Grant application: QUT Learning and Teaching scheme 2012 Cracking the Code - A checklist to complement CRAs for first year Justice students.

Widening participation brings with it increasing diversity, increased variation in the level of academic preparedness (Clarke, 2011; Nelson, Clarke, & Kift 2010). Cultural capital coupled with negotiating the academic culture creates an environment based on many assumptions about academic writing and university culture. Variations in staff and student expectations relating to the teaching and learning experience is captured in a range of national and institutional data (AUSSE, CEQ, LEX). Nationally, AUSSE data (2009) indicates that communication, writing, speaking and analytic skills, staff expectations are quite a bit higher than students. The research team noted a recognisable shift in the changing cohort of students and their understanding and engagement with feedback and CRAs, as well as variations in teaching staff and student expectations. The current reality of tutor and student roles is that: - Students self select when/how they access lectures and tutorials. - Shorter tutorial times result in reduced opportunity to develop rapport with students. - CRAs are not always used consistently by staff (different marking styles and levels of feedback). - Marking is not always undertaken by the student’s tutor/lecturer. - Student support services might be recommended to students once a poor grade has been given. Students can perceive this as remedial and a further sense of failure. - CRA sheet has a mark /grade attached to it. Stigma attached to low mark. Hard to focus on the CRA feedback with a poor mark etched next to it. - Limited opportunities for sessionals to access professional development to assist with engaging students and feedback. - FYE resources exist, however academic time is a factor in exploring and embedding these resources. Feedback is another area with differing expectations and understandings. Sadler (2009) contends that students are not equipped to decode the statements properly. For students to be able to apply feedback, they need to understand the meaning of the feedback statement. They also need to identify, the particular aspects of their work that need attention. The proposed Checklist/guide would be one page and submitted with each assessment piece thereby providing an interface to engage students and tutors in managing first year understandings and expectations around CRAs, feedback, and academic practice.

Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in Australia: Chance or choice?

Purpose Ethnic entrepreneurship is, and always has been, a means of survival. However, there is limited literature on ethnic entrepreneurship in Australia and therefore, an understanding of ethnic entrepreneurs’ motivations to become self-employed. The purpose of this paper is to report the influential factors in the decision to engage in self-employment through case studies of members of Melbourne’s Sri Lankan community informed by the mixed embeddedness approach. Design/methodology/approach The mixed embeddedness approach frames the study where the authors examine the motivations for business of five Sri Lankan entrepreneurs. Narratives are used to construct individual case studies, which are then analyzed in terms of the motivations for, resources used and challenges faced on the entrepreneurial journey. Findings For these ethnic entrepreneurs, their entrepreneurial activity results from a dynamic match between local market opportunities and the specific ethnic resources available to them at the time of founding. The self-employment decision was not prompted by a lack of human capital but an inability to use that human capital in alternative means of employment at specific points in time. Moreover the authors highlight the importance of social and cultural capital as resources used to overcome challenges on the entrepreneurial journey. Originality/value In this community, entrepreneurship was not a result of a lack of human capital but how it was utilized in combination with social and cultural capitals in the given opportunity structure. The mixed embeddedness approach enables the uncovering of how ethnic network ties were used in light of the opportunities available to build entrepreneurial activity.

The puzzle of falling enrolments in physics and chemistry courses: Putting some pieces together

This paper reports and discusses the principal findings of an Australian study exploring the decisions of high achieving Year 10 students about taking physics and chemistry courses (Lyons, 2003). The study used a ‘multiple worlds’ framework to explore the diverse background characteristics that previous quantitative research had shown were implicated in these decisions. Based on analyses of questionnaire and interview data, the study found that the students’ decisions involved the complex negotiation of a number of cultural characteristics within their school science and family worlds. Many of the students regarded junior high school science as irrelevant, uninteresting and difficult, leaving them with few intrinsic reasons for enrolling in senior science courses. The study found that decisions about taking physical science courses were associated with the resources of cultural and social capital within their families, and the degree to which these resources were congruent with the advantages of choosing these courses. The paper concludes that the low intrinsic value of school science and the erosion of its strategic value contribute to the reluctance of students to choose physical science courses in the senior school.

