition and maintenance of knowledge. As knowledge is the basis of human capital, then the ability to attract, retain and engage talent is argued to be an important element of innovation. By attracting and retaining good staff, the organisation is retaining organisational knowledge which is necessary particularly for exploitation of current capabilities, but will also contribute to capacity for exploration for future innovation. This paper addresses the importance of retaining and developing staff as a critical issue for knowledge management and addresses the issue of retaining talent through effective succession management practices. The findings from an exploratory study into current practices in the Australian rail sector, provides further insight into the potentially critical issues for the effective use of succession management as a knowledge management and employee retention tool for building innovation capacity.

Towards executable specification : combining i* and AgentSpeak(L).

Agent-oriented conceptual modelling (AoCM) approaches in Requirements Engineering (RE) have received considerable attention recently. Semi-formal modeling frameworks such as i* assist analysts in requirements elicitation and reasoning of early-phase RE. AgentSpeak(L) is a widely accepted agent programming language. The Strategic Rationale (SR) model of the i* framework naturally lends itself to AgentSpeak(L) programs. Furthermore, the Strategic Dependency (SD) component of the i* framework prescribes the interaction between the agents in a multi-agent environment. This paper proposes a formal methodology for transforming a SR model to an AgentS- peak(L) agent. The constructed AgentSpeak(L) agents will then form the essential components of a multi-agent system, MAS.

Designing for engagement : building IT systems

Context The School of Information Technology at QUT has recently undertaken a major restructuring of their Bachelor of Information Technology (BIT) course. Some of the aims of this restructuring include a reduction in first year attrition and to provide an attractive degree course that meets both student and industry expectations. Emphasis has been placed on the first semester in the context of retaining students by introducing a set of four units that complement one another and provide introductory material on technology, programming and related skills, and generic skills that will aid the students throughout their undergraduate course and in their careers. This discussion relates to one of these four fist semester units, namely Building IT Systems. The aim of this unit is to create small Information Technology (IT) systems that use programming or scripting, databases as either standalone applications or web applications. In the prior history of teaching introductory computer programming at QUT, programming has been taught as a stand alone subject and integration of computer applications with other systems such as databases and networks was not undertaken until students had been given a thorough grounding in those topics as well. Feedback has indicated that students do not believe that working with a database requires programming skills. In fact, the teaching of the building blocks of computer applications have been compartmentalized and taught in isolation from each other. The teaching of introductory computer programming has been an industry requirement of IT degree courses as many jobs require at least some knowledge of the topic. Yet, computer programming is not a skill that all students have equal capabilities of learning (Bruce et al., 2004) and this is clearly shown by the volume of publications dedicated to this topic in the literature over a broad period of time (Eckerdal & Berglund, 2005; Mayer, 1981; Winslow, 1996). The teaching of this introductory material has been done pretty much the same way over the past thirty years. During this period of time that introductory computer programming courses have been taught at QUT, a number of different programming languages and programming paradigms have been used and different approaches to teaching and learning have been attempted in an effort to find the golden thread that would allow students to learn this complex topic. Unfortunately, computer programming is not a skill that can be learnt in one semester. Some basics can be learnt but it can take many years to master (Norvig, 2001). Faculty data typically has shown a bimodal distribution of results for students undertaking introductory programming courses with a high proportion of students receiving a high mark and a high proportion of students receiving a low or failing mark. This indicates that there are students who understand and excel with the introductory material while there is another group who struggle to understand the concepts and practices required to be able to translate a specification or problem statement into a computer program that achieves what is being requested. The consequence of a large group of students failing the introductory programming course has been a high level of attrition amongst first year students. This attrition level does not provide good continuity in student numbers in later years of the degree program and the current approach is not seen as sustainable.

Somatic embryogenesis, organogenesis and plant regeneration in taro (Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta)

Callus was initiated in three different ‘‘esculenta’’ taro cultivars by culturing corm slices in the dark on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) for 20 days followed by subculture of all corm slices to half-strength MS medium containing 1.0 mg/l thidiazuron (TDZ). Depending on the cultivar, 20–30% of corm slices produced compact, yellow, nodular callus on media containing TDZ. Histological studies revealed the presence of typical embryogenic cells which were small, isodiametric with dense cytoplasms. Somatic embryos formed when callus was transferred to hormone-free medium and *72% of the embryos germinated into plantlets on this medium. Simultaneous formation of roots and shoots during germination, and the presence of shoot and root poles revealed by histology, confirmed that these structures were true somatic embryos. Plants derived from somatic embryos appeared phenotypically normal following 2 months growth in a glasshouse. This method is a significant advance on those previously reported for the esculenta cultivars of taro due to its efficiency and reproducibility.

Developing leadership and management capability for the future of an industry

The importance of having effective managers in an organisation who possess both management and leadership abilities is rarely questioned. However, should we be taking this a step further and looking to the challenge of leadership within an industry sector? The rail industry in Australia faces a challenging future: an aging workforce, geographical spread, privatisation and corporatisation, plus particular issues of industry image and culture. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study into the current approaches to leadership and management development in the Australian rail industry. It discusses critical issues facing the sector and outlines some theoretical approaches to addressing these issues.

