Digital Outsourcing in Architecture: Opportunities for Australian Firms or Perils for Australian Workforce? This research will help assess competitiveness and viability of different digital outsourcing practices in connection to the needs, the operative conditions and the products of the Australian building design sector. The information will give industry analysts a tool to identify the markets within which these arrangements are likely to spread or occur in the future, and take consequent corr ....Digital Outsourcing in Architecture: Opportunities for Australian Firms or Perils for Australian Workforce? This research will help assess competitiveness and viability of different digital outsourcing practices in connection to the needs, the operative conditions and the products of the Australian building design sector. The information will give industry analysts a tool to identify the markets within which these arrangements are likely to spread or occur in the future, and take consequent corrective or supportive action. The outcomes of this project will benefit Australia by forecasting changes in professional employment prospects, and by providing a framework to consider development scenarios for architectural educational and professional institutions, national research and development priorities, and international trade agreement agendas.Read moreRead less
Home-based Businesses: Belief systems and practice and their implications for policy and development practice. The home-based business sector has been calculated to represent 67% of the small business sector in Australia. There is a conservative estimate that at least one in ten homes in Australia now hosts a home-based business. Under Governments of all political persuasions, growth of small business is seen as important to the growth of the economy. However there is a fragmented policy context ....Home-based Businesses: Belief systems and practice and their implications for policy and development practice. The home-based business sector has been calculated to represent 67% of the small business sector in Australia. There is a conservative estimate that at least one in ten homes in Australia now hosts a home-based business. Under Governments of all political persuasions, growth of small business is seen as important to the growth of the economy. However there is a fragmented policy context of enterprise promotion and home-based business support. The findings of this study will contribute to integrated policy and development practice responses through greater understanding of the diversity of belief systems and practice within the sector.Read moreRead less
Work and Social Cohesion under Globalisation. The project will explore how innovation and improvement in productivity can be accommodated with notions of fairness at workplace and industry level. The impact of increasingly competitive markets on the nature of work and society and the relationships between employers and employees in five industries: finance, tourism, health, ICT and automotive components, will be examined. The views of a wide cross-section of employees and managers in five key i ....Work and Social Cohesion under Globalisation. The project will explore how innovation and improvement in productivity can be accommodated with notions of fairness at workplace and industry level. The impact of increasingly competitive markets on the nature of work and society and the relationships between employers and employees in five industries: finance, tourism, health, ICT and automotive components, will be examined. The views of a wide cross-section of employees and managers in five key industries, complemented by existing survey data, will be analysed. A major outcome will be five industry workshops promoting productivity, partnership and social cohesion in a competitive global environment. Policy implications for the wider economy will be developed in the final report.Read moreRead less
From tourist siren to technological beacon: analysing the industrial function of the Sydney Opera House thirty years after its completion. The research will show that public buildings provide fertile ground to plant industrial seeds; but to have an impact on the local economy, they must respond to specific structural conditions or be supported by political will. These findings will improve Australia's institutional understanding of the relationship between cost and investment in construction, an ....From tourist siren to technological beacon: analysing the industrial function of the Sydney Opera House thirty years after its completion. The research will show that public buildings provide fertile ground to plant industrial seeds; but to have an impact on the local economy, they must respond to specific structural conditions or be supported by political will. These findings will improve Australia's institutional understanding of the relationship between cost and investment in construction, and clarify that the evaluation of building productivity requires a long-term perspective. Government agencies should use institutional projects to define their public face but also to plan and implement industrial strategies. The research will help Australia maximise its creative and technological capability by understanding the factors conducive to innovation and its acceptance.Read moreRead less
The Demand for Older Workers: Technology, Skill and Employment Opportunities. "Productive ageing" policies are central to Australia's strategies for the governance of population ageing. But little is known about the determinants of firms' demand for older workers. By uncovering the impact that technological change has on firms' hiring and training decisions, this study will critically complement our understanding of older workers' constrained employment opportunities. In so doing it seeks to inf ....The Demand for Older Workers: Technology, Skill and Employment Opportunities. "Productive ageing" policies are central to Australia's strategies for the governance of population ageing. But little is known about the determinants of firms' demand for older workers. By uncovering the impact that technological change has on firms' hiring and training decisions, this study will critically complement our understanding of older workers' constrained employment opportunities. In so doing it seeks to inform the long-term policy debate on how best to adjust our economy to the current major demographic and technological development. Its outcomes will be of interest and use to policy makers, industry, advocacy groups, unions and the wider community.
