Industry-government collaboration : Queensland's IT&T Strategy and the Information Industries Board

This paper presents a field study of the Queensland Information Technology and Telecommunications Industry Strategy (QITIS), and of the Information Industries Board (IIB), a joint industry-state government body established in 1992 to oversee the implementation of that strategy for the development of the IT&T Industry in Queensland. The aim of the study was to analyse differing stakeholder perspectives on the strategy and on its implementation by the IIB. The study forms part of a longer-term review which aims to develop methodologies for the selection of appropriate strategies for the IT&T Industry, and for the evaluation of outcomes of strategy.

Changing the company name : a model for identity change through communication

In an ever evolving business landscape, change is an ever present part of any organisation’s lifecycle. This thesis presents communication as a fundamental element of effective change management. Drawing from the existing change communication literature and two case studies, this thesis examines how organisations utilise strategic change communication to manage identity change. As a result this study presents a conceptual model that outlines a process of change communication strategy and implementation. This model is offered as a step toward connecting important scholarship into a more comprehensive portrait of change communication during identity change than so far has been available.

The performance advantages for SMEs of product innovation and marketing resource–capability complementarity in emerging economies

This study argues that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) must possess both resources and capabilities at a superior level, and those resources and capabilities must be complementary with one another to achieve superior financial performance. The resources and capabilities of interest are product innovation and marketing. Using data from manufacturing SMEs, the results suggest that product innovation resource–capability complementarity, marketing resource–capability complementarity, and their interaction are positively related to financial performance through product innovation and customer performance. The findings suggest that some SMEs may outperform others not only because they possess a specific individual resource–capability complementarity but also because they create synergy and asset interconnectedness.

Investigating the factors influencing the adoption of m-banking: A cross cultural study

Purpose Little is known about the adoption of mobile banking technologies in emerging Asian economies. This paper aims to empirically examine the motivators that influence a consumer’s intentions to use mobile banking. Design/methodology/approach A web-based survey was employed to collect data from 348 respondents, split across Thailand and Australia. Data were analyzed by employing exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, path and invariance analyses. Findings The findings indicate that for Australian consumers, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived risk were the primary determinants of mobile banking adoption. For Thai consumers, the main factors were perceived usefulness, perceived risk and social influence. National culture was found to impact key antecedents that lead to adoption of m-banking. Research limitations/implications The actual variance explained by our study’s model was higher in Australia (59.3%) than for Thailand (23.8%), suggesting future research of m-banking adoption in emerging Asian cultures. Practical implications We identify the important factors consumers consider when adopting m-banking. The findings of this research give banking organisations a foundational model that can be used to support m-banking implementation. Originality/value Our study is perhaps the first to examine and compare the intention to adopt m-banking across Thai and Australian consumers, and responds to calls for additional research that generalises m-banking and m-services acceptance across cultures. This study has proposed and validated additional constructs that are not present in the original SST Intention to Use model.

Investigating marketing managers' perspectives on social media in Chile

Social media has reached global proportions, yet little is known about firms’ engagement with these Web 2.0 technologies in emerging markets within Latin America. The study investigates Chilean marketing managers’ perspectives on social media platforms, the benefits or barriers to their firm’s marketing practices and the impact they have on the immediate marketing environment based on in-depth interviews. Applying Okazaki and Taylor’s (2013) social media framework the findings provide an understanding of social media’s role for Chilean firms in customer engagement, brand image enhancement, return on investment, and meeting consumer needs through time and place. Additional themes emerged on the use of social media through Smartphones and their value for future marketing activities.

The marketing blog competition: Integrating educational blogging and analytics in the classroom

How should marketing educators teach today’s technologically savvy college students the latest knowledge as well as relevant soft and hardskills for employment in a world of Web 2.0? The changing environment requires the development of innovative pedagogical approaches to enhance students’ experiential learning. Recent research has focused on the idea of implementing technology and the adoption of educational blogging in the marketing curriculum. This paper outlines a semesterlong marketing blog competition, in which students had to (1) create and maintain a marketing blog and (2) apply web analytics to analyze, manage and improve their blog performance based on key performance indicators. This article offers a detailed discussion of the design and implementation as well as the outcomes based on quantitative and qualitative student feedback.

