Understanding the legal implications of data sharing, access and reuse in the Australian research landscape

Researchers are increasingly involved in data-intensive research projects that cut across geographic and disciplinary borders. Quality research now often involves virtual communities of researchers participating in large-scale web-based collaborations, opening their earlystage research to the research community in order to encourage broader participation and accelerate discoveries. The result of such large-scale collaborations has been the production of ever-increasing amounts of data. In short, we are in the midst of a data deluge. Accompanying these developments has been a growing recognition that if the benefits of enhanced access to research are to be realised, it will be necessary to develop the systems and services that enable data to be managed and secured. It has also become apparent that to achieve seamless access to data it is necessary not only to adopt appropriate technical standards, practices and architecture, but also to develop legal frameworks that facilitate access to and use of research data. This chapter provides an overview of the current research landscape in Australia as it relates to the collection, management and sharing of research data. The chapter then explains the Australian legal regimes relevant to data, including copyright, patent, privacy, confidentiality and contract law. Finally, this chapter proposes the infrastructure elements that are required for the proper management of legal interests, ownership rights and rights to access and use data collected or generated by research projects.

Competition and innovation : independent production in the Chinese TV industry

Independent television production is recognised for its capacity to generate new kinds of program content, as well as deliver innovation in formats. Globally, the television industry is entering into the post-broadcasting era where audiences are fragmented and content is distributed across multiple platforms. The effects of this convergence are now being felt in China, as it both challenges old statist models and presents new opportunities for content innovation. This thesis discusses the status of independent production in China, making relevant comparisons with independent production in other countries. Independent television production has become an important element in the reform of broadcasting in China in the past decade. The first independent TV production company was registered officially in 1994. While there are now over 4000 independent companies, the term „independent. does not necessarily constitute autonomy. The question the thesis addresses is: what is the status and nature of independence in China? Is it an appropriate term to use to describe the changing environment, or is it a misnomer? The thesis argues that Chinese independents operate alongside the mainstream state-owned system; they are „dependent. on the mainstream. Therefore independent television in China is a relative term. By looking at several companies in Beijing, mainly in entertainment, TV drama and animation, the thesis shows how the sector is injecting fresh ideas into the marketplace and how it plays an important role in improving innovation in many aspects of the television industry. The thesis shows how independent television companies in China are looking to protect their property rights. It demonstrates that far from being at the cutting edge, independents are reliant on a system that has many inbuilt structural problems. The thesis outlines many of the challenges facing 'independents'.

Analysis of productive performance of crop and animal production systems : an integrated analytical framework

This article presents a two-stage analytical framework that integrates ecological crop (animal) growth and economic frontier production models to analyse the productive efficiency of crop (animal) production systems. The ecological crop (animal) growth model estimates "potential" output levels given the genetic characteristics of crops (animals) and the physical conditions of locations where the crops (animals) are grown (reared). The economic frontier production model estimates "best practice" production levels, taking into account economic, institutional and social factors that cause farm and spatial heterogeneity. In the first stage, both ecological crop growth and economic frontier production models are estimated to calculate three measures of productive efficiency: (1) technical efficiency, as the ratio of actual to "best practice" output levels; (2) agronomic efficiency, as the ratio of actual to "potential" output levels; and (3) agro-economic efficiency, as the ratio of "best practice" to "potential" output levels. Also in the first stage, the economic frontier production model identifies factors that determine technical efficiency. In the second stage, agro-economic efficiency is analysed econometrically in relation to economic, institutional and social factors that cause farm and spatial heterogeneity. The proposed framework has several important advantages in comparison with existing proposals. Firstly, it allows the systematic incorporation of all physical, economic, institutional and social factors that cause farm and spatial heterogeneity in analysing the productive performance of crop and animal production systems. Secondly, the location-specific physical factors are not modelled symmetrically as other economic inputs of production. Thirdly, climate change and technological advancements in crop and animal sciences can be modelled in a "forward-looking" manner. Fourthly, knowledge in agronomy and data from experimental studies can be utilised for socio-economic policy analysis. The proposed framework can be easily applied in empirical studies due to the current availability of ecological crop (animal) growth models, farm or secondary data, and econometric software packages. The article highlights several directions of empirical studies that researchers may pursue in the future.

