Are Labour Markets Necessarily Local? Spatiality, Segmentation and Scale

This paper draws on recent debates about scale to approach the geography of labour markets from a dynamic perspective sensitive to the spatiality and scale of labour market restructuring. Its exploration of labour market reconfigurations after the collapse of a major firm (Ansett Airlines) raises questions about geography’s faith in the inherently ‘local’ constitution of labour markets. Through an examination of the job reallocation process after redundancy, the paper suggests that multiple labour markets use and articulate scale in different ways. It argues that labour market rescaling processes are enacted at the critical moment of recruitment, where social networks, personal aspirations and employer preferences combine to shape workers’ destinations

An ecology of a DSS: Reflections on managing wheat crops in the northeastern Australian grains region with WHEATMAN

An ecological framework is used to study the reinforcing and limiting processes on a computerised decision support system (DSS) designed for winter cropping decisions in the northeastern Australian Grains-belt (WHEATMAN). We found that WHEATMAN has had a significant impact on how many advisers structure their thinking and nmch of their advice on winter cropping in the region, but the number of routine users of WHEATMAN remains relatively low. Computer hardware was the most obvious limiting factor to widespread use during the early stages of the 15 year history of the project. However, despite a dramatic increase in the availability of computers on grain farms (from 5 to 75%), a maximum of 250 out of an estimated 4500 grain farmers in the region with computers directly use WHEATMAN. Another common limiting factor for adoption of DSS is a failure to engage with end users; yet from early days the WHEATMAN project had a high degree of extension agronomist and farmer input. We suggest that just as the debate on the adoption of DSS was dominated by discussions of computerisation in the late 1980s, notions of user involvement have dominated current debate. Experiences with WHEATMAN suggest that well designed software and a focused development team approach, good access to hardware and representative end user involvement are necessary requirements to help explain the comparative longevity of the project. On their own these are not sufficient requirements for widespread adoption or impact. We argue that the perception of farmers of the nature of dryland farm management in general, and the specific decisions addressed by WHEATMAN are the primary limitations to the routine use of a computerised DSS for tactical decision making

Research into Teaching and Learning of Tertiary Mathematics and Statistics

Reviewed in this chapter is the growing depth and variety of research being undertaken in the tertiary mathematics field. In particular, the scope of the research and issues being examined have been highlighted in sections: Tertiary mathematics education. The focus is strategies for teaching and learning in mathematics education and the professional learning of the lecturers and tutors. Mathematical content. Papers reviewed are those that focus on certain content areas in tertiary mathematics, both practical and theoretical. Tertiary statistics education. The authors reviewed the small but growing area of research that examines the teaching and learning of statistics, content areas of statistics education and some of the innovations being used in this area of teaching and learning. Transitions and support. The focus is school to university transition and the support structures being implemented to provide academic support for undergraduate students of mathematics. Service teaching. The authors consider papers that link mathematics into service areas such as engineering and the health sciences