The creative sector in New Zealand : mapping and economic role : report to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

The New Zealand creative sector was responsible for almost 121,000 jobs at the time of the 2006 Census (6.3% of total employment). These are divided between • 35,751 creative specialists – persons employed doing creative work in creative industries • 42,300 support workers - persons providing management and support services in creative industries • 42,792 embedded creative workers – persons engaged in creative work in other types of enterprise The most striking feature of this breakdown is the fact that the largest group of creative workers are employed outside the creative industries, i.e. in other types of businesses. Even within the creative industries, there are fewer people directly engaged in creative work than in providing management and support. Creative sector employees earned incomes of approximately $52,000 per annum at the time of the 2006 Census. This is relatively uniform across all three types of creative worker, and is significantly above the average for all employed persons (of approximately $40,700). Creative employment and incomes were growing strongly over both five year periods between the 1996, 2001 and 2006 Censuses. However, when we compare creative and general trends, we see two distinct phases in the development of the creative sector: • rapid structural growth over the five years to 2001 (especially led by developments in ICT), with creative employment and incomes increasing rapidly at a time when they were growing modestly across the whole economy; • subsequent consolidation, with growth driven by more by national economic expansion than structural change, and creative employment and incomes moving in parallel with strong economy-wide growth. Other important trends revealed by the data are that • the strongest growth during the decade was in embedded creative workers, especially over the first five years. The weakest growth was in creative specialists, with support workers in creative industries in the middle rank, • by far the strongest growth in creative industries’ employment was in Software & digital content, which trebled in size over the decade Comparing New Zealand with the United Kingdom and Australia, the two southern hemisphere nations have significantly lower proportions of total employment in the creative sector (both in creative industries and embedded employment). New Zealand’s and Australia’s creative shares in 2001 were similar (5.4% each), but in the following five years, our share has expanded (to 5.7%) whereas Australia’s fell slightly (to 5.2%) – in both cases, through changes in creative industries’ employment. The creative industries generated $10.5 billion in total gross output in the March 2006 year. Resulting from this was value added totalling $5.1b, representing 3.3% of New Zealand’s total GDP. Overall, value added in the creative industries represents 49% of industry gross output, which is higher than the average across the whole economy, 45%. This is a reflection of the relatively high labour intensity and high earnings of the creative industries. Industries which have an above-average ratio of value added to gross output are usually labour-intensive, especially when wages and salaries are above average. This is true for Software & Digital Content and Architecture, Design & Visual Arts, with ratios of 60.4% and 55.2% respectively. However there is significant variation in this ratio between different parts of the creative industries, with some parts (e.g. Software & Digital Content and Architecture, Design & Visual Arts) generating even higher value added relative to output, and others (e.g. TV & Radio, Publishing and Music & Performing Arts) less, because of high capital intensity and import content. When we take into account the impact of the creative industries’ demand for goods and services from its suppliers and consumption spending from incomes earned, we estimate that there is an addition to economic activity of: • $30.9 billion in gross output, $41.4b in total • $15.1b in value added, $20.3b in total • 158,100 people employed, 234,600 in total The total economic impact of the creative industries is approximately four times their direct output and value added, and three times their direct employment. Their effect on output and value added is roughly in line with the average over all industries, although the effect on employment is significantly lower. This is because of the relatively high labour intensity (and high earnings) of the creative industries, which generate below-average demand from suppliers, but normal levels of demand though expenditure from incomes. Drawing on these numbers and conclusions, we suggest some (slightly speculative) directions for future research. The goal is to better understand the contribution the creative sector makes to productivity growth; in particular, the distinctive contributions from creative firms and embedded creative workers. The ideas for future research can be organised into the several categories: • Understanding the categories of the creative sector– who is doing the business? In other words, examine via more fine grained research (at a firm level perhaps) just what is the creative contribution from the different aspects of the creative sector industries. It may be possible to categorise these in terms of more or less striking innovations. • Investigate the relationship between the characteristics and the performance of the various creative industries/ sectors; • Look more closely at innovation at an industry level e.g. using an index of relative growth of exports, and see if this can be related to intensity of use of creative inputs; • Undertake case studies of the creative sector; • Undertake case studies of the embedded contribution to growth in the firms and industries that employ them, by examining taking several high performing noncreative industries (in the same way as proposed for the creative sector). • Look at the aggregates – drawing on the broad picture of the extent of the numbers of creative workers embedded within the different industries, consider the extent to which these might explain aspects of the industries’ varied performance in terms of exports, growth and so on. • This might be able to extended to examine issues like the type of creative workers that are most effective when embedded, or test the hypothesis that each industry has its own particular requirements for embedded creative workers that overwhelms any generic contributions from say design, or IT.

