Developing work-integrated learning curricula for the creative industries : embedding stakeholder perspectives

It is now widely recognised that the creative industries constitute an important and growing global economic sector (Cunningham, 2007). Career development programs for the creative industries sector are an international priority (Guile, 2007) which faces several key challenges. These challenges relate to the unique nature of the creative industries. In the creative industries it is thus of critical importance that tertiary work-integrated learning programs focus on more than just training students to become employees: they must also focus on developing the experience and employability of students who will undertake non-conventional career paths. One challenge for work-integrated learning programs in the creative industries is that there is little professional tradition of internships; many employers are not experienced in work-integrated learning participation, and many academics are not familiar with work-integrated learning. This paper reports on the results of an evaluative research program undertaken one year after the launch of the Queensland University of Technology’s (Brisbane, Australia) Creative Industries Transitions to New Professional Environments work-integrated learning program, focusing particularly on key themes and issues identified in interviews with the program’s industry partners and academic staff.

Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, s 32 - Duty to Disclose - consequences of non-disclosure - discretion to excuse non-compliance

In Newson v Aust Scan Pty Ltd t/a Ikea Springwood [2010] QSC 223 the Supreme Court examined the discretion under s 32(2) of the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002 (Qld), to permit a document which has not been disclosed as required by the pre-court procedures under the PIPA to be used in a subsequent court proceeding. This appears to be the first time that the nature and parameters of the discretion have been judicially considered.

Demanding a change : time to act on statutory demands

The statutory demand procedure has been a part of our corporate law from its earliest modern formulations and it has been suggested, albeit anecdotally, that under the current regime, it gives rise to more litigation than any other part of the Corporations Act. Despite this there has been a lack of consideration of the underlying policy behind the procedure in both the case law and literature; both of which are largely centred on the technical aspects of the process. The purpose of this article is to examine briefly the process of the statutory demand in the context of the current insolvency law in Australia. This paper argues that robust analysis of the statutory demand regime is overdue. The paper first sets out to discover if there is a policy justification for the process and to articulate what that may be. Second, it will briefly examine the current legislation and argue that the structure actually encourages litigation which is arguably undesirable in the context of insolvency. In particular we will ask if the current rigid legal regime is appropriate for dealing efficiently with the highly charged atmosphere of contested insolvency. Third, it will examine suggested reforms in this area as to whether they might be a way forward.

Driving for work : a series of organisational audit results

Previous research has indicated that road crashes are the most common form of work related fatalities (Haworth et al., 2000). Historically, industry has often taken a “silver bullet” approach developing and implementing a single countermeasure to address all their work related road safety issues, despite legislative requirements to discharge obligations through minimising risk and enhancing safety. This paper describes the results and implications from a series of work related road safety audits that were undertaken across five organisations to determine deficiencies in each organisation‟s safe driving management and practice. Researchers conducted a series of structured interviews, reviewed documentation relating to work related driving, and analysed vehicle related crash and incident records to determine each organisation‟s current situation in the management of work related road safety and driver behaviour. A number of consistent themes and issues across each organisation were identified relating to managing driver behaviour, organisational policies, incident recording and reporting, communication and education, and formalisation of key work related road safety strategies. Although organisations are required to undertake risk reduction strategies for all work related driving, the results of the research suggest that many organisations fail to systematically manage driver behaviour and mitigate work related road safety risk. Future improvements in work related road safety will require organisations to firstly acknowledge the high risk associated with drivers driving for work and secondly adopt comprehensive risk mitigation strategies in a similar manner to managing other workplace hazards.

Employer's management of part-time student labour

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Government initiative and start-up firms’ eco-innovation : A case study through the ecological modernisation lens

Government programs to finance small firms or start-ups have attracted a little empirical attention. From an economical perspective, the effect of government grants is evaluated by a measure of innovation or firm productivity. Yet, this paper takes a different approach from economical view aiming to address the research question “How do start ups firms view the relationship between government grants and their co-efficient innovation effort?” Semi-structured interviews with grant recipients (start-up business owners revealed that the grants assist firms to leverage their resource limitations but at the same time the grants also act as a major roadblock for their product development success.

