Sport and the transformation of Australian television

This article uses sports coverage as a lens to analyse changes in broadcast television (free-to-air [FTA] and subscription) in Australia from the 1950s to the present. Sport has always been a vital genre for broadcast television. It is now, arguably, more important than ever. It is indisputable – though rarely comprehensively documented – that sport and sports coverage have shaped and transformed Australian television over many years. The significance of sports has incrementally increased with successive technological and industrial developments – such as the introduction of colour in 1975, electronic news gathering from 1976, subscription television in 1995, digital terrestrial broadcasting in 2001 and digital subscription broadcasting in 2004 – to the point where broadcast television’s continuing popularity and ongoing cultural significance relies to a great extent on sports coverage and related programming. In 2015, the launch of a bevy of new subscription video on demand (SVOD) services in Australia might appear to have reinforced drama as the key genre in the battle for attention and engagement, but for both historical and contemporary reasons sport remains the crucial form of audiovisual content.

Understanding the business case for infrastructure sustainability

The relationship between corporate and sustainability performance continues to be controversial and unclear, not withstanding numerous theoretical and empirical studies. Despite this, views on corporate responsibilities “meet where management can show how voluntary social and environmental management contributes to the competitiveness and economic success of the company.” This approach is fundamental to the business case for infrastructure sustainability. It suggests that beyond-compliance activities undertaken by companies are commercially justified if they can be shown to contribute to profitability and shareholder value. Potential public good benefits range across a wide spectrum of economic (for example employment, local purchasing, reduced demand for electricity generation), social (indigenous employment and development, equity of access), and environmental (lower greenhouse gas emission, reduced use of non-renewable resources and potable water, less waste, enhanced biodiversity). Some of these benefits have impacts that lie in more than one of the economic, social, and environmental areas of public goods. Using a sustainability rating schemes and potential business benefits from sustainability initiatives, this paper presents a brief summary of an online survey of industry that identifies how rating scheme themes and business benefits relate. This allows for a case to be built demonstrating which sustainability themes offer particular business benefits.

BP-XACML: An authorisation policy language for business processes

XACML has become the defacto standard for enterprise- wide, policy-based access control. It is a structured, extensible language that can express and enforce complex access control policies. There have been several efforts to extend XACML to support specific authorisation models, such as the OASIS RBAC profile to support Role Based Access Control. A number of proposals for authorisation models that support business processes and workflow systems have also appeared in the literature. However, there is no published work describing an extension to allow XACML to be used as a policy language with these models. This paper analyses the specific requirements of a policy language to express and enforce business process authorisation policies. It then introduces BP-XACML, a new profile that extends the RBAC profile for XACML so it can support business process authorisation policies. In particular, BP-XACML supports the notion of tasks, and constraints at the level of a task instance, which are important requirements in enforcing business process authorisation policies.

How the energy sector could get it wrong with cloud computing

Cloud computing has significantly impacted a broad range of industries, but these technologies and services have been absorbed throughout the marketplace unevenly. Some industries have moved aggressively towards cloud computing, while others have moved much more slowly. For the most part, the energy sector has approached cloud computing in a measured and cautious way, with progress often in the form of private cloud solutions rather than public ones, or hybridized information technology systems that combine cloud and existing non-cloud architectures. By moving towards cloud computing in a very slow and tentative way, however, the energy industry may prevent itself from reaping the full benefit that a more complete migration to the public cloud has brought about in several other industries. This short communication is accordingly intended to offer a high-level overview of cloud computing, and to put forward the argument that the energy sector should make a more complete migration to the public cloud in order to unlock the major system-wide efficiencies that cloud computing can provide. Also, assets within the energy sector should be designed with as much modularity and flexibility as possible so that they are not locked out of cloud-friendly options in the future.

Ubuntu and business ethics: Problems, perspectives and prospects

The African philosophy of Ubuntu is typically characterised as a communitarian philosophy that emphasises virtues such as compassion, tolerance and harmony. In recent years there has been growing interest in this philosophy, and in how it can be applied to a variety of disciplines and issues. Several authors have provided useful introductions of Ubuntu in the field of business ethics and suggested theoretical ways in which it could be applied. The purpose of this paper is to extend this discussion by providing a more critical analysis of Ubuntu and business ethics with the aim of clarifying the role that Ubuntu can play, and providing guidance for further research in this area. The analysis consists of three sections. In the first, certain problems are identified within the existing literature. This is followed by a consideration of alternative perspectives and interpretations of Ubuntu. The last section, following from the first two, identifies specific areas requiring further research, both empirical and non-empirical, as well as ways in which Ubuntu could be fruitfully applied.

