Territorial strategies and regions

The notion of territorial strategy emerged in the 1990s and has become more and more popular since. It refers to that combination of factors purposely assembled by governments, private and public companies, universities, and industrial associations to exploit a specific geographic competitive advantage in order to boost economic growth through the development of entrepreneurial activity and innovation. Three factors are generally considered to be the building blocks of a territorial strategy: natural resources, human capital, and industrial capabilities. Natural resources derive from environ­ mental conditions and represent raw materials or land available in a region. The presence of natural resources characterizes the typology of an industry (related to tourism, oil, wood, fish, and so forth) that exists or could exist in a certain area. Human capital refers to the stock of competences available in a certain region resulting from education and work experience. Industrial capabilities relate to complex constructs of specialized expertise, the confidence to apply knowledge and skills in various contexts and under changing conditions, and an ability repeatedly to improve methods and processes in a specific industry.

Influence tactics and leader effectiveness : how effective, contemporary leaders influence subordinates

Defining the difference between successful and mediocre leaders is a quest that has attracted many renowned scholars, drawing vast amounts of research effort. Yet while there are excellent theoretical explanations of what leaders should do: exhibit transformational behaviours, demonstrate authenticity, build productive relationships with followers and so on; there is still a scarcity of empirically-based research advising practicing leaders how to do these things. This study seeks to provide guidance about the fine-grained processes that effective leaders use on a daily basis to undertake the core process of all leadership activity; influencing followers. Using a grounded research approach, this study employs qualitative methods to capture the detail of effective leader behaviour and the micro-level influence processes that leaders use to create effective follower outcomes. Conducted in the health services industry with medical and allied health leaders, the study sought to answer the question: What influence methods might effective, contemporary leaders be using? The study builds on existing influence research, seeking to extend and update the typology of 11 influence tactics originally developed by Yukl and others, and which has been static since the late 1990s. Eight new influence tactics were identified, offering practicing leaders a powerful suite of potential strategies and representing a significant contribution to the field. Further research is recommended to confirm the identified influence constructs and test the generalisability of these findings to broader leader populations in health organisations and other knowledge-based organisations.

Blogs, Twitter, and breaking news : the produsage of citizen journalism

Debates over the role and relevance of what has been described as citizen journalism have existed at least since the late 1990s; positions have ranged from the fulsome dismissal of such bottom-up journalism activities (and indeed, almost all user-led content creation) as being part of a new "cult ofthe amateur" (Keen, 2007) to nearly equally simplistic perspectives which predicted citizen journalists would replace the mainstream journalism industry within a short timeframe. A more considered, more realistic perspective would take a somewhat more moderate view. Aided by circumstances including the long-term financial crisis enveloping journalism industries in many developed nations, the creeping corporatization and politicization of journalistic activities in democratic and non-democratic countries alike, and the largely unmet challenge of new, Internet-based media fonns, citizen journalism (as well as other parajournalistic media, including TV comedy such as The Daily Show) has been able to make credible inroads into what used to be the domain of journalism proper.

The Convergent Media Policy Moment

This paper will consider some of the wider contextual and policy questions arising out of four major public inquiries that took place in Australia over 2011–2012: the Convergence Review, the National Classification Scheme Review, the Independent Media Inquiry (Finkelstein Review) and the National Cultural Policy. This paper considers whether we are now witnessing a ‘convergent media policy moment’ akin to the ‘cultural policy moment’ theorized by Australian cultural researchers in the early 1990s, and the limitations of various approaches to understanding policy – including critiques of neoliberalism – in understanding such shifts. It notes the rise of ‘soft law’ as a means of addressing the challenges of regulatory design in an era of rapid media change, with consideration of two cases: the approach to media influence taken in the Convergence Review, and the concept of ‘deeming’ developed in the National Classification Scheme Review.

Young people whose parents are separated or divorced: A case for researching their experiences at the intersection of home and school

Background: Young people whose parents are separated or divorced form a significant and increasing proportion of young people who attend school. To date, empirical research with young people whose parents are separated or divorced has tended to focus on either their household context, or their school context, rather than on both contexts together. This paper redresses this singular focus by examining the intersection of the experiences of young people at both home and school. Purpose: The paper seeks to map the empirical evidence of young people's home and school experiences as they move between households and schools. Sources of evidence: The paper provides a narrative review of the literature from the 1990s to the present, locating Australian research within an international context. The review is framed by four main questions. What is the impact upon young people of the family transitions that occur when parents separate or divorce? What is the everyday impact upon young people of moving between one household and another? What does the research reveal regarding educational, social and emotional outcomes for this group? What does the research reveal regarding their school experiences? Main argument: The review reveals a paucity of Australian research at the intersection of home and school. It shows that, while young people from these contexts form a growing proportion of the school population, there is little empirical evidence of what is actually occurring in their everyday lives. The review reveals the importance of researching from the perspectives of the young people themselves. Conclusions: Evidence provided in the paper shows that many young people whose parents separate or divorce are affected socially, emotionally and educationally. Such evidence points to the need for research into the everyday experiences of the young people at school, in order to identify, from their perspective, how schools can better cater for these young people and their families.

