Geography, skills and careers patterns at the boundary of creativity & innovation: digital technology and creative arts graduates in the UK

In the last decades, research on knowledge economies has taken central stage. Within this broader research field, research on the role of digital technologies and the creative industries has become increasingly important for researchers, academics and policy makers with particular focus on their development, supply-chains and models of production. Furthermore, many have recognised that, despite the important role played by digital technologies and innovation in the development of the creative industries, these dynamics are hard to capture and quantify. Digital technologies are embedded in the production and market structures of the creative industries and are also partially distinct and discernible from it. They also seem to play a key role in innovation of access and delivery of creative content. This chapter tries to assess the role played by digital technologies focusing on a key element of their implementation and application: human capital. Using student micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA) in the United Kingdom, we explore the characteristics and location patterns of graduates who entered the creative industries, specifically comparing graduates in the creative arts and graduates from digital technology subjects. We highlight patterns of geographical specialisation but also how different context are able to better integrate creativity and innovation in their workforce. The chapter deals specifically with understanding whether these skills are uniformly embedded across the creative sector or are concentrated in specific sub-sectors of the creative industries. Furthermore, it explores the role that these graduates play in different sub-sector of the creative economy, their economic rewards and their geographical determinants.

'I mean, you want to be there for them': young Australian professionals negotiating careers in a gendered world

Popular opinion suggests young Australians are no longer interested in families and/or careers. This longitudinal study of Australian university graduates reports early findings about career orientations, associated long working hours and the work/family nexus. Most participants seem to be what Hakim (2000) regards as 'adaptive' in terms of work and family preferences. It appears more that they are pursuing fulfilling careers while negotiating new and traditional expectations of gender and family. Most seek equalitarian partnerships of shared care-giving and meaningful careers for both partners, with children typically part of their life goals.

Satisfaction with services among people with progressive neurological illnesses and their careers in Australia

Abstract The current study investigated the types of support networks and services accessed by people with progressive neurological illness, as well as the assessment of the usefulness of these services. The participants were 25 people with multiple sclerosis, 15 people with motor neurone disease, 23 people with Parkinson's disease, and six people with Huntington's disease. Twenty-eight professionals who worked with people with these illnesses and 41 carers of people with these illnesses also were interviewed. The results demonstrate that all of the groups of respondents indicated a strong need for basic services (e.g. home help), as well as specialized services (e.g. support groups). These two services also were identified as the most useful services by all of the groups of respondents. The similarities and differences between the groups, as well as the patients and carers, are examined. These findings demonstrate the importance of providing basic services for people with progressive neurological illnesses.

Why do medical graduates choose rural careers?

Introduction: This study is based on the metaphor of the ‘rural pipeline’ into medical practice. The four stages of the rural
pipeline are: (1) contact between rural secondary schools and the medical profession; (2) selection of rural students into medical
programs; (3) rural exposure during medical training; and (4) measures to address retention of the rural medical workforce.
Methods: Using the rural pipeline template we conducted a literature review, analysed the selection methods of Australian
graduate entry medical schools and interviewed 17 interns about their medical career aspirations.
Results: Literature review: The literature was reviewed to assess the effectiveness of selection practices to predict successful
gradation and the impact of rural pipeline components on eventual rural practice. Undergraduate academic performance is the
strongest predictor of medical course academic performance. The predictive power of interviews is modest. There are limited data
on the predictive power of other measures of non-cognitive performance or the content of the undergraduate degree. Prior rural
residence is the strongest predictor of choice of a rural career but extended rural exposure during medical training also has a
significant impact. The most significant influencing factors are: professional support at national, state and local levels; career
pathway opportunities; contentedness of the practitioner’s spouse in rural communities; preparedness to adopt a rural lifestyle;
educational opportunities for children; and proximity to extended family and social circle. Analysis of selection methods: Staff
involved in student selection into 9 Australian graduate entry medical schools were interviewed. Four themes were identified:
(1) rurality as a factor in student selection; (2) rurality as a factor in student selection interviews; (3) rural representation on student
selection interview panels; (4) rural experience during the medical course. Interns’ career intentions: Three themes were identified:
(1) the efficacy of the rural pipeline; (2) community connectedness through the rural pipeline; (3) impediments to the effect of the
rural pipeline, the most significant being a partner who was not committed to rural life
Conclusion: Based on the literature review and interviews, 11 strategies are suggested to increase the number of graduates
choosing a career in rural medicine, and one strategy for maintaining practitioners in rural health settings after graduation.