Dancing into the second phase of creative industries

As we enter the second phase of creative industries there is a shift away from the early 1990s ideology of the arts as a creative content provider for the wealth generating ‘knowledge’ economy to an expanded rhetoric encompassing ‘cultural capital’ and its symbolic value. A renewed focus on culture is examined through a regional scan of creative industries in which social engineering of the arts occurs through policy imperatives driven by ‘profit oriented conceptualisations of culture’ (Hornidge 2011, p. 263) In the push for artists to become ‘culturpreneurs’ a trend has emerged where demand for ‘embedded creatives’ (Cunningham 2013) sees an exodus from arts-based employment through use of transferable skills into areas outside the arts. For those that stay, within the performing arts in particular, employment remains project-based, sporadic, underpaid, self-initiated and often self-financed, requiring adaptive career paths. Artist entrepreneurs must balance creation and performance of their art with increasing amounts of time spent on branding, compliance, fundraising and the logistical and commercial requirements of operating in a CI paradigm. The artists’ key challenge thus becomes one of aligning core creative and aesthetic values with market and business considerations. There is also the perceived threat posed by the ‘prosumer’ phenomenon (Bruns 2008), in which digital on-line products are created and produced by those formerly seen as consumers of art or audiences for art. Despite negative aspects to this scenario, a recent study (Steiner & Schneider 2013) reveals that artists are happier and more satisfied than other workers within and outside the creative industries. A lively hybridisation of creative practice is occurring through mobile and interactive technologies with dynamic connections to social media. Continued growth in arts festivals attracts participation in international and transdisciplinary collaborations, whilst cross-sectoral partnerships provide artists with opportunities beyond a socio-cultural setting into business, health, science and education. This is occurring alongside a renewed engagement with place through the rise of cultural precincts in ‘creative cities’ (Florida 2008, Landry 2000), providing revitalised spaces for artists to gather and work. Finally, a reconsideration of the specialist attributes and transferable skills that artists bring to the creative industries suggests ways to dance through both the challenges and opportunities occasioned by the current complexities of arts’ practices.

Firm social, cultural and intellectual capital : strategic indicators of international client satisfaction

Despite the increasing significance of the construction industry as an emerging sector of the Australian economy, there is inadequate research performed on construction design firms in terms of theoretical and empirical foundations. Although past research has identified the barriers and success factors for firm market entry, evidence suggests that to date no research has explicitly explored the sustainability of construction design firms in international markets. SMEs and their approach to firm internationalisation differ significantly from large manufacturing firms and a vast majority of construction design firms operate as SMEs. This paper develops a sustainable business model for construction design SMEs, which rely upon the development of clear Client Following (CF) versus Market Seeking (MS) strategies to support internal firm strategic and operational management. The understanding of these strategies is vital as the application of either will shape the design management approach of firms, which would in turn impact on the sustainability of these firms in foreign markets. Long-term sustainability of firms in international markets relies heavily upon client satisfaction. Client and project team participants’ communication during various design processes has often been problematic and the added difficulty of communicating across international boundaries further compounds the problem of capturing and maintaining client’s requirements. Therefore this paper develops a model for economic sustainability of Australian construction design firms working in international markets by exploring factors that affect client satisfaction across international boundaries, through the development of business performance indicators. These include not only the critical financial capital but also other ‘softer’ indicators, namely: social, cultural and intellectual capital. These act as a firm’s measure of success and the acquisition of this type of capital will provide significant advantages to firms’ success, hence sustainability in international markets.

Marx as critical discourse analyst : the genesis of a critical method and its relevance to the critique of global capital.

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 a longitudinal comparison of Marx´s texts.