"Silly hours" : facilitating more effective part-time work arrangements through job design

Part-time employment presents a conundrum in that it facilitates work-life priorities, while also, compared to equivalent full-time roles, attracting penalties such as diminished career prospects and lower commensurate remuneration. Recently, some promising theoretical developments in the job/work design literature suggest that consideration of work design may redress some of the penalties associated with part-time work. Adopting the framework of the Elaborated Model of Work Design by Parker and colleagues (2001), we examined this possibility through interviews with part-time professional service employees and their supervisors. The findings revealed that in organizations characterised by cultural norms of extended working hours and a singular-focused commitment to work, part-time roles were often inadequately re-designed when adapted from full-time arrangements. The findings also demonstrated that certain work design characteristics (e.g. predictability of work-flow, interdependencies with co-workers) render some roles more suitable for part-time arrangements than others. The research provides insights into gaps between policy objectives and outcomes associated with part-time work, challenges assumptions about the limitations of part-time roles, and suggests re-design strategies for more effective part-time arrangements.

The landing

'The Landing was an exhibition of paintings held at Gallery Barry Keldoulis in Sydney in 2008. The exhibition comprised 7 paintings and a 3-channel video work. The show built upon the artist's interest in drawing parallels between, while simultaneously disrupting the hermetic integrity of both the painted and virtual surface. In this exhibition this was drawn out by the intentionally scratchy and blanched qualities of the painted surface contrasted against the careful delineations and gradation of their subject matter which was drawn exclusively from virtual 3D animated spaces. Conversely, the video work collapsed a series of picture-perfect objects into a dense and incoherent whole. These tensions and slippages act as manifestations of the indeterminacies that frame our subjectivity more broadly - as artist or viewer. As Barry Keldoulis writes: 'Alwast’s practice engages the construction of ‘reality’ in both the digital and painterly worlds. His seamless stitching together of the various modes of virtual reality... is in this exhibition contrasted with his paintings, which show a fondness for what many now see as the quaint naivety of the medium, and the foibles of humanity the painted surface exudes when compared to the clinical exactitude of the virtual world.'(2008, http://www.gbk.com.au/artists/peter-alwast/the-landing) Works from 'The Landing' were included in the exhibition 'Temperature 2: New Queensland Art' (2009, curated by Frank McBride) at the Museum of Brisbane.

Revolutionary self portrait

'Revolutionary Self Portrait' (2009) is a sculptural self-portrait. The work comprises a bust engulfed in hair and a scalloped pedestal stand. Historically, divine energy has frequently been depicted using fluid forms - drapery, clouds and occasionally hair. These forms and associations act as a departure point for this sculpture in which the figure is depicted in a state of inundation by billowing tufts hair. The work was also inspired by the tendency of great 19th century utopian thinkers - for example Marx, Bakunin and Kropotkin - to wear large beards. Within both traditions, the language of heroic subjectivity is amplified by a sculptural extension of the body. In 'Revolutionary Self Portrait' however, this extension threatens to suffocate the subject - a gesture made all the more ironic due to the fact that the artist himself is incapable of growing a beard. The work was selected for the National Artists' Self Portrait Prize, University of Queensland Art Museum, 2009.

To act or not to act : this is John's dilemma

The case proposes an ethical dilemma that a Public Service Director faces that could affect his career, the career of his boss, and the career of the governor of a state. There is a strong need for ethical leaders in this changing global organization world where the headlines are filled with stories of private sector and public sector leaders who have made serious ethical and moral compromises. It is easy to follow ethical leaders who you can count on to do what is right and difficult to follow those who will do what is expedient or personally beneficial. However, ethical leadership is not always black and white as this case will portray. Difficult decisions must be made where it may not always be clear what to do. The names in the case have been changed although the situation is a real one.

