The Impact of Different HRM Regimes on Labour Productivity: National Results and a Regional Perspective

This paper uses AWIRS 95 and IRWIRS 96-7 data to test whether workplaces which used ‘soft’ versus ‘hard’ Human Resource Management (HRM) policies and practices experienced significant differences in labour productivity improvements. Generally, the results support the proposition that management attitudes, policies and practices which aim to develop workforce skills, commitment and motivation were positively associated with improvements in labour productivity. Very few ‘hard’ practices other than performance pay had the same effect. EEO/AA and maternity leave policies were strongly correlated with improved productivity.human resource management policies, labour productivity

Export Performance in Small and Medium Enterprises in New South Wales: Sectoral and Regional Dimensions

This paper discusses the results from a survey of 146 value-adding exporters from regional New South Wales, Australia, the majority of whom were small and medium enterprises, using the Australian definition of having less than 200 employees. This study established that SME regional exporters were successful in gaining and maintaining sales in overseas markets in a variety of product areas. It thus raises the question of what factors lie behind this process. By identifying the causes of successful exporting in regional areas, policy-makers can design programs which best meet the needs of these firms and will encourage growth in their exports in the future.Export performance, small and medium-sized enterprises, sectoral and regional dimensions, Australia

SME Information Sourcing for Innovation and Export Market Development: From Local or External Networks?

A survey analysis of innovation information and input sourcing of New South Wales regional exporting firms indicates that the majority of regional exporters were small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The analysis shows that these SMEs have been able to establish their own extensive information linkages into the international economy. Consequently, the need to assess and develop the benefits of linkages between small and large firms is not highly significant within the New South Wales regions. The analysis indicates that international networking by SMEs brings knowledge to the regions, which facilitates intra-firm learning. However, it suggests that SME’s local or regional linkages are relatively underdeveloped, as a source of new knowledge for innovation activity. This is in contrast to the main body of economic literature, which argues that small regional exporters utilize local networks as a major input into their success. This research identifies intensification in the usage of regional networks as one means of improving SME performance in more remote regions. The analysis also indicates that a two-way effect results by the diversity of regional SME export sector base. Firstly, it restricts the client-supplier relationships preventing closer industry specific collaborations but secondly, it can be advantageous in that it restricts competition between regional exporters. This creates conditions allowing some information sharing regarding the opportunities and ways of entering overseas markets, which do not affect the competitive position of the mentoring firm. In concluding, the paper argues that the basic requirements for regional learning development are in place but requires an increase in the interaction intensity between local SMEs in order to achieve a higher level of collaboration and knowledge sharing.New South Wales, SMEs, small and medium enterprises, regional development, innovation, international networking

Assessing the Impact of the Workplace Relations Act From 1996 to 2004: Increasing Flexibility or Decreasing Collectivism?

This paper tests the impact of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (WRA) by looking at changes in the behaviour of a panel of workplaces in the Illawarra Region of NSW between 1996 and 2004. The results support the proposition that the major impact has been on the level of unionisation and union density in these workplaces. There was virtually no expansion in the use of enterprise bargaining or AWAs, although there was a small but significant increase in non-union agreement making. Rather than encourage the use of single jurisdictions to register awards and collective agreements, in the Illawarra at least, there was a strong trend to dual State and Federal jurisdictions. Thus the WRA has been relatively ineffective in achieving flexibility and decentralised employee relations goals but has resulted in a high level of decollectivisation.Workplace Relations Act, Illawarra region, flexibility, decollectivisation

Community Valuations of Environmental Qality in Coastal Lakes: Lake Illawarra Case Study

This study illustrates how the hedonic pricing method can measure the value of environmental assets in an urban setting. A HPM valuation, utilising relatively easily accessible secondary data, and a semi-logarithmic regression form, is used. The value achieved was substantially greater than either expenditures to date or the actuarial valuation of Lake Illawarra. The study demonstrates the applicability of the technique and recommends its further development and use for this type of public decision-making. A range of other data was also generated that adds to the usefulness of this approach for general planning purposes.Hedonic pricing model; Environmental quality, evaluation; New South Wales (NSW); Australia

Exploring student engagement for Generation Y: a pilot in Environmental Economics

This paper reports on a pilot study involving the redesign of a third year Economics subject according to principles of engagement as they relate to the discursive Generation y student. The study involved a review of the literature, redesign of the subject to a blended learning format and evaluation of the design. The data collected included pre and post NSSE scores, subject grades, student surveys and qualitative feedback from individual students. While the redesign of the subject was constrained by available resources, and the implementation hindered by various systemic factors, it was found that in general the redesign did improve student engagement. In particular, it was found that the success of the scaffolded assessment tasks and the use of in-class activities as a means of revising for exams was significant. One issue that continues to perplex is the students’ mixed attitudes to attending lectures. Perhaps most importantly, the study indicates that by third year where traditional modes of teaching have characterised their curriculum, students have developed surface approaches to learning that cannot be corrected through individual third year courses.student engagement, elearning, generation y

Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Study of Businesses in New South Wales, Australia

