New Zealand and its competitors in the knowledge economy

In the US, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Finland, Ireland and other countries, the growth of the Internet and other related new technologies have become the catalyst for the creation of ‘knowledge economies’. The new information and communication technologies have created global markets for goods and services. Countries that have encouraged their people through education and life-long learning and by investing heavily in research and development (R&D) are well positioned to take advantage of these new global markets. Along with globalisation has come the death of distance. Thanks to the Internet, New Zealand is no longer remote from the rest of the world.

But New Zealand’s economy is still too dependent on producing commodities for export. While efforts over the last fifteen years to diversify markets have been very successful, we still need to expand our limited range of products. We must take the next important step and transform New Zealand from a pastoral economy into a knowledge-driven economy. For New Zealand, the Internet is the modern equivalent of the freezer ship that revolutionised our economy last century. If New Zealanders do not seize the opportunities provided by the knowledge economy, we will survive only as an amusement park and holiday land for the citizens of more successful developed economies.

This article puts New Zealand into world perspective by assessing its knowledge economy benchmarks against its competitors. It outlines the theoretical background to ‘‘new growth theory'' and delineates the lessons of that theory, especially for New Zealand. It treats the key issues for New Zealand’s emergence as a knowledge economy, including education, the M ori dimension, immigration, research and development, venture capital, export policy and telecommunications regulation.

The mediatization of the knowledge based economy : an Australian field based account

This paper presents an empirical account of mediatization from a Bourdieuian perspective, based on the development of a number of new concepts, such as cross-field effects and the rescaling of such effects as linked to processes of globalization. Built on an Australian empirical case relating to educational policy and the knowledge based economy, this paper argues that mediatization can be understood in relation to the cross-field effects of different fields of journalism on subsequent fields, which have their genesis in forms of practice that cross different social fields. Specifically, the case analysis details interactions between the field of print journalism and the field of policy over the course of an Australian science capability review, chaired by the then chief scientist, Dr Robin Batterham, which led to Australia adopting a national version of the knowledge economy. The empirical case also leads us to consider the impact of both global and national fields of journalism on fields of educational policy in relation to mediatization.

Westphalia and the Taiwan conundrum : a case against the exclusionist construction of sovereignty and identity

It is often argued that at the root of the Taiwan question are the myriad differences in politics, ideology, identity, and economy between mainland China and Taiwan. Any prospect for its peaceful resolution, it seems, hinges on bridging those differences through economic and/or political integration. Although the Taiwan conundrum has much to do with wide-ranging cross-strait divergence, this article argues that it cannot be disconnected from one important commonality between Beijing and Taipei, namely, a cross-strait normative convergence on the Westphalian notion of state sovereignty. Encompassing an exclusionary understanding of final authority, territory, and identity, Westphalian sovereignty provides both Beijing and Taipei with a common meaning that Taiwan is an issue of sovereignty, central to their respective national identity and political survival and hence not subject to compromise. As a consequence, it argues that this common meaning is paradoxically responsible for much of the mistrust, tension, and deadlock in cross-strait relations. In order to find a long-term solution to the Taiwan impasse, we need to pay attention to this particular normative convergence as well as to the many differences across the Taiwan Strait.

ID scanners in the night time economy

ID scanners are quickly emerging as a new technological fix to long-standing problems of security and safety within licensed venues. Yet at this point in time detailed research of this rapidly expanding security technology is remarkably limited. To address this analytical deficit we are currently examining the uptake of ID scanners in licensed venues operating in the night-time economy. We have found significant interest in the implementation of ID scanners in other Australian cities. However, the introduction of ID scanners in late-night licensed venues has occurred with little public awareness, no policy consideration and questionable claims concerning their effectiveness in enhancing safety and reducing crime. This article explores the factors shaping the introduction of ID scanners and the underlying beliefs concerning their utility as a crime prevention technology. The article then considers some broader implications to be explored in future analyses.

The client's complex decision-making environment on international mega projects

More than ever before, architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms are working on international mega projects. The mega project environment offers a range of opportunities for firms but is but is characterised by a high level of risk and uncertainty. International mega projects bring together networks of people with differing backgrounds and cultures to work in unfamiliar locations to integrate the social, economic, technical and political components of design and construction. Within such an intense environment there is a process of rapid relationship development at an unprecedented level. The interests and power relations on such projects are often very strong given the vast amount of money, jobs, environmental impacts, publicity and national prestige involved. Therefore in a field as costly or consequential as mega project design and construction there is an increased need to effectively manage these projects given the associated high risks of failure. Internationalisation is a relatively new field of research in the AEC sector and past research has tended to focus on explaining the attitudes and behaviour of the industry itself towards improving performance on such projects. To date there has been little research investigating the sophistication of the international client in terms of their regular business environment which is characterised by a set of social, economic and political responsibilities. The values that clients ascribe to their everyday practices and experiences inevitably condition how they act economically, which in turn impacts upon project decision-making. Clients establish the structural organisation of project teams through the procurement strategy and establish the context for effective decision-making. To a large extent they establish a unique culture that project team members need to work within and make decisions. Since clients establish the context within which firms operate the findings of past studies on the industry’s position and attitudes are more indicative than enlightening. Clients occupy a distinctly different position in the construction supply chain and therefore experience and respond to project matters based upon their environment and not the construction industry environment. Clients are confronted with uncertainties and need support to help them understand the critical role that they play in creating good decision-making environments. This theoretical paper seeks to develop a rationale for studying the client’s complex decision-making environment on international mega projects. Specifically it charts the quest for improved industry performance through client leadership as documented in various industry and government publications since the 1940s and highlights that there has been considerable attention to address industry problems through client leadership, however, with little evidence that the issues have been resolved. This paper is positioned within a PhD study, which seeks to move beyond the aspirations of policymakers and idealistic descriptions of how clients ought to behave to explain the reality of what really happens on mega project client decision-making based upon a critique of cultural political economy.