Sartrean existentialism and ethical decision-making in business

A wide range of decision-making models have been offered to assist in making ethical decisions in the workplace. Those that are based on normative moral frameworks typically include elements of traditional moral philosophy such as consequentialist and/or deontological␣ethics. This paper suggests an alternative model drawing on Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism. Accordingly, the model focuses on making decisions in full awareness of one’s freedom and responsibility. The steps of the model are intended to encourage reflection of one’s projects and one’s situation and the possibility of refusing the expectations of others. A case study involving affirmative action in South Africa is used to demonstrate the workings of the model and a number of strengths and weaknesses are identified. Despite several weaknesses that can be raised regarding existential ethics, the model’s success lies in the way that it reframes ethical dilemmas in terms of individual freedom and responsibility, and in its acceptance and analysis of subjective experiences and personal situations

India’s indigenization of military aircraft design and manufacturing: Towards a fifth-generation fighter

India’s desire to transform itself into an international military power has brought about a rapid shift in its approach to procuring military hardware. The indigenization of India’s military manufacturing capacity forms an integral part of the strategic objectives of Indian military services, with its realization being a function of significant government investment in strategic technologies. This has a number of ramifications. An indigenous Indian military capacity, particularly in the field of aviation, forms a key part of India’s ambition of achieving regional air superiority, or even supremacy, and being capable of power projection. This is particularly in response to China’s increasing presence in South Asian airspace. A burgeoning Indian military manufacturing machine based on a comparative advantage in skilled technicians and lower-cost labour, together with strategic collaboration with foreign military hardware manufacturers, may also lead to neighbouring countries looking to India as a source of competitively priced military hardware. In short, this chapter seeks to analyse the rationale behind India’s attempt to become militarily self-sufficient in the field of aviation, discuss the technical, economic and political context in which it is achieving this transformation, and assess the potential outlook of success for India’s drive to achieve self-sufficiency in the arena of military aviation. This chapter will do so by using the case of India’s attempt to develop a fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

Information technology investment governance: What is it and does it matter?

While the growth in the number of IT investments remains strong, research in the IT investment field is limited, resulting in suboptimal practical guidance on effectively governing IT investments. Based on resource-based theory, this paper reports the initial work involved in developing a construct names IT investment governance (ITIG), because it can be used to measure organizations' capability to govern their IT investments. This paper then empirically examines the association of ITIG and corporate performance. The preliminary result is a four-factor, 16-item instrument for assessing the ITIG construct. This method's factors are IT investment value governance, IT investment value monitoring, IT investment appraisals and IT investment project management. The impact of ITIG on corporate performance was demonstrated with a significant and positive relationship found to exist between the ITIG construct and corporate performance, thus supporting the effectiveness of the ITIG construct. Corporations with higher levels of ITIG capability are more likely to maximize the contribution of their IT investments to firm value.

Submission to the Productivity Commission draft report business set-up, transfer and closure

The Commission has released a Draft Report on Business Set-Up, Transfer and Closure for public consultation and input. It is pleasing to note that three chapters of the Draft Report address aspects of personal and corporate insolvency. Nevertheless, we continue to make the submission to national policy inquiries and discussions that a comprehensive review should be undertaken of the regulation of insolvency and restructuring in Australia. The last comprehensive review of the insolvency system was by the Australian Law Reform Commission (the Harmer Report) and was handed down in 1988. Whilst there have been aspects of our insolvency laws that have been reviewed since that time, none has been able to provide the clear and comprehensive analysis that is able to come from a more considered review. Such a review ought to be conducted by the Australian Law Reform Commission or similar independent panel set up for the task. We also suggest that there is a lack of data available to assist with addressing questions raised by the Draft Report. There is a need to invest in finding out, in a rigorous and informed way, how the current law operates. Until there is a willingness to make a public investment in such research with less reliance upon the anecdotal (often from well-meaning but ultimately inadequately informed participants and others) the government cannot be sure that the insolvency regime we have provides the most effective regime to underpin Australia’s commercial and financial dealings, nor that any change is justified. We also make the submission that there are benefits in a serious investigation into a merged regulatory architecture of personal and corporate insolvency and a combined personal and corporate insolvency regulator.

Engaging decision makers in the business case for biophilic urbanism

The cognitive benefits of biophilia have been studied quite extensively, dating as far back as the 1980s, while studies into economic benefits are still in their infancy. Recent research has attempted to quantify a number of economic returns on biophilic elements; however knowledge in this field is still ad hoc and highly variable. Many studies acknowledge difficulties in discerning information such as certain social and aesthetic benefits. While conceptual understanding of the physiological and psychological effects of exposure to nature is widely recognised and understood, this has not yet been systematically translated into monetary terms. It is clear from the literature that further research is needed to both obtain data on the economics of biophilic urbanism, and to create the business case for biophilic urbanism. With this in mind, this paper will briefly highlight biophilic urbanism referencing previous work in the field. It will then explore a number of emergent gaps in the measurable economic understanding of these elements and suggest opportunities for engaging decision makers in the business case for biophilic urbanism. The paper concludes with recommendations for moving forward through targeted research and economic analysis.

