On-track to what? Foucauldian analysis of Victorian post-compulsory education policy

Current ideas of adolescent development portray a slow steady movement toward adulthood. These notions developed hand in hand with social practices that evolved in the latter half of the 19th century and contemporaneously with modernisation. During this period conceptions of adolescence included longer stays in school, organised leisure activities, juvenile justice policies and the protection of youth from child labour. Lesko (2001) works from a position that the modern age is defined by time, an understanding that events and change are meaningful in their occurrence in and through time. She examines adolescence as partaking of panoptical time which is condensed and commodified; a time framework that compels us - scholars, educators, parents, and teenagers - to attend to progress, precocity, arrest, or decline" (2001 p.41). Panoptical time can be used to explore how ideas of what is 'normal' development can be used to privilege particular ways of being an adolescent, to monitor who is deemed to be 'at risk' of not conforming to that model and to govern their behaviour. A Foucauldian analysis suggests the formation of 'at risk' identities reflects historically specific discourses. An understanding of how these and other discursive constructions are formed opens the way for resistance. This presentation explores the recent implementation of On-Track and On-Track Connect within Victorian government policy and explores the experience of a Local Learning and Employment Network in implementing the policy.

Exploring low-income women's welfare stigma through rich point analysis

The project described in this presentation was the final component of my PhD thesis which explored how Centrelink policies mediated social citizenship for low-income women. I first analysed the Centrelink Information Handbook, and then collected ethnographic data through observations and interviews. The first two of my research questions were quite deductive in nature, as I applied Levitas' (1998) conceptual framework of social exclusion to the Centrelink Information Handbook and low-income women's experiences. This third research question, to explore how low-income women's social citizenship was socially and politically mediated, however, required a more unstructured approach.

Framework for understanding creativity in requirements engineering

Creativity is important in the discovery and analysis of user and business requirements to achieve innovative uses of information and communication technologies. This paper builds a theoretical framework for understanding creativity in requirements engineering. The framework provides a systematic means of understanding creativity in requirements engineering and comprises five elements (product, process, domain, people and socio-organisational context). The framework provides researchers with a sound basis for exploring how the five elements of creativity can be incorporated within RE methods and techniques to support creative requirements engineering. It provides practitioners with a systematic means of creating environments that nurture and develop creative people, cognitive and collaborative processes and products.

International standards of business conduct: framework and illustration

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to describe the insights and a proposal into the structure of standards of business conduct and its intended applications.

Design/methodology/approach: – The case study is based upon an inductive content analysis of corporate ethics artefacts.

Findings: – It is concluded that the standards of business conduct may be highly prescriptive in world wide corporations, but that there should be an explicit commitment to a flexible and dynamic approach to the application of standards of business conduct.

Research limitations/implications: – An examination of the actual behaviour of a corporation's operations was beyond the scope of the present research, but such a study has potential for future research. This would open up the wider question of how corporations can minimise the gap between corporate intentions and actual outcomes in business operations across national and cultural boundaries.

Practical implications: – These diverse national and cultural contexts that world wide corporations encounter must be taken into consideration in the content of their standards of business conduct.

Originality/value: – The authors emphasise the concern of recognising that the contexts surrounding standards of business conduct are dynamic. Corporate codes of ethics should be regarded as dynamic artefacts. A framework of application is proposed.

Modelling multi-criteria decision analysis for benchmarking management practices in project management

The link between management practices and worker’s motivations impacting construction productivity is being considered as significant among the research community. This research aimed to identify and analyse the underlying attributes impacting construction productivity from the site management perspective. This research presents a framework designed to analyse and quantify the relative relevance of different drivers in the determination of productivity levels and the degree of effectiveness of potential opportunities for improving performance of overall projects. Owing to the complexity of construction projects and underlying conflicting drivers influencing higher worker’s productivity, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is employed to deal with interdependent relationships within a multi-criteria decision-making model. In the analytical approach, the large unstructured decision parameters are identified first and then are broken down into the manageable and measurable components using a top down hierarchical structure. This paper demonstrates an example to illustrate how to empirically analyse and prioritise a set of influencing parameters as selection criteria in devising appropriate management practices to ensure higher productivity vis-à-vis optimum performance of projects.

