Social licence to operate and the coal seam gas industry : lessons from social issues in established mining operations?

The recent growth of the coal seam gas industry has increased pressure on regional communities. Debate surrounding the industry is intense and a social licence to operate has yet to be granted to the industry in its entirety. This article presents an analysis of social issues surrounding the coal seam gas industry, making comparisons between two case studies: the Ranger and Jabiluka mines and the Yandicoogina mine. It presents the results of a desktop study, focussed on three topics: community identity; procedural justice and distributive justice, which provides a means for comparison and draws attention to central concerns. It is found that: power imbalances; changing community identities; potentially inequitable distributions of long term benefits and the process to distribute those benefits and negative perceptions of the industry as a whole serve to undermine the provision of a social licence to operate by communities and has the potential to impose significant negative impacts on companies within the industry.

Measuring Productivity Gains from Deregulation of the Japanese Urban Gas Industry

The Japanese government initiated a series of regulatory reforms in the mid-1990s. The Japanese urban gas industry consists of various sized private and non-private firms. Numerous previous studies find that deregulation leads to productivity improvements. We extend the literature by analyzing deregulation, privatization, and other aspects of a regulated industry using unique firm level data. This study measures productivity to evaluate the effect of the deregulation reform. Using data from 205 firms from 1993 to 2004, we find that the deregulation effect differs depending on firm size. Competitive pressure contributes to advanced productivity. The deregulation of gas sales to commercial customers is the most important factor for advancing productivity. Copyright © 2013 by the IAEE. All rights reserved.

Which industry is greener? An empirical study of nine industries in OECD countries

This study analyzed the relationship between the CO2 emissions of different industries and economic growth in OECD countries from 1970 to 2005. We tested an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis and found that total CO2 emissions from nine industries show an N-shaped trend instead of an inverted U or monotonic increasing trend with increasing income. The EKC hypothesis for sector-level CO2 emissions was supported in the (1) paper, pulp, and printing industry; (2) wood and wood products industry; and (3) construction industry. We also found that emissions from coal and oil increase with economic growth in the steel and construction industries. In addition, the non-metallic minerals, machinery, and transport equipment industries tend to have increased emissions from oil and electricity with economic growth. Finally, the EKC turning point and the relationship between GDP per capita and sectoral CO2 emissions differ among industries according to the fuel type used. Therefore, environmental policies for CO2 reduction must consider these differences in industrial characteristics. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Total factor productivity growth and convergence in the petroleum industry : empirical analysis testing for convexity

While economic theory acknowledges that some features of technology (e.g., indivisibilities, economies of scale and specialization) can fundamentally violate the traditional convexity assumption, almost all empirical studies accept the convexity property on faith. In this contribution, we apply two alternative flexible production technologies to measure total factor productivity growth and test the significance of the convexity axiom using a nonparametric test of closeness between unknown distributions. Based on unique field level data on the petroleum industry, the empirical results reveal significant differences, indicating that this production technology is most likely non-convex. Furthermore, we also show the impact of convexity on answers to traditional convergence questions in the productivity growth literature.

Changes in environmentally sensitive productivity and technological modernization in China's iron and steel industry in the 1990s

Technological modernization is widely believed to contribute positively both to economic development and to environmental and resource conservation, through improvements in productivity and strengthening of business competitiveness. However, this may not always be true, particularly in the short term, as it requires substantial investments and may impose financial burdens on firms undertaking such investments. This study empirically examines the effects of technological modernization in China's iron and steel industry in the 1990s on conventional economic productivity (CEP) and environmentally sensitive productivities (ESPs). We employ a directional distance function that can handle multiple inputs and outputs to compute relative production efficiencies. We apply these models to the data covering 27 iron and steel firms in China between 1990 and 1999-a period when the Chinese iron and steel industry modernized rapidly. We find that ESPs have continuously improved, even in the period when the CEP declined.

