Chemical and bioanalytical assessment of coal seam gas associated water

A comprehensive study was undertaken involving chemical (inorganic and organic) and bioanalytical (a suite of 14 in vitro bioassays) assessments of coal seam gas (coal bed methane) associated water (CSGW) in Queensland, Australia. CSGW is a by-product of the gas extraction process and is generally considered as water of poor quality. This was done to better understand what is known about the potential biological and environmental effects associated with the organic constituents of CSGW in Australia. In Queensland, large amounts of associated water must be withdrawn from coal seams to allow extraction of the gas. CSGW is disposed of via release to surface water, reinjected to groundwater or reused for irrigation of crops or pasture, supplied for power station cooling and or reinjected specifically to augment drinking water aquifers. Groundwater samples were collected from private wells tapping into the Walloon Coal Measures, the same coal aquifer exploited for coal seam gas production in the Surat Basin, Australia. The inorganic characteristics of these water samples were almost identical to the CSGW entering the nearby gas company operated Talinga-Condabri Water Treatment Facility. The water is brackish with a pH of 8 to 9, high sodium, bicarbonate and chloride concentrations but low calcium, magnesium and negligible sulphate concentrations. Only low levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in the water samples, and neither phenols nor volatile organic compounds were found. Results from the bioassays showed no genotoxicity, protein damage, or activation of hormone receptors (with the exception of the estrogen receptor). However, five of the 14 bioassays gave positive responses: an arylhydrocarbon-receptor gene activation assay (AhR-CAFLUX), estrogenic endocrine activity (ERα-CALUX), oxidative stress response (AREc32), interference with cytokine production (THP1-CPA) and non-specific toxicity (Microtox). The observed effects were benchmarked against known water sources and were similar to secondary treated wastewater effluent, stormwater and surface water. As mixture toxicity modelling demonstrated, the detected PAHs explained less than 5% of the observed biological effects.

Developing within-company information and communication technologies (ICT) innovation diffusion networks : a study of three Australian major contractors

The innovation diffusion and knowledge management literature strongly supports the importance of communities of practice (COP) for enabling knowledge about how to use and adopt innovation initiatives. One of the most powerful tools for innovation diffusion is word-of-mouth wisdom from committed individuals who mentor and support each other. Close proximity for face-to-face interaction is highly effective, however, many organisations are geographically dispersed with projects being virtual linked sub-organisations using ICT to communicate. ICT has also introduced a useful facilitating technology for developing knowledge networks. This paper presents findings from a research program concentrating on ICT innovation diffusion in the Australian construction industry. One way in which ICT diffusion is taking place was found to be through within-company communities of practice. We undertook in-depth unstructured interviews with three of the major 10 to 15 contractors in Australia to discuss their ICT diffusion strategies. We discovered that in all three cases,within company networked communities of practice was a central strategy. Further, effective diffusion of ICT groupware tools can be critical in developing COP where they are geographically dispersed.

A study of Australian company responses to email complaints

As businesses and organisations move online, many question how to use Internet communication tools effectively, such as Web sites and electronic mail (Porter, 2001). Where and how should they invest their time and money in technology? This research explores a small part of this broad question, online complaining and electronic customer service. This paper extends prior US-based research of consumer complaints by email (Strauss and Hill, 2001) in several ways. First, it replicates their research in an Australian setting. Second, this research addresses several future research issues that Strauss and Hill (2001) raised. And third, this paper uses diffusion of innovation (Rogers, 1995) to explain some of the results. The results partially support the findings of Strauss and Hill (2001), take a small step towards further investigation of effective email responses and provide practical suggestions for better email customer service.

Frameworks in regulating company directors : rethinking the philosophical foundations to enhance accountability

Sets out a system of corporate governance regulation, aimed at combining legal and social methods of governing director behaviour and at creating a framework flexible enough to accommodate different business and ethical cultures. Outlines the theoretical basis of corporate governance and the broad responsibilities of directors, and discusses the extent to which they can and should be regulated. Discusses the constitution of a regulatory framework encompassing law, soft law and best practice, and ethics.