Introduction : creative industries and cities

The 2000s were marked by a resurgence of interest in creativity and cities. If the rapid global proliferation of the Internet and digital media technologies in the 1990s had set off enthusiasm for a post-industrial ‘new economy’, where the significance of location would be in decline, the 2000s saw an energetic search by artists, entrepreneurs, investors, policy-makers, journalists and many others to uncover the well-springs of creativity and its relationship to place (Flew 2012a). This chapter begins with a discussion of the discourses or ‘scripts’ that have emerged to try and conceptualise the relationship between creativity and cities, notably theories of creative clusters, creative cities and creative class theories. Such work can be seen as representing a growth in the field of cultural economic geography although – as is noted in the chapter – it possesses some significant gaps. Among the issues that are drawn out in this book, and discussed in this chapter, are: the need to move beyond ‘imagined geographies’ of creative inner cities and come to terms with empirical evidence that suggests significant concentrations of the creative workforce in suburbs and regional cities; the relevance of urban cultural policy as a variable in the rise of cities as creative hubs or, in a different model, media capitals; and the challenges of bringing together cultural research with economic discourses in ways that get beyond caricatured representations of the ‘other’, as found, for instance, in some of the most influential framings of the concept of neo-liberalism.

Dumbing it down : where do standards fit?

In Australia, Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs are delivered in a variety of settings. You can be enrolled within a course in a high school, at a technical institution, private training provider or at your place of employment. Recognition of prior learning, on the job training and industry partnerships are strong factors supporting the change of delivery. The curriculum content within these programs has also changed. For example within the Business Services programs, the prerequisite and corequisite skill of touch keyboarding to an Australian Standard has moved from a core requirement in the 1990’s to an elective requirement in the 2000’s. Where a base skill becomes an elective skill, how does this effect the performance and outcomes for the learner, educator, employer and society as a whole? This paper will explore these issues and investigate the current position of standards within the VET curriculum today.

Travel context : development of a model to measure destination brand performance across different travel situations

Purpose: There is a lack of theory relating to destination brand performance measurement in the destination branding literature, which emerged in the late 1990s (see for example Dosen, Vransevic, & Prebezac, 1998). Additionally, there is a lack of research about the importance of travel context in consumers’ destination decision making (Hu & Ritchie, 1993). This study develops a structural model to measure destination brand performance across different travel situations. The theory of planned behaviour (TpB) was utilised as a framework to underpin the consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) hierarchy to develop a model of destination brand performance. Research approach: A proposed model of destination brand performance was developed through a review of the literature. The first study was used to identify destination image attributes (the core construct) using an analysis of the literature, a document analysis, and personal interviews using the Repertory Test qualitative technique. Underpinned by Personal Construct Theory (PCT), the Repertory Test enables the elicitation of attributes consumers use to evaluate destinations when considering travel. Data was examined in the first study to i) identify any attribute differences in travel contexts and ii) create a scale for use in a questionnaire. A second study was conducted to test the proposed model using a questionnaire with eight groups of participants to assess four destinations across two travel contexts. The model was tested utilising structural equation modelling. Findings: The first study resulted in a list of 29 destination image attributes for use in a scale index. Attributes were assessed across travel contexts and few differences were identified. The second study assessed the congruence of destination brand identity (the destination marketing organisation’s desired image) and destination brand image (the actual perceptions held by consumers) using importance-performance analyses. Finally, the proposed model of destination brand performance was tested. Overall the data supported the model of destination brand performance across travel contexts and destinations. Additionally, this was compared to consumers’ decision sets, further supporting the model. Value: This research provides a contribution to the destination marketing literature through the development of a measurement of destination brand performance underpinned by TpB. Practically; it will provide destination marketing organisations with a tool to track destination brand performance, relative to key competing places, over time. This is important given the development of a destination brand is a long term endeavour.

Review: "Transfigured Stages : Major Practitioners and Theatre Aesthetics in Australia" by Margaret Hamilton

In Transfigured Stages: Major Practitioners and Theatre Aesthetics in Australia, Margaret Hamilton traces the emergence of a postdramatic performance aesthetic in Australian theatre in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s through what she characterizes as an ‘analysis’ (p. 15) or ‘critique’ (p. 16)of a series of pivotal productions. For Hamilton, the transfigured aesthetic in the spotlight here is one typified by a focus on memory, imagination, desire, fear or disgust as facets of the human condition; by a visual, televisual or interactive dramaturgy; and, most critically, by a metatheatrical tendency to make tensions in the theatre-making process part and parcel of the tensions in the performance itself (pp.18–20)...