Effects of disclosure of sexual identity at work for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex (GLBTI) employees in Queensland

All Australian businesses are governed by legislation aiming to prevent workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and sexual identity and serious penalties apply to companies found contravening legislation. While other Australian studies have examined these issues, Queensland has either not been included or relevant data is not easily identified. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study using a quantitative survey to determine the consequences of disclosure of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity to colleagues in workplaces in Queensland. Results suggest GLBTI workers are disclosing their sexuality more and are experiencing more discrimination in the workplace, despite anti-discrimination policies. This suggests the need to further investigate companies’ compliance with workplace legislation.

How burned out employees perceive work stress and organisational burnout

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Comparing retail union strategy in a neoliberal context : the case of Australia and New Zealand

Retail employees are amongst the most vulnerable workers in the context of neoliberal market economies. In many countries, low paid retail employees comprise around 10 per cent of the workforce (ABS 2011). The retail labour market is typically highly feminised and youthful, with many employees in part time and various forms of precarious employment (Tailby & Pollert 2011). However, the industry and its trade unions have rarely been the focus of academic study (Tilly & Carré 2011). This paper thus aims to analyse and compare trade union strategies in the retail industry in Australia and New Zealand, by utilising findings from a larger comparative study. The respective unions studied are the Shop Distributive and Allied Workers Union (SDA) in Australia and the National Distribution Union (NDU) in New Zealand. Data from interviews with union officials at different levels and from different regional locations in Australia and NZ are analysed. Union policy documents are also utilised to support the empirical data. Key findings from the comparison of retail unions’ strategy in Australia and NZ include: 1) the importance of institutional factors and internal political differences in shaping and constraining union strategies; 2) different emphases on external relationships and variations in partnership approaches; 3) the need to recruit to ‘stand still’ by retail unions in both countries; and, 4) similarities and differences in the unions’ organising approaches. The paper concludes by examining the implications of these findings for retail unions’ strategic choices and their ability to deliver workplace justice for employees.

The challenges of adopting design-led innovative strategies in not for profits : the role of consumers, culture and employees

Major changes to regulations, funding and consumer demand in the Australian aged care industry are driving not for profits in this sector to reshape and rethink the services they offer and the ways in which they deliver their services to consumers. Many not for profit organisations facing these new challenges are also facing organisational cultural barriers in the development and implementation of innovative strategies. This paper presents a case study where one organisation, using design led innovation, explored consumer insights and employee values to find new ways to facilitate change.

An Asian perspective of occupational stress coping model : a case study of Sri Lankan employees

Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of natural disasters and violent conflicts in the world. Yet there is a lack of research on its unique socio-cultural characteristics that determine an individual's cognitive and behavioural responses to distressing encounters. This study extends Goh, Sawang and Oei's (2010) revised transactional model to examine the cognitive and behavioural processes of occupational stress experience in the collectivistic society of Sri Lanka. A time series survey was used to measure the participant's stress-coping process. Using the revised transactional model and path analysis, a unique Sri Lankan model is identified that provides theoretical insights on the revised transactional model, and sheds light on socio-cultural dimensions of occupational stress and coping, thus equipping practitioners with a sound theoretical basis for the development of stress management programs in the workplace.

