Japanese investment on the Gold Coast : the interface of globalization and locality

This study explored the interface between the forces of globalization and a given place, at a given time, the Gold Coast during the 1980s. The global economic boom of the 1980s was one in which the role of Japan was particularly important. In less than half a decade capital flows from Japan surged to make it the world's largest investor. Locations in the Pacific Basin were favoured destinations for Japanese investment, one of the most significant was the Gold Coast. Japanese capital and tourism helped transform its urban area from a national resort to an international tourist destination and resort centre, The surge of capital arriving to the Gold Coast was a function of economic conditions in Japan, as was its steep reduction after November 1989, Thus the Gold Coast became integrated into global capital flows and so dependent on decisions made in Tokyo, one of the main financial centres of the world. However this study has also sought to explore a more complex reality; namely, that this place also became the interface of complex cultural forces and perceptions. The wealth of the Japanese investors on the Gold Coast enabled them to realize their dream of developing projects in the most fashionable global styles. These styles were essentially Western, and it was onto these that their Japanese owners ascribed their own meanings; meanings that reflected the cultural baggage that they had brought from Japan, and through which were filtered the economic and environmental realities of the Gold Coast. The Gold Coast as locality also included residents. Hence it became an interface between two different groups of people, the Japanese and the strongly Anglo-Celtic local community. Some in the local community perceived the Japanese presence as a threat to their perception of the Gold Coast, in fact, a threat to their perception of Australia's national identity. A campaign based on the politics of memory of the Japanese developed on the Gold Coast. Within weeks it became a national debate in which isolationalist, if not xenophobic traditionalists, concentrated on the Gold Coast challenged the economic rationalism and multicultural tolerance of the self-interested and ideologically convinced advocates of globalization. Governments at all levels sought to arbitrate, to legitimize standpoints, but more often than not were seen to move into positions of ineffectual flexibility. The forces of globalization on the Gold Coast were catalysts for change that in turn provoked local opposition which rapidly became a debate about national identity and direction. It is in the exploration of the complex and contradictory economic, cultural and political forces engendered by globalization that this study has sought to make a distinctive contribution.

Procedural justice and Australian environment : the case of the Wonthaggi water desalination plant

Drier conditions in Australia have compelled governments to implement various projects to address current or impending water shortages. Such projects have not always been popular with the local community who are directly affected by this infrastructure, with 'procedural justice' emerging as a critical issue. This paper analyses issues of public perceptions of 'procedural justice' in implementing environmental projects in regional areas, in the context of the recently approved desalination plant in the regional Victorian town of Wonthaggi. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data from a survey of 316 Wonthaggi residents, we show that one of the major predictors of residents' resistance toward accepting the building of the desalination plant was explained by perceptions of procedural injustice. We further argue that inadequate attention to the particular political history of the region has compounded the sense that the plant implementation has been unfair. Attention to such political histories is vital to avoiding conflict with local stakeholders and to the successful and ethical implementation of development projects in regional areas.

A typology of operational approaches for stakeholder analysis and engagement : findings from Hong Kong and Australia

Stakeholder analysis and engagement are the main tasks in stakeholder management. To identify operational approaches for stakeholder analysis and engagement, six interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted in Hong Kong, and an additional 15 interviews were held in Australia. The main finding is a typology of practical approaches for practitioners in construction. A total of 30 approaches are comprised in the typology, and they are classified by application. To test the usefulness of the typology, action research is applied to two real-life projects in Australia. The implication is that the selection of the approaches is an art and a contingency approach as well, requiring practitioners' judgments. Each approach has its strengths and limitations, so the most appropriate way for effective stakeholder management is to use a combination of elements from each approach as circumstances dictate. This study can serve as a reference for the systematic consideration of the project management team about the operational approaches for stakeholder management in construction projects.

Critical success factors for stakeholder management: construction practitioners' perspectives

Although various factors have been identified as important for accomplishing successful stakeholder management, few studies appear to have undertaken a comparative analysis of practitioners’ views on the relative importance of critical success factors (CSFs) for stakeholder management in construction projects. In an attempt to fill this research gap, a questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong to collect the opinions of construction practitioners regarding the relative importance of CSFs for stakeholder management. Findings from this study show that all 15 selected CSFs are regarded as critical by most respondents for the success of stakeholder management in construction projects. The factor regarding social responsibilities is considered most important for managing stakeholders. Although correlations between CSFs and types of projects and organizations were statistically significant, these were not particularly strong. Also, even though there is a general consensus on the rankings of the CSFs among different respondents, the detailed pairwise comparisons actually show the existence of a few differences in perceptions on the relative importance of the CSFs. Therefore, the working priorities of project managers for managing stakeholders are context specific, depending on the nature, client sector, and cost of the project, and also on their organizations and management levels in the organization. These findings should help project managers become more aware of their responsibilities and the relative importance of issues for management stakeholders.

