Evaluation of the Living 4 Life project : a youth-led, school-based obesity prevention study

The Living 4 Life study was a youth-led, school-based intervention to reduce obesity in New Zealand. The study design was quasi-experimental, with comparisons made by two cross-sectional samples within schools. Student data were collected at baseline (n = 1634) and at the end of the 3-year intervention (n = 1612). A random-effects mixed model was used to test for changes in primary outcomes (e.g. anthropometry and obesity-related behaviours) between intervention and comparison schools. There were no significant differences in changes in anthropometry or behaviours between intervention and comparison schools. The prevalence of obesity in intervention schools was 32% at baseline and 35% at follow-up and in comparison schools was 29% and 30%, respectively. Within school improvements in obesity-related behaviours were observed in three intervention schools and one comparison school. One intervention school observed several negative changes in student behaviours. In conclusion, there were no significant improvements to anthropometry; this may reflect the intervention’s lack of intensity, insufficient duration, or that by adolescence changes in anthropometry and related behaviours are difficult to achieve. School-based obesity prevention interventions that actively involve young people in the design of interventions may result in improvements in student behaviours, but require active support from leaders within their schools.

Archipelago design : virtualopolis and the interactive virtual team scenario

Increasingly employers use virtual teams to leverage business knowledge that can solve day to day business problems and create new business opportunities. Consequently, according to Bridgstock, graduates increasingly require virtual teamwork skills such as communication, negotiation and collaboration. The project presented here has researched and trialled the role of a well-designed interactive scenario in developing graduate attributes related to working with others, using virtual business entities across four faculties. One innovative outcome from this has been the scoping and linking of cross-faculty virtual developments into an overarching structure which is easily navigable and engaging for the net generation learner, and capacity building for the university. For clarity, that scaffolding or framework ‘city’ has been called Virtualopolis. This has the potential to link pockets of innovation across the university in the area of experiential learning and virtual work-integrated learning (WIL), the term expolred by Walsh within the context of Briggs' constructive alignment. The prototype workteam scenario has multiple applications, with capacity to be a hurdle requirement, assessment item or training activity depending on the needs of the faculty’s WIL. By developing the online framework or model Virtualopolis, work-integrated teams assessment can be linked across different business entities, and used as skills preparation for experiential learning units such as internships, professional experience and workplace-based projects university-wide. This model has exciting possibilities of transferability across the higher education sector in the linkage of innovative virtual scenarios to reduce developmental costs, assessment tools/resources targeted specifically to graduate attributes, and virtual teamwork capacity building.

Intellectual property, creativity and innovation : IP models and the political economy of developing Asia

In advanced capitalist societies, intellectual property laws protecting such subject matter as copyright and patents are justified by a combination of theories, which include the provision of economic incentives to foster creativity and innovation and the prevention of unfair competition. IP academics and policy makers have differing views about the appropriate balance between these objectives and public interest considerations such as health, education and the protection of the environment. These different views entered the policy debate in Asian developing countries in connection with an unprecedented introduction and expansion of IP laws over the last 25 years. This paper will use case studies of law reform from Asia, in particular Southeast Asia, to show that the policy considerations of governments in reforming their laws were often quite different from the standard rationale mentioned above. As much of the IP was, at least initially, held by foreigners and introduced to attract foreign investment, national development considerations were joined with the more commonly quoted objectives to promote the rights, creativity and innovation of individuals. Such national development objectives at times coincided and at other times collided with official explanations and received wisdom about the effects of stronger IP rights.

Especially in the early postcolonial period, copyright laws and other IP laws were frequently restricted or simply not implemented, if they conflicted with development policies in areas such as education or public health. Such policies were slowly changing in the wake of WTO-TRIPS and other international agreements. Nevertheless, the implementation and enforcement of the IP laws has been uneven. Specialised institutions such as courts and IP administering agencies compete with other branches of government and administration for limited funding and a rich repertoire of informal dispute settlement procedures has kept the number of court cases relatively low. In some countries, censorship laws have influenced freedom of expression and led to quite idiosyncratic interpretations of intellectual property laws. Governments often also retain a role in the assessment of licensing and technology transfer contracts. And while there are many programs to foster individual creativity, in most cases R & D activities are still largely taking place in government institutions and this has influenced the thinking about intellectual property rights and creativity in the context of employment.

The paper uses a few case studies to examine the implementation of IP laws in selected Asian developing countries to point to the quite different institutional setting for IP law reform in comparison to European or American models. It reaches some tentative conclusions as to the likely effects on creativity and innovation under these different circumstances.

