Biography and the project of labour history: Marxist anticipations and Australian examples

The popularity of biography among the general public and historians has been despite a theoretical ambivalence among historians about the validity of the project. This has particularly been the case for labour historians who aspire to write the history of a class rather than that of individuals. This article identifies two divergent traditions within labour biography, broadly defined as reflection on the role of the individual in historical movements. One, uniting traditional Marxists and labourists, regards individuals as no more than the symbol of a class. Examples are Karl Kautsky and in Australia Fin Crisp. Another, unites activist revolutionaries and revisionist social democrats, and argues that the individual can make a difference. Examples include Trotsky and in Australia the young Evatt and Gordon Childe. Political disillusionment encouraged both Childe and Evatt to move towards the determinist position. This article suggest that recent discussions of the inherently divided nature of the self may offer an alternative to both these positions.

Who is the 'lovable larikan'? : an historical inquiry using biography and autobiography

Every profession has its myth that defines its self-identity and work culture. For nursing, it's Florence Nightingale; for theatre, Homer and Shakespeare; for medicine, Hippocrates. Australian journalism too, has its myth - that of the hard-working, hard-drinking, aggressive and defiant 'Lovable Larrikin'. But unlike other professions, Australian journalism's 'myth' cannot be pinned down to one historical figure. It is therefore difficult to investigate the 'real' story behind the myth. Using an open-coding analysis of biographical and autobiographical material, this paper aims to detect larrikin-like characteristics among early Australian journalists (Colonial era to, and including, the interwar period), to identify significant people and events that developed larrikinism as a specific Australian journalism identity.

Strategies for the marketing of higher education with comparative contextual references between Australia and Turkey

Education is now a global product with institutions worldwide competing for students and finding ever more creative ways to satisfy student needs and preferences. With the continuing rise in the preference for flexible distance learning, educational institutions are finding that when students and faculty have significantly different cultural backgrounds and learning styles that the expectations of the learning experience can be unfulfilled. In Australia, international students have made education Australia’s third largest service export, earning $5.8 billion. This means that student populations have moved from being homogenous and captive to domestic constraints and expectations, to being multi-cultural, dispersed and subject to a plethora of constraints and expectations. Today in Turkey, education is the responsibility of government however, in recent years, the private sector has entered the market providing educational services at all levels. In particular, after the 1990s, private higher education institutions (HEIs) with a commercial focus have mushroomed.

In 2007, there are 25 private universities in Turkey with more than 2.000.000 students enrolled in these universities. Of these students, more than 1.000.000 are registered in distance education faculties. With such large student numbers competition between private universities for students has intensified particularly over the last 15 years. As a consequence the need to develop strategies for attracting students has become more important. Marketing strategies in Turkey have tended to concentrate on three distinct categories: strategies between governmental HEIs, private HEIs and distance education HEIs. The contribution of technologies to education processes has been immense with students and faculty each learning to adapt to an environment of continuous change and opportunities. This paper seeks to explore the notion that a competitive advantage in marketing of higher education can be attained by customizing learning experiences for particular student cohorts in a pro-active and constructive way.

Cultural factors behind the adoption of e-learning in Turkey

This paper aims to examine ways in which cultural factors shape the adoption and use of information technology for online teaching. This research focuses on influential early adopters in the tertiary education sector in Turkey who have become change-agents by inspiring small networks of their peers. The study examines the operation of trust and inspiration in networking and teamwork in the Asian academic environment. Findings from this research can assist individuals and institutions to better understand ways in which to optimize the online teaching and learning experience for staff.

Investigating codes of ethics within the largest private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey

The aim of the study was to examine the ways that private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey communicated the intent of their codes of ethics to their employees. Primary data was obtained via a self-administered mail questionnaire distributed to a census of the top 500 private sector organizations in each country based on revenue. The study identified some interesting results that showed that the small group of companies in Turkey that have a code may be more advanced in ethics artefacts usage than Sweden. Such a conclusion is counterintuitive as one would have expected a developed nation like Sweden to be more advanced in these measures than a developing nation such as Turkey. The culture of one's country may playa large role in the implementation of ethics artefacts in corporations and could be a major reason for this difference.

Biography : an interdisciplinary quarterly

The article presents information about the December 2005 issue of the journal "Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly." The Annual Bibliography for 2004-05, while containing few surprises, is nevertheless rather overwhelming. The numbers are very suggestive. Almost 1,000 individual entries appear: 127 Books, 451 Articles in 63 Collections or Special issues, 298 articles in Periodicals, and 104 Doctoral Dissertations. Publication advertisements appear in this issue for Miriam Fuchs's "The Text is Myself: Women's Life Writing and Catastrophe," and William Todd Schultz's "Handbook of Psychobiography."

