Urban informatics

The increasing ubiquity of digital technology, internet ser-vices and social media in our everyday lives allows for a seamless transitioning between the visible and the invisible infrastructure of cities: road systems, building complexes, information and communication technology, and people networks create a buzzing environment that is alive and exciting. Driven by curiosity, initiative and interdiscipli-nary exchange, the Urban Informatics Research Lab at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia, is an emerging cluster of people interested in research and development at the intersection of people, place and technology with a focus on cities, locative media and mobile technology. This paper seeks to define, for the first time, what we mean by ‘urban informatics’ and outline its significance as a field of study today. It describes the relevant background and trends in each of the areas of peo-ple, place and technology, and highlights the relevance of urban informatics to the concerns and evolving challenges of CSCW. We then position our work in academia juxta-posed with related research concentrations and labels, fol-lowed by a discussion of disciplinary influences. The paper concludes with an exposé of the three current research themes of the lab around augmented urban spaces, urban narratives, and environmental sustainability in order to illustrate specific cases and methods, and to draw out distinctions that our affiliation with the Creative Industries Faculty affords.

Becoming “Librarian 2.0” : the skills, knowledge, and attributes required by library and information science professionals in a Web 2.0 world (and beyond)

In 2005, Stephen Abram, vice president of Innovation at SirsiDynix, challenged library and information science (LIS) professionals to start becoming “librarian 2.0.” In the last few years, discussion and debate about the “core competencies” needed by librarian 2.0 have appeared in the “biblioblogosphere” (blogs written by LIS professionals). However, beyond these informal blog discussions few systematic and empirically based studies have taken place. This article will discuss a research project that fills this gap. Funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, the project identifies the key skills, knowledge, and attributes required by “librarian 2.0.” Eighty-one members of the Australian LIS profession participated in a series of focus groups. Eight themes emerged as being critical to “librarian 2.0”: technology, communication, teamwork, user focus, business savvy, evidence based practice, learning and education, and personal traits. This article will provide a detailed discussion on each of these themes. The study’s findings also suggest that “librarian 2.0” is a state of mind, and that the Australian LIS profession is undergoing a significant shift in “attitude.”

Project-based IHRM : the emerging approach for the post-GFC world?

This paper reviews some past emphases in IHRM, and recommends that IHR teachers and practitioners consider using project management methodologies to tighten the focus of our diverse activities.

Trends in impaired driving in Australia in 2010 : a status report

This paper reviews the status of alcohol, drugs and traffic safety in Australia, with particular emphasis on developments in the period 2008-2010. Australian jurisdictions have made impressive improvements in road safety since the early 1970s. Enforcement and public education campaigns that specifically target drink driving have been successful, with resultant long-term reduction in alcohol-related fatalities. There is a high level of community disapproval of drink driving and strong support for countermeasures. Many best-practice countermeasures targeting impaired driving are in place, including general prevention/ deterrence programs such as random breath testing (RBT), random roadside drug testing legal alcohol limits, responsible service of alcohol programs, public education and advertising campaigns and designated driver programs, and offender management programs such as driver licensing penalties and fines, alcohol ignition interlocks and vehicle impoundment for high risk drink drivers, and offender education programs. There continue to be enhancements occurring, particularly in the areas of drug-impaired driving and offender management, but also in addressing the fundamental policy and legislative framework to address impaired driving (e.g., a current national debate about lowering the permissible blood alcohol for all drivers from 0.05 to 0.02 or 0.00 gm/100 ml BAC). However, there are major challenges that may be impacting on programs targeting impaired driving, including the rapid development of a binge drinking culture among young Australians, the extension of trading hours of licensed premises, continued problems with secondary supply of alcohol to minors, and increases in the marketing of alcopops and ready-to-drink spirit-based beverages. This paper addresses the question: Are impaired driving countermeasures in Australia continuing to achieve reductions in road traumas and rates of offending, or are they plateauing? If they are plateauing, is this due to declining effectiveness of countermeasures or the need to ‘hold the line’ against societal influences encouraging impaired driving?

Improvement through people for the emerging new work practices in manufacturing

This paper describes the changes occurring in manufacturing industries and their effect on knowledge and skills necessary to perform effectively in the new environments. The changes in knowledge and skills are presented as a summary to illustrate the extent of the change. The concept of multiskilling is used to conceptualise the emerging new knowledge and skills and finally some guidelines for designing training programs to acquire multiskilling are presented.

Online social networks as an emerging opportunity for entrepreneurship : a study of the music industry

The explosion in use of online social networks is an important phenomenon that provides a new set of entrepreneurial opportunities. Emerging musicians have been among the first to exploit this new market opportunity – and indeed, many have used it successfully. A recent study Carter (2009) reveals that artists who earned the most returns had an online presence on multiple social online sites and services such as MySpace and Facebook. These web pages are leveraged to build fan bases and develop different types of revenue streams. Yet, little is currently known about discovery or exploitation of such opportunities.