Creative suburbs? How women, design and technology renew Australian suburbs

Australian suburbs have long been subjected to negative stereotyping – as aesthetic wastelands, politically conservative, socially isolated and environmentally rapacious – as the last places you would expect creativity. A critical engagement with this discourse and an examination of older as well as some newer suburbs unsettles these characterizations. A broad definition of ‘creativity’ directs attention to what was occurring in 20th century Australian suburbs – with a creative domestic economy and modernist architecture providing strong counters to their negative portrayal. Further, as a sample of Melbourne’s contemporary master-planned estates will illustrate, at least some of this city’s houses and neighbourhoods are at the leading edge of architectural innovation, community building and environmental sustainability – creatively developing alternatives to the stereotypical suburb.

Professional education using e-simulations : benefits of blended learning design

The use of digital, Web-based simulations for education and training in the workplace is a significant, emerging innovation requiring immediate attention. A convergence of new educational needs, theories of learning, and role-based simulation technologies points to educators’ readiness for e-simulations. As modern e-simulations aim at integration into blended learning environments, they promote rich experiential, constructivist learning.

Professional Education Using E-Simulations: Benefits of Blended Learning Design contains a broad range of theoretical perspectives on, and practical illustrations of, the field of e-simulations for educating the professions in blended learning environments. Readers will see authors articulate various views on the nature of professions and professionalism, the nature and roles that various types of e-simulations play in contributing to developing an array of professional capabilities, and various viewpoints on how e-simulations as an integral component of blended learning environments can be conceived, enacted, evaluated, and researched.

Building effective school-university partnerships for a quality teacher workforce : a Victorian led initiative

‘Building effective school-university partnerships for a quality teacher workforce: A Victorian led initiative’ project, (‘BESUP’), funded by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development from 2010 – 2011, was conducted by the research team from the School of Education, Deakin University in collaboration with key personnel in two ‘clusters’ of schools located in the Maroondah Education Coalition and in Keysborough/Noble Park.

The overall aim of this project was to examine a pilot model of effective school-university partnership that engages pre-service and in-service teachers and researchers in the co-production of professional knowledge and practice. The model of a university-school partnership that was investigated in the research project was developed as part of the Master of Teaching, a 16 credit pre-service postgraduate course in the School of Education that had the first intake of pre-service teachers in March, 2010. In the design and implementation of the Master of Teaching course, the School of Education set out to create a new relationship between key stakeholders in the preparation of the next generation of teachers. A commitment to doing the professional experience component differently was central to the conceptualization of the new course. To this end, three new professional experience curriculum units were designed with the placements ‘embedded’ into the units themselves.

The research questions that shaped the BESUP research project are:
• What are the design features of an effective school-university partnership model?
• What are the features of cross-generational (pre-service, in-service) models of quality supervision, mentoring and support in a school-university partnership model?
• What are the conditions for an effective professional development program for teachers and academic staff to support professional experience within school-university partnerships?

That the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development funded this research is evidence of the system’s awareness of and concern for investigating ways forward that will provide the next generation of teachers with strong links between the learning experiences undertaken in the university component of their pre-service teacher education and the professional experience component located in schools. The report suggests the significance of ongoing professional conversations and new ways of engaging in professional learning among all of the partners.

The impact of nurse-led education on haemodialysis patients' phosphate binder medication adherence

Background Phosphate binder medication adherence is required to maintain optimal phosphate levels and minimise bone disease in people with end stage kidney disease.

Objectives To examine the impact of a nurse-led education intervention on bone disorder markers, adherence to phosphate binder medication and medication knowledge.

Design Descriptive study with a paired pre–post intervention survey.

Participants Adults receiving haemodialysis.

Methods Twelve-week intervention where patients self-administered their phosphate binder medication at each dialysis treatment. Nurses provided individualised education. Patients completed a pre- and post-intervention survey designed to explore their knowledge of phosphate binders.

Results There were no statistically significant changes in clinical markers but a significant improvement in the proportion of patients who took their phosphate binder correctly, increasing from 44 to 72% (p = 0.016). There were moderate to large effect size changes for improved knowledge.

Conclusions A nurse-led intervention education programme can increase patients' phosphate binder adherence. However, this does not necessarily manifest into improved serum phosphate levels.

Corporate entrepreneurship and innovation part 1 : the missing link

Purpose – To examine the literature on corporate entrepreneurship and innovation and to develop a combined definition of these two terms. Moreover, the literature is used to construct a holistic model that seeks to explain the links between corporate entrepreneurial activity and the innovation process. Design/methodology/approach – A number of published works on entrepreneurship and innovation are critiqued. The findings from this literature review are used to develop a framework illustrating the relationships between the corporate entrepreneur and the innovation process. Findings – The paper presents a combined definition of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation and, from the literature review, concludes that previous models on entrepreneurship and innovation are fragmented because there is little exploration on the relationships and dynamics between these two factors. A framework of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation is constructed by synthesising the information gathered from previous literature. This model shows that there are missing links between the entrepreneur and the innovation process. The paper discusses three factors that may explain both the dynamics and the relationships between the entrepreneur and the innovation process. These are entrepreneurial attitudes, vision and actions. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified gap in the literature, namely the lack of investigation into the links between the corporate entrepreneur and the innovation process, and suggests three factors that could be used to explain this gap. Part 2 of this paper will present a new holistic model of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation that illustrates the relationships between these two areas in more detail.