The role of marketing in today's enterprises

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of marketing in today's enterprises and examines the antecedents of the marketing department's influence and its relationship with market orientation and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from the West (i.e. the USA and Europe) and the East (i.e. Asia). Partial least squares (PLS) was used to estimate structural models. Findings The findings support the idea that a strong and influential marketing department contributes positively to firm performance. This finding holds for Western and Asian, and for small/medium and large firms alike. Second, the marketing department's influence in a firm depends more on its responsibilities and resources, and less on internal contingency factors (i.e. a firm's competitive strategy or institutional attributes). Third, a marketing department's influence in the West affects firm performance both directly and indirectly (via market orientation). In contrast, this relationship is fully mediated among Eastern firms. Fourth, low-cost strategies enhance the influence of a firm's marketing department in the East, but not in the West. Research limitations/implications The paper assumes explicitly that a marketing department's influence is an antecedent of its market orientation. While the paper finds support for this link, the paper did not test for dual causality between the constructs. Originality/value Countering the frequent claim in anecdotal and journalistic work that the role of the marketing department diminishes, the findings show that across different geographic regions and firm sizes, strong marketing departments improve firm performance (especially in the marketing-savvy West), and that they should continue to play an important role in firms.

Social media in higher education: Strategy and support for staff and students

In 2013, social networking was the second most popular online activity after internet banking for Australians (ABS, 2014). The popularity and apparent ubiquity of social media is one of the most obvious and compelling arguments for integrating such technologies into higher education. Already, social media impacts a wide range of activities ranging in scope from marketing and communication to teaching and learning in higher education (Hrastinski & Dennen, 2012). Social media presents many exciting possibilities and opportunities for higher education. This session will focus on one staff focussed and one student focussed social media innovation currently underway at QUT. First, it will focus on the actions of QUT’s social media working group. The working group’s aim is to ensure an overarching social media policy for the university is developed and implemented that supports staff in the use of social media across a range of activities. Second, it will discuss the eResponsible and eProfessional Online resources for students project. The focus of this project is to develop a suite of online resources targeted at the devel opment of social media skills for undergraduate students at QUT. These initiatives are complementary and both aim to minimise risk while maximising opportuniti es for the university

Fresh thinking in services marketing: Contemporary, cutting-edge and creative thoughts

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight and promote fresh thinking in services marketing research. Design/methodology/approach The topic of the special issue was deliberately chosen to encourage fresh ideas and concepts that will move the discipline forward. The accepted papers have been categorised for ease and convenience of reading by scholars and practitioners, with a short commentary on each category. Findings There is a wealth of forward-thinking by service(s) marketing researchers that bodes well for the future of the sub-discipline. Research limitations/implications The special issue does not address fresh thinking in all areas of services marketing research. Other potential areas for fresh thinking are identified. Originality/value New thinking in a scholarly field is necessary to propel the discipline forward.

A new load distribution strategy for linear network with communication delays

In this paper, we propose a new load distribution strategy called `send-and-receive' for scheduling divisible loads, in a linear network of processors with communication delay. This strategy is designed to optimally utilize the network resources and thereby minimizes the processing time of entire processing load. A closed-form expression for optimal size of load fractions and processing time are derived when the processing load originates at processor located in boundary and interior of the network. A condition on processor and link speed is also derived to ensure that the processors are continuously engaged in load distributions. This paper also presents a parallel implementation of `digital watermarking problem' on a personal computer-based Pentium Linear Network (PLN) topology. Experiments are carried out to study the performance of the proposed strategy and results are compared with other strategies found in literature.