Foreign direct investment and technology spillovers in sub-Saharan Africa

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an effective conduit for technology transfer through technology spillovers to domestically owned firms in the host country. This study analyses the significance of productivity externalities of FDI to local firms, in terms of both intra-industry and inter-industry spillovers, using firm-level data from Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The results show evidences in support of intra- and inter-industry productivity spillovers from FDI for Kenya and Zimbabwe. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

A hard slog, not a leap frog : globalization and sustainability transitions in developing Asia

How does globalization influence transitions toward more sustainable socio-technical regimes in the developing world? This paper argues that transformations of regimes, the networks and institutions governing technological and environmental practices in an industry, can be positively influenced by globalization but it depends on how global forces interact with local socio-political landscapes-the political-economic institutions, values, and regulations broadly guiding an economy and its relationship to the environment. We evaluate these relationships through a comparison of two kinds of socio-political landscapes-the neo-liberal export-led development model commonly found in the developing world and the uniquely Asian capitalist developmental state. We first show how the neo-liberal model overemphasizes the power of market forces to facilitate upgrading and more sustainable industrialization. We then argue that capitalist developmental states in East and Southeast Asia have been better able to harness global economic forces for technological and sustainability transitions through an openness to trade and investment and effective public-private institutions able to link cleaner technologies and environmental standards to production activities in firms. We buttress this argument with firm-level evidence showing the evolution of socio-technical regimes in two industries-cement and electronics. The case studies demonstrate how interactions with OECD firms can contribute to environmental technique effects provided the socio-political landscape is amenable to changes in an industry's regime. Ultimately, we find the process of transition to be complex and contingent; a hard slog not a leap frog toward a potentially more sustainable future. We close by considering the limitations on the capitalist developmental state model and with comments about what else needs to be learned about globalization's role in sustainability transitions.

Regulatory reforms and productivity : an empirical analysis of the Japanese electricity industry

The Japanese electricity industry has experienced regulatory reforms since the mid-1990s. This article measures productivity in Japan's steam power-generation sector and examines the effect of reforms on the productivity of this industry over the period 1978-2003. We estimate the Luenberger productivity indicator, which is a generalization of the commonly used Malmquist productivity index, using a data envelopment analysis approach. Factors associated with productivity change are investigated through dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation of panel data. Our empirical analysis shows that the regulatory reforms have contributed to productivity growth in the steam power-generation sector in Japan.

Developments in mud filtration technology in the sugarcane industry

Dirt collected with sugarcane is processed and separated from the juice in the sugar factory by filtration equipment for return to the cane fields. New technologies over the past decade have enabled performance improvements to be obtained for this key unit operation. Filter mud product still contains a reasonable amount of sugar and the transportation of high moisture mud product has considerable cost. Australia’s traditional approach has been to use Rotary Vacuum Filters for processing and separating mud and other impurities from juice, but in recent years there has been interest in reducing sugar losses and transportation costs through utilisation of new technologies such as Horizontal Bed Filters, Vacuum Belt Press Filters, Membrane Press Filters and Centrifuges. Increasingly, these alternative equipment are being installed in new factories. This chapter describes the general principles of mud filtration theory and mud conditioning followed by a detailed description and review of the various filtration technologies and analysis of the relative merits associated with the equipment.

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.

Digital Modeling, Integrated Project Delivery and Industry Transformation: An Australian Case Study

This research is focused on realizing productivity benefits for the delivery of transport infrastructure in the Australian construction industry through the use of building information modeling (BIM), virtual design and construction (VDC) and integrated project delivery (IPD). Specific objectives include: (I) building an understanding of the institutional environment, business systems and support mechanisms (e.g., training and skilling) which impact on the uptake of BIM/VDC; (II) gathering data to undertake a cross-country analysis of these environments; and (III) providing strategic and practical outcomes to guide the uptake of such processes in Australia. Activities which will inform this research include a review of academic literature and industry documentation, semi-formal interviews in Australia and Sweden, and a cross-country comparative analysis to determine factors affecting uptake and associated productivity improvements. These activities will seek to highlight the gaps between current-practice and best-practice which are impacting on widespread adoption of BIM/VDC and IPD. Early findings will be discussed with intended outcomes of this research being used to: inform a national public procurement strategy; provide guidelines for new contractual frameworks; and contribute to closing skill gaps. Keywords: building information modeling (BIM); virtual design and construction (VDC); integrated project delivery (IPD); transport infrastructure; Australia; procurement

A discourse analysis on how the sustainability agenda is defined within the mining industry

The mining industry has positioned itself within the sustainability agenda, particularly since the establishment of the International Council of Mining and Minerals (ICMM). However, some critics have questioned this position, since mining requires the extraction of non-renewable finite resources and commercial mining companies have the specific responsibility to produce profit. Complicating matters is that terms that represent the sustainability such as ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ have multiple definitions with varying degrees of sophistication. This work identifies eleven sustainability agenda definitions that are applicable to the mining industry and organises them into three tiers: first, Perpetual Sustainability, that focuses on mining continuing indefinitely with its benefits limited to immediate shareholders; second, Transferable Sustainability, that focuses on how mining can benefit society and the environment and third, Transitional Sustainability, that focuses on the intergenerational benefits to society and the environment even after mining ceases. Using these definitions, a discourse analysis was performed on sustainability reports from member companies of the ICMM and the academic journal Resources Policy. The discourse analysis showed that in both media the definition of the sustainability agenda was focussed on Transferable Sustainability, with the sustainability reports focused on how it can be applied within a business context while the academic journal took a broader view of mining’s social and environmental impacts.