The moral economy of social media

In this chapter we take a high-level view of social media, focusing not on specific applications, domains, websites, or technologies, but instead our interest is in the forms of engagement that social media engender. This is not to suggest that all social media are the same, or even that everyone’s experience with any particular medium or technology is the same. However, we argue common issues arise that characterize social media in a broad sense, and provide a different analytic perspective than we would gain from looking at particular systems or applications. We do not take the perspective that social life merely happens “within” such systems, nor that social life “shapes” such systems, but rather these systems provide a site for the production of social and cultural reality – that media are always already social and the engagement with, in, and through media of all sorts is a thoroughly social phenomenon. Accordingly, in this chapter, we examine two phenomena concurrently: social life seen through the lens of social media, and social media seen through the lens of social life. In particular, we want to understand the ways that a set of broad phenomena concerning forms of participation in social life is articulated in the domain of social media. As a conceptual entry-point, we use the notion of the “moral economy” as a means to open up the domain of inquiry. We first discuss the notion of the “moral economy” as it has been used by a number of social theorists, and then identify a particular set of conceptual concerns that we suggest link it to the phenomena of social networking in general. We then discuss a series of examples drawn from a range of studies to elaborate and ground this conceptual framework in empirical data. This leads us to a broader consideration of audiences and publics in social media that, we suggest, holds important lessons for how we treat social media analytically.

Jams, jelly beans and the fruits of passion - art book (26 Pages)

Statement: Jams, Jelly Beans and the Fruits of Passion Let us search, instead, for an epistemology of practice implicit in the artistic, intuitive processes which some practitioners do bring to situations of uncertainty, instability, uniqueness, and value conflict. (Schön 1983, p40) Game On was born out of the idea of creative community; finding, networking, supporting and inspiring the people behind the face of an industry, those in the mist of the machine and those intending to join. We understood this moment to be a pivotal opportunity to nurture a new emerging form of game making, in an era of change, where the old industry models were proving to be unsustainable. As soon as we started putting people into a room under pressure, to make something in 48hrs, a whole pile of evolutionary creative responses emerged. People refashioned their craft in a moment of intense creativity that demanded different ways of working, an adaptive approach to the craft of making games – small – fast – indie. An event like the 48hrs forces participants’ attention onto the process as much as the outcome. As one game industry professional taking part in a challenge for the first time observed: there are three paths in the genesis from idea to finished work: the path that focuses on mechanics; the path that focuses on team structure and roles, and the path that focuses on the idea, the spirit – and the more successful teams put the spirit of the work first and foremost. The spirit drives the adaptation, it becomes improvisation. As Schön says: “Improvisation consists on varying, combining and recombining a set of figures within the schema which bounds and gives coherence to the performance.” (1983, p55). This improvisational approach is all about those making the games: the people and the principles of their creative process. This documentation evidences the intensity of their passion, determination and the shit that they are prepared to put themselves through to achieve their goal – to win a cup full of jellybeans and make a working game in 48hrs. 48hr is a project where, on all levels, analogue meets digital. This concept was further explored through the documentation process. All of these pictures were taken with a 1945 Leica III camera. The use of this classic, film-based camera, gives the images a granularity and depth, this older slower technology exposes the very human moments of digital creativity. ____________________________ Schön, D. A. 1983, The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Basic Books, New York

YouTube and the formalisation of amateur media

This chapter describes how, as YouTube has scaled up both as a platform and as a company, its business model and the consequences for its copyright regulation strategies have co-evolved, and so too the boundaries between amateur and professional media have shifted and blurred in particular ways. As YouTube, Inc moves to more profitably arrange and stabilise the historically contentious relations among rights-holders, uploaders, advertisers and audiences, some forms of amateur video production have become institutionalised and professionalised, while others have been further marginalised and driven underground or to other, more forgiving, platforms.

Evidence-based practice

This chapter traces the history of evidence-based practice (EBP) from its roots in evidence-based medicine to contemporary thinking about the usefulness of such an approach to public health practice. It defines EBP and differentiates it from terms such as evidence-based medicine, evidence-based policy and evidence-based health care. As EBP is concerned with identifying ‘good evidence’, this chapter will briefly describe the nature and production of knowledge, as it is important to understand the subjective nature of knowledge and the research process. This chapter considers the necessary skills for EBP, and discusses the processes of attaining the necessary evidence and its limitations. We examine the barriers and facilitators to identifying and implementing ‘best practice’, and when EBP is appropriate to use. There is a discussion about the limitations of EBP and the potential use of other sources of information to guide practice, and concluding information about the application of evidence to guide policy and practice.

Modern construction economics [Book Review]

The editor, Gerard de Valence, points out in the preface, this book is neither a textbook nor a guide to what is done by construction managers and construction economists – read quantity surveyors and the like. Rather, de Valence notes it comprises a collection of chapters each of which focus on matters at the industry level and, in doing so, illustrates that a substantially improved understanding of the building and construction industry can be gained beyond the economics of delivering projects. Before giving some thought to how far each of the chapters achieve this, it’s worth reflecting on the virtues of developing construction economics as its own discipline or sub-discipline in general economics and the bold manner by which de Valence is proposing we do this. That is, de Valence proposes partitioning industry and project economics - as explained in the preface and in Chapter 1. de Valence’s view that “the time seems right” for these developments is also worthy of some consideration.