Equal opportunity : dealing with employment discrimination

Experiences with the process of lodging a discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission - issues surrounding confidentiality clauses in dispute settlement agreements.

Challenges of international design chain integration and cultural diversity : organisational reflexive capability

Increasingly project teams on international mega projects are composed of multiple partners from different countries forming joint ventures to achieve a higher level of strategic flexibility. Establishing and maintaining local business networks are critical to ensure the success of exporting firms. Firms who achieve competitive advantage in international markets and long term economic sustainability constantly adapt their business practices to achieve client satisfaction by a combination of self, market and project needs assessment. Successful firms ultimately achieve this in local markets but in international market this is intensified with the complexity of barriers grounded in cross-cultural contexts. The need for flexibility, adaptability and continual reassessment is enhanced as the market evolves in various localities. Reflexivity theory was used to develop a conceptual model to explain the way in which firms develop awareness, responsiveness and adaptability for long term success in diverse international markets. This paper summarizes the initial Australian study which developed the model grounded in empirical observations of design construction firms working on projects in developing countries and a second study of Malaysian firms which validated the model. The aim of this study was to develop a performance measurement framework for capabilities assessment of international collaborative partnerships. The study explored the joint venture partnerships between Australian and Malaysian property and construction professionals. Four Malaysian organizations were examined as case studies and two key activities of design management and knowledge management were analyzed in relation to social, cultural and intellectual capital transformation within the Reflexivity Capability Maturity Assessment Framework.

Challenges to infrastructure delivery during the economic downturn : a qualitative analysis

Infrastructure plays a key role in creating and maintaining sustainable economic growth and a prosperous community. Infrastructure projects generally require a large amount of capital investment, which motivates involvement from the private sector in the delivery process. The Global Financial Crisis placed enormous pressure on both the public and private sectors, as the ability to borrow money for an extended tenor was greatly reduced. This study adopts a qualitative approach to analyse the challenges facing the delivery of infrastructure projects in an Australian context by considering the impacts of the Global Financial Crisis. It is found that the availability of resources and finance are perceived as the biggest challenges, with resources being more of a concern than finance to interviewees. In addition to these findings, ways in which the private sector can be better involved in the infrastructure delivery is discussed.

Ten science fiction transitions SFX

Synthesised vocals for science fiction styled projects in mind. 10 different types of transitions that could be used as laser guns, vehicle transitions and whooshes.

Urbanheart surgery - a logic of design alternatives

In 1972 Sir Leslie Martin in his essay “The Grid as Generator”, advocated “a strong theoretical basis for [planning and] urban design” (Carolin P, 2000, p4) by methodically shifting design parameters regarding the way “in which buildings [could be] placed on the land” Martin was able to demonstrate how the generation of alternatives could “allow wider scope for decisions and objectives” to be considered and discussed (Carmona M, & Tiesdell S 2007, p81). Operating within a conventional design studio yet drawing of Sir Leslie Martin’s logic, ie developing an informed understanding of a problem by identifying a finite world of design ‘alternatives’, the following paper outlines a studio based program at the School of Architecture and Building, Deakin University, referred to as the ‘UrbanHeart Surgery’. While most atelier-based courses operate largely on an ad-hoc basis where students often work within self imposed competitive isolation, Urbanheart adopts a more open yet structured approach where students work in design collaboratives to generate a matrix of alternative design scenarios. The program actively integrates postgraduate students from Architecture, Urban Design and Planning into a design research culture and allows them to engage in critical discourse by working on strategic design projects in three areas significant to the future development of the state of Victoria: Metropolitan Urbanism, Urbanism on the Periphery and Regional Urbanism.

