A cross-continental examination and comparison of descriptive criteria in marketing journals-AMJ, EJM and JM

The objective is to perform a cross-continental examination and comparison of non-traditional descriptive criteria in a selection of leading academic journals in marketing. The sample of journals is restricted to the examination and comparison of three academic journals in marketing. The journal sample consists of the Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ), the European Journal of Marketing (EJM) and the Journal of Marketing (JM). Empirical research manuscripts dominate in the selected marketing journals. In addition, in the selected journals regular issues dominate in favour of special issues. The descriptive criteria examined and compared in AMJ, EJM and JM are based upon the content analysis of 811 manuscripts published during a six-year period, namely 2000-2005. Manuscripts of types other than empirical research, such as general reviews, literature reviews, conceptual papers, commentaries and book reviews are less likely to get published. Special issues or special sections are less frequent in these journals. This may lead to the situation that specialized journals in sub-areas of marketing may provide better and more comprehensive leading edge coverage and knowledge. The insights provided are in particular valuable for those scholars that do not usually get involved in academic publishing and consequently have a limited understanding and experience of the publication arena of manuscripts in leading academic journals. These insights also will be informative for more experienced academic publishers as they highlight certain characteristics of these journals that enlighten one as to the journals that one should target for publication and the difficulty, just on a numbers basis alone, of getting published in one of these three journals. The principal contribution of this research is the examination and comparison of descriptive criteria in AMJ, EJM and JM – a cross-continental sample of journals and criteria that have not been explored or reported previously in literature.

Coastal marine habitat mapping using multi-beam acoustics, video data and a decision tree classifier on the temperate south-east Australian continental shelf

In this habitat mapping study, multi-beam acoustic data are integrated with extensive, precisely geo-referenced video validation data in a GIS environment to classify benthic substrates and biota at a 33km2 site in the near shore waters of Victoria, Australia. Using an automated decision-tree classification method, 5 representative biotic groups were identified in the Cape Nelson survey area using a combination of multi-beam bathymetry, backscatter and derivative products. Rigorous error assessment of derived, classified maps produced high overall accuracies (>85%) for all mapping products. In addition, a discrete multivariate analysis technique (kappa analysis) was used to assess classification accuracy. High-resolution (2.5m cell-size) representation of sea floor morphology and textural characteristics provided by multi-beam bathymetry and backscatter datasets, allowed the interpretation of benthic substrates of the Cape Nelson site and the communities of sessile organisms that populate them. Non-parametric multivariate statistical analysis (ANOSIM) revealed a significant difference in biotic composition between depth strata, and between substrate types. Incorporated with other descriptive measures, these results indicate that depth and substrate are important factors in the distributional ecology of the biotic communities at the Cape Nelson study site. BIOENV analysis indicates that derivatives of both multi-beam datasets (bathymetry and backscatter) are correlated with distribution and density of biotic communities. Results from this study provide new tools for research and management of the coastal zone.

Multi-tenure reserve networks as a means to facilitate landscape and sub-continental connectivity?

There has been increased focus on establishing landscape and sub-continental scale linkages and corridors in Australia in recent years. These include the WildCountry, Alps to Atherton, Naturelinks and Gondwana Link initiatives. However, there has been little discussion as to what the underlying tenure, land use and protection mechanisms might look like on the ground. The development of Biosphere Reserves and Conservation Management Networks (collectively ‘multi-tenure reserve networks’) which incorporate public and private conservation lands under a variety of tenures and protection mechanisms provides example of how this might be achieved.

Whilst the rhetoric has been strong the amount of actual research on what multi-tenure reserve networks mean in practice has been limited. This paper reflects on the lessons acquired from research into these networks and discusses with this practical insight the difference between rhetoric and performance in this vital area. In particular we discuss some of the ecological, social, governance and legal aspects of these networks. We will also proceed to hypothesise on what the future challenges are for multi-tenure reserve networks and what will be needed to overcome these challenges.

Hydro-acoustic remote sensing of benthic biological communities on the shallow South East Australian continental shelf

Information regarding the composition and extent of benthic habitats on the South East Australian continental shelf is limited. In this habitat mapping study, multibeam echosounder (MBES) data are integrated with precisely geo-referenced video ground-truth data to quantify benthic biotic communities at Cape Nelson, Victoria, Australia. Using an automated decision tree classification approach, 5 representative biotic groups defined from video analysis were related to hydro-acoustically derived variables in the Cape Nelson survey area. Using a combination of multibeam bathymetry, backscatter and derivative products produced highest overall accuracy (87%) and kappa statistic (0.83). This study demonstrates that decision tree classifiers are capable of integrating variable data types for mapping distributions of benthic biological assemblages, which are important in maintaining biodiversity and other system services in the marine environment.