Digital divas : working to change students' perceptions about ICT courses and careers

Currently, women occupy less than 20% of places in the ICT courses offered by higher education institutions in Victoria and, as of 2007, women held only 16% of ICT jobs in the state (Multimedia Victoria 2008 p 25). At the secondary school level there has in fact been a marked downturn in girls' interest in such courses, reflecting a more general decline in female participation in ICT courses and careers. Given that there has also been a decline in overall student ICT numbers, there is a strong case to develop programs aimed to convince female students that an ICT career or course is an attractive option for their future. The Digital Divas program is one such course.

Middle managerial careers in the 21st century

Managerial careers no longer conform to traditional career paths, progressing within the hierarchical structure of one or two organisations. Instead, organisational restructuring and changed business practices have impacted middle managers' job security and the need to take personal responsibility for their careers. Concurrently. the nature ofmiddle managerial work has altered - bringing increasing intensity and a requirement to manage within new workplace practices such as flexibility initiatives and short-term managerial contracts. These changes have implications for how human resource professionals both attract and retain talented managers. This paper argues for a critical re-consideration ofthe distinct nature ofmiddle managerial careers.

Perceptions and misperceptions of computing careers

Two issues were addressed. 1. Women are underrepresented in computing courses and in the computing workplace. Despite almost two decades of recognition of the issue and of intervention to correct it, the proportion of women in computing continues to decline. 2. There is a shortage of people with appropriate skills and qualifications in computing, and, more specifically, a need for people with particular personality attributes. There is an increasing demand for computing personnel to have good communication and interpersonal skills, but the predominant personality types of computing people do not include these characteristics. The research relating to the underrepresentation of women was conducted as a series of interviews with university students, female computing professionals and secondary school girls. The main findings of these studies were: 1) schoolgirls are interested in careers that are interesting and varied and provide opportunities for interaction with others; 2) schoolgirls perceive computing as involving working alone; 3) women working in computing describe careers that are interesting, varied, and people-oriented; 4) tertiary computing students equated 'computing' with 'programming'; and 5) single interventions are unlikely to result in individuals in the targeted group deciding to study computing. The perception of schoolgirls that computing involves working alone, which is reinforced by many tertiary computing courses, suggested that the type of person who is likely to be attracted to computing is one who would prefer to work alone. It was predicted that schoolboys would have similar perceptions of computing. Thus, computing is likely to attract students who would prefer to work alone. For various social and stereotypical reasons addressed by previous research, these students will be predominantly male. In the final study, preferred Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Strong Interest Inventory personality types were suggested for computer programmers, systems designers and systems analysts. The existing literature and the 'types' of 72 study participants tended to confirm that 1) certain personality types are overrepresented in computing; 2) these types are well suited to programming and design tasks; and 3) there is an underrepresentation of individuals who have the combination of analytical, communication and people skills that are required particularly of analysts but also of many others working in computing today. Interviews with participants supported the earlier findings that computing careers are perceived by students to be technical and involve working in isolation, but for many computing people this is not the reality.

Teacher educators and 'accidental' careers in academe : an Australian perspective

While teacher education is often seen as the key to preparing qualified teachers who are able to educate students for the demands of the twenty-first century, relatively little attention is paid to the teacher educators who actually do this work. Given the increased demand for teacher educators in Australia due to retirements, and the changing political and institutional context of teacher education, it is timely to understand a little more about the teacher educator workforce. Who are they, why do they work in teacher education, what career pathways have led them to teacher education, what are key aspects of their knowledge and practice as teacher educators, and what are the critical issues faced by those working in teacher education? This paper reports on a study that investigated the pathways into teacher education and the career trajectories of a small group of teacher educators working in a range of university sites in three states in Australia. The study draws on interview data to examine the ways in which these teacher educators talk about the accidental nature of their career pathways, their views about teaching and research, and the variable ways in which experiential and research knowledge are recognised and valued within the field of teacher education and in the academy. The report highlights important considerations for the preparation of the next generation of teacher educators as well as for their induction, mentoring and career planning in order to build and sustain a viable teacher education workforce for the twenty-first century.