ACE's role in developing Australia's human capital : a structural analysis

This project explored ways in which Adult and Community Education (ACE) could make a greater contribution to the human capital development outcome under the National Reform Agenda (NRA), and increase the number of skilled workers in Australia. Data on current vocational and non-vocational ACE programs was analysed. Strategies to improve ACE were collated for consideration by government authorities and ACE providers. There is much diversity in the perceived role and activities of ACE. Researchers have found it challenging to create a profile that depicts the whole sector, particularly in the absence of much reliable, valid and comparable data on ACE activities and outcomes. However, there is evidence indicative of ACE’s assistance in re-engaging with learning and training, and initiating pathways to further training or employment. The potential for ACE to make a bigger contribution to skilling Australia is recognised by governments across the nation (Senate Employment, Workplace Relations, Small Business and Education Committee, 1997). Yet policy changes to facilitate an increased role of ACE in the skilling process, and resourcing for ACE programs continue to receive less attention. This project explored three research questions: • What does the current profile of the ACE sector look like? • How is ACE contributing to reducing the skills deficit? • How can ACE enhance its contributions to reduce the skills deficit and achieve the human capital development outcome of the National Reform Agenda? The responsiveness

Education reform for at-risk youth : a social capital approach

Using the Education Queensland Reform Agenda to illustrate examples and approaches to education reform, this article discusses education reform for at-risk youth. It argues that the characteristics of modernity, the rise of Mode 2 Society, and the power asymmetries associated with the emergence of the politico-economic will contain the reform ambitions of the Education Queensland and other education reform agendas. It is proposed that the State adopt a transgressive and complimentary set of reform strategies including the adoption of distributed governance, making available meaningful school performance data, encouraging experimentation and facilitating broad stakeholder, community and neighbourhood engagement in school planning and operations. The article argues that measures such as these will assist to mobilize trust, minimise social fragmentation, generate and regenerate community resources, build cohesion, foster the socio-cultural-self-identities of 'at-risk' youth and will assist youth to achieve full participation in a robust and vibrant democracy.

La raza y la lengua como capital en las escuelas : una propuesta sociológica para las reformas en educación lingüística

Este texto hace un acercamiento sociológico al análisis de la raza y la lengua en la formación de programas de educación en idiomas. Este enfoque usa los modelos de Bourdieu de habitus y campo social, los cuales enmarcan la raza y la lengua como elementos variables en el cambio educativo y pedagógico, que están, a la vez, sujetos a la agenciamiento de profesores y estudiantes. El enfoque sugiere que una política de educación en lenguas para la justicia social puede concentrarse no sólo en el cambio y el desarrollo del sujeto humano, sino también en cambio sistemático de los campos sociales del currículo.

A human capital framework : designed for convergence

The 21" century business environment is dominated by unprecedented change across a broad spectrum of social, economic, technological and cultural factors (Nowotny, Scott & Gibbons 2001). Among these, two broad trends -economic globalisation and rising knowledge intensity (Hart 2006)have come to distinguish organisational life. Under the weight of these transformational influences, the developed world, it seems, has arrived at a transformational moment. The far-reaching effects of the global financial crisis and its shadowy twin: the threat of a double dip recession, continue to exert an unsteadying influence on global and corporate finances. Growth in developed economies has slumped, share prices have declined, the market value of corporations has slipped and unemployment rates, in the vast majority of developed economies, have risen. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth has retreated from the strong growth experienced in the late 1990s to negative growth in 2009 and a sluggish and unsteady recovery in 2010. In response, the reach of Government in terms of its participation in markets has been extended, bringing with it the need to transition to new governance and regulatory arrangements. Ongoing concerns regarding the pace and sustainability of the recovery remains a front-of-mind concern with bailouts, buybacks, borrowings and BP dominating news services: 'We are witnessing the reweaving of the social, political and economic fabric that binds our planet, with long-term consequences that are as or more profound than those of the industrial era' (Tapscott & Williams 2006, p. 59).

China's new Creative Clusters : Governance, Human Capital and Investment

Recognising that creativity is a major driving force in the post-industrial economy, the Chinese government has recently established a range of "creative clusters" – industrial parks devoted to media industries, and arts districts – in order to promote the development of the creative industries. This book examines these new creative clusters, outlining their nature and purpose, and assessing their effectiveness. Drawing on case studies of a range of cluster models, and comparing them with international examples, the book demonstrates that creativity, both in China and internationally, is in fact a process of fitting new ideas to existing patterns, models and formats. It shows how large and exceptionally impressive creative clusters have been successfully established, but raises the important questions of whether profit or culture is the driving force, and of whether the bringing together of independent-minded, creative people, entrepreneurial businessmen, preferential policies and foreign investment may in time lead to unintended changes in social and political attitudes in China, including a weakening of state bureaucratic power. An important contribution to the existing literature on the subject, this book will be of great interest to scholars of urban studies, cultural geography, cultural economics and Asian studies.