Corporate entrepreneurship and innovation part 2 : a role- and process-based approach

Purpose – To extend the discussion held in part 1, and develop a two-tier fifth-generation model of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation. Design/methodology/approach – The components that have been synthesized from a review of the literature in Part 1 are extended using evidence from the literature. These components are used to construct a two-tier model of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation; a macro model which presents the high-level environmental drivers of innovation and a micro model that discusses the contextual factors that underpin the corporate entrepreneurship and innovation process. Findings – From the analysis conducted in part 1 it is evident that there is a strong relationship between the role of the corporate entrepreneur and the innovation process. It is suggested that by separating the corporate entrepreneur from the innovation process previous models have been overly reductionist in their construction, and their utility has, as a consequence, been severely constrained. The study therefore combines the role and activities of the entrepreneur with the innovation process into a unified framework. In doing so the paper develops a two-tier fifth-generation model of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation. The final sections of the paper present the model's implications for management and suggestions for further research. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified gap in the literature, namely the development of a new holistic model of corporate entrepreneurship and innovation, which illustrates the environmental and contextual relationships between the corporate entrepreneur and the innovation process.

Institutional environment, innovation capacity and firm performance in Russia

Purpose – Following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1992, Russia undertook major institutional and market-oriented reforms to enhance the competitive advantage of domestic enterprises. Although Russia has experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, the extent to which institutions in Russia impact on firm innovation and performance remains poorly understood due to a lack of research on the subject. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the competitiveness of Russian firms by focussing specifically on the extent to which the state of the regulatory quality, rule of law, and corruption affect the innovation capacity and performance of firms in Russia.

Design/methodology/approach – The study uses structural equation modelling and data from a large-scale firm level survey (n=787) of firms in Russia undertaken by the World Bank in 2009. It investigates the direct and indirect perceptions of respondents of the effects the current institutional environment has on the innovation capacity and performance of their respective organisations.

Findings – The results show that regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption have strong direct and negative impacts on both the innovation capacity and performance of firms, and that innovation capacity strongly mediates the effects of institutions on firm performance. The results suggest that the current state of the regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption in Russia inhibit firm innovation and their resulting performance.

Research limitations/implications – The findings should be interpreted with caution to the extent that the study is limited to only three elements of the formal institutional environment and does not take into consideration the role of informal institutions. These two limitations present avenues for future research.

Originality/value – The study is one of the first to provide empirical evidence based on a large-scale survey of the extent to which formal institutions inhibit innovation and firm performance in Russia, and provides valuable guidance to business policy-makers in Russia on possible avenues for enhancing the overall competitiveness of Russian firms.

A longitudinal cohort study evaluating the impact of a geriatrician-led residential care out-reach service on acute health care utilisation

Background: Over the last decade, high demand for acute health care services by long-term residents of residential care facilities (RCF) has stimulated interest in exploring alternative models of care. The Residential Care Intervention Program in the Elderly (RECIPE) service provides expert outreach services to RCFs residents, interventions include: comprehensive care planning, management of intercurrent illness and rapid access to acute care substitution services.Objective: To evaluate whether the RECIPE service decreased acute health care utilisation.Design: A retrospective cohort study using interrupted time series analysis to analyse change in acute healthcare utilisation before and after enrolment.Setting: A 300 bed metropolitan teaching hospital in Australia and 73 RCF within its catchment.Subjects: There were 1327 patients enrolled in the service with a median age 84 years, 61% were female. Methods: Data was collected prospectively on all enrolled patients from 2004 to 2011 and linked to the acute health service administrative dataset. Primary outcomes change in admission rates, length of stay and beddays per quarter.Results: In the two years prior to enrolment the mean number of acute care admissions per patient per year was 3.03 (SD 2.9) versus post 2.4 (SD 3.3), the service reducing admissions by 0.13 admissions per patient per quarter (p=0.046). Prior to enrolment the mean length of stay was 8.6 (SD 11.0) versus post 3.5 (SD 5.0), a reduction of 1.5 days per patient per quarter (p=0.003). Conclusions:This study suggests that an outreach service comprising a geriatrician-led multidisciplinary team can reduce acute hospital utilisation rates.