Biomaterials in orthopedic bone plates : a review

This paper aims to review biomaterials used in manufacturing bone plates including advances in recent years and prospect in the future. It has found among all biomaterials, currently titanium and stainless steel alloys are the most common in production of bone plates. Other biomaterials such as Mg alloys, Ta alloys, SMAs, carbon fiber composites and bioceramics are potentially suitable for bone plates because of their advantages in biocompatibility, bioactivity and biodegradability. However, today either they are not used in bone plates or have limited applications in only some flexible small-size implants. This problem is mainly related to their poor mechanical properties. Additionally, production processes play an effective role. Therefore, in the future, further studies should be conducted to solve these problems and make them feasible for heavy-duty bone plates.

Complexity, evolution, and the structure of demand

This chapter argues that evolutionary economics should be founded upon complex systems theory rather than neo-Darwinian analogies concerning natural selection, which focus on supply side considerations and competition amongst firms and technologies. It suggests that conceptions such as production and consumption functions should be replaced by network representations, in which the preferences or, more correctly, the aspirations of consumers are fundamental and, as such, the primary drivers of economic growth. Technological innovation is viewed as a process that is intermediate between these aspirational networks, and the organizational networks in which goods and services are produced. Consumer knowledge becomes at least as important as producer knowledge in determining how economic value is generated. It becomes clear that the stability afforded by connective systems of rules is essential for economic flexibility to exist, but that too many rules result in inert and structurally unstable states. In contrast, too few rules result in a more stable state, but at a low level of ordered complexity. Economic evolution from this perspective is explored using random and scale free network representations of complex systems.

Quality management in construction projects

[Quality Management in Construction Projects by Abdul Razzak Rumane, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2011, 434 pp, ISBN 9781439838716] Issues of quality management, quality control and performance against specification have long been the focus of various business sectors. Recently there has been an additional drive to achieve the continuous improvement and customer satisfaction promised by the 20th-century ‘gurus’ some six or seven decades ago. The engineering and construction industries have generally taken somewhat longer than their counterparts in the manufacturing, service and production sectors to achieve these espoused levels of quality. The construction and engineering sectors stand to realize major rewards from better managing quality in projects. More effort is being put into instructing future participants in the industry as well as assisting existing professionals. This book comes at an opportune time.

Power relations and small and medium-sized enterprise strategies for capturing value in global production networks: visual effects (VFX) service firm in the Hollywood film industry

Power relations and small and medium-sized enterprise strategies for capturing value in global production networks: visual effects (VFX) service firms in the Hollywood film industry, Regional Studies. This paper provides insights into the way in which non-lead firms manoeuvre in global value chains in the pursuit of a larger share of revenue and how power relations affect these manoeuvres. It examines the nature of value capture and power relations in the global supply of visual effects (VFX) services and the range of strategies VFX firms adopt to capture higher value in the global value chain. The analysis is based on a total of thirty-six interviews with informants in the industry in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada, and a database of VFX credits for 3323 visual products for 640 VFX firms.

Beyond difference : reconfiguring education for the user-led age

In recent years, various observers have pointed to the shifting paradigms of cultural and societal participation and economic production in developed nations. These changes are facilitated (although, importantly, not solely driven) by the emergence of new, participatory technologies of information access, knowledge exchange, and content production, many of whom are associated with Internet and new media technologies. In an online context, such technologies are now frequently described as social software, social media, or Web2.0, but their impact is no longer confined to cyberspace as an environment that is somehow different and separate from ‘real life’: user-led content and knowledge production is increasingly impacting on media, economy, law, social practices, and democracy itself.

Book review : "Carbon Capture and Storage Emerging Legal and Regulatory Issues" edited by Ian Havercroft, Richard Macrory, Richard B Stewart, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2011

As the international community struggles to find a cost-effective solution to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, carbon capture and storage (CCS) has emerged as a project mechanism with the potential to assist in transitioning society towards its low carbon future. Being a politically attractive option, legal regimes to promote and approve CCS have proceeded at an accelerated pace in multiple jurisdictions including the European Union and Australia. This acceleration and emphasis on the swift commercial deployment of CCS projects has left the legal community in the undesirable position of having to advise on the strengths and weaknesses of the key features of these regimes once they have been passed and become operational. This is an area where environmental law principles are tested to their very limit. On the one hand, implementation of this new technology should proceed in a precautionary manner to avoid adverse impacts on the atmosphere, local community and broader environment. On the other hand, excessive regulatory restrictions will stifle innovation and act as a barrier to the swift deployment of CCS projects around the world. Finding the balance between precaution and innovation is no easy feat. This is an area where lawyers, academics, regulators and industry representatives can benefit from the sharing of collective experiences, both positive and negative, across the jurisdictions. This exemplary book appears to have been collated with this philosophy in mind and provides an insightful addition to the global dialogue on establishing effective national and international regimes for the implementation of CCS projects...