Tools, building blocks, and rewards : traditional media organizations learn to engage with productive audiences

This paper explores how traditional media organizations (such as magazines, music, film, books, and newspapers) develop routines for coping with an increasingly productive audience. While previous studies have reported on how such organizations have been affected by digital technologies, this study makes a contribution to this literature by being one of the first to show how organizational routines for engaging with an increasingly productive audience actually emerge and diffuse between industries. The paper explores to what extent routines employed by two traditional media organizations have been brought in from other organizational settings, specifically from so-called ‘software platform operators’. Data on routines for engaging with productive audiences have been collected from two information-rich cases in the music and the magazine industries, and from eight high-profile software platform operators. The paper concludes that the routines employed by the two traditional media organizations and by the software platform operators are based on the same set of principles: Provide the audience with (a) tools that allow them to easily generate cultural content; (b) building blocks which facilitate their creative activities; and (c) recognition and rewards based on both rationality and emotion.

Digital Spring? New media and new politics on the campus

Whilst the dynamics informing processes have taken time to become clear, civic resistance initiated by young people using new media began in Egypt in 2010 against the Mubarak regime, soon widened to Tunisia, Yemen and Libya. Known as the 'Arab Spring', this phenomenon re-ignited discussion about the political role of digital space and its democratic potential. While parallels between authoritarian regimes and universities and educational institutions might seem overdrawn to some readers, I suggest there is value in considering the 'Digital Spring' (apropos the 'Arab Spring') as a metaphor to suggest the possibility that similar processes are taking place in schools and universities. This invites discussion about the political significance of digital space and its democratic potential in those institutions. To assess how some young people engage in digitally mediated politics within schools and universities, I identify five propositions which amalgamate descriptive and normative elements derived from Habermas and Dahlgren. These propositions offer an ideal taxonomy of normative and descriptive elements to establish whether digital technology promotes participation and debate in ways that sustain democratic practice.

The desirability of depoliticization: Compliance in the international climate regime

The Kyoto Protocol is remarkable among global multilateral environmental agreements for its efforts to depoliticize compliance. However, attempts to create autonomous, arm’s length and rule-based compliance processes with extensive reliance on putatively neutral experts were only partially realized in practice in the first commitment period from 2008 to 2012. In particular, the procedurally constrained facilitative powers vested in the Facilitative Branch were circumvented, and expert review teams (ERTs) assumed pivotal roles in compliance facilitation. The ad hoc diplomatic and facilitative practices engaged in by these small teams of technical experts raise questions about the reliability and consistency of the compliance process. For the future operation of the Kyoto compliance system, it is suggested that ERTs should be confined to more technical and procedural roles, in line with their expertise. There would then be greater scope for the Facilitative Branch to assume a more comprehensive facilitative role, safeguarded by due process guarantees, in accordance with its mandate. However, if – as appears likely – the future compliance trajectories under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will include a significant role for ERTs without oversight by the Compliance Committee, it is important to develop appropriate procedural safeguards that reflect and shape the various technical and political roles these teams currently play.

Ecosystem management along ephemeral rivers: Trading off socio-economic water supply and vegetation conservation under flood regime uncertainty

In ecosystems driven by water availability, plant community dynamics depend on complex interactions between vegetation, hydrology, and human water resources use. Along ephemeral rivers—where water availability is erratic—vegetation and people are particularly vulnerable to changes in each other's water use. Sensible management requires that water supply be maintained for people, while preserving ecosystem health. Meeting such requirements is challenging because of the unpredictable water availability. We applied information gap decision theory to an ecohydrological system model of the Kuiseb River environment in Namibia. Our aim was to identify the robustness of ecosystem and water management strategies to uncertainties in future flood regimes along ephemeral rivers. We evaluated the trade-offs between alternative performance criteria and their robustness to uncertainty to account for both (i) human demands for water supply and (ii) reducing the risk of species extinction caused by water mining. Increasing uncertainty of flood regime parameters reduced the performance under both objectives. Remarkably, the ecological objective (species coexistence) was more sensitive to uncertainty than the water supply objective. However, within each objective, the relative performance of different management strategies was insensitive to uncertainty. The ‘best’ management strategy was one that is tuned to the competitive species interactions in the Kuiseb environment. It regulates the biomass of the strongest competitor and, thus, at the same time decreases transpiration, thereby increasing groundwater storage and reducing pressure on less dominant species. This robust mutually acceptable strategy enables species persistence without markedly reducing the water supply for humans. This study emphasises the utility of ecohydrological models for resource management of water-controlled ecosystems. Although trade-offs were identified between alternative performance criteria and their robustness to uncertain future flood regimes, management strategies were identified that help to secure an ecologically sustainable water supply.