Little Birung

The field of research was contemporary indigenous theatre practice. The aim of the project was to produce theatre that remained as close and true to its source as possible, in both form and content. Little Birung is the final part of a 6-year mentorship of young indigenous artist, Megan Samardin, conducted by renowned musician and composer, John Rodgers, producer Leah Cotterell and director Sean Mee. The culminating event of the mentorship was to develop to create an original music theatre piece, composed by John Rodgers and Megan Samardin, that featured both Megan’s prodigious talent as a singer and her family’s remarkable story. Creative development consisted of extensive interviews with family members, creative development workshops (supported by both State and Federal Government) and critique and input from leading indigenous creatives such as Wesley Enoch (artistic director, Queensland Theatre Company). The challenge was to keep faith with the family and their story whilst creating a work that would appeal to national/international producers and their audiences. The result is a song cycle of 12 original songs that presents an intensely personal exploration of 6 generations of Megan’s family down the maternal line, as told through Megan’s sometimes uneasy relationship with her great grandmother, Flora. Uniquely, each of the 12 songs presents the personal response of each of the women as they confronted the often-brutal consequences of institutionalised racism and government-imposed oppression. The work was produced in Cairns in 2011 as part of the Cairns Festival to substantial critical acclaim and was an official event of Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair. A revised version was successfully presented at the Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane in November 2011. As a result of the Brisbane season, Little Birung has been invited to make a presentation at the 2012 APAM (Australian Performing Arts Market) in Adelaide. Importantly, the family and the indigenous community have embraced the work and have continued their fervent support. It has strengthened them as a family and as a part of the indigenous people of Australia.

Perceptions of visibility and conspicuity of biomotion clothing configurations for road workers at road work sites

Aims: This study determined whether the visibility benefits of positioning retroreflective strips in biological motion configurations were evident at real world road worker sites. Methods: 20 visually normal drivers (M=40.3 years) participated in this study that was conducted at two road work sites (one suburban and one freeway) on two separate nights. At each site, four road workers walked in place wearing one of four different clothing options: a) standard road worker night vest, b) standard night vest plus retroreflective strips on thighs, c) standard night vest plus retroreflective strips on ankles and knees, d) standard night vest plus retroreflective strips on eight moveable joints (full biomotion). Participants seated in stationary vehicles at three different distances (80m, 160m, 240m) rated the relative conspicuity of the four road workers using a series of a standardized visibility and ranking scales. Results: Adding retroreflective strips in the full biomotion configuration to the standard night vest significantly (p<0.001) enhanced perceptions of road worker visibility compared to the standard vest alone, or in combination with thigh retroreflective markings. These visibility benefits were evident at all distances and at both sites. Retroreflective markings at the ankles and knees also provided visibility benefits compared to the standard vest, however, the full biomotion configuration was significantly better than all of the other configurations. Conclusions: These data provide the first evidence that the benefits of biomotion retroreflective markings that have been previously demonstrated under laboratory and closed- and open-road conditions are also evident at real work sites.

China's new Creative Clusters : Governance, Human Capital and Investment

Recognising that creativity is a major driving force in the post-industrial economy, the Chinese government has recently established a range of "creative clusters" – industrial parks devoted to media industries, and arts districts – in order to promote the development of the creative industries. This book examines these new creative clusters, outlining their nature and purpose, and assessing their effectiveness. Drawing on case studies of a range of cluster models, and comparing them with international examples, the book demonstrates that creativity, both in China and internationally, is in fact a process of fitting new ideas to existing patterns, models and formats. It shows how large and exceptionally impressive creative clusters have been successfully established, but raises the important questions of whether profit or culture is the driving force, and of whether the bringing together of independent-minded, creative people, entrepreneurial businessmen, preferential policies and foreign investment may in time lead to unintended changes in social and political attitudes in China, including a weakening of state bureaucratic power. An important contribution to the existing literature on the subject, this book will be of great interest to scholars of urban studies, cultural geography, cultural economics and Asian studies.

The case for ICT work-integrated learning from graduates in the workplace

An online survey of recent ICT graduates in the workplace was carried out as part of a recent project funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. The survey was concerned with the ICT curriculum in relation to workplace job requirements and university preparation for these requirements. The survey contained quantitative and qualitative components and findings from the former have been published (Koppi et al., 2009). This paper reports on a quantitative comparison of responses from graduates who had workplace experience and those who did not, and a qualitative analysis of text responses from all ICT graduates to open-ended questions concerning the curriculum and their perceived university preparation for the workplace. The overwhelming response from ICT graduates in the workplace was for more industry related learning. These industry relationships included industry involvement, workplace learning and business experience, up-to-date teaching and technologies, practical applications, and real-world activities. A closer relationship of academia and industry was strongly advocated by ICT graduates in the workplace.