Knowledge sharing by organisations in sustainable development projects

There are an increasing number of organisations seeing the benefits of implementing sustainable development practices within their processes and product design. However, there are a number of barriers that are preventing organisations from taking up this challenge. Some of these barriers could be reduced through the application of better external knowledge sharing. This paper explores the potential for sharing knowledge about sustainable development practices in academic and industry journals. Using content analysis, the types of projects that are discussed and the level of detail provided in the reporting of sustainable development initiatives by organisations are examined to identify what is being communicated and more importantly to identify what is not being shared. The results show that there is a lack of detail in reporting with a focus on reporting only certain types of sustainable development projects that may prevent knowledge sharing from occurring.

Proposal of a tiered conceptual framework for sustainable design and planning of large-scale development projects in the metropolitan context

The overwhelming threat posed by climate change means that increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the need to integrate sustainability considerations into all areas of policy making, planning and development. Actors in the built environment are progressively considering environmental and social issues alongside functional and economic aspects of development projects. However, to date in Australia and internationally, there have been few practical examples of integrated applications of sustainability principles in the built environment across design, planning, construction, operation and de-construction phases. Notable initiatives have tended to be narrow in scope, focusing on either mitigation or adaptation strategies. Integrated considerations of impacts from component and building scales to city and regional scales and across physical and socio-economic dimensions are urgently needed, particularly for long-life major infrastructure projects. This paper proposes a conceptual framework based on the principal that early intervention is the most cost-effective and efficient means of implementing effective strategies for mitigation and adaptation. A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) approach is forwarded as an umbrella analytical framework, assembled from analytical methods which are strategically ‘tiered’ to inform different stages of the planning and decision-making process. Techniques such as Ecological footprint, Life cycle costing and Risk analysis may be applied to integrate sustainable design, construction and planning considerations which address both mitigation and adaptation dimensions, results of each analysis ultimately being collated into the overall SEA. This integrated conceptual framework for sustainable, resilient and cost-effective infrastructure development will in practice be applied to assess selected case-studies of major development projects in Australia, focusing on the area of stadium development. Practically applied and timed accordingly, the framework would allow assessments to be targeted towards appropriate decision making levels and enable better decision-making and more efficient resource allocation for major infrastructure development projects.

Information systems development projects as complex adaptive systems

This research considers information systems development (ISD) projects as complex adaptive systems. We investigate the question whether complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory is relevant as a theoretical foundation for understanding ISD, and if so, which kind of understanding can be achieved by utilizing the theory? We introduce key concepts of CAS theory such as interaction, emergence, interconnected autonomous agents, selforganization, co-evolution, poise at the edge of chaos, time pacing, and poise at the edge of time to analyse and understand ISD in practice. We demonstrate the strength of such a CAS approach through an empirical case study presentation and analysis. While our work contributes to a complexity theory of ISD, the case examination also provides practical advice derived from this perspective to successfully cope with complexity in ISD in an adaptive manner.

Psychosocial antecedents of communication, trust, and relationship effectiveness in new product development projects : a functional manager perspective

The basic differences between marketing managers and their technically trained counterpart managers [e.g., research and development (R&D), engineering, and manufacturing managers] in terms of work experience, training, and differing decision-making styles have often been suggested as a source of conflict, which acts as a barrier to effective working relationships and integration during new product development (NPD) work. In this paper, we empirically explore this issue by developing and testing a model of psychosocial differences (thought worlds and psychological distance) between the two groups of managers and their effect on communication, trust, and relationship effectiveness during NPD projects. We find that while thought world differences do still matter, it was from a marketing perspective that they had a stronger effect. These findings have implications for top management trying to manage the functional manager interface during NPD projects. We propose a semi-formalized approach to relationship building that may speed up the acquisition of social data that is often necessary to elevate working relationships to trusting ones and improve the efficiency of NPD work. Our model is tested using data from two samples, 184 technically trained managers and 145 marketing managers from Australian companies involved in NPD work.

Sustainable planning and design of large-scale metropolitan development projects

Actors in the built environment are increasingly considering environmental issues alongside functional and economic aspects of development projects. However, to date in Australia and internationally, there have been few practical examples of integrated applications of sustainability principles in the built environment across all lifecycle phases. In response to this gap, this paper proposes a conceptual framework based on the principal that early intervention is the most cost-effective and efficient means of implementing effective strategies for sustainability. A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) approach is forwarded as an umbrella analytical framework, assembled from analytical methods which are strategically 'tiered' to inform stages of the project decision-making process. Practically applied and timed accordingly, the framework can allow assessments to be targeted towards appropriate decision making levels and enable better decision-making and more efficient resource allocation for major infrastructure development projects.

Use of anthropogenic sea floor structures by Australian fur seals: potential positive ecological impacts of marine industrial development?

Human-induced changes to habitats can have deleterious effects on many species that occupy them. However, some species can adapt and even benefit from such modifications. Artificial reefs have long been used to provide habitat for invertebrate communities and promote local fish populations. With the increasing demand for energy resources within ocean systems, there has been an expansion of infrastructure in near-shore benthic environments which function as de facto artificial reefs. Little is known of their use by marine mammals. In this study, the influence of anthropogenic sea floor structures (pipelines, cable routes, wells and shipwrecks) on the foraging locations of 36 adult female Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) was investigated. For 9 (25%) of the individuals, distance to anthropogenic sea floor structures was the most important factor in determining the location of intensive foraging activity. Whereas the influence of anthropogenic sea floor structures on foraging locations was not related to age and mass, it was positively related to flipper length/standard length (a factor which can affect manoeuvrability). A total of 26 (72%) individuals tracked with GPS were recorded spending time in the vicinity of structures (from <1% to >75% of the foraging trip duration) with pipelines and cable routes being the most frequented. No relationships were found between the amount of time spent frequenting anthropogenic structures and individual characteristics. More than a third (35%) of animals foraging near anthropogenic sea floor structures visited more than one type of structure. These results further highlight potentially beneficial ecological outcomes of marine industrial development.

Providing process for projects in capstone courses

Our capstone course has undergone a number of evolutionary changes over the past few years. It was restructured to provide more realistic experiential learning with the introduction of larger software development projects involving 'real clients (sponsors)' and larger student teams with a mix of students across disciplines. We have introduced a project management focus into the course that allows for a more structured process of product development. This restructure was possible because the curriculum prior to the project course emphasized teamwork and project management.

This paper provides some background about our capstone course and the significance of the contribution made by two other courses taken earlier in the programme.

Colour and image issues in web development

This paper describes a small set of patterns that are produced in a process of domain-wide pattern mining. We provide a brief description of the experience mining process across web development domain and explain how the resulting pattern languages were discovered. A subset of the mined patterns was selected for this paper because of their pertinence to most web development projects, i.e. colour scheme and readability issues and images download issue.

Impact of four foreign aided projects on developments in secondary education in Bangladesh

Examines four foreign aided development projects in the secondary education sub-sector in Bangladesh. Investigates planning and implementation practices employed during the life of the four projects in order to identify factors likely to lead to greater sustainability of development projects financed with foreign aid. A major concern was how foreign aided projects sustain, or lack the means to sustain, developments that have begun when project funding ceases.

International NGO approaches to rural development in Myanmar

The article analyzes the research data provided by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Myanmar on strategies that maximizes rural community development. It discusses INGO approaches to rural community development and relationship with stakeholders. The study reveals that INGOs right partnership with local officials, equity and local community sustainability are crucial to the success of rural development projects in Myanmar.