A Systems-level approach to building sustainable assessment cultures : moderation, quality task design and dependability of judgement

This paper considers the conditions that are necessary at system and local levels for teacher assessment to be valid, reliable and rigorous. With sustainable assessment cultures as a goal, the paper examines how education systems can support local level efforts for quality learning and dependable teacher assessment. This is achieved through discussion of relevant research and consideration of a case study involving an evaluation of a cross-sectoral approach to promoting confidence in school-based assessment in Queensland, Australia. Building on the reported case study, essential characteristics for developing sustainable assessment cultures are presented, including: leadership in learning; alignment of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment; the design of quality assessment tasks and accompanying standards, and evidence-based judgement and moderation. Taken together, these elements constitute a new framework for building assessment capabilities and promoting quality assurance.

Sustainable transportation development : a framework to determine transportation disadvantaged

Urban sprawl combined with low density development causes unsustainable development patterns including accessibility and mobility problems, especially for those who do not have the capacity to own a vehicle or access to quality public transport services. Sustainable transportation development is crucial in order to solve transport disadvantage problems in urban settlements. People who are affected by these problems are referred to as ‘transportation disadvantaged’. Transportation disadvantage is a multi-dimensional problem that combines socio-economics, transportation and spatial characteristics or dimensions. However, a substantial number of transportation disadvantage studies so far only focus on the socio-economic and transportation dimensions, while the latter dimension of transportation disadvantage has been neglected. This chapter investigates the spatial dimension of transportation disadvantage by comparing the travel capabilities of residents and their accessibility levels with land use characteristics. The analysis of the study identifies significant land use characteristics with travel inability, and is useful for identifying the transportation disadvantaged population.

The promotion of sustainability agenda for facilities management through developing knowledge capabilities

The growing awareness of sustainability issues around the world has put extensive pressure on the construction industry to improve its sustainable practice. Sustainability principles need to be applied to not just during design and construction phase but the entire life cycle of a construction project. Compared to sustainability endeavours on earlier development phases, the pace to implement sustainability agenda during the operation and maintenance phase has not been as fast during past practices of facilities management (FM). Literature study suggests that sustainable practices in FM activities can bring substantial benefits such as reducing energy consumptions and waste, while increasing productivity, financial return and standing in the community. It also suggests several barriers which inhibit the implementation of sustainability in FM practices, including the lack of knowledge, discrepancy between capability and skills, and unwillingness of the FM personnel and organizations to adapt to new routines in order to implement sustainability in their business. The capabilities of FM personnel and organizations were regarded as the key enablers in managing sustainability knowledge. In a sustainable development context, capabilities are vital to the fostering of competency in an organization to innovate in a more sustainable way and support the agenda in an organization. Additionally, research which focused on people’s capabilities and skills is still lagging behind the efforts to develop guidelines, technical manuals and knowledge portals. Therefore, it is beneficial to explore the issues of capabilities in dealing with the implementation of sustainable practices in FM. This paper introduces a research project which is aimed at establishing a knowledge capabilities framework for promoting sustainability measures in FM practices. It will explore and highlight challenges to integrate sustainability as well as the personnel and organizational capabilities that are vital in dealing with knowledge issues in implementing sustainability agenda in FM practices. The expected outcome of this research has the potential to further sustainability endeavours in FM practices, while providing a useful source of knowledge to the FM personnel and organizations.

People capabilities for promoting sustainability in facilities management practices

