New direct payments scheme: targeting and redistribution in the future CAP

The Commission has proposed that a revised version of the present regime of direct payments should be rolled forward into the post-2013 CAP. There would be a limited redistribution of funds between Member States. Thirty per cent of the budget would be allocated to a new greening component, which would be problematic in the WTO. Non-active farmers would not qualify for aid; and payments would be capped. Special schemes would be introduced for small farmers, for young new entrants, and for disadvantaged regions.

Was the Australian meat and livestock corporations advertising efficient?

A theory of the allocation of producer levies earmarked for downstream promotion is developed and applied to quarterly series (1970:2–1988:4) on red-meats advertising by the Australian Meat and Live-stock Corporation. Robust inferences about program efficiency are contained in the coefficients of changes in promotion effort regressed against movements in farm price and quantity. Empirical evidence of program efficiency is inconclusive. While the deeper issue of efficient disbursement of funds remains an open question, there is evidence, at least, of efficient taxation.

Metaphors in complexity theory and planning

This article reviews the use of complexity theory in planning theory using the theory of metaphors for theory transfer and theory construction. The introduction to the article presents the author's positioning of planning theory. The first section thereafter provides a general background of the trajectory of development of complexity theory and discusses the rationale of using the theory of metaphors for evaluating the use of complexity theory in planning. The second section introduces the workings of metaphors in general and theory-constructing metaphors in particular, drawing out an understanding of how to proceed with an evaluative approach towards an analysis of the use of complexity theory in planning. The third section presents two case studies – reviews of two articles – to illustrate how the framework might be employed. It then discusses the implications of the evaluation for the question ‘can complexity theory contribute to planning?’ The concluding section discusses the employment of the ‘theory of metaphors’ for evaluating theory transfer and draws out normative suggestions for engaging in theory transfer using the metaphorical route.

The Haptic Aesthetic in Samuel Beckett's Drama

In their sparse and isolated spaces, Samuel Beckett's figures imagine the touch of a lost love or dream of the comfort and care that the hands of a dear one might bring. Applying philosophical writings that feature sensation, particularly touch, this study examines how Beckett's later work for stage and screen dramatizes moments of contact between self and self, self and world, and self and other. With implications for how gender and ethics can be approached within Beckett's aesthetic, this study explores the employment of haptic imagery as an alternative to certain dominant codes of visual representation.

Concordance in global office market cycles

Concordance in global office market cycles, Regional Studies. A large proportion of international real estate investment is concentrated in the office markets of the world's largest cities. However, many of these global cities are also key financial services centres, highlighting the possibility of reduced economic diversification from an investor's perspective. This paper assesses the degree of synchronization in cycles across twenty of the world's largest office markets, finding evidence of significant concordance across a large number of markets. The results highlight the problems associated with commonalities in the underlying economic bases of the markets. The concentration of investment also raises the possibility of common flow of funds effects that may further reduce diversification opportunities.

Can British multinational enterprises finance economic development in South East Asia?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on the debate about the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) and public policy in fostering economic development. Specifically, can the capital inflow of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and the ability of the subsidiaries to raise funds locally help promote development? This paper addresses this issue by examining the capital structure and financing sources of foreign subsidiaries of MNEs. Design/methodology/approach – This paper integrates the capital structure theories in finance with internalization theory in international business. It uses an original primary dataset collected by a survey of 101 foreign subsidiaries of British MNEs in six emerging economies in the ASEAN region. Findings – There are three significant findings. First, these subsidiaries rely heavily on internal funds generated within the MNEs and less on external debts raised in the host countries. Second, the foreign subsidiary's capital structure is influenced by the home country of origin of the parent firm and the parent firm's financing sources. Third, these subsidiaries have used the financial resources to develop business networks with local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which contribute to economic development of the host countries. Originality/value – This paper examines the internal capital market within the MNE. It provides theoretical and empirical support for the capital structure theory of the hierarchy financing approach and also for internalization theory by addressing FDI inflows by MNEs and the raising of funds locally. These findings have important implications for public policy, namely the facilitation of MNE entry to encourage economic development.

All for the good

The Guise of the Good thesis has received much attention since Anscombe's brief defence in her book Intention. I approach it here from a less common perspective - indirectly, via a theory explaining how it is that moral behaviour is even possible. After setting out how morality requires the employment of a fundamental test, I argue that moral behaviour involves orientation toward the good. Immoral behaviour cannot, however, involve orientation to evil as such, given the theory of evil as privation. There must always be orientation to good of some kind for immorality even to be possible. Evil can, nevertheless, be intended, but this must be carefully understood in terms of the metaphysic of good and evil I set out. Given that metaphysic, the Guise of the Good is a virtual corollary.

