From the editor

In this issue of the Journal, articles presented to the readers cover project management practices throughout history (“Frontinus—A Project Manager From the Roman Empire Era,” Walker and Dart), project success and failure revisited through integrated theoretical lens on the one hand (“Translation and Convergence in Projects: An Organizational Perspective on Project Success,” Alderman and Ivory) and, on the other hand, with a focus on systems engineers' capacity for engineering systems thinking (“The Relationship Among Systems Engineers' Capacity for Engineering Systems Thinking, Project Types, and Project Success,” Frank, Sadeh, and Ashkenasi), project management offices (PMOs) investigated through community of practice theory (“Exploring PMOs Through Community of Practice Theory,” Aubry, Müller, and Glückler), influence of cultural patterns on project team behavior (“Cultural Patterns Influencing Project Team Behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study in Ethiopia,” Jetu, Riedl, and Roithmayr), and human factors and differences of perception and their impact on risk management (“Exploring Risk Dimensions in the Indian Software Industry,” Sharma, Sengupta, and Gupta)...

From the editor

Intelligence and context, knowledge, competence, and performance and results summarize the content of the papers presented to readers in this issue of the Journal. This is a very relevant series of papers as, for the past 50 years, project management has become a well-accepted way to manage organizations. The field of project management has evolved from operational research techniques and tools to a discipline of management encompassing various schools of thought (Söderlund, 2002; Turner, Huemann, Anbari, & Bredillet, 2010)...

Earned value management insights using inferential statistics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarise a successfully defended doctoral thesis. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the scope, and main issues raised in the thesis so that readers undertaking studies in the same or connected areas may be aware of current contributions to the topic. The secondary aims are to frame the completed thesis in the context of doctoral-level research in project management as well as offer ideas for further investigation which would serve to extend scientific knowledge on the topic. Design/methodology/approach – Research reported in this paper is based on a quantitative study using inferential statistics aimed at better understanding the actual and potential usage of earned value management (EVM) as applied to external projects under contract. Theories uncovered during the literature review were hypothesized and tested using experiential data collected from 145 EVM practitioners with direct experience on one or more external projects under contract that applied the methodology. Findings – The results of this research suggest that EVM is an effective project management methodology. The principles of EVM were shown to be significant positive predictors of project success on contracted efforts and to be a relatively greater positive predictor of project success when using fixed-price versus cost-plus (CP) type contracts. Moreover, EVM's work-breakdown structure (WBS) utility was shown to positively contribute to the formation of project contracts. The contribution was not significantly different between fixed-price and CP contracted projects, with exceptions in the areas of schedule planning and payment planning. EVM's “S” curve benefited the administration of project contracts. The contribution of the S-curve was not significantly different between fixed-price and CP contracted projects. Furthermore, EVM metrics were shown to also be important contributors to the administration of project contracts. The relative contribution of EVM metrics to projects under fixed-price versus CP contracts was not significantly different, with one exception in the area of evaluating and processing payment requests. Practical implications – These results have important implications for project practitioners, EVM advocates, as well as corporate and governmental policy makers. EVM should be considered for all projects – not only for its positive contribution to project contract development and administration, for its contribution to project success as well, regardless of contract type. Contract type should not be the sole determining factor in the decision whether or not to use EVM. More particularly, the more fixed the contracted project cost, the more the principles of EVM explain the success of the project. The use of EVM mechanics should also be used in all projects regardless of contract type. Payment planning using a WBS should be emphasized in fixed-price contracts using EVM in order to help mitigate performance risk. Schedule planning using a WBS should be emphasized in CP contracts using EVM in order to help mitigate financial risk. Similarly, EVM metrics should be emphasized in fixed-price contracts in evaluating and processing payment requests. Originality/value – This paper provides a summary of cutting-edge research work and a link to the published thesis that researchers can use to help them understand how the research methodology was applied as well as how it can be extended.