Sustainability needs to be embedded throughout the life-cycle of a construction project. From project conception, planning, design, construction stage, operation and maintenance to demolition, each phase of development should embrace principles of sustainability and the stakeholder involved should be empowered with the necessary skills. Past research explored the importance of ensuring sustainability measures during the occupancy phase based on considerations of Life-Cycle Cost Analysis and a project’s long-term detrimental impact on the environment. Facility managers are in a unique position to promote sustainability over longer periods of project engagement and can apply a high level of influence on the built assets through management and upgrades. There is growing interest among facility managers in incorporating sustainability measures into day-to-day practice. More, however, needs to be done. Previous studies have identified barriers such as the lack of sustainability knowledge and skills, poor access to information, and unwillingness to change among facility management (FM) practitioners and stakeholders. This inhibits proper implementation of sustainable practices in the FM sector. A number of key factors, such as knowledge discrepancy, time constraints, diversity of FM functions and a lack of incentives, require urgent remedy. The capability of FM professionals and stakeholders will be a key enabler in managing the sustainability agenda, as it is central to the improvement of competency and innovation in an organization. Compared to the attempts at developing sustainability guidelines and performance measurement, research efforts relating to people capabilities and skills are still lagging behind. This paper discusses the progress to date of a research project aimed at formulating a people capabilities framework for sustainable FM practices based on expert opinions and industry feedback. Through literature review, the paper explores the challenges of incorporating sustainability principles into general FM practices before focusing specifically on FM personnel capabilities that may impact on the implementation of a holistic sustainability agenda in real life practice. The results of an industry survey are used to propose an action framework to identify, promote and utilise people capabilities in order to promote sustainability integration in FM practices. The paper provides a useful information source for FM personnel and organizations to bridge the gap between extensive tools on sustainable design and construction assessment at the front end and the need to maintain focus throughout the project life-cycle.

Beyond normal competencies : understanding organisation designs to develop and sustain IT-related capabilities

It is apparent that IT resources are important for organisations. It is also clear that organisations unique competencies, their IT-related capabilities, leverage the IT resources uniquely to create and sustain competitive advantage. However, IT resources are dynamic, and evolve at an exponential rate. This means that organisations will need to sustain their competencies to leverage opportunities offered by new IT resources. Research on ways to sustain IT-related capabilities is limited and a deeper understanding of this situation is important. Amongst other factors, a possible reason for this lack of progress in this area could be due to the lack of validated measurement items of the theoretical constructs to conduct such studies. We suggest an environment in which organisations could build new and sustain their existing IT-related capabilities. We then report on the development of valid and reliable measures for this environment. The validated measures would be useful in extending our understanding on how firms could sustain their IT-related capabilities. This effort will provide a deeper understanding of how firms can secure sustainable IT-related business value from their acquired IT resources.

Enhancing people capabilities for the promotion of sustainability in facilities management practices

Sustainability has become an important principle to be pursued throughout the life-cycles of project development. Facility managers are in a commanding position to maximise the potential of sustainability. Sustainability endeavours in facility management (FM) practices will not only contribute to reducing energy consumption and waste, but will also help increase organisational productivity, financial returns and standing in the community. At the forefront of sustainable practices, FM professionals can exercise a great deal of influence through operational and strategic management and they should be empowered with the necessary knowledge and capabilities. However, literature studies suggest that there is a gap between the level of awareness and knowledge and the necessary skills required to promote sustainability endeavours in the FM profession. Therefore, it is worthwhile to reflect on people capability issues since it is considered as the key enabler in managing the sustainability agenda as well as being central to the improvement of competency and innovation in an organization. This paper aims to identify the critical factors for enhancing people capabilities in promoting the sustainability agenda in the FM sector. To achieve this objective, a total of 60 factors were identified through a comprehensive literature review and then a questionnaire survey with 52 respondents was conducted to collect the perceived importance of these factors. The survey analysis revealed 23 critical factors as significantly important. These critical factors will serve as the basis for the establishment of a mechanism to equip facility managers with the right knowledge, to continue education and training and to develop new mind-sets to enhance the implementation of sustainability measures in FM practices.

Sustainable Urban Water Environment : Climate, Pollution and Adaptation

"This multi-disciplinary book provides practical solutions for safeguarding the sustainability of the urban water environment. Firstly, the importance of the urban water environment is highlighted and the major problems urban water bodies face and strategies to safeguard the water environment are explored. Secondly, the diversity of pollutants entering the water environment through stormwater runoff are discussed and modelling approaches for factoring in climate change and future urban and transport scenarios are proposed. Thirdly, by linking the concepts of sustainable urban ecosystems and sustainable urban and transport development, capabilities of two urban sustainability assessment models are demonstrated."--publisher website

Enhancing student learning in the workplace through developing the leadership capabilities of clinical supervisors in the nursing discipline

