Background: The last 30 years have seen considerable growth in the scope of emergency medicine and the size, scale and expectations of emergency departments (EDs) in the USA and other countries, including Australia. The emphasis has changed from direct referral to departments in the hospital to treatment in and disposition from the ED. At the same time, emergency clinicians face increasing pressure to address patient needs with greater efficiency. Within this context, this project describes the character of the unique domain of work and collective identity that emergency clinicians carve out in their interactions with other emergency clinicians and with clinicians from other departments. Methods: Fieldwork was conducted over 10 months in the EDs of two tertiary referral hospitals in Sydney, Australia. It comprised approximately 535 hours of unstructured and structured observation, as well as 56 field interviews. Results: Emergency clinicians have a unique role as "gatekeepers" of the hospital. This ensures that their clinical work is inherently organisational - that is, interdepartmental and bureaucratic work. Emergency clinicians explicitly and implicitly negotiate the "patient pathway" through the hospital which is organised according to the "fragmented" body. This role demands previously under-recognised and complex immaterial work. Emergency clinicians seek to reconcile the individual trajectories of patients present in the ED with the ED?s broader function as a "carousel" in order to seek to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of future patients. The research uniquely charts the socialisation processes and informal education that produce tacit organisational expertise with which emergency nurses and doctors, both separately and jointly, negotiate the bureaucracy of the hospital. Conclusion: EDs are destined to struggle to provide the greatest good for the greatest number, reconciling shortcomings in the structure and provision of public and community health care. However, recognition and support for the unique clinical-organisational domain of ED care presents an opportunity for improved holistic care at the front door of the hospital. Our ageing population and its promise of more patients with complex health issues demand further research on the interdepartmental work of other whole-body specialties, such as Aged Care.

Bibliography: leaves 339-372. / 372 leaves : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Maintains, and substantiates in the ethnographic context, that cultural identity is both a conscious and symbolic construction. The ethnography is situated in the Shepherd (Central) Region of the Republic of Vanuatu, a Y-shaped archipelago in the south west Pacific Ocean. Fieldwork was conducted between July 1995 and February 1997 on two islands - Mataso and Efate. Mataso and Matah Keru communities have gradually become distinct, each possessing particular structural organizations, customs (kastom) and histories. Yet, the two groups remain united. Credence in historical ancestors, indigenous mythologies and territorial places continually cement an ethnic commitment between urban and rural dwellers, a bond that is forever reinforced through the movement of persons between places. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Anthropology, 2000?

Title page, abstract and table of contents only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University of Adelaide Library. / Australia is one of the few countries to have legislative provisions for EIA monitoring and auditing, yet monitoring and auditing remain weak or neglected within the EIA process. This study identifies four major areas for analysis and evaluation of current procedures and practices of EIA monitoring and auditing in three Australian jurisdictions: institutional arrangements; public accountablity, transparency and community involvement; approaches and techniques; and resources and capacity. Case studies involving EIA projects and surveys and interviews with EIA practitioners were conducted in South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1283764 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 2007

This research study is focused on the buying behaviour of modern consumers. The literature indicates that modern consumers are sophisticated, discerning and are less loyal to a particular brand than they used to be. Consumers today are more concerned with buying a product that not only meets their needs but also provides them with pleasurable experiences. There are many ways to explain buyer behaviour; however for this thesis storytelling, dream theory, and "Lovemarks" have been used to examine the usefulness of the selected theories to the visual communication design industry. The research has focussed on an homogeneous product (bottled water) as a vehicle to establish whether all the plans and strategies in recently published literature can be trusted and be used for design strategies for planning a marketing campaign. The reason for doing this is to establish some new knowledge that could contribute to the design industry in terms of criteria for branding, marketing and design strategy in visual communication design. An extensive secondary research of the literature has been made to inform this study. Primary information has also been gathered by using carefully designed and comprehensive materials involving professional interviews, and a major case study of bottled water has been conducted, which includes a field study, focus groups and surveys. Information and raw data generated by the research have been analysed either quantitatively or qualitatively. The result generated by this study is not conclusive, however, pointing to the fact that the buying behaviour of consumers is complex and variable. There was also little agreement among the professional interviewees in terms of the role of human behaviour and its application in the design campaign.

