Industry, education, and professional competencies : can the principles of lifelong learning bridge the gaps?

Radel, K ORCiD: 0000-0001-9754-0131The Faculty of Business and Law at Central Queensland University (CQU) is carrying out a re-evaluation of its programs. The questions under investigation are as follows. 1) What are the principles of lifelong learning? 2) What mixes of academic studies, professional competencies, and industry-base learning (IBL) are available and may be used in the Faculty of Business and Law to provide useful, valid outcomes for graduates? 3) How are the defined principles of lifelong learning being implemented from first-year in marketing

Doing good business success factors for an Indigenous Australian tourism enterprise /

The Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Central Queensland began operation in Australia’s Bicentennial year, 1988. Over the 22 years of its operation, the enterprise has grown to provide a range of services and facilities including cultural tours, conference facilities, a motel and restaurants. The study on which this paper is based sought to develop a grounded theory model accounting for the success of the Dreamtime Cultural Centre. The model demonstrates a complex and highly interdependent process. As an Indigenous tourism enterprise, the Centre is structured to reflect and reinforce the integration of Australian Indigenous social structures and processes that accommodate the dynamics and relationships arising from the cultural mores, traditions and expectations of a complex community. This paper provides an overview of the key findings from over four years of field work within the Centre

If only I was positivist! : lived experience of contested space

This is a reflexive paper which considers the mediation of identity experienced by a researcher navigating the divide between the alternative inquiry paradigms presented by positivism and constructivist-interpretivism. Authors have theorised that there is a blurring of the distinctions drawn between research genres and that positivist paradigm proponents are becoming greatly influenced by interpretivistic perspectives. However, the issue of incommensurability between paradigmatic perspectives causes debate over the nature of doing research through a constructivist-interpretive framework. It is this contested space which I attempt to cross by providing a reflexive account of my own research journey (coming from a positivistic background) to develop the constructivist-interpretive perspective as an intrinsic function of the meaning making that is research as a social practice and process

Blending Web2.0 in marketing courses to engage students at distance reflections on implementing ‘Facebook’ as a personal learning environment /

Higher education institutions are working to develop increasingly blended learning spaces offered by developments in social networking environments. This research sought to gain an insight into the use and value of Facebook as a learning tool and discover how we might develop a better 'fit' between learning and teaching by understanding the educational experiences of students within the Facebook online environment. The Facebook group „MarketNet‟ was developed and students were invited to voluntarily participate. Initially, participants tended to use the Facebook group as an extension of their course Learning Management System. However, as alumni and staff began to participate, this use has changed to become less formal, utilise more of the social functionality commonly associated with Facebook interactions, and move away from traditional student question and answer conversations towards greater community participation

Industry, education, and professional competencies : can the principles of lifelong learning bridge the gaps?

The Faculty of Business and Law at Central Queensland University (CQU) is carrying out a re-evaluation of its programs. The questions under investigation are as follows. 1) What are the principles of lifelong learning? 2) What mixes of academic studies, professional competencies, and industry-base learning (IBL) are available and may be used in the Faculty of Business and Law to provide useful, valid outcomes for graduates? 3) How are the defined principles of lifelong learning being implemented from first-year in marketing

Participant observation in cross-cultural tourism research

This chapter examines the practices and processes of participant observation within qualitative tourism research and proposes a new model of research partnering for effective field research

Blending Web2.0 in marketing courses to engage students at distance: reflections on implementing ‘Facebook’ as a personal learning environment

Higher education institutions are working to develop increasingly blended learning spaces offered by developments in social networking environments. This research sought to gain an insight into the use and value of Facebook as a learning tool and discover how we might develop a better 'fit' between learning and teaching by understanding the educational experiences of students within the Facebook online environment. The Facebook group „MarketNet‟ was developed and students were invited to voluntarily participate. Initially, participants tended to use the Facebook group as an extension of their course Learning Management System. However, as alumni and staff began to participate, this use has changed to become less formal, utilise more of the social functionality commonly associated with Facebook interactions, and move away from traditional student question and answer conversations towards greater community participation

If only I was positivist! : lived experience of contested space

This is a reflexive paper which considers the mediation of identity experienced by a researcher navigating the divide between the alternative inquiry paradigms presented by positivism and constructivist-interpretivism. Authors have theorised that there is a blurring of the distinctions drawn between research genres and that positivist paradigm proponents are becoming greatly influenced by interpretivistic perspectives. However, the issue of incommensurability between paradigmatic perspectives causes debate over the nature of doing research through a constructivist-interpretive framework. It is this contested space which I attempt to cross by providing a reflexive account of my own research journey (coming from a positivistic background) to develop the constructivist-interpretive perspective as an intrinsic function of the meaning making that is research as a social practice and process

Doing good business : success factors for an Indigenous Australian tourism enterprise

The Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Central Queensland began operation in Australia’s Bicentennial year, 1988. Over the 22 years of its operation, the enterprise has grown to provide a range of services and facilities including cultural tours, conference facilities, a motel and restaurants. The study on which this paper is based sought to develop a grounded theory model accounting for the success of the Dreamtime Cultural Centre. The model demonstrates a complex and highly interdependent process. As an Indigenous tourism enterprise, the Centre is structured to reflect and reinforce the integration of Australian Indigenous social structures and processes that accommodate the dynamics and relationships arising from the cultural mores, traditions and expectations of a complex community. This paper provides an overview of the key findings from over four years of field work within the Centre

The Dreamtime Cultural Centre: A grounded theory of doing business in an Indigenous tourism enterprise

The Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Central Queensland began operation in Australia's Bicentennial year, 1988. Over the 22 years of its operation, the enterprise has grown to provide a range of services and facilities including the original cultural tours, three venues for conference facilities, a 31 room motel, restaurant and conference centre, a SkillShare Hospitality Training Centre, kiosk, Bimbi Artefact Shop and a theatrette. The grounded theory model accounting for the success of the Dreamtime Cultural Centre demonstrates complex and highly interdependent processes. As an Indigenous tourism enterprise, the Centre is structured to reflect and reinforce the integration of social structures and processes that accommodate the dynamics and relationships arising from the cultural mores, traditions and expectations of a complex community. The success factors incorporate adaptations of Western organisational principles and concepts characteristic of small-medium enterprises overlaid against Indigenous foundations of family structures, kinship roles, traditions, cultures and heritages. There are two critical factors that underpin and drive success for the enterprise: the constructs of the 'Family' and the 'Entrepreneur'. The core of the enterprise is grounded in the Family relationships, connectedness and kinship frameworks which reflect Indigenous Australians' ways of being and doing. These frameworks are reflected in the organisational structure, organisational culture and rules guiding practices and processes respectively