Union power in retail: Contrasting cases in Australia and New Zealand

Retail employees are the prototypical vulnerable, low-paid employees, and for that reason unionism and its benefits, such as collective bargaining, provide important social protection. However, the reasons that make employees vulnerable also reduce union power though that is not to say that retail unions lack agency. This article analyses the power resources and their deployment in the respective retail unions in Australia and New Zealand. The two unions’ strategies are quite different, and provide interesting contrasts in approaches and ideology. The implications for theory are that ideology matters with respect to union strategy (and should be attended to more thoroughly in studies of union renewal) and – as others have also argued – the wider institutional context has a very significant influence on outcomes for unions and their members. The implication for practice, therefore, is that both workplace and extra-workplace strategies in the political and other arenas remain central for the low-paid.

Temporal Characterization of Ossification of the Crania in Australian Subadults: New standards for Age Estimation using Computed Tomography

After attending this presentation, attendees will gain awareness of the ontogeny of cranial maturation, specifically: (1) the fusion timings of primary ossification centers in the basicranium; and (2) the temporal pattern of closure of the anterior fontanelle, to develop new population-specific age standards for medicolegal death investigation of Australian subadults. This presentation will impact the forensic science community by demonstrating the potential of a contemporary forensic subadult Computed Tomography (CT) database of cranial scans and population data, to recalibrate existing standards for age estimation and quantify growth and development of Australian children. This research welcomes a study design applicable to all countries faced with paucity in skeletal repositories. Accurate assessment of age-at-death of skeletal remains represents a key element in forensic anthropology methodology. In Australian casework, age standards derived from American reference samples are applied in light of scarcity in documented Australian skeletal collections. Currently practitioners rely on antiquated standards, such as the Scheuer and Black1 compilation for age estimation, despite implications of secular trends and population variation. Skeletal maturation standards are population specific and should not be extrapolated from one population to another, while secular changes in skeletal dimensions and accelerated maturation underscore the importance of establishing modern standards to estimate age in modern subadults. Despite CT imaging becoming the gold standard for skeletal analysis in Australia, practitioners caution the application of forensic age standards derived from macroscopic inspection to a CT medium, suggesting a need for revised methodologies. Multi-slice CT scans of subadult crania and cervical vertebrae 1 and 2 were acquired from 350 Australian individuals (males: n=193, females: n=157) aged birth to 12 years. The CT database, projected at 920 individuals upon completion (January 2014), comprises thin-slice DICOM data (resolution: 0.5/0.3mm) of patients scanned since 2010 at major Brisbane Childrens Hospitals. DICOM datasets were subject to manual segmentation, followed by the construction of multi-planar and volume rendering cranial models, for subsequent scoring. The union of primary ossification centers of the occipital bone were scored as open, partially closed or completely closed; while the fontanelles, and vertebrae were scored in accordance with two stages. Transition analysis was applied to elucidate age at transition between union states for each center, and robust age parameters established using Bayesian statistics. In comparison to reported literature, closure of the fontanelles and contiguous sutures in Australian infants occur earlier than reported, with the anterior fontanelle transitioning from open to closed at 16.7±1.1 months. The metopic suture is closed prior to 10 weeks post-partum and completely obliterated by 6 months of age, independent of sex. Utilizing reverse engineering capabilities, an alternate method for infant age estimation based on quantification of fontanelle area and non-linear regression with variance component modeling will be presented. Closure models indicate that the greatest rate of change in anterior fontanelle area occurs prior to 5 months of age. This study complements the work of Scheuer and Black1, providing more specific age intervals for union and temporal maturity of each primary ossification center of the occipital bone. For example, dominant fusion of the sutura intra-occipitalis posterior occurs before 9 months of age, followed by persistence of a hyaline cartilage tongue posterior to the foramen magnum until 2.5 years; with obliteration at 2.9±0.1 years. Recalibrated age parameters for the atlas and axis are presented, with the anterior arch of the atlas appearing at 2.9 months in females and 6.3 months in males; while dentoneural, dentocentral and neurocentral junctions of the axis transitioned from non-union to union at 2.1±0.1 years in females and 3.7±0.1 years in males. These results are an exemplar of significant sexual dimorphism in maturation (p<0.05), with girls exhibiting union earlier than boys, justifying the need for segregated sex standards for age estimation. Studies such as this are imperative for providing updated standards for Australian forensic and pediatric practice and provide an insight into skeletal development of this population. During this presentation, the utility of novel regression models for age estimation of infants will be discussed, with emphasis on three-dimensional modeling capabilities of complex structures such as fontanelles, for the development of new age estimation methods.