Building information modelling project decision support framework

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is an information technology [IT] enabled approach to managing design data in the AEC/FM (Architecture, Engineering and Construction/ Facilities Management) industry. BIM enables improved interdisciplinary collaboration across distributed teams, intelligent documentation and information retrieval, greater consistency in building data, better conflict detection and enhanced facilities management. Despite the apparent benefits the adoption of BIM in practice has been slow. Workshops with industry focus groups were conducted to identify the industry needs, concerns and expectations from participants who had implemented BIM or were BIM “ready”. Factors inhibiting BIM adoption include lack of training, low business incentives, perception of lack of rewards, technological concerns, industry fragmentation related to uneven ICT adoption practices, contractual matters and resistance to changing current work practice. Successful BIM usage depends on collective adoption of BIM across the different disciplines and support by the client. The relationship of current work practices to future BIM scenarios was identified as an important strategy as the participants believed that BIM cannot be efficiently used with traditional practices and methods. The key to successful implementation is to explore the extent to which current work practices must change. Currently there is a perception that all work practices and processes must adopt and change for effective usage of BIM. It is acknowledged that new roles and responsibilities are emerging and that different parties will lead BIM on different projects. A contingency based approach to the problem of implementation was taken which relies upon integration of BIM project champion, procurement strategy, team capability analysis, commercial software availability/applicability and phase decision making and event analysis. Organizations need to understand: (a) their own work processes and requirements; (b) the range of BIM applications available in the market and their capabilities (c) the potential benefits of different BIM applications and their roles in different phases of the project lifecycle, and (d) collective supply chain adoption capabilities. A framework is proposed to support organizations selection of BIM usage strategies that meet their project requirements. Case studies are being conducted to develop the framework. The results of the preliminary design management case study is presented for contractor led BIM specific to the design and construct procurement strategy.

Towards a cyclical framework for the investigation and management of elite level sponsorships

Sponsorship is a growing marketing communications tool which can produce unmatched results when used effectively. As such, rigid and applicable management frameworks are of critical importance as the discipline continues to develop. A conceptual review of existing sponsorship management frameworks and their common components are presented before an alternate cyclical management framework is derived. A series of case studies with organizations investing in elite level, million dollar sport sponsorship was used as the research strategy. Data was collected through qualitative interviews with within and cross case analysis used to identify trends. Five pillars of evidence supported the view that sponsorships were viewed and managed by corporate sponsors under a cyclical framework. The cyclical framework allows for interrelations between sponsorship management components to be better identified and investigated, and demonstrate how a cyclical view of management can aid the ongoing creation of value in long term sponsorships.

Developing a stakeholder analysis to aid bio-based product innovation

Purpose – The results which that study seeks to report are the first part of a larger research programme funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) aimed at gaining a better understanding of stakeholder perceptions in relation to bio-based products.

Design/methodology/approach – Utilising three chemically modified wood products, data were collected from focus groups and questionnaires and centred primarily on perceptions surrounding the acceptability of building materials that have been bio-modified. Irrespective of the type of chemical modification, family health and durability were the most important factors identified.

Findings – The study finds that product cost rated lower in the 16 factors evaluated, and energy used in production was of little concern. When comparing the three products to one another, two distinct groups with quite differing purchasing philosophies were identified and these perspectives significantly influenced perceptions of product acceptability and willingness to purchase. Utilising a paired comparison technique, an investigation of trade-offs indicated preference for performance over cost and product familiarity. Similarly, low chemical emissions were also preferred over cost considerations. Among the findings, there was scepticism regarding trust in manufacturers to adequately safeguard health and safety and to have a minimum impact on the environment. Low levels of trust were expressed in regard to manufacturers' concern for future generations.