Enhancing social work interprofessional learning through across university and industry collaboration : early steps in the Advanced Health Directives Project

There is ongoing interest in strategies for enhancing the reciprocal benefit derived from social work placements by students, host agencies, and universities. There is also recognition that interprofessional learning is an important aspect of social work education,and that field education placements have a role to play in this learning. This article reports on an innovation in community-engaged learning undertaken between a major public hospital and a university, where a team of social work and law students contributed to a focused inquiry into a socio-legal practice challenge faced by the hospital, namely the use of Advanced Health Directives (AHDs).Various collaborative processes involved in the early phase of the AHD project are reflected on by participants.A preliminary evaluation supports the value of taking a systematic approach to university–industry engagement where interprofessional collaboration occurs vertically and horizontally within and across university and placement hosting agencies.

A different breed altogether? Distinctions between local and metropolitan journalism cultures

While a number of scholars have explored the special exigencies of local as opposed to metropolitan journalism, rarely have studies examined such differences in relation to journalism culture as constituted by journalists’ professional views. To address the gap in our knowledge, this study reports results from a representative survey of local and metropolitan newspaper journalists in Australia. Findings suggest that territorial context accounts for some significant differences in journalists’ demographics, as well as their role perceptions. In line with past research, local newspaper journalists exhibit much stronger support for the community forum and advocacy role. At the same time, and contrary to expectations, there is very little difference in their support of the watchdog role compared with metropolitan journalists. By combining questions about journalistic ideals and enactment in their work, and finding differences in the two, this study also has important implications for the methodological development of survey studies.

Industry based rehabilitation and closure knowledge management system : scoping study

The Central Queensland Mine Rehabilitation Group (CQMRG) has hosted mine site rehabilitation inspections combined with technical workshops for more than 20 years. It was recognised at CQMRG's anniversary meeting in April 2013 that the vast body of knowledge held by rehabilitation and closure planning practitioners was being lost as senior rehabilitation experts retire from the industry. It was noted that even more knowledge could be readily lost unless a knowledge management platform was developed to capture, store and enable retrieval of this information. This loss of knowledge results in a significant cost to industry. This project was therefore undertaken to review tools which have the capability to gather the less formal knowledge as well as to make links to existing resources and bibliographic material. This scoping study evaluated eight alternative knowledge management systems to provide guidance on the best method of providing the industry with an up-to-date, good practice, knowledge management system for rehabilitation and closure practices, with capability for information sharing via a portal and discussion forum. This project provides guidance for a larger project which will implement the knowledge management system to meet the requirements of the CQMRG and be transferrable to other regions if applicable. It will also provide the opportunity to identify missing links between existing tools and their application. That is, users may not be aware of how these existing tools can be used to assist with mine rehabilitation planning and implementation and the development of a new platform will help to create those linkages. The outcomes of this project are directed toward providing access to a live repository of rehabilitation practice information which is Central Queensland coal mine-specific, namely: highlighting best practice activities, results of trials and innovative practices; updated legislative requirements; links to practices elsewhere; and informal anecdotal information relevant to particular sites which may be of assistance in the development of rehabilitation of new areas. Solutions to the rehabilitation of challenging spoils/soils will also be provided. The project will also develop a process which can be applied more broadly within the mining sector to other regions and other commodities. Providing a platform for uploading information and holding discussion forums which can be managed by a regional practitioner network enables the new system to be kept alive, driven by users and information needs as they evolve over time. Similar internet-based platforms exist and are managed successfully. The preferred knowledge management system will capture the less formal and more difficult to access knowledge from rehabilitation and mine closure practitioners and stakeholders through the CQMRG and other contributors. It will also provide direct links, and greater accessibility, to more formal sources of knowledge with anticipated cost savings to the industry and improved rehabilitation practices with successful transitioning to closure and post-mining land use.