Not just what they want, but why they want it: Traditional market research to deep customer insights

Purpose This paper explores advantages and disadvantages of both traditional market research and deep customer insight methods in order to lay the platform for revealing how a relationship between these two domains could be optimised during firm-based innovation. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports on an empirical research study conducted with thirteen Australian based firms engaged in a design-led approach to innovation. Firms were facilitated through a design-led approach where the process of gathering deep customer insights was isolated and investigated further in comparison to traditional market research methods. Findings Results show that deep customer insight methods are able to provide fresh, non-obvious ways of understanding customer needs, problems and behaviours that can become the foundation of new business opportunities. Findings concluded that deep customer insights methods provide the critical layer to understand why customers do and don’t engage with businesses. Revealing why was not accessible in traditional market research methods. Research limitations/implications The theoretical outcome of this study is a complementary methods matrix, providing guidance on appropriate implementation of research methods in accordance with a project’s timeline to optimise the complementation of traditional market research methods with design-led customer engagement methods. Practical implications Deep customer insight methods provide fresh, non-obvious ways of understanding customer needs, problems and behaviours that can become the foundation of new business opportunities. It is hoped that those in a position of data collection are encouraged to experiment and use deep customer insight methods to connect with their customers on a meaningful level and translate these insights into value. Originality/value This paper provides original value to a new understanding how design techniques can be applied to compliment and strengthen existing market research strategies. This is crucial in an era where business competition hinges on a subtle and often intimate understanding of customer needs and behaviours.

Curating in uncharted territories: An examination of a programming model & communicative platform for curation in non-traditional art spaces

This thesis articulates and examines public engagement programming in an emerging, non¬-traditional site. As a practice-led research project, the creative work proposes a site responsive, engagement centric, agile model for curatorial programming that developed out of the dynamic, new media/digital, curatorial practice at QUT's Creative Industries Precinct. The model and its accompanying exegetical framework, Curating in Uncharted Territories, offer a theoretically informed approach to programming, delivering and reporting for curatorial practices in a non¬-traditional sites of public engagement. The research provides the foundation for full development of the model and the basis for further research.

Performative digital asset management: To propose a framework and proof of concept model that effectively enables researchers to document, archive and curate their non-traditional research data

This cross disciplinary study was conducted as two research and development projects. The outcome is a multimodal and dynamic chronicle, which incorporates the tracking of spatial, temporal and visual elements of performative practice-led and design-led research journeys. The distilled model provides a strong new approach to demonstrate rigour in non-traditional research outputs including provenance and an 'augmented web of facticity'.

The cost and time effectiveness of osseointegration compared to the traditional socket prosthesis

Individuals with limb amputation fitted with conventional socket-suspended prostheses often experience socket related discomfort leading to a significant decrease in quality of life.[1-14] Most of these concerns can be overcome with osseointegration, a direct skeletal fixation method where the prosthetic componentry are directly attached to the fixation, resulting in the redundancy of the traditional socket system. There are two stages of osseointegration; Stage one, a titanium implant is inserted into the marrow space of residual limb bone and Stage two, a titanium extension is attached to the fixture. This surgical procedure is currently blooming worldwide, particularly within Queensland. Whilst providing improvements in quality of life, this new method also has potential to minimise the cost required for an amputee to ambulate during daily living. Thus, the aim of this project was to compare the differences in mean cost of services, cost of componentry and labour hours when using osseointegration compared to traditional socket-based prostheses. Data were extracted from Queensland Artificial Limb Services (QALS) database to determine cost of services, type of services and labour hours required to maintain a prosthetic limb. Five trans-femoral amputee male participants (age 46.4±10.1 yrs; height 175.4±16.3 cm; mass 83.8±14.0 kg; time since second stage 22.0± 8.1 mths) met inclusion criteria which was patient had to be more than 12 months post stage two osseointegration procedure. The socket and osseointegration prosthesis variables examined were the mean hours of labour, mean cost of services and mean cost of prosthetic componentry. Statistical analyses were conducted using an ANOVA. The results identified that there were only significant differences in the number of labour hours (p = 0.005) and cost of services (p = 0.021) when comparing the socket and osseointegration prosthetic type. These results identified that the cost of componentry were comparable between the two methods.

Australian icons: Authenticity marks and identity politics

This article evaluates the adoption and implementation of an Indigenous certification trademark system in Australia. Section II considers the use of copyright law, moral rights provisions and consumer protection laws to protect Indigenous cultural property in Australia. It suggests that there needs to be additional protection under trademark law - especially to deal with problems concerning communal ownership, material form and duration of protection. Section III evaluates the efficacy of the scheme for marks of authenticity established by the National Indigenous Arts Advocacy Association in November 1999. It contends that there were practical problems with the implementation of the scheme and symbolic concerns about the definition of authenticity applied under the regime. Section IV engages in a comparative analysis of other jurisdictions - such as New Zealand, Canada and the United States. It demonstrates that an Indigenous certification mark can be successful, given sufficient support and assistance. The article concludes that there needs to be a sui generis system to protect traditional knowledge at an international level.