Keep It Tame: Promoting respect online Safe And Well Online Pilot Study: Evaluating the design, engagement and impact of a social marketing approach aimed at 12 to 18 year olds

This report describes the Year One Pilot Study processes, and articulates findings from the major project components designed to address these challenges noted above (See Figure 1). Specifically, the pilot study tested the campaign research and development process involving participatory design with young people and sector partners, and the efficacy and practicality of conducting a longitudinal, randomised control trial online with minors, including ways oflinking survey data to campaign data. Each sub-study comprehensively considered the ethical requirements of conducting online research with minors in school settings. The theoretical and methodological framework for measuring campaign engagement and efficacy (Sub-studies 3, 4 and 5) drew on the Model of Goal-Directed Behaviour (MGB) (Perugini & Bagozzi 2001) and Nudge Theory (Thaler & Sunstein, 2008).

Global business services: Increasing specialization and integration of the world economy as drivers of economic growth

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the contribution of global business services to improved productivity and economic growth of the world economy, which has gone largely unnoticed in service research. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on macroeconomic data and industry reports, and link them to the non-ownership-concept in service research and theories of the firm. Findings Business services explain a large share of the growth of the global service economy. The fast growth of business services coincides with shifts from domestic production towards global outsourcing of services. A new wave of global business services are traded across borders and have emerged as important drivers of growth in the world’s service sector. Research limitations/implications This paper advances the understanding of non-ownership services in an increasingly global and specialized post-industrial economy. The paper makes a conceptual contribution supported by descriptive data, but without empirical testing. Originality/value The authors integrate the non-ownership concept and three related economic theories of the firm to explain the role of global business services in driving business performance and the international transformation of service economies.

The role of knowledge integration in innovation and capability development

Purpose This paper investigates the interrelationships between knowledge integration (KI), product innovation and capability development to enhance our understanding of how firms can develop capability at the firm level, which in turn enhances their performance. One of the critical underlying mechanisms for capability building identified in the literature is the role of knowledge integration, which operates within product innovation projects and contributes to dynamic capability development. Therefore, the main research question is “how does the integration of knowledge across product innovation projects lead to the development of capability?” Design/methodology/approach We adopted a case-based approach and investigated the case of a successful firm that was able to sustain its performance through a series of product innovation projects. In particular this research focused on the role of KI and firm-level capability development over the course of four projects, during which the firm successfully managed the transformation of its product base and renewal of its competitive advantage. For this purpose an in-depth case study of capability development was undertaken at the Iran Khodro Company (IKCO), the key player in the Iranian auto industry transformation. Originality/value This research revealed that along with changes at each level of product architecture “design knowledge” and “design capability” have been developed at the same level of product architecture, leading to capability development at that level. It can be argued that along the step by step maturation of radical innovation across the four case projects, architectural knowledge and capability have been developed at the case company, resulting in the gradual emergence of a modular product and capability architecture across different levels of product architecture. Such findings basically add to extensive emphasis in the literature on the interrelationship of the concept of modularity with knowledge management and capability development. Practical implications Findings of this study indicate that firms manage their knowledge in accordance with the level of specialization in knowledge and capability. Furthermore, firms design appropriate knowledge integration mechanisms within and among functions in order dynamically align knowledge processes at different levels of the product architecture. Accordingly, the outcomes of this study may guide practitioners in managing their knowledge processes, through dynamically employing knowledge integration modes step-by-step and from the part level to the architectural level of product architecture across a sequence of product innovation projects to encourage learning and radical innovation.

Business Process Management: 13th International Conference, BPM 2015, Innsbruck, Austria, August 31 -- September 3, 2015, Proceedings

BPM 2015 was the 13th International Conference on Business Process Management. It provided a global forum for researchers to meet and exchange views over research topics and outcomes in business process management. BPM 2015 was hosted by the University of Innsbruck and took place August 31 to September 3.

The death of lifelong employment in Japan?

Lifelong employment in Japan is more trope than literal fact. As a synecdoche,it encapsulates Japan's system of industrial relations. As a metonym, it epitomises the employee-oriented communitarian firm (Abe and Shimizutani,2007, p. 347). As a metaphor, it represents Japan's distinctive form of stakeholder capitalism (Dore, 1993). Yet none of these tropes holds as a truth. Lifelong employment does not signify the dominant form of employment in Japan. It does not privilege employees' interests over business concerns. And it does not constitute a benign, kinder form of capitalism compared with the market-based model.