Adopting global virtual engineering teams in AEC Projects: a qualitative meta-analysis of innovation diffusion studies

Purpose - This study aims to present an integrated conceptual model in order to highlight the major aspects of diffusion of innovations in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) context. To this end, a critical review of literature is conducted, accompaniedbysynthesising the findings of previous studies. The driving force behind this study is stemmed from the fragmentation of literature on innovation diffusion, and paucity of research on diffusion of Global Virtual Engineering Teams (GVETs) as the platform formany technological innovations in relevant literature. Thus, the present study is intended to facilitate filling the gap in GVETs literature. That is, the proposed model will offer a foundation for academia for grounding studies on any innovation including GVETs in the literature on innovation diffusion in the AEC context. Design/methodology/approach - This paper draws upon the qualitative meta-analysis approach encompassing a critical review of the relevant literature. To this end, the review builds upon studies found within 15 prestigious journals in AEC. The domain of this review was confined to areas described as "innovation", "innovation diffusion" and "innovation adoption", along with keywords used within a broad review of recently published GVETs literature. The rigour of review is augmented by incorporating 35 authoritative works from other disciplines published in 21 well-known journals in the manufacturing, business and management fields. Moreover, the study deploys the peer-debriefing approach through conducting unstructured interviews with five Australian scholars to verify a model presenting an aggregated summary of previous studies. Findings - The key findings of the study include the following items: Synthesising the fragmented studies on innovation diffusion in the AEC context. In doing so, a model capturing the major aspects affecting diffusion of an innovation in AEC projects is presented; providing a foundation to address the drawbacks of previous studies within the sphere of GVETs, based on the developed model. Research limitations/implications - The developed model was only enhanced using a small sample size of academics, as such not empirically validated. Originality/value - As possibly, the first literature review of innovation in the AEC context, this paper contributes to the sphere by sensitising the AEC body of knowledge on innovation diffusion as a concise conceptual model, albeit verified through the peer-debriefing approach. This study will also further establish the research field in AEC on GVETs along with other methods reliant on virtual working such as building information modelling (BIM) through providing an expanded foundation for future inquiries and creation of knowledge.

Beyond narrative: sound design as dramaturgy in contemporary performance

Autobiographical performance is often characterised by a linguistic approach to storytelling. This paper presents discoveries from a practice-led research inquiry into the mediated translation of narrative elements within the making of autobiographical performance Train Tracks and Rooftops. Specifically, it presents the way sonic texts emerged within the process of translating away from narrative form. The paper sets out the technical aspects of the process and critiques the shift in meaning that comes from an understanding of sound dramaturgy and sound as performance architecture. The experience of the maker/performers' relationship to their live and mediated voice is discussed.

Perceptions of change in office space design: redesigning Barwon Water’s office environment

In early 2015 Barwon Water received State government funding to rationalise and renovate its various Geelong-based administrative offices into one complex. Integral to the renovations is a new green-star retrofit of the existing Ryrie Street complex by GHD Woodhead. The project will consolidate all of Barwon Water’s offices onto one site, increase floor space, provide a new ‘green’ atrium, and adopt an open plan layout. Having set a new strategic direction, Barwon Water is now undergoing a wholesale cultural and operational change in order to realise these strategic objectives. Aspirations for workplace design have been identified as: environmentally sustainable; foster innovation and creativity; establish connections; improve communication and collaboration; provide efficient space for effective work; flexibility over time; welcoming and connected to the community; healthy; and, up to date technology. This paper investigates Barwon Water staff perceptions and apprehensions of this prospective consolidation, particularly the proposed open plan office environment. While most research in this topic is informed by an immediate pre-design workshop of staff needs, this research provides a longitudinal perspective of human perceptions about work place environment change and a review of how changes in office environment synergistically align to architectural responses and changes in corporate strategies.

The influence of market orientation on innovation strategies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of market orientation on exploratory and exploitative innovation, and the moderating effects of family ownership on these relationships. Design/methodology/approach – This study utilizes multi-group path analysis and confirmatory factor analysis in LISREL on data from 228 firms in the Australian service sector. Findings – This study establishes that both customer and competitor innovation are positively related to exploitative and exploratory innovation. However, customer orientation does not lead to significantly stronger effects on exploitative innovation than on exploratory innovation, and competitor orientation does not lead to significantly stronger effects on exploratory innovation than on exploitative innovation. In addition, the study found that the relationship between customer orientation and exploratory innovation was stronger for family firms, while the relationships between competitor orientation and both exploratory and exploitative innovation were stronger for non-family firms. Research limitations/implications – The cross-sectional design is one weakness of this study. In addition, as firms in the present study came from the service sector the generalizability of the findings to other sectors of the economy need to be determined. Practical implications – These findings of this study highlight the need for managers to build a strong market orientation in order to promote innovation, and consider the effects of ownership structure on innovation strategies. Originality/value – This study is the first to measure the relative influence of customer and competitor orientation on a firm’s use of exploitative and exploratory innovation strategies.