Meta-philosophy of religion : the analytic-continental divide in philosophy of religion

How is the philosophical study of religion best pursued? Responses to this meta-philosophical question tend to recapitulate the analytic-Continental divide in philosophy in general. My aim is to examine the nature of this divide, particularly as it has manifested itself in the philosophy of religion. I begin with a comparison of the stylistic differences in the language of the two traditions, taking the work of Alvin Plantinga and John Caputo as exemplars of the analytic and Continental schools respectively. In order to account for these stylistic divergences, however, it is necessary to delve further into meta-philosophy. I go on to show how each philosophical school models itself on different theoretical practices, the analytic school mimicking the scientific style of inquiry, while in Continental philosophy it is the arts and humanities rather than the sciences that provide the model for philosophical discourse. By situating themselves in such different genres,  analytic and Continental philosophers have developed contrasting, if not mutually exclusive, methods for pursuing the philosophy of religion.

Charting changes in the discipline : a tri-continental analysis

The purpose of this paper is to describe and chart three key and underpinning dimensions of Information Systems (IS) research in three ‘flagship’ journals of three continents, over a period of nine years. The dimensions are: research domain, research paradigm, and research setting and they comprise respectively, ‘the what’, ‘the how’, and ‘the where’ of research. The paper contributes to the debate on research diversity in Information Systems in three ways. Firstly, it provides a view of ‘research domain’ that is at a semantically higher level than previous schemas examining the ‘what’ of research. This view reveals deep structural trends within the IS literature. Secondly, it details the results of a content analysis which examined research domain, research paradigm, and research setting within the journals MIS Quarterly (MISQ), European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS) and the Australasian Journal of Information Systems (AJIS) during the years 2001-2009. Lastly, the study compares the publication trends across the three continents and identifies an emerging, if tentative convergence across the Atlantic and to some extent in Australia. The paper suggests some reasons for this convergence and some avenues to explore it.

Individual foraging site fidelity in lactating New Zealand fur seals : Continental shelf vs. oceanic habitats

Wide-ranging marine central place foragers often exhibit foraging site fidelity to oceanographic features over differing spatial scales (i.e., localized coastal upwellings and oceanic fronts). Few studies have tested how the degree of site fidelity to foraging areas varies in relation to the type of ocean features used. In order to determine how foraging site fidelity varied between continental shelf and oceanic foraging habitats, 31 lactating New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus australis forsteri1) were satellite tracked over consecutive foraging trips (14–108 d). Thirty-seven foraging trips were recorded from 11 females that foraged on the continental shelf, in a region associated with a coastal upwelling, while 65 foraging trips were recorded from 20 females that foraged in oceanic waters. There were no significant differences in the mean bearings (to maximum distance) of individual's consecutive foraging trips, suggesting individual fidelity to foraging areas. However, overlap in area and time spent in area varied considerably between continental shelf and oceanic foragers. Females that foraged on the continental shelf had significantly greater overlap in consecutive foraging trips when compared to females that foraged in oceanic waters (overlap in 5 × 5 km grid cells visited on consecutive trips 55.9%± 20.4% and 13.4%± 7.6%, respectively). Females that foraged on the continental shelf also spent significantly more time within the same grid cell than females that foraged in oceanic waters (maximum time spent in 5 × 5 km grid cells: 14%± 5% and 4%± 2%, respectively). This comparatively high foraging site fidelity may reflect the concentration of productivity associated with a coastal upwelling system, the Bonney Upwelling. Lower foraging site fidelity recorded by seals that foraged in oceanic waters implies a lower density/larger scale habitat, where prey are more dispersed or less predictable at fine scales, when compared to the continental shelf region.

Charting diversity and change in IS publications: a tri-continental journal analysis

The past decade has seen enormous changes in the availability, use, and application of information systems. Information systems are no longer the preserve of business and the corporation but have become a routine part of everyday life. The purpose of this paper is to explore the extent to which the increased diversity in application and use of information systems in the past decade has been reflected in increased diversity of the publications of three key journals of three continents – North America, Europe, and Australasia. The paper contributes to the debate on research diversity in Information Systems in three ways. Firstly, it describes four key underpinning dimensions for understanding Information Systems (IS) research diversity in the information age. Secondly, it details the results of a content analysis which examines the trends in research and methodological diversity within the journals MIS Quarterly (MISQ), European Journal of Information Systems (EJIS) and the Australasian Journal of Information Systems (AJIS) during the years 2001-2010. Finally, the paper reflects on diversity within these journals and discusses the findings in relation to both exogenous and endogenous pressures on the discipline more broadly.