A road safety strategy for Norfolk Island, an Australian external territory

Norfolk Island is an Australian external territory in Oceania. The significant road safety reforms in Australia from the 1970s onward bypassed the island, and most road safety ‘silver bullets’ adopted in other Australian jurisdictions were not introduced. While legislative amendments in 2010 introduced mandatory seat belt wearing for vehicle occupants on Norfolk Island, other critical issues face the community including drink driving by residents and visitors, occupant protection for vehicle passengers, and the provision of a more protective road environment. The release of the first Norfolk Island road safety strategy 2014-2016 proposed, inter alia: • a lower BAC of 0.05 and the introduction of compulsory driver alcohol and drug testing by police; • targeted enforcement of occupant protection for vehicle passengers, particularly for passengers riding on vehicle tray backs; • education interventions to challenge values held by some members of the community that support unsafe road use; • ensuring that driver information, training and testing is adequate for all drivers; • identification and rectification of hazardous roadside infrastructure, particularly barrier protection at “high drop locations” within the road network; and • developing a specification for vehicle standards for vehicles imported into Norfolk Island. Norfolk Island is engaging in a process of integration with the Australian community, and wider issues relating to funding and resources have impacted on the implementation of the road safety strategy. The response to the strategy will be discussed, particularly in terms of current attempts to address drink driving and the provision of a safer road environment.

An account and analysis of the implementation of various ebook business models at QUT, Australia

QUT (Queensland University of Technology) is a leading university based in the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is a selectively research intensive university with 2,500 higher degree research students and an overall student population of 45,000 students. The transition from print to online resources is largely completed and the library now provides access to 450,000 print books, 1,000 print journals, 600,000 ebooks, 120,000 ejournals and 100,000 online videos. The ebook collection is now used three times as much as the print book collection. This paper focuses on QUT Library’s ebook strategy and the challenges of building and managing a rapidly growing collection of ebooks using a range of publishers, platforms, and business and financial models. The paper provides an account of QUT Library’s experiences in using Patron Driven Acquisition (PDA) using eBook Library (EBL); the strategic procurement of publisher and subject collections by lease and outright purchase models, the more recent transition to Evidence Based Selection (EBS) options provided by some publishers, and its piloting of etextbook models. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of each of these business models at QUT, focusing on access verses collection development, usage, cost per use, and value for money.

Principles to guide sustainable implementation of extended-scope-of-practice physiotherapy workforce redesign initiatives in Australia: Stakeholder perspectives, barriers, supports, and incentives

Sustainable implementation of new workforce redesign initiatives requires strategies that minimize barriers and optimize supports. Such strategies could be provided by a set of guiding principles. A broad understanding of the concerns of all the key stakeholder groups is required before effective strategies and initiatives are developed. Many new workforce redesign initiatives are not underpinned by prior planning, and this threatens their uptake and sustainability. This study reports on a cross-sectional qualitative study that sought the perspectives of representatives of key stakeholders in a new workforce redesign initiative (extended-scope-of-practice physiotherapy) in one Australian tertiary hospital. The key stakeholder groups were those that had been involved in some way in the development, management, training, funding, and/or delivery of the initiative. Data were collected using semistructured questions, answered individually by interview or in writing. Responses were themed collaboratively, using descriptive analysis. Key identified themes comprised: the importance of service marketing; proactively addressing barriers; using readily understood nomenclature; demonstrating service quality and safety, monitoring adverse events, measuring health and cost outcomes; legislative issues; registration; promoting viable career pathways; developing, accrediting, and delivering a curriculum supporting physiotherapists to work outside of the usual scope; and progression from "a good idea" to established service. Health care facilities planning to implement new workforce initiatives that extend scope of usual practice should consider these issues before instigating workforce/model of care changes. © 2014 Morris et al.

Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth

The Internet has been shown to facilitate elements of internationalisation such as information accumulation and network opportunities. However, there is limited understanding of how the Internet combined with marketing capabilities drives international market growth. This study, based on a sample of 224 Australian firms, develops and tests, using structural equation modelling (SEM), a conceptual model of Internet marketing capabilities and international market growth. Results indicate that firms deploying Internet marketing capabilities will benefit due to the reduction of information uncertainty and increased capacity to develop international network capabilities. Moreover, Internet marketing capabilities indirectly lead to international market growth when the firm has a high level of international strategic orientation and international network capabilities. Overall, Internet marketing capabilities enhance the firm's ability to generate other internal capabilities within the firm, which in turn have a positive impact on the international market growth of the firm.