Implementation, communication and the benefits of corporate codes of ethics in Taiwan and Turkey : a comparison across contexts

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the corporate codes of ethics (CCE) that are put in place by companies in Taiwan and Turkey.

Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the use of CCE among the top companies in Taiwan and Turkey. It is a replication of a study performed in Australia, Canada and Sweden and a follow-up study.

Findings – The empirical findings show many similarities with top companies in Australia, Canada and Sweden, but more importantly identify key differences distinctly unique to each of the two countries under investigation. Statistical analysis suggests that the implementation, communication and benefits of CCE are paramount to Turkish companies operating in a domestic environment where the aspiration to participate globally and join the European Union is high, whereas in Taiwan it is low in favor of more traditional business practices (similar to the Chinese concept of guanxi) that focus on individual relationships in favor of formalized regulatory frameworks (such as CCE).

Originality/value – This study makes a complementary contribution to the accumulated knowledge in the area of CCE, particularly given the cultural and historical differences these countries possess in comparison to each other and those previously studied and documented in the literature.

Academic social networks affecting the adoption of e-learning in Turkey

This article reports findings from an ethnographic study of e-leaming adopters in Turkey and examines ways in which cultural factors shape the adoption and use of infonnation technology for online teaching. This research focuses on influential early adopters in the tertiary education sector in Turkey who have become change agents by inspiring small networks of their peers into e-learning. The study examines the operation of trust and inspiration in networking and teamwork in the Asian academic environment. A key finding of this research is that the early adopters of e-Ieaming tend to become change agents in small groups and networks. This research sheds light on the mechanisms by which the process of e-Ieaming adoption relies on social networks and connections.

Communicating the ethos of codes of ethics within the organization : a comparison of the largest private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine the ways that the largest private sector organizations in Sweden and Turkey communicate the intent of their codes of ethics to their employees.

Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were obtained via a self-administered mail questionnaire distributed to a census of the top 500 private sector organizations based on revenue in each country.

Findings – The research identified some interesting findings that showed that the small group of companies in Turkey that have a code may appear to be more “advanced” in ethics artifacts usage than Sweden. Such a conclusion is counter-intuitive as one would have expected a developed nation like Sweden to be more advanced in these measures than a developing nation such as Turkey. Culture may play a large role in the implementation of ethics artifacts in corporations and could be a major reason for this difference.

Research limitations/implications – As this is such a new area of investigation in Turkey, the responses amount to only 32 companies that have a code. The small sample is indicative of the formative evolution toward having codes of ethics within companies operating within Turkey.

Practical implications – This study enables those organizations that comprise corporate Turkey to view the current state of codes of ethics in Turkish companies and to compare these with the responses of a developed country of the European Union. Originality and value – A review of the literature indicates that this is the first time that such an international study specifically focused upon codes of ethics and the artifacts to inculcate the ethos of the code into every day corporate affairs has included Turkey as one of the participating countries.

Battlefield tourism in Turkey : an empirical analysis of British ex-colonial event attendance

This paper explores the influence of visitor satisfaction on intention to recommend event attendance. The Anzac Day commemoration at Gallipoli, Turkey, an event that has become increasingly popular in recent years and provides the backdrop for the current study. Some 20,000 people travel to attend this event. Data was collected from 331 attendees while they were in transit from Gallipoli to Istanbul on 25 April 2007. The analysis of this data was undertaken using factor analysis as a basis for identifying model constructs to be tested using structural equation modelling. Findings suggest that the constructs relating to the ceremonies held at Anzac Cove and Lone Pine and the experiential and emotional aspects of the event were significant predictors of event satisfaction and subsequent recommending behaviour. The implications of these findings for events in general and the success of the Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli are discussed.

Cultural factors affecting the adoption of e-learning in Turkey

This paper reports findings from an ethnographic study of e-learning adopters in Turkey and examines ways in which cultural factors shape the adoption and use of information technology for online teaching. This research focuses on influential early adopters in the tertiary education sector in Turkey who have become change-agents by inspiring small networks of their peers. The study examines the operation of trust and inspiration in networking and teamwork in the Asian academic environment. The key findings of this research are that the early adopters become change agents in small groups and networks and that the process of adoption relies heavily on social networks and connections. Findings from this research can assist individuals and institutions to better understand ways in which to optimize the online teaching and learning experience for staff.

Picture boys : biography, community and travelling picture shows

This thesis explores the relationship between the travelling picture shows, the lives of the "Picture Boys" who ran them, and the rural communities of Westland, New Zealand, 1932 to 1956. The shows brought change, as represented by Hollywood, but they also added significantly to social cohesion in the remote communities.

Serving the community : a biography of two primary teachers in rural Victoria 1922-1970

This biographical history investigates the formative influences, motivations and professional lives of wife and husband Ellen Cahalane Jennings (nee Murray) and Joseph Kevin Jennings in the context of their career as employees of the Victorian Education Department.