A model to select processes for IT service management improvement

IT organisations are continually seeking improvements in managing IT service management processes. The selection of relevant processes to improve is one of the most crucial initial decisions to make in service improvement projects. In this paper, we focus on developing a process selection decision model using service perception factors from the Service Quality (SERV-QUAL) model and business drivers from the Balanced Scorecard perspectives along with the main objective of service improvement as improvement driver. We use a Design Science Research method to develop the model and then a prototype from our proposed model. We establish an evaluation protocol to determine the effectiveness of the prototype which will be demonstrated in a case organisation. The main contribution of the paper is to provide evidence-based decision support for IT service providers to select the most relevant service processes to improve.

Integrated construction supply chain design and delivery solutions

This study describes the development of a decision framework to support multi-disciplinary information and knowledge management model which focuses on integrated design and delivery solutions for all construction supply chain actors. The framework was developed within the context of two national information technology research projects in Australia. The first study used diffusion theory to explain the barriers and enablers to future adoption of advanced information technology solutions such as building information modelling (BIM). A grounded theory methodology was deployed and a pathways model for innovative information technology diffusion accommodating diverse patterns of adoption and different levels of expertize was developed. The second study built on the findings of the first study but specifically focussed on innovators, early and late adopters of BIM and the development of a decision framework towards advanced collaborative platform solutions. This study summarizes the empirical results of the previous studies. The core of the decision framework is the creation, use and ownership of building information sub-models and integrated models. The decision framework relies on holistic collaborative design management. Design expertise is diffused and can be found in various locations along the construction supply chain within project teams. A wide definition of design is considered from conceptual to developed to detailed design. The recent development to the decision model offers much potential as the early upstream decisions are often made in a creative, collaborative and uncertain environment. However, decision making needs to balance both a reductionist and exploratory creative empowerment approach. Shared team expertise and competency and team mental models are explored as a fundamental requirement to collaborative BIM. New skills in interdisciplinarity are discussed as an implication of future construction industry collaborative platforms.

Developing teacher-researchers: a practice-based Masters of Education

Teachers’ work can increasingly be described as knowledge work conducted in a rapidly changing globalised, digital environment. In order to support contemporary teachers’ work, professional learning needs to be grounded in the contexts and identities of teachers, while engaging them in theoretical discourse. Such an approach challenges traditional approaches to the offering of a Masters in Education by distance learning. This presentation reports on a university-educational authority partnership designed to enable practising teachers to gain Masters qualifications through practice-based ethnographic data collection and research. The context of this partnership is a new professional learning program being offered by Deakin University, Australia and the Catholic Education Office Melbourne. Teachers plan and conduct projects in which they identify an issue to be addressed at their school; research the issue identified; develop and implement an intervention to address the issue; and report on the intervention. Teachers have the option of gaining credit towards a Masters of Education by submitting their work for formal assessment. The participants in this mixed methods study are teachers who are undertaking the post-graduate units embedded in a professional learning program. Teachers are invited to undertake anonymous online pre- and post- surveys with both qualitative and quantitative data collected. Data is also collected through teacher interviews and collection of classroom artefacts including planning documents and work samples. Initial findings illustrate that a practice-based approach to Masters studies engages teachers as creators rather than reproducers of knowledge. The use of a range of print and new digital media both within the design and operation of an online learning environment and pedagogies for effective adult professional learning enable flexible and creative pedagogical responses and knowledge creation by teachers.

From ecological creativity to an ecology of well-being: 'flows & catchments' as a case study of NVivo

This paper’s research question concerns how the ecological creativity of the Volcanic Plains region of Western Victoria may be transformed into an ecology of well-being of benefit to the local community. Drawing on the philosophies of Spinoza and Gilles Deleuze, we argue that community well-being results from the richness of connections and relationships made within a place. The case study for our investigation is ‘Flows & Catchments’, which is an ongoing, collaborative, creative-arts research project auspiced by Deakin University. Its modus operandi is Practice-Based Research (PBR), and its aim is to promote community well-being in Western Victoria. However, while the whole metier of the creative arts is to make the novel connections and relationships that should bring about community wellbeing, the various artists of ‘Flows & Catchments’ have proved slightly reluctant to make connections outside of their individual or small-group sub-projects. In this way, ecological creativity has not reached its full potential as an ecology of well-being because the rich connections and relationships essential to this well-being have not yet been fully realised. This paper explores the potential of using the NVivo qualitative analysis software package to bring together the creative-arts sub-projects of ‘Flows & Catchments’, as a way of fostering an ecology of well-being out of a currently dispersed ecological creativity.