Harvest strategy evaluations and co-management for the Moreton Bay Trawl Fishery

Non-Technical Summary Seafood CRC Project 2009/774. Harvest strategy evaluations and co-management for the Moreton Bay Trawl Fishery Principal Investigator: Dr Tony Courtney, Principal Fisheries Biologist Fisheries and Aquaculture, Agri-Science Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Level B1, Ecosciences Precinct, Joe Baker St, Dutton Park, Queensland 4102 Email: tony.courtney@daff.qld.gov.au Project objectives: 1. Review the literature and data (i.e., economic, biological and logbook) relevant to the Moreton Bay trawl fishery. 2. Identify and prioritise management objectives for the Moreton Bay trawl fishery, as identified by the trawl fishers. 3. Undertake an economic analysis of Moreton Bay trawl fishery. 4. Quantify long-term changes to fishing power for the Moreton Bay trawl fishery. 5. Assess priority harvest strategies identified in 2 (above). Present results to, and discuss results with, Moreton Bay Seafood Industry Association (MBSIA), fishers and Fisheries Queensland. Note: Additional, specific objectives for 2 (above) were developed by fishers and the MBSIA after commencement of the project. These are presented in detail in section 5 (below). The project was an initiative of the MBSIA, primarily in response to falling profitability in the Moreton Bay prawn trawl fishery. The analyses were undertaken by a consortium of DAFF, CSIRO and University of Queensland researchers. This report adopted the Australian Standard Fish Names (http://www.fishnames.com.au/). Trends in catch and effort The Moreton Bay otter trawl fishery is a multispecies fishery, with the majority of the catch composed of Greasyback Prawns (Metapenaeus bennettae), Brown Tiger Prawns (Penaeus esculentus), Eastern King Prawns (Melicertus plebejus), squid (Uroteuthis spp., Sepioteuthis spp.), Banana Prawns (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis), Endeavour Prawns (Metapenaeus ensis, Metapenaeus endeavouri) and Moreton Bay bugs (Thenus parindicus). Other commercially important byproduct includes blue swimmer crabs (Portunus armatus), three-spot crabs (Portunus sanguinolentus), cuttlefish (Sepia spp.) and mantis shrimp (Oratosquilla spp.). Logbook catch and effort data show that total annual reported catch of prawns from the Moreton Bay otter trawl fishery has declined to 315 t in 2008 from a maximum of 901 t in 1990. The number of active licensed vessels participating in the fishery has also declined from 207 in 1991 to 57 in 2010. Similarly, fishing effort has fallen from a peak of 13,312 boat-days in 1999 to 3817 boat-days in 2008 – a 71% reduction. The declines in catch and effort are largely attributed to reduced profitability in the fishery due to increased operational costs and depressed prawn prices. The low prawn prices appear to be attributed to Australian aquacultured prawns and imported aquacultured vannamei prawns, displacing the markets for trawl-caught prawns, especially small species such as Greasyback Prawns which traditionally dominated landings in Moreton Bay. In recent years, the relatively high Australian dollar has resulted in reduced exports of Australian wild-caught prawns. This has increased supply on the domestic market which has also suppressed price increases. Since 2002, Brown Tiger Prawns have dominated annual reported landings in the Moreton Bay fishery. While total catch and effort in the bay have declined to historically low levels, the annual catch and catch rates of Brown Tiger Prawns have been at record highs in recent years. This appears to be at least partially attributed to the tiger prawn stock having recovered from excessive effort in previous decades. The total annual value of the Moreton Bay trawl fishery catch, including byproduct, is about $5 million, of which Brown Tiger Prawns account for about $2 million. Eastern King Prawns make up about 10% of the catch and are mainly caught in the bay from October to December as they migrate to offshore waters outside the bay where they contribute to a large mono-specific trawl fishery. Some of the Eastern King Prawns harvested in Moreton Bay may be growth overfished (i.e., caught below the size required to maximise yield or value), although the optimum size-at-capture was not determined in this study. Banana Prawns typically make up about 5% of the catch, but can exceed 20%, particularly following heavy rainfall. Economic analysis of the fishery From the economic survey, cash profits were, on average, positive for both fleet segments in both years of the survey. However, after the opportunity cost of capital and depreciation were taken into account, the residual owner-operator income was relatively low, and substantially lower than the average share of revenue paid to employed skippers. Consequently, owner-operators were earning less than their opportunity cost of their labour, suggesting that the fleets were economically unviable in the longer term. The M2 licensed fleet