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An empirically-derived conceptual framework for designing usable and useful wireless mobile applications. The technological challenges posed by mobile computing devices have taken priority over the issues of appropriate use and usability that will ultimately determine their success in real work environments.
This project investigates these issues, particularly the role played by the context of use in the usability and usefulness of mobile applications.
The project's aims will be realised ....An empirically-derived conceptual framework for designing usable and useful wireless mobile applications. The technological challenges posed by mobile computing devices have taken priority over the issues of appropriate use and usability that will ultimately determine their success in real work environments.
This project investigates these issues, particularly the role played by the context of use in the usability and usefulness of mobile applications.
The project's aims will be realised through ethnographic studies of mobile work practice, representative use scenarios and the development of an empirically grounded conceptual framework that can guide the design of usable mobile applications.
The results will increase the successful utilisation of mobile technology by Australian industries.
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The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance. The telecommuncations industry exemplifies the frontier technologies that are at the heart of Australia's successful knowledge economy. Mobile phones are developing innovative capacities far ahead of consumer needs and requirments. For example, third generation technologies are currently seeking to find the 'killer application' that will provide them with a mass market. A profound understanding of the social dimensions of existing mobile telec ....The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance. The telecommuncations industry exemplifies the frontier technologies that are at the heart of Australia's successful knowledge economy. Mobile phones are developing innovative capacities far ahead of consumer needs and requirments. For example, third generation technologies are currently seeking to find the 'killer application' that will provide them with a mass market. A profound understanding of the social dimensions of existing mobile telecommunications will provide insights for the development of new technologies and new services. It will provide the industry with a competitive advantage in a fast developing sector.Read moreRead less
New Economy entrepreneurs: making the decision to stay in Australia or relocate overseas. This study examines information and bioscience technology entrepreneurs in Australia and the decision-making process concerning the location of their businesses. It arises from widespread concern that Australia's place in the world economy has become increasingly peripheral in the context of New Economy industries. The study examines the social characteristics of entrepreneurs in New Economy industries, the ....New Economy entrepreneurs: making the decision to stay in Australia or relocate overseas. This study examines information and bioscience technology entrepreneurs in Australia and the decision-making process concerning the location of their businesses. It arises from widespread concern that Australia's place in the world economy has become increasingly peripheral in the context of New Economy industries. The study examines the social characteristics of entrepreneurs in New Economy industries, the different types of social networks in which entrepreneurs are embedded, and how these networks inform locational decisions. More generally, the study will clarify theoretical debates about the dynamics of the New Economy, and will provide a basis for more informed public policy in Australia.Read moreRead less
Capturing value on the margins of the global knowledge economy. This project will explain the basis of competitiveness in knowledge economy industries. It is widely understood that high levels of participation in knowledge intensive activities contribute to economic growth and higher wages. There is a need to develop policies to promote Australia's performance in knowledge intensive industries. As such this project addresses a policy problem by analysing the basis of competitiveness in the medic ....Capturing value on the margins of the global knowledge economy. This project will explain the basis of competitiveness in knowledge economy industries. It is widely understood that high levels of participation in knowledge intensive activities contribute to economic growth and higher wages. There is a need to develop policies to promote Australia's performance in knowledge intensive industries. As such this project addresses a policy problem by analysing the basis of competitiveness in the medical instruments and video production industries as exemplar knowledge intensive industries. The findings will provide a basis for formulating new policy support for the knowledge economy which draws on the most recent theoretical insights derived from global production network research.Read moreRead less