Job embeddedness and the importance of retaining small firm employees

Small firms identify retention of staff as a significant problem. Voluntary turnover of talented staff can be costly, especially in small firms where there are few slack resources. However, there is scant research on retention in small firms. We use the concept of Job Embeddedness to understand why small firm employees stay. The concept refers to the totality of forces that embed employees in their jobs and it consists of three dimensions: fit, links, and sacrifice. Seven propositions are outlined comparing the ways fit, links and sacrifice might play out for small and large firm employees. Through testing these propositions small firm owner-managers may have a better understanding of what can be done to retain employees and maintain firm performance.

Consumerist Predators"? Emerging lifestyles between McDonaldization and sustainability perspectives: the case of highly qualified employees (HQEs) in India

In industrializing countries new groups of consumers with remarkable purchasing power are emerging. Representing a ?new middle class? they are seen as a carrier and promoter of a so-called ?western way of life? beyond the OECD countries. They are presented as having a consumerist predator lifestyle which stands in conflict with the requirements for a sustainable future. Furthermore, they are imputed a profound lack of a sense of responsibility towards society. However, such a ?civil society spirit? is a core prerequisite for coping with the challenge of changing existing lifestyles to insure a more sustainable future....

Knowledge and perceptions among overweight and obese employees about lifestyle-related health benefit changes.

We investigated perceptions among overweight and obese state employees about changes to health insurance that were designed to reduce the scope of health benefits for employees who are obese or who smoke. Before implementation of health benefit plan changes, 658 state employees who were overweight (ie, those with a body mass index [BMI] of 25-29.9) or obese (ie, those with a BMI of > or = 30) enrolled in a weight-loss intervention study were asked about their attitudes and beliefs concerning the new benefit plan changes. Thirty-one percent of employees with a measured BMI of 40 or greater self-reported a BMI of less than 40, suggesting they were unaware that their current BMI would place them in a higher-risk benefit plan. More than half of all respondents reported that the new benefit changes would motivate them to make behavioral changes, but fewer than half felt confident in their ability to make changes. Respondents with a BMI of 40 or greater were more likely than respondents in lower BMI categories to oppose the new changes focused on obesity (P < .001). Current smokers were more likely than former smokers and nonsmokers to oppose the new benefit changes focused on tobacco use (P < .01). Participants represented a sample of employees enrolled in a weight-loss study, limiting generalizability to the larger population of state employees. Benefit plan changes that require employees who are obese and smoke to pay more for health care may motivate some, but not all, individuals to change their behaviors. Since confidence to lose weight was lowest among individuals in the highest BMI categories, more-intense intervention options may be needed to achieve desired health behavior changes.

New technology and new workplaces: call centre careers – a growing reality?

Research to date suggests that career advancement in call centres (CCs) is relatively uncommon with employees often viewing such employment as a stopgap measure before moving on to something better. This study set out to determine whether such scenarios have changed over time since CCs have become more established in their work organisation, information and communication technology (ICT) and management processes. This study particularly focused on training and development initiatives, how employees access training and development, and whether CCs support career development. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, these issues are examined within 10 Australian CCs of varying size from various sectors. Two-thirds of respondents stated that they intended to develop a career in the industry and 7 in 10 reported that they believed there were promotional opportunities emerging in their current organisation. Despite these findings, the evidence also suggests that more needs to be done both to create coherent career paths and to establish structured, accredited training programmes for CC employees.

Making way for change at the Bar: The practical implications of the new Bar Standards Board Handbook

The Legal Services Act 2007 caused a need to change professional conduct rules for lawyers in England and Wales. The Bar Standards Board Handbook brings substantial changes to the way barristers are regulated. Changes include litigation rights, reporting of professional misconduct, an increased focus on chambers, and expansion to include employees of chambers and barristers without practicing certificates (unregistered or non-practicing barristers). The approach to enforcement and supervision moves to include elements of outcome focused, principle based and risk based approaches. These changes have the potential to change the practice of different groups of barristers and the dynamics between them.