were, on average, earning similar boat cash profits as the T1/M1 fleet, although after the higher capital costs were accounted for the T1/M1 boats were earning substantially lower returns to owner-operator labour. The mean technical efficiency for the fleet as a whole was estimated to be 0.67. That is, on average, the boats were only catching 67 per cent of what was possible given their level of inputs (hours fished and hull units). Almost one-quarter of observations had efficiency scores above 0.8, suggesting a substantial proportion of the fleet are relatively efficient, but some are also relatively inefficient. Both fleets had similar efficiency distributions, with median technical efficiency score of 0.71 and 0.67 for the M2 and T1/M1 boats respectively. These scores are reasonably consistent with other studies of prawn trawl fleets in Australia, although higher average efficiency scores were found in the NSW prawn trawl fleet. From the inefficiency model, several factors were found to significantly influence vessel efficiency. These included the number of years of experience as skipper, the number of generations that the skipper’s family had been fishing and the number of years schooling. Skippers with more schooling were significantly more efficient than skippers with lower levels of schooling, consistent with other studies. Skippers who had been fishing longer were, in fact, less efficient than newer skippers. However, this was mitigated in the case of skippers whose family had been involved in fishing for several generations, consistent with other studies and suggesting that skill was passed through by families over successive generations. Both the linear and log-linear regression models of total fishing effort against the marginal profit per hour performed reasonably well, explaining between 70 and 84 per cent of the variation in fishing effort. As the models had different dependent variables (one logged and the other not logged) this is not a good basis for model choice. A better comparator is the square root of the mean square error (SMSE) expressed as a percentage of the mean total effort. On this criterion, both models performed very similarly. The linear model suggests that each additional dollar of average profits per hour in the fishery increases total effort by around 26 hours each month. From the log linear model, each percentage increase in profits per hour increases total fishing effort by 0.13 per cent. Both models indicate that economic performance is a key driver of fishing effort in the fishery. The effect of removing the boat-replacement policy is to increase individual vessel profitability, catch and effort, but the overall increase in catch is less than that removed by the boats that must exit the fishery. That is, the smaller fleet (in terms of boat numbers) is more profitable but the overall catch is not expected to be greater than before. This assumes, however, that active boats are removed, and that these were also taking an average level of catch. If inactive boats are removed, then catch of the remaining group as a whole could increase by between 14 and 17 per cent depending on the degree to which costs are reduced with the new boats. This is still substantially lower than historical levels of catch by the fleet. Fishing power analyses An analysis of logbook data from 1988 to 2010, and survey information on fishing gear, was performed to estimate the long-term variation in the fleet’s ability to catch prawns (known as fishing power) and to derive abundance estimates of the three most commercially important prawn species (i.e., Brown Tiger, Eastern King and Greasyback Prawns). Generalised linear models were used to explain the variation in catch as a function of effort (i.e., hours fished per day), vessel and gear characteristics, onboard technologies, population abundance and environmental factors. This analysis estimated that fishing power associated with Brown Tiger and Eastern King Prawns increased over the past 20 years by 10–30% and declined by approximately 10% for greasybacks. The density of tiger prawns was estimated to have almost tripled from around 0.5 kg per hectare in 1988 to 1.5 kg/ha in 2010. The density of Eastern King Prawns was estimated to have fluctuated between 1 and 2 kg per hectare over this time period, without any noticeable overall trend, while Greasyback Prawn densities were estimated to have fluctuated between 2 and 6 kg per hectare, also without any distinctive trend. A model of tiger prawn catches was developed to evaluate the impact of fishing on prawn survival rates in Moreton Bay. The model was fitted to logbook data using the maximum-likelihood method to provide estimates of the natural mortality rate (0.038 and 0.062 per week) and catchability (which can be defined as the proportion of the fished population that is removed by one unit of effort, in this case, estimated to be 2.5 ± 0.4 E-04 per boat-day). This approach provided a method for industry and scientists to