The purpose of this project was to build the leadership capacity of clinical supervisors in the nursing discipline by developing, implementing and systematically embedding a leadership model into the structure and practice of student supervision. The University worked in partnership with three major metropolitan hospitals in Queensland to develop a framework and professional development program incorporating leadership and clinical supervision. The Leadership and Clinical Education (LaCE) program consisted of two structured workshops complemented by individual personal development projects undertaken by participants. Participants were supported in these activities with a purpose-built website that provides access to a wide variety of information and other learning resources. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations indicated that the approach was highly valued by participants, as it promoted useful peer dialogue, sharing of experiences and personal development in relation to assisting leadership development and student learning in the workplace. The LaCE program provides an ideal springboard for introducing the development of welltrained leaders into the clinical workplace. The resources developed have the potential to provide ongoing support for clinical supervisors to improve the learning of undergraduate nursing student. The challenge will be to achieve continued innovation within clinical education through sustainable leadership programs.

Emerging Opportunities for "Design Thinking" to Deliver Sustainable Solutions in the Built Environment

In the built environment sector, a range of innovations are delivering environmental improvements with mixed success worldwide. The authors of this paper argue that a more “disruptive” form of innovation is needed to bring about significant and systemic change within the sector. Critical to this transition is the development of new behaviours and values. In particular, built environment professionals need to become active change agents in cultivating these new behaviours and values through the development of collaborative visions, scenarios, practices, and ideas. This paper identifies and discusses the critical role that design (in its broadest sense) can play in this process. Drawing on a comprehensive review of literature, the authors highlight a number of transformational opportunities for cross professional learning and sharing between design and built environment disciplines in achieving environmental innovation (eco-innovation). The paper also considers several design-based concepts that have a potential application in the built environment sector including: design thinking, social innovation (human-centered), and disruptive innovation (transformational) approaches. The research findings will assist in building the capabilities of designers and innovators to create sustainable solutions to global problems, and in supporting the social diffusion of systems-changing ideas in the built environment sector.

Renewing the Sustainable Energy Curriculum : Curriculum Frameworks and Guidance for Course Delivery

This guide is to support institutions in developing and teaching tertiary level programmes for sustainable energy professionals. Ongoing curriculum renewal is more difficult but vital for multidisciplinary courses preparing graduates to work in a specialised rapidly changing field. After more than 15 years of offering tertiary level “sustainable energy” qualifications in Australian Universities there was a clear need to assess how these courses are taught and develop curriculum frameworks to guide Universities designing/redesigning programs and courses to provide graduates with the relevant skills, knowledge and attributes (capabilities) seen by graduates and employers as required to work in this rapidly changing field. This guide presents the sustainable energy curriculum frameworks developed by the “Renewing the sustainable energy curriculum – providing internationally relevant skills for a carbon constrained economy” project, which was conducted over a two-and-a-quarter year period.

A framework for people capability enhancement to support sustainable facility management practices

Spanning over a considerable length of time, facility management is a key phase in the development cycle of built assets. Therefore facility managers are in a commanding position to maximise the potential of sustainability through the operation, maintenance and upgrade of built facilities leading to decommission and deconstruction. Sustainability endeavours in facility management practices will not only contribute to reducing energy consumption, waste and running costs, but also help improve organisational productivity, financial returns and community standing of the organisation. At the forefront facing sustainability challenge, facility manager should be empowered with the necessary knowledge and capabilities. However, literature studies show a gap between the current level of awareness and the specific knowledge and necessary skills required to pursue sustainability in the profession. People capability is considered as the key enabler in managing the sustainability agenda as well as being central to the improvement of competency and innovation in an organization. This paper aims to identify the critical factors for enhancing people capabilities in promoting the sustainability agenda in facility management practices. Starting with a total of 60 factors identified through literature review, the authors conducted a questionnaire survey to assess the perceived importance of these factors. The findings reveal 23 critical factors as significantly important. They form the basis of a mechanism framework developed to equip facility managers with the right knowledge, to continue education and training and to develop new mind-sets to enhance the implementation of sustainability measures in FM practices.