An Indigenous perspective on the standardisation of restorative justice in New Zealand and Canada

The dramatic increase in restorative justice activity in western jurisdictions since the early 1990s has driven state officials, supported by some theorists and practitioners, to standardise the design and delivery of restorative justice programmes. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical indigenous examination of various rationale proffered in support of the standardisation process that is occurring in the neo-colonial jurisdictions of Canada and New Zealand. The paper ends with a call for Maori justice practitioners to develop their own standard for enhancing the delivery of restorative justice initiatives to Maori offenders, victims, families and communities.

Financialization, crisis and commodity correlation dynamics

Stronger investor interest in commodities may create closer integration with conventional asset markets. We estimate sudden and gradual changes in correlation between stocks, bonds and commodity futures returns driven by observable financial variables and time, using double smooth transition conditional correlation (DSTCC–GARCH) models. Most correlations begin the 1990s near zero but closer integration emerges around the early 2000s and reaches peaks during the recent crisis. Diversification benefits to investors across equity, bond and stock markets were significantly reduced. Increases in VIX and financial traders’ short open interest raise futures returns volatility for many commodities. Higher VIX also increases commodity returns correlation with equity returns for about half the pairs, indicating closer integration.

Destination branding performance measurement : a non-technical discussion for practitioners

While academic interest in destination branding has been gathering momentum since the field commenced in the late 1990s, one important gap in this literature that has received relatively little attention to date is the measurement of destination brand performance. This paper sets out one method for assessing the performance of a destination brand over time. The intent is to present an approach that will appeal to marketing practitioners, and which is also conceptually sound. The method is underpinned by Decision Set Theory and the concept of Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), while the key variables mirror the branding objectives used by many destination marketing organisations (DMO). The approach is demonstrated in this paper to measure brand performance for Australia in the New Zealand market. It is suggested the findings provide indicators of both i) the success of previous marketing communications, and ii) future performance, which can be easily communicated to a DMO’s stakeholders.

Faculty mentoring, evidence-based assessment, and student learning : an Australian exploration of American initiatives

There have been many improvements in Australian engineering education since the 1990s. However, given the recent drive for assuring the achievement of identified academic standards, more progress needs to be made, particularly in the area of evidence-based assessment. This paper reports on initiatives gathered from the literature and engineering academics in the USA, through an Australian National Teaching Fellowship program. The program aims to establish a process to help academics in designing and implementing evidence-based assessments that meet the needs of not only students and the staff that teach them, but also industry as well as accreditation bodies. The paper also examines the kinds and levels of support necessary for engineering academics, especially early career ones, to help meet the expectations of the current drive for assured quality and standards of both research and teaching. Academics are experiencing competing demands on their time and energy with very high expectations in research performance and increased teaching responsibilities, although many are researchers who have not had much pedagogic training. Based on the literature and investigation of relevant initiatives in the USA, we conducted interviews with several identified experts and change agents who have wrought effective academic cultural change within their institutions and beyond. These reveal that assuring the standards and quality of student learning outcomes through evidence-based assessments cannot be appropriately addressed without also addressing the issue of pedagogic training for academic staff. To be sustainable, such training needs to be complemented by a culture of on-going mentoring support from senior academics, formalised through the university administration, so that mentors are afforded resources, time, and appropriate recognition.

The magic of numbers and the amazing disappearing act : the politics of counting youth homelessness

No-one wants to see young people who are no longer able to stay at home with their parents living in situations that are neither stable nor safe. Most Australians also appreciate that youth homelessness is typically a result of factors beyond the control of young people like poverty, lack of affordable housing, parental divorce or separation, family conflict and violence, sexual abuse, or mental health problems.1 Since the Burdekin Report of 1989 first put the issue on the national agenda, youth homelessness has been a point of some political sensitivity as the numbers of young homeless stayed stubbornly high through the 1990s and into the 2000s.

The science curriculum : the decline of expertise and the rise of bureaucratise

The content for the school science curriculum has always been an interplay or contest between the interests of a number of stakeholders, who have an interest in establishing it at a new level of schooling or in changing its current form. For most of its history, the interplay was dominated by the interests of academic scientists, but in the 1980s the needs of both future scientists and future citizens began to be more evenly balanced as science educators promoted a wider sense of science. The contest changed again in the 1990s with a super-ordinate control being exerted by government bureaucrats at the expense of the subject experts. This change coincides with the rise in a number of countries of a market view of education, and of science education in particular, accompanied by demands for public accountability via simplistic auditing measures. This shift from expertise to bureaucratise and its consequences for the quality of science education is illustrated with five case studies of science curriculum reform in Australia.