develop together a realistic model of the dynamics of the fishery. Several aspects need to be developed further to make this model acceptable to industry. Firstly, there is considerable evidence to suggest that temperature influences prawn catchability. This ecological effect should be incorporated before developing meaningful harvest strategies. Secondly, total effort has to be allocated between each species. Such allocation of effort could be included in the model by estimating several catchability coefficients. Nevertheless, the work presented in this report is a stepping stone towards estimating essential fishery parameters and developing representative mathematical models required to evaluate harvest strategies. Developing a method that allowed an effective discussion between industry, management and scientists took longer than anticipated. As a result, harvest strategy evaluations were preliminary and only included the most valuable species in the fishery, Brown Tiger Prawns. Additional analyses and data collection, including information on catch composition from field sampling, migration rates and recruitment, would improve the modelling. Harvest strategy evaluations As the harvest strategy evaluations are preliminary, the following results should not be adopted for management purposes until more thorough evaluations are performed. The effects, of closing the fishery for one calendar month, on the annual catch and value of Brown Tiger Prawns were investigated. Each of the 12 months (i.e., January to December) was evaluated. The results were compared against historical records to determine the magnitude of gain or loss associated with the closure. Uncertainty regarding the trawl selectivity was addressed using two selectivity curves, one with a weight at 50% selection (S50%) of 7 g, based on research data, and a second with S50% of 14 g, put forward by industry. In both cases, it was concluded that any monthly closure after February would not be beneficial to the industry. The magnitude of the benefit of closing the fishery in either January or February was sensitive to which mesh selectivity curve that was assumed, with greater benefit achieved when the smaller selectivity curve (i.e., S50% = 7 g) was assumed. Using the smaller selectivity (S50% = 7 g), the expected increase in catch value was 10–20% which equates to $200,000 to $400,000 annually, while the larger selectivity curve (S50% = 14 g) suggested catch value would be improved by 5–10%, or $100,000 to $200,000. The harvest strategy evaluations showed that greater benefits, in the order of 30–60% increases in the tiger annual catch value, could have been obtained by closing the fishery early in the year when annual effort levels were high (i.e., > 10,000 boat-days). In recent years, as effort levels have declined (i.e., ~4000 boat-days annually), expected benefits from such closures are more modest. In essence, temporal closures offer greater benefit when fishing mortality rates are high. A spatial analysis of Brown Tiger Prawn catch and effort was also undertaken to obtain a better understanding of the prawn population dynamics. This indicated that, to improve profitability of the fishery, fishers could consider closing the fishery in the period from June to October, which is already a period of low profitability. This would protect the Brown Tiger Prawn spawning stock, increase catch rates of all species in the lucrative pre-Christmas period (November–December), and provide fishers with time to do vessel maintenance, arrange markets for the next season’s harvest, and, if they wish, work at other jobs. The analysis found that the instantaneous rate of total mortality (Z) for the March–June period did not vary significantly over the last two decades. As the Brown Tiger Prawn population in Moreton Bay has clearly increased over this time period, an interesting conclusion is that the instantaneous rate of natural mortality (M) must have increased, suggesting that tiger prawn natural mortality may be density-dependent at this time of year. Mortality rates of tiger prawns for June–October were found to have decreased over the last two decades, which has probably had a positive effect on spawning stocks in the October–November spawning period. Abiotic effects on the prawns The influence of air temperature, rainfall, freshwater flow, the southern oscillation index (SOI) and lunar phase on the catch rates of the four main prawn species were investigated. The analyses were based on over 200,000 daily logbook catch records over 23 years (i.e., 1988–2010). Freshwater flow was more influential than rainfall and SOI, and of the various sources of flow, the Brisbane River has the greatest volume and influence on Moreton Bay prawn catches. A number of time-lags were also considered. Flow in the preceding month prior to catch (i.e., 30 days prior, Logflow1_30) and two months prior (31–60 days prior, Logflow31_60) had strong positive effects on Banana Prawn catch rates. Average air temperature