Assessment of treatment capabilities of Varthur Lake, Bangalore, India

Manmade waterbodies have traditionally been used for domestic and irrigation purposes. Unplanned urbanization and ad-hoc approaches have led to these waterbodies receiving untreated sewage. This enriches and eutrophies the waterbody. A physicochemical and biological analysis of sewage-fed Varthur Lake in Bangalore was carried out and its treatment capabilities in terms of BOD removal, nutrient assimilation and self-remediation were assessed. Anaerobic conditions (0 mg/L) prevail at the inlet which improves towards the outlets due to algal aeration. This removed > 50% BOD in the monsoon season but was inhibited by floating macrophytes in all other seasons. Alkalinity, TDS, conductivity and hardness values were higher when compared to earlier studies. This study shows the lake behaves as an anaerobic~aerobic lagoon with a residence time of 4.8 d treating the wastewater to a considerable extent. Further research is required to optimise the system performance.

Ecosystem science capabilities required to support NOAA’s mission in the year 2020

The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social and environmental needs (NOAA, 2004). In meeting its marine stewardship responsibilities, NOAA seeks to ensure the sustainable use of resources and balance competing uses of coastal and marine ecosystems, recognizing both their human and natural components (NOAA, 2004). Authorities for executing these responsibilities come from over 90 separate pieces of Federal legislation, each with unique requirements and responsibilities. Few of these laws explicitly mandate an ecosystem approach to management (EAM) or supporting science. However, resource managers, the science community, and increasingly, the public, are recognizing that significantly greater connectedness among the scientific disciplines is needed to support management and stewardship responsibilities (Browman and Stergiou, 2004; 2005). Neither NOAA nor any other science agency can meet the increasing demand for ecosystem science products addressing each of its mandates individually. Even if it was possible, doing so would not provide the integration necessary to solve the increasingly complex array of management issues. This focus on the integration of science and management responsibilities into an ecosystem view is one of the centerpieces of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s report (USCOP, 2004), and the Administration’s response to that report in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan (CEQ, 2004). (PDF contains 100 pages)

The contribution of enterprise systems to core capabilities: the case of asset lifecycle management in the utilities sector

The desire to obtain competitive advantage is a motivator for implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems (Adam & O’Doherty, 2000). However, while it is accepted that Information Technology (IT) in general may contribute to the improvement of organisational performance (Melville, Kraemer, & Gurbaxani, 2004), the nature and extent of that contribution is poorly understood (Jacobs & Bendoly, 2003; Ravichandran & Lertwongsatien, 2005). Accordingly, Henderson and Venkatraman (1993) assert that it is the application of business and IT capabilities to develop and leverage a firm’s IT resources for organisational transformation, rather than the acquired technological functionality, that secures competitive advantage for firms. Application of the Resource Based View of the firm (Wernerfelt, 1984) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT) (Teece and Pisano (1998) in particular) may yield insights into whether or not the use of Enterprise Systems enhances organisations’ core capabilities and thereby obtains competitive advantage, sustainable or otherwise (Melville et al., 2004). An operational definition of Core Capabilities that is independent of the construct of Sustained Competitive Advantage is formulated. This Study proposes and utilises an applied Dynamic Capabilities framework to facilitate the investigation of the role of Enterprise Systems. The objective of this research study is to investigate the role of Enterprise Systems in the Core Dynamic Capabilities of Asset Lifecycle Management. The Study explores the activities of Asset Lifecycle Management, the Core Dynamic Capabilities inherent in Asset Lifecycle Management and the footprint of Enterprise Systems on those Dynamic Capabilities. Additionally, the study explains the mechanisms by which Enterprise Systems sustain the Exploitability and the Renewability of those Core Dynamic Capabilities. The study finds that Enterprise Systems contribute directly to the Value, Exploitability and Renewability of Core Dynamic Capabilities and indirectly to their Inimitability and Non-substitutability. The study concludes by presenting an applied Dynamic Capabilities framework, which integrates Alter (1992)’s definition of Information Systems with Teece and Pisano (1998)’s model of Dynamic Capabilities to provide a robust diagnostic for determining the sustained value generating contributions of Enterprise Systems. These frameworks are used in the conclusions to frame the findings of the study. The conclusions go on to assert that these frameworks are free - standing and analytically generalisable, per Siggelkow (2007) and Yin (2003).