Innovation and learning for sustainable competitive advantage : preliminary findings

Achieving and sustaining competitive advantage is a major challenge for firms in today’s dynamic global marketplace. The notion of sustained competitive advantage has been investigated through a number of paradigms, from the resource based view of the firm to dynamic capabilities. This paper reports preliminary findings from research which investigates the characteristics of innovative firms that have demonstrated competitive advantage over time, targeting factors that contribute to the firm’s performance. Key factors to sustaining competitive advantage include working with demanding customers, team based organizational cultures, engaging in challenging projects to make new to the world products, and using projects to generate the necessity for learning by doing, learning by using and learning by interacting in new product and process development.

Trajectories of broadband : the coming, going and return of broadband

As the paper’s subtitle suggests broadband has had a remarkably checkered trajectory in Australia. It was synonymous with the early 1990s information superhighway and seemed to presage a moment in which “content is [to be] king”. It disappeared almost entirely as a public priority in the mid to late 1990s as intrastructure and content were disconnected in services frameworks focused on information and communication technologies. And it came back in the 2000s as a critical infrastructure for innovation and the knowledge economy. But this time content was not king but rather an intermediate input at the service of innovating industries and processes. Broadband was a critical infrastructure for the digitally-based creative industries. Today the quality of the broadband infrastructure in Australia—itself an outcome of these different policy frameworks���is identified as “fraudband” holding back business, creativity and consumer uptake. In this paper I use the checkered trajectory of broadband on Australian political and policy horizons as a stepping off point to reflect on the ideas governing these changing governmental and public settings. This history enables me to explore how content and infrastructure are simultaneously connected and disconnected in our thinking. And, finally, I want to make some remarks about the way communication, particularly media communication, has been marginally positioned after being, initially so apparently central.

Under great pressure, a diamond is being formed: The SBS over time

This article observes a paradox in the recent history of the Special Broadcasting Service. It is argued that, in contrast to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the role and general direction of SBS were not extensively debated as part of the ‘culture wars��� that occurred during the years of the Howard government. While that made SBS a less fraught space during that period, it may now be a factor in the comparative lack of support being given by the Rudd Labor government to SBS in comparison with the ABC, as some of the ‘special’ status of SBS has been blunted by its drift towards more mainstream programming and a mixed economy of commercial advertising, as well as government funding.

Improving taro (Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta) production using biotechnological approaches

Taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott) is an important crop worldwide but is of particular significance in many Pacific Island countries where it forms part of the staple diet and serves as an export commodity. Escalating pest and disease problems are jeopardizing taro production with serious implications to food security and trade. Biotechnological approaches to addressing pest and disease problems, such as somatic embryogenesis and transgenesis, are potentially viable options. However, despite biotechnological advancements in higher profile agronomic crops, such progress in relation to Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta has been slow. This paper reviews taro biology, highlights the cultural and economic significance of taro in Pacific Island countries and discusses the progress made towards the molecular breeding of this important crop to date.

Initiation of embryogenic cell suspensions of taro (Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta) and plant regeneration

Embryogenic callus was initiated by culturing in vitro taro corm slices on agar-solidified half-strength MS medium containing 2.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) for 20 days followed by transfer to 1.0 mg/L thidiazuron (TDZ). Callus was subsequently proliferated on solid medium containing 1.0 mg/L TDZ, 0.5 mg/L 2,4- D and 800 mg/L glutamine before transfer to liquid medium containing the same components but with reduced glutamine (100 mg/L). After 3 months in liquid culture on an orbital shaker, cytoplasmically dense cell aggregates began to form. Somatic embryogenesis was induced by plating suspension cells onto solid media containing reduced levels of hormones (0.1 mg/L TDZ, 0.05 mg/L 2,4-D), high concentrations of sucrose (40–50 g/L) and biotin (1.0 mg/L). Embryo maturation and germination was then induced on media containing 0.05 mg/L benzyladenine (BA) and 0.1 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Histological studies of the developing embryos revealed the presence of typical shoot and root poles suggesting that these structures were true somatic embryos. The rate of somatic embryos formation was 500–3,000 per mL settledcell volume while approximately 60% of the embryos regenerated into plants.

Unionization : a necessary strategy to arrest professional decline?

This article examines contemporary social work and why it is under serious threat, ideologically and economically, in a rapidly changing world that no longer highly values its social mandate, methods, and outcomes. Within this hostile environment we investigate the low salaries and high student debt that beginning social workers experience, which might otherwise drive them into unions. Instead, the profession resists unionization, preferring to remain focused on its ideals rather than the disquieting marketplace realities. We then examine the general elements of a hybrid union model that can assist social workers to organize and thus arrest their long-standing professional and fiscal decline.