Internships in marketing: Goals, structures and assessment - student, company and academic perspectives

Work-integrated learning in the form of internships is increasingly important for universities as they seek to compete for students, and seek links with industries. Yet, there is surprisingly little empirical research on the details of internships: (1) What they should accomplish? How they should be structure? (3) How students performance should be assess? There is also surprisingly little conceptual analysis of these key issues, either for business internships in general. or for marketing internships in particular. Furthermore, the "answers" on these issues may differ depending upon the perspective if the three stakeholders: students, business managers and university academics. There is not study in the marketing literature which surveys all three groups on these important aspects of internships. To fill these gaps, this paper discusses and analyses internships goals, internship structure, and internship assessment or undergraduate marketing internships, and then reports on a survey of the views of all three stakeholder groups on these issues. There are a considerable variety of approaches for internships, but generally there is consensus among the stake holder groups, with some notable differences. Managerial implication include recognition of the importance of having and academic aspects in internships; mutual understanding concerning needs and constraints; and the requirement that companies, students, and academics take a long-term view of internship programs to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.

The new wave : a Brisbane perspective : La Boite Theatre Company's distinctive contribution

In 1967 Brisbane Repertory Theatre made a decision that was to change the city's cultural landscape in a significant and lasting way. Faced with crippling theatre rental costs, Brisbane Rep. found a realistic solution by converting one of its properties - an old Queenslander - into a unique theatre space. The theatre-in-the box that emerged, aptly called La Boite, opened on 23 June 1967 with a production of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger. This experimental space excited the imagination of a new, younger audience not previously interested in Brisbane Rep's essentially conservative fare. It attracted a new group of directors and actors keen to be part of a changing repertoire that embraced more radical, non-mainstream productions, some of which were of Australian plays. The decade after 1967 was a period of change and development unprecedented in La Boite's history. Since then the company has sustained and grown its commitment to Australian plays and the commissioning of new works. To what extent was this most significance moment in La Boite's transformational journey influenced by southern 'new waves' of change? With the benefit of hindsight, it is now time for a re-consideration of Brisbane's distinctive contribution to the New Wave.

La Boite The Story of an Australian Theatre Company

Since its genesis in 1925, La Boite has never been afraid of change. Despite controversies, crises and crippling set-backs that should have closed its stage doors many times, La Boite - which began life as the Brisbane Repertory Theatre Society - has proved itself an extraordinary survivor. When the opportunity came to build its own theatre, its inspired choice of theatre-in-the-round gave Brisbane an iconic performance space that attracted a whole new generation of actors, directors and designers and placed La Boite at the forefront of contemporary theatre practice. The place, in Katharine Brisbane’s words, “to see the red meat of theatre”. Always enterprising, with gritty determination it became a professional theatre company of national significance; and early in the new millennium triumphantly re-located to its new home at The Roundhouse Theatre. La Boite –The Story of an Australian Theatre Company both interrogates and celebrates the history of Queensland’s oldest theatre company. Highlighting the roles key people played in its evolution – particularly four remarkable women – Christine Comans explores La Boite’s colourful past, its cultural significance to Brisbane, and its vibrant and enduring role in the nation’s theatrical history.

The 2008 declaration of independence by the Hong Kong Court and anomalies in the Hong Kong Company Law

Discusses two aspects of Hong Kong law: 1) the judgment of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal in A Solicitor v The Law Society of Hong Kong on whether Hong Kong courts were bound, post-1997, by pre-1997 House of Lords or Privy Council decisions, by pre-1997 decisions of their own, or by post-1997 overseas decisions from any jurisdiction; and 2) the need for clarification in the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance of whether a company can have a single legal representative, the ultra vires rule and the duties of company directors