Originality/value – The paper develops an investigative framework which could be applied to the evaluation of products arising from bio-material technology innovation and recommendations for future research directions.

Small firm e-business adoption : a critical analysis of theory

Purpose – The paper critiques a range of theories and evaluates their ability to provide a lens for explaining the idiosyncratic nature of small firms and their e-business adoption decisions.

Design/methodology/approach – This literature review firstly summarises the existing research evidence that shows that small firms are idiosyncratic when it comes to e-business adoption. It then critiques theories commonly used in the literature in this field to examine the extent to which they take this small firm idiosyncrasy into account when explaining e-business adoption decisions.

Findings – The critical analysis shows that no commonly-used theory adequately explains small firm adoption of e-business because each omits important aspects of small firm idiosyncrasy. The analysis suggests that an integrated theoretical framework is needed. Preliminary ideas on this framework are provided.

Originality/value – Existing research generally applies a small number of selected theories and formulates research models of adoption factors. However, there is no systematic analysis of theories in this field and no consensus about theoretical frameworks. This paper addresses this limitation of the literature by critically evaluating the commonly used theories in terms of their individual suitability as lenses for explaining small firm e-business adoption.

An integrated student support framework for a Malaysian university

This thesis reports on an investigation at the University Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR), Malaysia focused on students’ needs for student support services. The research addressed a new problem in distance education concerning institutional practices and strategies for providing student support within blended learning contexts, such as at UNITAR. The thesis addresses important matters related to the use of forms of education to address Malaysia’s social, political and economic development.

The study had two main research purposes. The first purpose was to investigate what barriers UNITAR’s students had to completing their study successfully. The second was to investigate students’ support services needs. The latter was divided into six subsidiary purposes. The first subsidiary purpose was to identify and compare the students’ needs intensity for the four categories of support services: administrative, academic, welfare and post-study services. The second subsidiary purpose was to investigate whether there is any correlation between students’ attributes of age, gender, marital status, number of children, enrollment status, distance from learning centre, academic abilities, course satisfaction and academic achievement, with their support needs. The other subsidiary purposes were to compare needs intensity for the four categories of services between men and women, younger and mature-age students, and lower and higher academic achievers.

The research design employed mixed methods, involving both qualitative and quantitative techniques. A series of interviews was conducted with UNITAR staff members during an inventory study of the University. Then, the students were surveyed through a questionnaire that contained closed-ended and openended questions. After analysing and compiling the results of the survey, another cycle of surveys was conducted with selected staff members through email, to validate the findings and obtain their feedback to the students’ views and their suggestions for future improvement. The quantitative survey data were analysed using SPSS, whereas the qualitative data from interview, survey and email were analysed by using content analysis techniques.

The findings of the study demonstrated that UNITAR’s students have problems in their study, which are related to their demographic and institutional attributes, and these affect their needs for four categories of support services. Generally, students attached the highest priority to academic services, followed by post-study services, administrative services and, lastly, welfare services. Four patterns of associations between students’ attributes and support services needs were identified. In particular, support services needs differences were identified between men and women, younger and mature-age students, and lower achieving and higher achieving students.

Drawing the findings of this study, relevant past studies, contemporary practices and constructive views of scholars from the relevant literature, the thesis concludes by proposing an integrated student support framework for UNITAR and suggest how this may be considered and applied more broadly in similar blended learning contexts in Malaysia and beyond.