Malaysia high-rise residential property management : 2004-2010 trends and scenario

Property management requires an understanding of infrastructure management, service life planning and quality management. Today, people are beginning to realize that effective property management in high-rise residential property can sustain the property value and maintaining high returns on their investment. The continuous growth of high-rise residential properties indicates that there is a need for an effective property management system to provide a sustainable high-rise residential property development. As intensive as these studies are, they do not attempt to investigate the correlation between property management systems with the trends of Malaysia high-rise residential property development. By examining the trends and scenario of Malaysia high-rise residential property development, this paper aims to gain an understanding of impacts from the effectiveness of property management in this scope area. Findings from this scoping paper will assist in providing a greater understanding and possible solutions for the current Malaysian property management systems for the expanding high-rise residential unit market. With current high rise units in excess of 1.3 million and increasing, the need for more cost effective management systems are of highly important to the Malaysian Property Industry.

Minority activism : trends informing political participation across Australian communities

In the late 1990’s, intense and vigorous debate surrounded the impact of minority communities on Australia’s mainstream society. The rise of far-right populism took the stage with the introduction to the political landscape of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party, whilst John Howard’s Liberal-National Coalition Government took the fore on debate over immigration issues corresponding with an influx of irregular arrivals. In 2001, following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States of America and subsequent attacks on western targets globally, many of these issues continued to be debated through the security posturing that followed. In recent years, much effort has been afforded to countering the threat of terrorism from home grown assailants. The Government has introduced stringent legislative responses whilst researchers have studied social movements and trends within Australian communities, particularly with respect to minorities. In 2008, the Scanlon Foundation, in association with Monash University and various government entities, released its findings into its survey approach to mapping social cohesion in Australia. It identified a number of spheres of exploration which it believed were essential to measuring cohesiveness of Australian communities generally including, economic, political and socio-cultural factors (Markus and Dharmalingam, 2008). This doctoral project report will explore the political sphere as identified in the Mapping Social Cohesion project and apply it to identified minority ethnic communities. The Scanlon Foundation project identified political participation as one of a number of true indicators of social cohesion. This project acknowledges that democracy in Australia is represented predominantly by two political entities representing a vast majority of constituents under a compulsory voting regime. This essay will identify the levels of political activism achieved by minority ethnic communities and access to democratic participation within the Australian political structure. It will define a ten year period from 1999 to 2009, identifying trends and issues within minority communities that have proactively and reactively promoted engagement in achieving a political voice, framed within a mainstream-dominated political system. It will research social movements and other influential factors over that period to enrich existing knowledge in relation to political participation rates across Australian communities.

Structural dynamics research and applications

Research in structural dynamics has received considerable attention due to problems associated with emerging slender structures, increased vulnerability of structures to random loads and aging infrastructure. This paper briefly describes some such research carried out on i) dynamics of composite floor structure, ii) dynamics of cable supported footbridge, iii) seismic mitigation of frame-shear wall structure using passive dampers and iv) development of a damage assessment model for use in structural health modelling.

The emerging management services of business transformation management

Business transformations are large-scale organizational change programs that, evidence suggests, are often unsuccessful. Our interest is in identifying the management capabilities required for the successful execution of these projects. We advance a service-oriented view of the enterprise, which suggests that different management services need to be identified and integrated in order to execute business transformation. In order to identify those management services that require integration, we conducted an exploratory empirical study of the demand for management services in US and Asia, and we show that two archetypes of management services exist in business transformation initiatives: transactional and transformational management services. We identify the relevant set of transactional and transformational services and discuss what the demand for these services implies for the execution of business transformations.

A socially responsible model of micro-credit delivery to support sustainable community development in emerging economies

Micro-finance, which includes micro-credit as one of its core services, has become an important component of a range of business models – from those that operate on a strictly economic basis to those that come from a philanthropic base, through Non Government Organisations (NGOs). Its success is often measured by the number of loans issued, their size, and the repayment rates. This paper has a dual purpose: to identify whether the models currently used to deliver micro-credit services to the poor are socially responsible and to suggest a new model of delivery that addresses some of the social responsibility issues, while supporting community development. The proposed model is currently being implemented in Beira, the second largest city in Mozambique. Mozambique exhibits many of the characteristics found in other African countries so the model, if successful, may have implications for other poor African nations as well as other developing economies.

Green, Greener, BPM?

I am sure you’ve heard it too: Green is the new Black. While this was true back in the days when Henry Ford introduced process standardization with his assembly line for the Ford Model T (over 15 million of these were sold!), Green is also the color of choice for many business organizations, private and public. I am not talking about the actual color of their business shirts or their logo 2.0.; I am referring to the eco-aware movement that has pushed sustainability into the top ten list of business buzz-words. What used to be a boutique market for tourism and political activists has become the biggest business revolution since the e-commerce boom. Public and private organizations alike push towards “sustainable” solutions and practices. That push is partly triggered by the immense reputational gains associated with branding your organization as “green”, and partly by emerging societal, legal and constitutional regulations that force organizations to become more ecologically aware and sustainable. But the boom goes beyond organizational reality. Even in academia, sustainability has become a research “fashion wave” (see [1] if you are interested in research fashion waves) similar to the hype around Neuroscience that our colleagues in the natural sciences are witnessing these days. Mind you, I’m a fan. A big fan in fact. As academics, we are constantly searching for problem areas that are characterized by an opportunity to do rigorous research (studies that are executed to perfection) on relevant topics (studies that have applied practical value and provide impact to the community). What would be a better playground than exploring the options that Business Process Management provides for creating a sustainable, green future? I’m getting excited just writing about this! So, join me in exploring some of the current thoughts around how BPM can contribute to the sustainability fashion parade and let me introduce you to some of the works that scholars have produced recently in their attempts to identify solutions.