Debating literacy in Australia : a documentary history, 1945 - 1994

A documentary history of 'literacy' as an issue, topic and problem in the Australia print media, 1945-1994. The accompanying critical analysis makes the case that 'literacy crises' in Australia have arisen during periods of major socioeconomic, cultural and geopolitical upheaval and change, with schools and teachers, youth and families the object of 'blame' for such changes.

Book review of Wang, Y., & Pizam, A. (Eds). 2011. Destination Marketing and Management – Theories and Applications.

A contentious issue in the field of destination marketing has been the recent tendency by some authors to refer to destination marketing organisations (DMOs) as destination management organisations. This nomenclature infers control over destination resources, a level of influence that is in reality held by few DMOs. This issue of a lack of control over the destination ‘amalgam’ is acknowledged by a number of the contributors, including the editors and the discussion on destination competitiveness by J.R. Brent Ritchie and Geoffrey Crouch, and is perhaps best summed up by Alan Fyall in the concluding chapter: “...unless all elements are owned by the same body, then the ability to control and influence the direction, quality and development of the destination pose very real challenges’ (p. 343). The title of the text acknowledges both marketing and management, in relation to theories and applications. While there are insightful propositions about ideals of destination management, readers will find there is a lack of coverage of destination management in practise by DMOs. This represents fertile ground for future research.

An interview with Jacques Rancière : on medium-specificity and discipline crossovers in modern art

Jacques Rancière's work on aesthetics has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Given his work has enormous range – covering art and literature, political theory, historiography, pedagogy and worker's history – Andrew McNamara and Toni Ross (UNSW) explore his wider critical ambitions in this interview, while showing how it leads to alternative insights into aesthetics. Rancière sets aside the core suppositions linking the medium to aesthetic judgment, which has informed many definitions of modernism. Rancière is emphatic in freeing aesthetic judgment from issues of medium-specificity. He argues that the idea of autonomy associated with medium-specificity – or 'truth to the medium' – was 'a very late one' in modernism, and that post-medium trends were already evident in early modernism. While not stressing a simple continuity between early modernism and contemporary art, Ranciere nonetheless emphasizes the on-going ethical and political ramifications of maintaining an a-disciplinary stance.

Pedagogy and paradox : teaching interpretation in a religious community

A qualitative, discourse analytic study of literate practices in a small religious community in a northern Australian city. The chapter documents how this community constructs religious reading and writing, affiliated ideologies and theologies, and how readers/hearers/learners are positions vis a vis the authority of sacred text.

Key concepts in creative industries

Creativity is an attribute of individual people, but also a feature of organizations like firms, cultural institutions and social networks. In the knowledge economy of today, creativity is of increasing value, for developing, emergent and advanced countries, and for competing cities. This book is the first to present an organized study of the key concepts that underlie and motivate the field of creative industries. Written by a world-leading team of experts, it presents readers with compact accounts of the history of terms, the debates and tensions associated with their usage, and examples of how they apply to the creative industries around the world. Crisp and relevant, this is an invaluable text for students of the creative industries across a range of disciplines, especially media, communication, economics, sociology, creative and performing arts and regional studies.

Attribution of words versus attribution of responsibilities : Academic plagiarism and university practice

This paper examines a case of academic plagiarism and the subsequent treatment of the issues across several academic institutions. It calls for academic leaders in universities to act on what constitutes a serious breach of standards, engendered in part by broader institutional norms and values promoting the need for publications in a ‘publish or perish’ environment. While universities often promote high-sounding ideals and would generally wish to be seen to uphold high academic standards, it is argued that silence and complicity surround the way in which instances of plagiarism in academic publications are often dealt with. Actions (and inaction) by academic leaders in universities in dealing with cases of academic plagiarism speak volumes in terms of the values academic institutions profess, and those they actually uphold. The paper prompts readers to consider the need for a more consistent and proactive stance on the part of their own institutions to exercise ethical leadership in identifying and addressing academic plagiarism when it occurs.