An index of regional sustainability : a GIS-based multiple criteria analysis decision support system for progressing sustainability

GIS (Geographical Information Systems) based decision support tools will be useful in helping guide regions to sustainability. These tools need to be simple but effective at identifying, for regional managers, areas most in need of initiatives to progress sustainability. Multiple criteria analysis (MCA) has been used as a decision support tool for a wide number of applications, as it provides a systematic framework for evaluating various options. It has the potential to be used as a tool for sustainability assessment, because it can bring together the sustainability criteria from all pillars, social, economic and environmental, to give an integrated assessment of sustainability. Furthermore, the use of GIS and MCA together is an emerging addition to conducting sustainability assessments. This paper further develops a sustainability assessment framework developed for the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority region of Victoria, Australia by providing a GIS-based decision support system for regional agencies. This tool uses multiple criteria analysis in a GIS framework to assess the sustainability of sub-catchments in the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment. The multiple criteria analysis based on economic, social and environmental indicators developed in previous stages of this project was used as the basis to build a model in ArcGIS1. The GIS-based multiple criteria analysis, called An Index of Regional Sustainability Spatial Decision Support System (AIRS SDSS),
produced maps showing sub-catchment sustainability, and environmental, social and economic condition. As a result, this tool is able to highlight those sub-catchments most in need of assistance with achieving sustainability. It will also be a valuable tool for evaluation and monitoring of strategies for sustainability. This paper shows the usefulness of GIS-based multiple criteria analysis to enhance the monitoring and evaluation of sustainability at the regional to sub-catchment scale.

A measurement framework for international entrepreneurship policy research : from impossible index to malleable matrix

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), a multifaceted, multinational research programme now in its seventh year of field operation, currently dominates the field of international entrepreneurship policy research but faces a crisis of credibility. Despite having created and continuing to develop a very rich database capable of addressing many of the complexities requisite for understanding entrepreneurship at the national and international levels of analysis, GEM has chosen to disguise the depths of its potential research and policy utility through a misnamed quest for unobtainable simplicity at the centre of the project and a disorganised variety of report presentations at the periphery. Subsequent to a review of the entrepreneurial definitional literature and a resolution of its many themes into six components of entrepreneurial activity, based on Penrose's (1959/1995) articulation of the practical meaning of 'entrepreneurial services', this paper suggests that a 'malleable matrix' approach can provide a practical measurement framework capable of reporting national entrepreneurial activity in a structure that is comprehensive without being overwhelming.

Meta-regression analysis as the socio-economics of economics research

Meta-regression analysis (MRA) provides an empirical framework through which to integrate disparate economics research results, filter out likely publication selection bias, and explain their wide variation using socio-economic and econometric explanatory variables. In dozens of applications, MRA has found excess variation among reported research findings, some of which is explained by socio-economic variables (e.g., researchers’ gender). MRA can empirically model and test socio-economic theories about economics research. Here, we make two strong claims: socio-economic MRAs, broadly conceived, explain much of the excess variation routinely found in empirical economics research; whereas, any other type of literature review (or summary) is biased.

A panel data analysis of the military expenditure-external debt nexus : evidence from six middle eastern countries

While a number of studies examine the nexus between military expenditure and economic growth, little consideration has been give to the effect of military expenditure on external debt. This article examines the impact of military expenditure and income on external debt for a panel of six Middle Eastern countries - Oman, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Iran, and Jordan - over the period 1988 to 2002. The Middle East represents an interesting study of the effect of military expenditure on external debt because it has one of the highest rates of arms imports in the world and it is one of the most indebted regions in the world. The study first establishes whether there is a long-run relationship between military expenditure, income, and external debt in the six countries using a panel unit root and panel cointegration framework and then proceeds to estimate the long-run and short-run effects of military expenditure and income on external debt. The study finds that external debt is elastic with respect to military expenditure in the long run and inelastic with respect to military expenditure in the short run. For the panel of six Middle Eastern countries, in the long run a 1% increase in military expenditure results in between a 1.1 % and 1.6% increase in external debt, while a 1% increase in income reduces external debt by between 0.6% and 0.8%, depending on the specific estimator employed. In the short run, a 1% increase in military expenditure increases external debt by 0.2%, while the effect of income on external debt is statistically insignificant.