Perceptions of organisational subculture and their significance for organisational commitment

This paper investigates the relationship between perceptions of organisational culture, organisational subculture, leadership style, and commitment. The impact of culture and leadership style on commitment has been previously noted, but there is a lack of detail regarding how different types of culture and leadership styles relate to commitment. The paper particularly addresses the notion of organisational subcultures and how the perception of those cultures relates to commitment, subculture being a neglected variable in the commitment literature. These issues were addressed in a survey of 258 nurses drawn from a range of hospital settings and wards within the Sydney metropolitan region. Results indicate that perceived organisational subculture has a strong relationship with commitment. Furthermore, the results identify the relative strength of specific types of leadership style and specific types of subculture with commitment. Both innovative and supportive subcultures have a clear positive relationship, while bureaucratic subcultures have a negative relationship. In terms of leadership style, a consideration style had a stronger relationship with commitment than a structuring style. Regression analysis was used to investigate the possible role of subculture as a mediator for the influence of leadership on commitment. Both direct and indirect effects of leadership on commitment were found. Implications for practice and for further research are discussed.

A Comparison of Methodologies from Two Longitudinal Community-Based Randomized Controlled Trials of Similar Interventions in Palliative Care: What Worked and What Did Not

Background: Methodological challenges such as recruitment problems and participant burden make clinical trials in palliative care difficult. In 2001-2004, two community-based randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of case conferences in palliative care settings were independently conducted in Australia-the Queensland Case Conferences trial (QCC) and the Palliative Care Trial (PCT). Design: A structured comparative study of the QCC and PCT was conducted, organized by known practical and organizational barriers to clinical trials in palliative care. Results: Differences in funding dictated study designs and recruitment success; PCT had 6 times the budget of QCC. Sample size attainment. Only PCT achieved the sample size goal. QCC focused on reducing attrition through gatekeeping while PCT maximized participation through detailed recruitment strategies and planned for significant attrition. Testing sustainable interventions. QCC achieved a higher percentage of planned case conferences; the QCC strategy required minimal extra work for clinicians while PCT superimposed conferences on normal work schedules. Minimizing participant burden. Differing strategies of data collection were implemented to reduce participant burden. QCC had short survey instruments. PCT incorporated all data collection into normal clinical nursing encounters. Other. Both studies had acceptable withdrawal rates. Intention-to-treat analyses are planned. Both studies included substudies to validate new outcome measures. Conclusions: Health service interventions in palliative care can be studied using RCTs. Detailed comparative information of strategies, successes and challenges can inform the design of future trials. Key lessons include adequate funding, recruitment focus, sustainable interventions, and mechanisms to minimize participant burden.

E-Government, targeting and data profiling: Policy and ethical issues of differential treatment

Networked information and communication technologies are rapidly advancing the capacities of governments to target and separately manage specific sub-populations, groups and individuals. Targeting uses data profiling to calculate the differential probabilities of outcomes associated with various personal characteristics. This knowledge is used to classify and sort people for differentiated levels of treatment. Targeting is often used to efficiently and effectively target government resources to the most disadvantaged. Although having many benefits, targeting raises several policy and ethical issues. This paper discusses these issues and the policy responses governments may take to maximise the benefits of targeting while ameliorating the negative aspects.

Knowledge management and tourism

The study and practice of knowledge management has grown rapidly since the 90s, driven by social, economic, and technological trends. Tourism has been slow in adopting this app oach due to not only a lack of gearing between researchers and tourism, but also to a 'hostile' knowledge adoption environment. Its acquisition would close the gap and also provide both insights and potential applications for tourism. Research in Australia supports the assertion that this field is a late adopter of knowledge management. In response, this paper provides a model for tourism. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of iron additions on filament growth and productivity of the cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula

The bioavailability of iron, in combination with essential macronutrients such as phosphorus, has been hypothesised to be linked to nuisance blooms of the toxic cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula. The present laboratory study used two biological assay techniques to test whether various concentrations of added iron (inorganic and organically chelated) enhanced L. majuscula filament growth and productivity (C-14-bicarbonate uptake rate). Organically chelated iron (FeEDTA) with adequate background concentrations of phosphorus and molybdenum caused the largest increases (up to 4.5 times the control) in L. majuscula productivity and filament growth. The addition of inorganic iron (without added phosphorus or molybdenum) also stimulated L. majuscula filament growth. However, overall the FeEDTA was substantially and significantly more effective in promoting L. majuscula growth than inorganic iron (FeCl3). The organic chelator (EDTA) alone and molybdenum alone also enhanced L. majuscula growth but to a lesser extent than the chelated iron. The results of the present laboratory study support the hypothesis that iron and chelating organic compounds may be important in promoting blooms of L. majuscula in coastal waters of Queensland, Australia.

National whoppercropper - risk management discussion support software

It is a paradox that in a country with one of the most variable climates in the world, cropping decisions are sometimes made with limited consideration of production and resource management risks. There are significant opportunities for improved performance based on targeted information regarding risks resulting from decision options. WhopperCropper is a tool to help agricultural advisors and farmers capture these benefits and use it to add value to their intuition and experience. WhopperCropper allows probability analysis of the effects of a range of selectable crop inputs and existing resources on yield and economic outcomes. Inputs can include agronomic inputs (e.g crop type, N fertiliser rate), resources (e.g soil water at sowing), and seasonal climate forecast (SOI phase). WhopperCropper has been successfully developed and refined as a discussion-support process for decision makers and their advisers in the northern grains region of Australia. The next phase of the project will build on the current project by extending its application nationally and enhancing the resource management aspects. A commercial partner, with over 800 advisor clients nationally, will participate in the project.