Cloning of a novel insulin-regulated ghrelin transcript in prostate cancer

Ghrelin is a multifunctional hormone, with roles in stimulating appetite and regulating energy balance, insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis. The ghrelin gene locus (GHRL) is highly complex and gives rise to a range of novel transcripts derived from alternative first exons and internally spliced exons. The wild-type transcript encodes a 117 amino acid preprohormone that is processed to yield the 28 amino acid peptide ghrelin. Here, we identified insulin-responsive transcription corresponding to cryptic exons in intron 2 of the human ghrelin gene. A transcript, termed in2c-ghrelin (intron 2-cryptic), was cloned from the testis and the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. This transcript may encode an 83 AA preproghrelin isoform that codes for the ghrelin, but not obestatin. It is expressed in a limited number of normal tissues and in tumours of the prostate, testis, breast and ovary. Finally, we confirmed that in2c-ghrelin transcript expression, as well as the recently described in1-ghrelin transcript, is significantly upregulated by insulin in cultured prostate cancer cells. Metabolic syndrome and hyperinsulinaemia has been associated with prostate cancer risk and progression. This may be particularly significant after androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer, which induces hyperinsulinaemia, and this could contribute to castrate resistant prostate cancer growth. We have previously demonstrated that ghrelin stimulates prostate cancer cell line proliferation in vitro. This study is the first description of insulin regulation of a ghrelin transcript in cancer, and should provide further impetus for studies into the expression, regulation and function of ghrelin gene products.

Blogging the 2009 Queensland State Election

The internet has become important in political communication in Australia. Using Habermas' ideal types, it is argued that political blogs can be viewed as public spheres that might provide scope for the expansion of deliberative democratic discussion. This hypothesis is explored through analysis of the group political blog Pineapple Party Time. It is evident that the bloggers and those who commented on their posts were highly knowledgeable about and interested in politics. Form an examination of these posts and the comments on them, Pineapple Party Time did act as a public sphere to some degree, and did provide for the deliberative discussion essential for a democracy, but it was largely restricted to Crikey readers. For a deliberative public sphere and democratic discussion to function to any extent, the public sphere must be open to all citizens, who need to have the access and knowledge to engage in deliberative discussion.

Life writing

Two hundred years ago life writing was already highly popular in the form of autobiography, memoir, biography, journals, essays and diaries. It now commands a huge share of the publishing market, as there is an enormous demand from readers for narratives based directly on 'real lives'. There is a lot of common ground between the two main forms - autobiography/memoir and biography: both require skilled storytelling [rather than listing facts and events], research and imagination. The quality of the writing itself is crucial to the impact on the reader. A person can have an existing, worthy life but unfortunately write about it (or be written about) in a dull way. And how a person is remembered and valued can be a factor of life writing about or by them. This chapter will define and contextualise life writing, look at specific detailed examples, and offer guidance on how to write effectively.

Contemporary Australia : women, Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane 21 April–22 July 2012

'Contemporary Australia: Women' is the second in a series of triennial exhibitions at the Gallery of Modern Art in Queensland, providing a survey of contemporary art practices across the country. This exhibition's focus on women artists comes in the wake of a number of high profile international exhibitions looking at women artists in both contemporary and historical contexts. This review situates the exhibition within this field and considers its significance.

"What is contemporary art? A review of two books by Terry Smith'

What is contemporary art and what are the key components of contemporary culture? This review demonstrates where Terry Smith provides important answers to this question. The books thus help to improve understanding of how art has changed in recent decades and how a global culture now shapes its parameters. This review does not however concur that Smith provides a convincing case for a complete cultural paradigm transformation.

Rank and file : assessing research quality in Australia

In this paper, the author describes recent developments in the assessment of research activity and publication in Australia. Of particular interest to readers will be the move to rank academic journals. Educational Philosophy and Theory (EPAT) received the highest possible ranking, however, the process is far from complete. Some implications for the field, for this journal and particularly, for the educational foundations are discussed.