Science drives horticulture's progress and profit

Horticultural science linked with basic studies in biology, chemistry, physics and engineering has laid the foundation for advances in applied knowledge which are at the heart of commercial, environmental and social horticulture. In few disciplines is science more rapidly translated into applicable technologies than in the huge range of man’s activities embraced within horticulture which are discussed in this Trilogy. This chapter surveys the origins of horticultural science developing as an integral part of the 16th century “Scientific Revolution”. It identifies early discoveries during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries which rationalized the control of plant growth, flowering and fruiting and the media in which crops could be cultivated. The products of these discoveries formed the basis on which huge current industries of worldwide significance are founded in fruit, vegetable and ornamental production. More recent examples of the application of horticultural science are used in an explanation of how the integration of plant breeding, crop selection and astute marketing highlighted by the New Zealand industry have retained and expanded the viability of production which supplies huge volumes of fruit into the world’s markets. This is followed by an examination of science applied to tissue and cell culture as an example of technologies which have already produced massive industrial applications but hold the prospect for generating even greater advances in the future. Finally, examples are given of nascent scientific discoveries which hold the prospect for generating horticultural industries with considerable future impact. These include systems modeling and biology, nanotechnology, robotics, automation and electronics, genetics and plant breeding, and more efficient and effective use of resources and the employment of benign microbes. In conclusion there is an estimation of the value of horticultural science to society.

Tertiary Journalism Education: Its Value in Cadet Selection at Metropolitan Media

Tertiary study in journalism has been a feature of the education of Australian journalists for decades. Yet the value of what is loosely termed a “journalism degree” continues to be debated, and many industry representatives remain sceptical of its value. Journalism educators have a number of ways of assessing the level of industry acceptance of journalism education. These include looking at the percentage of students who find employment and the percentage of journalism graduates who fill entry level positions. This paper addresses the latter category, looking at data on the employment of entry-level journalists at four major institutions over a period of several years.

An efficient replicated data management approach for peer-to-peer systems

The availability of critical services and their data can be significantly increased by replicating them on multiple systems connected with each other, even in the face of system and network failures. In some platforms such as peer-to-peer (P2P) systems, their inherent characteristic mandates the employment of some form of replication to provide acceptable service to their users. However, the problem of how best to replicate data to build highly available peer-to-peer systems is still an open problem. In this paper, we propose an approach to address the data replication problem on P2P systems. The proposed scheme is compared with other techniques and is shown to require less communication cost for an operation as well as provide higher degree of data availability.

Australian mechanical engineers : industries and attributes

The US and UK have had significant influence on the delivery and content of engineering programs both globally and particularly on Australia and yet the industrial profile of Australia has historically been significantly different from that of the US and UK. This paper first presents a study into the differences in industrial profile in the employment of mechanical engineers in the US, UK and Australia. This paper then presents key findings from a role-based study that identified the relative significance of a broad range of attributes for the most common mechanical engineering roles in the six industries that employ the greatest number of Australian mechanical engineers.

SME owners at personal financial risk

Phillip Kemp's article ("Increase will stifle ambition", Opinion, March 3) highlighted two main issues related to the small business sector, namely financial risk and its collective role in the employment of the Australian workforce.

Is there a role for 'foreigners' as social work educators?

Drawing on her experience of teaching social work at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, the author, an Australian social work academic, explores the question of whether there is a role for 'foreign' social work educators and refutes the suggestion that this is inappropriate. She does however identify issues which emerge with the employment of 'foreign' educators, including potentially differing understandings as to the nature and scope of social work.

We must become gatekeepers : editing indigenous writing

With the proliferation of Indigenous texts currently published by specialist and mainstream publishers, non-Indigenous editors increasingly find themselves negotiating the uncomfortable territories of race, politics and power for which current training (in an Australian context) leaves them poorly prepared. Indigenous writer Anita Heiss advocates the employment of Indigenous editors as an 'ideal' solution, though few are currently working in the Australian industry. Margaret McDonell, an experienced non-Indigenous editor of Indigenous texts, suggests non-Indigenous editors need to 'undertake a journey of learning' during which 'assumptions, biases, tastes and preconceptions' are examined. Yet this presents a difficult task within a postcolonial society, when, as identified by Clare Bradford, even the classification of texts into genres such as fiction and the short story represents an entirely Eurocentric construct, 'not readily correspond[ing] with Aboriginal schemata'. The Australian Society of Authors' discussion paper 'Writing about Indigenous Australia: Some Issues to Consider and Protocols to Follow' provides practical guidelines that may be adapted for editorial use. This article canvasses these and other ideas with a focus on establishing an ethical and appropriately sensitive cross-cultural approach to editing Indigenous writing.

Professional development and Web 2.0, can the space make a difference?

A professional development (Summer School) with over two hundred teachers of English participating in the activity for over six months, was supported by an online social software website. The employment of Web 2.0 technologies to facilitate the delivery of the summer school was reasonably successful, but other benefits were realised. This poster presentation will show how scaffolded learning along with new experiences and knowledge, can potentially have added long-term value when sustained in an authentic, supportive learning environment.