The genographic project: Traditional knowledge and population genetics

This article considers the debate over patent law, informed consent, and benefit-sharing in the context of biomedical research in respect of Indigenous communities. In particular, it focuses upon three key controversies over large-scale biology projects, involving Indigenous populations. These case studies are representative of the tensions between research organisations, Indigenous communities, and funding agencies. Section two considers the aims and origins of the Human Genome Diversity Project, and criticisms levelled against the venture by Indigenous peak bodies and anti-biotechnology groups, such as the Rural Advancement Foundation International. It examines the ways in which the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) grappled with questions of patent law, informed consent, and benefit sharing in relation to population genetics. Section three focuses upon the ongoing litigation in Tilousi v. Arizona State University, and the Havasupai Tribe v. Arizona State University. In this matter, the Havasupai tribe from the Grand Canyon in the United States brought legal action against the Arizona State University and its researchers for using genetic data for unauthorised purposes - namely, genetic research into schizophrenia, migration, and inbreeding. The litigation raises questions about informed consent, negligence, and larger matters of human rights. Section four explores the legal and ethical issues raised by the Genographic Project. It considers the aims and objectives of the venture, and the criticisms levelled against it by Indigenous communities, and anti-biotechnology groups. It examines the response of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to the Genographic Project. It charts the debate over the protection of traditional knowledge in various international fora. The conclusion recommends a number of measures to better regulate large-scale biology projects involving the participation of Indigenous communities.

Are green project management practices applicable to traditional projects?

As the social environment begins to create more awareness in the area of conserving the natural environment, a new generation of building has emerged. A trend of constructing buildings that minimise impacts on the environment has been established in the construction industry. Therefore, suitable project management practices have been adopted to efficiently manage the construction of these green buildings. This study aims at investigating practices of project management in traditional and accredited green construction projects, with the purpose of discovering if Green Project Management (GPM) practices can be applied to traditional projects to achieve more successful outcomes. The process of GPM contains what applied to traditional projects, could possibly result in benefits in terms of budget control and constructability. Currently the construction industry has been known to suffer difficulties within these areas; therefore GPM practices could possibly hold a solution to these common problems.

Defining the light emitting area for displays in the unipolar regime of highly efficient light emitting transistors

Light-emitting field effect transistors (LEFETs) are an emerging class of multifunctional optoelectronic devices. It combines the light emitting function of an OLED with the switching function of a transistor in a single device architecture the dual functionality of LEFETs has the potential applications in active matrix displays. However, the key problem of existing LEFETs thus far has been their low EQEs at high brightness, poor ON/OFF and poorly defined light emitting area-a thin emissive zone at the edge of the electrodes. Here we report heterostructure LEFETs based on solution processed unipolar charge transport and an emissive polymer that have an EQE of up to 1% at a brightness of 1350a €...cd/m 2, ON/OFF ratio > 10 4 and a well-defined light emitting zone suitable for display pixel design. We show that a non-planar hole-injecting electrode combined with a semi-transparent electron-injecting electrode enables to achieve high EQE at high brightness and high ON/OFF ratio. Furthermore, we demonstrate that heterostructure LEFETs have a better frequency response (f cut-off = 2.6a €...kHz) compared to single layer LEFETs the results presented here therefore are a major step along the pathway towards the realization of LEFETs for display applications.

Albert Namatjira: copyright estates and traditional knowledge

Albert Namatjira was Australia's first Indigenous professional artist. He adapted Western-style painting to express his cultural knowledge of the Arrernte country, for which he was a traditional custodian. In his lifetime, Albert Namatjira achieved great acclaim for his exceptional ability as an artist. However, after his untimely death, he was ignored by the mainstream Australian art world, because of the aesthetic prejudices and social policies of the time. A recent exhibition entitled Seeing the Centre: The art of Albert Namatjira (1902-1959) curated by Alison French has sought to redress this neglect, and provide a retrospective of his work. The exhibition has brought to light that the copyright in the artistic works of Albert Namatjira has not been passed onto his family descendants. In June 1957, Namatjira entered into a copyright agreement with John Brackenreg, the owner of a publishing company by the name of Legend Press, and the associated Artarmon Galleries in Sydney. It was agreed that Legend Press would pay royalties to Namatjira for the sole right to reproduce all of his paintings. Following Namatjira's death in 1959, the administration of his estate passed to the Public Trustee for the Northern Territory Government. The Public Trustee of the Northern Territory Government authorised the sale of Namatjira's copyright to Legend Press in 1983, thereby ending the ability of the descendents of Namatjira to benefit from on-going income from the reproduction of his works. Senator Aden Ridgeway of the Democrats has called on the Federal Government to enter into discussions with the Northern Territory Government to buy back the copyright in Albert Namatjira's works. He argued that exclusive control of the use and reproduction of his works should be restored to his descendants, as well as the receipt of all financial benefits that result from the use and reproduction of his works under copyright protection. The Senator said: 'By doing this, we will all be rewarded, because finally, belatedly, we will be showing Albert Namatjira the reverence that he has always deserved. We will be protecting his legacy for future generations'.