This paper examines the process of innovation within SMEs, focusing on a sample of firms in New South Wales, Australia. The trend of the last several decades towards increased integration of global markets, or globalization, has meant that many firms are experiencing continuously increasing pressure to remain viable as their markets expand, and they begin competing with a larger number of firms. SMEs, in particular, are vulnerable to this pressure, since they tend to be disadvantaged relative to larger firms that generally have better access to funding and other resources. The ways in which SMEs operate to remain economically viable, and contribute to economic performance, is of especial interest to governments given the prominent roles that they play in most economies. One way of doing so is through innovation. In this paper, we present a more complex model of the innovation process than the traditional linear model involving R&D investment, what we term the "Ripple Effect Model", building upon recent developments in the literature. The Ripple-Effect Model appears to be substantially supported.small and medium enterprises, innovation, New South Wales, Australia

Social justice at the intersection of education and the arts in post-conflict contexts

Global violent conflict is on the rise. Conflict both affects and is affected by education, and the role that education can play for peacebuilding and social justice is recognised in international resolutions and declarations. However, formal education remains an under-used resource in peacebuilding, and only a limited body of literature explores the role of non-formal education (NFE) for social justice in conflict-affected settings, despite the wide and diverse range of NFE programmes running with young people. There has similarly been a proliferation of arts-based programmes working with young people in these settings. However, there is strikingly little dialogue between the disciplinary fields of education and the arts in conflict-affected contexts. This thesis argues that, theoretically, these educations - formal, non-formal, and arts-based - are deeply interconnected and demonstrates their potential when understood as such. I examine social justice at the intersection of education and the arts in post-conflict contexts. This approach reveals the importance of theorising affect to understand mechanisms of social justice and bridge these two disciplinary fields. Having argued that this is a missing link, I draw on qualitative empirical data, generated with participants in Cambodia and Kosovo, to develop the conceptualisation of ‘affective recognition’. I show that in these contexts, affective recognition has economies that work towards transformative social justice. I argue that affective recognition can disrupt structures that exclude certain groups from participating in society; and can politically empower young people, working to mediate their relationship with their past, present and future. Contrastingly, these economies also have the potential to promote social injustice. I conclude, therefore, that recognising, conceptualising and articulating affective recognition makes a much-needed contribution to scholarly discourses by helping to develop and refine notions of social justice, peacebuilding, post-memorial work, and reconciliation in educational and arts-based programmes with young people in conflict-affected contexts

Dimensions of open research: critical reflections on openness in the ROER4D project

Open Research has the potential to advance the scientific process by improving the transparency, rigour, scope and reach of research, but choosing to experiment with Open Research carries with it a set of ideological, legal, technical and operational considerations. Researchers, especially those in resource-constrained situations, may not be aware of the complex interrelations between these different domains of open practice, the additional resources required, or how Open Research can support traditional research practices. Using the Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D) project as an example, this paper attempts to demonstrate the interrelation between ideological, legal, technical and operational openness; the resources that conducting Open Research requires; and the benefits of an iterative, strategic approach to one’s own Open Research practice. In this paper we discuss the value of a critical approach towards Open Research to ensure better coherence between ‘open’ ideology (embodied in strategic intention) and ‘open’ practice (the everyday operationalisation of open principles). This paper first appeared in Open Praxis, Volume 8 Number 2

Using a social justice lens to explore the possibilities and limitations of flexible learning provision in a South African TVET college

DATA AVAILABILITY : The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.In its preamble, the Department of Higher Education and Training’s (DHET) strategic plan for 2015 to 2020 identified ways to expand access to education and training. However, in South Africa, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges’ enrolment growth is inhibited by inadequate physical infrastructure and a shortage of additional and relevant human resources (DHET, 2018). The draft Open Learning Policy Framework for the Post-School Education and Training (2017) recommends that the principle of flexibility be applied to increase student access and support their success. This exploratory case study focuses on possibilities and limitations of flexible learning provision at a selected TVET college in the Free State province. It adopts Nancy Fraser’s (1995, 2005) theory of social justice, which emphasizes parity of participation with respect to economic, cultural and political dimensions, to discuss ways in which flexible learning is socially just. COVID-19 lockdowns severely curtailed this study to virtual interviews with two institutional managers only, as students were not readily available. The transcripts were subsequently coded along Fraser’s three dimensions of social justice. The study demonstrates that flexible learning provision responded to the economic dimensions of transport poverty by providing access to curriculum content via online platforms, radio broadcasts and hardcopy materials deposited for collection at selected physical destinations. In relation to cultural parity, it reveals that the college provides a pedagogically responsive intervention programme as a second opportunity for students to succeed. Politically, the study indicates that assessment practices at the college are exclusionary due to national assessment policies that constrain flexibility. This chapter contributes towards understanding the practices and policies that influence flexible learning provision as an aspirational form of open learning as well as the complex ways in which social injustices are entangled in the South African PSET sector.The South African Department of Higher Education and Training.https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.47622/9781928502425_3am2023Education InnovationSDG-04:Quality Educatio