in the preceding 4-6 months (Temp121_180) also had a large positive effect on Banana Prawn catch rates. Flow in the month immediately preceding catch (Logflow1_30) had a strong positive influence on Greasyback Prawn catch rates. Air temperature in the preceding two months prior to catch (Temp1_60) had a large positive effect on Brown Tiger Prawn catch rates. No obvious or marked effects were detected for Eastern King Prawns, although interestingly, catch rates declined with increasing air temperature 4–6 months prior to catch. As most Eastern King Prawn catches in Moreton Bay occur in October to December, the results suggest catch rates decline with increasing winter temperatures. In most cases, the prawn catch rates declined with the waxing lunar phase (high luminance/full moon), and increased with the waning moon (low luminance/new moon). The SOI explains little additional variation in prawn catch rates (~ <2%), although its influence was higher for Banana Prawns. Extrapolating findings of the analyses to long-term climate change effects should be interpreted with caution. That said, the results are consistent with likely increases in abundance in the region for the two tropical species, Banana Prawns and Brown Tiger Prawns, as coastal temperatures rise. Conversely, declines in abundance could be expected for the two temperate species, Greasyback and Eastern King Prawns. Corporate management structures An examination of alternative governance systems was requested by the industry at one of the early meetings, particularly systems that may give them greater autonomy in decision making as well as help improve the marketing of their product. Consequently, a review of alternative management systems was undertaken, with a particular focus on the potential for self-management of small fisheries (small in terms of number of participants) and corporate management. The review looks at systems that have been implemented or proposed for other small fisheries internationally, with a particular focus on self-management as well as the potential benefits and challenges for corporate management. This review also highlighted particular opportunities for the Moreton Bay prawn fishery. Corporate management differs from other co-management and even self-management arrangements in that ‘ownership’ of the fishery is devolved to a company in which fishers and government are shareholders. The company manages the fishery as well as coordinates marketing to ensure that the best prices are received and that the catch taken meets the demands of the market. Coordinated harvesting will also result in increased profits, which are returned to fishers in the form of dividends. Corporate management offers many of the potential benefits of an individual quota system without formally implementing such a system. A corporate management model offers an advantage over a self-management model in that it can coordinate both marketing and management to take advantage of this unique geographical advantage. For such a system to be successful, the fishery needs to be relatively small and self- contained. Small in this sense is in terms of number of operators. The Moreton Bay prawn fishery satisfies these key conditions for a successful self-management and potentially corporate management system. The fishery is small both in terms of number of participants and geography. Unlike other fisheries that have progressed down the self-management route, the key market for the product from the Moreton Bay fishery is right at its doorstep. Corporate management also presents a number of challenges. First, it will require changes in the way fishers operate. In particular, the decision on when to fish and what to catch will be taken away from the individual and decided by the collective. Problems will develop if individuals do not join the corporation but continue to fish and market their own product separately. While this may seem an attractive option to fishers who believe they can do better independently, this is likely to be just a short- term advantage with an overall long-run cost to themselves as well as the rest of the industry. There are also a number of other areas that need further consideration, particularly in relation to the allocation of shares, including who should be allocated shares (e.g. just boat owners or also some employed skippers). Similarly, how harvesting activity is to be allocated by the corporation to the fishers. These are largely issues that cannot be answered without substantial consultation with those likely to be affected, and these groups cannot give these issues serious consideration until the point at which they are likely to become a reality. Given the current structure and complexity of the fishery, it is unlikely that such a management structure will be feasible in the short term. However, the fishery is a prime candidate for such a model, and development of such a management structure in the future should be considered as an option for the longer term.