Can Beijing become a global media capital?

The commercialization of Chinese media has taken place over the past two decades; it has become a significant force since 2001 when China joined the World Trade Organisation. With demand for original content increasing and China contemplating a cultural trade deficit in media content, there is much discussion of agglomeration and clustering. Beijing, as the national media centre of China, witnesses a process of media agglomeration while bearing the problem of cultural export during the media commercialization. Michael Curtin‟s idea of media capital, which absorbs media resources and personnel and exports media products transnationally, provides a dynamic perspective of understanding media agglomeration and dispersion under different political social and cultural circumstances. Hence the question whether Beijing is going to transform into a transnational media capital is worth studying, in order to observe and comprehend China‟s media industry in transition. Drawing on Michael Curtin‟s three media capital trajectories, the paper interprets tensions and challenges generated in the process of media industry agglomeration and growth in Beijing. Emphasis is placed on the third trajectory, socio-cultural variation.

Crime talk, FIFO workers and cultural conflict on the mining boom frontier

Australia is experiencing an unprecedented expansion in mining due to intense demand from Asian economies thirsty for Australia’s non-renewable resources, with over $260 billion worth of capital investment currently in the pipeline (BREE 10). The scale of the present boom coupled with the longer term intensification of competitiveness in the global resources sector is changing the very nature of mining operations in Australia. Of particular note is the increasingly heavy reliance on a non-resident workforce, currently sourced from within Australia but with some recent proposals for projects to draw on overseas guest workers. This is no longer confined, as it once was, to remote, short term projects or to exploration and construction phases of operations, but is emerging as the preferred industry norm. Depending upon project location, workers may either fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in, drive-out (DIDO), the critical point being that these operations are frequently undertaken in or near established communities. Drawing primarily on original fieldwork in one of Australia’s mining regions at the forefront of the boom, this paper explores some of the local impacts of new mining regimes, in particular their tendency to undermine collective solidarities, promote social division and fan cultural conflict.

Heritage language for young Chinese Australian adults in urban Australia : Capital and habitus in fields

Studies of Heritage Language learners‟ commitment and their ethnic identity are increasing, yet there is scant sociological research addressing topics relating to Chinese Heritage Language learners. Drawing on Bourdieu‟s signature notions of „habitus‟, „capital‟, and „field‟, this mixed methods study investigates two problems: (1) impacts of “Chineseness” and accessible resources on Chinese Heritage Language proficiency of young Chinese Australian adults in urban Australia; and (2) the meanings of Chinese Heritage Language to these young people.

Impact of organisational cultural factors on knowledge management in construction

Knowledge Management (KM) is a process that focuses on knowledge-related activities to facilitate knowledge creation, capture, transformation and use, with the ultimate aim of leveraging organisations’ intellectual capital to achieve organisational objectives. Organisational culture and climate have been identified as major catalysts to knowledge creation and sharing, and hence are considered important dimensions of KM research. The fragmented and hierarchical nature of the construction industry illustrates its difficulties to operate in a co-ordinated and homogeneous way when dealing with knowledge-related issues such as research and development, training and innovation. The culture and climate of organisations operating within the construction industry are profoundly shaped by the long-established characteristics of the industry, whilst also being influenced by the changes within the sector. Meanwhile, the special project-based structure of construction organisations constitutes additional challenges in facing knowledge production. The study this paper reports on addresses the impact of organisational culture and climate on the intensity of KM activities within construction organisations, with specific focus on the managerial activities that help to manage these challenges and to facilitate KM. A series of semi-structured interviews were undertaken to investigate the KM activities of the contractors operating in Hong Kong. The analysis on the qualitative data revealed that leadership on KM, innovation management, communication management and IT development were key factors that impact positively on the KM activities within the organisations under investigation.