My experience of baby loss was an isolated learning experience and the main objective of my research was to help better resource other women who may find themselves lost in the system caring for women when their babies die. Particularly, I wanted to highlight and possibly remedy the invisibility of women and their babies that die between 12 and 20 weeks gestation. Loss Before Life Begins was written as four journalistic articles with one of the goals to be that all or some of the articles achieve publication in a mainstream New Zealand magazine. I focussed all the research on the last 20 years, beginning in 1985. Firstly, because it coincides with the establishment of Miscarriage Support Auckland, the first group of its kind in New Zealand. Secondly, because it ensured that the participants' stories would be relevant in the current context of how baby loss is treated by society, the media and the health system. Each article had a specific purpose and aim. Firstly, The Language of Loss investigated the background of our popular understanding of baby loss, including the legal categorisations of baby loss in different gestational periods. It also included research into the language commonly used by health professionals working with women whose babies have died. Quotes from the five women who were participants in the thesis were interwoven in the article. Their stories illustrated the effects of insensitive language on a woman's experience, and the perception of care and treatment received by health professionals. Then I reviewed all mainstream media articles published in New Zealand from 1985. This disclosed the lack of articles about baby loss, and the general dearth of practical information provided when stories did appear. Secondly, And Mother Makes Me was the narrative of the five women's stories interviewed about their babies' deaths between 12 and 20 weeks gestation. I discovered that this timeframe is 'invisible' because women under 20 weeks are not part of the obstetric system, and are cared for by nurses instead of midwives. These mothers are invisible, as are their babies' deaths. Article three, The 'System' and the People Working In It encompasses the sometimes conflicting views of four leading health professionals. Possible explanations for why women whose babies die under 20 weeks are treated differently to women whose babies are considered stillborn were included. Conflicting views about the importance of the media's role emerged. Small changes in the use of medical language by health professionals were outlined. Finally, possible reasons for society's difficulty with the concept of death, and specifically the difficulties when a woman's baby dies before its life has begun were uncovered. The fourth and final article, The Way It Is and The Way It Could Be summarised the background reading; media analysis from the last 20 years; the themes from the five women's stories; and the array of health professionals' views. Included are a number of specific meaningful ways that health professionals, media outlets and society can better support the invisible women when their babies die. These include updating medical language printed in brochures; including fact boxes in editorials; giving women and their families an opportunity to talk about their losses; and reviewing 'the system' that allows women who lose babies between 12 and 20 weeks to be cared for by nurses instead of midwives.

The combination of entrepreneurship and strategy is gaining increasing recognition as a pathway for growth within both individual organisations and national economies. Hence the benefits emerge from both a micro and macro economic perspective. Essentially, however, research on strategic entrepreneurship, being the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy remains in the early stages. While the benefits of combining entrepreneurship and strategy are well established, specific details and underlying elements of strategic entrepreneurship as a concept remain under-developed and unsubstantiated. Prevailing models of strategic entrepreneurship are limited in number, conceptual in nature, and do not yet have practical or empirical support. Thus the question arises as to what constitutes strategic entrepreneurship?In order to address this issue a preliminary framework of strategic entrepreneurship is derived from the literature on both entrepreneurship and strategy, in order to identify the intersection of the two. This framework is then examined in the context of activity which is recognised as both entrepreneurial and strategic within three state-owned enterprises. Thus the research question addressed is:What constitutes strategic entrepreneurship in both theory and practice in the context of SOEs?Based on this examination, six elements are identified as central to strategic entrepreneurship, being opportunity identification, innovation, acceptance of risk, flexibility, vision, and growth. Additional findings uncovered inductively from the data reveal a number of supporting elements which foster strategic entrepreneurship, including strategy, culture (encompassing both people and confidence), branding, operational excellence, cost efficiency, and transfer and application of knowledge.Thus, an enhanced understanding of strategic entrepreneurship as a concept is obtained, being activity which is both entrepreneurial and strategic in nature, and characterised by the integration of the six core elements. Findings indicate strategic entrepreneurship is a concept not bound by context, and thus, may be applied to various forms of business. Such businesses which do create strategic entrepreneurship activity and are able to maintain a balance of the core elements over time have the potential for both competitive advantage and wealth creation.

Offshore software development (OSD) is a leading business sector in the present ‘glocal’ IT marketplace, and vendors in different countries are opening software development centres worldwide to take advantage of the new business opportunities. However, software development is both a technical and a social process as various software modules need to be integrated, which requires ongoing interaction between the stakeholders. The software modules rely upon local knowledge regarding customer wants, project specific features, chosen design methodologies by development team members and synchronisation of activities to confirm the next design iteration. This study focuses on knowledge sharing processes involving the interplay between acquiring local knowledge and applying the knowledge acquired into the design of the client-specific software builds. New knowledge is created as new processes are applied and new outcomes realised, resulting in re-definition of software development practices. Building on existing theories with empirical case study evidence, this research reveals the socio-technical influences on knowledge management in the OSD process. Ideographic research methods have been applied to bring sensitivity in the everyday organisational activities for knowledge sharing across diverse social and cultural groups within two country contexts (New Zealand and India). Empirical data from ten case studies is used to inductively develop a conceptual framework, which has been applied to make within case and cross case comparisons across three levels of analysis (micro, meso and macro) for knowledge sharing. The micro level analysis explores individual key success drivers (behaviours and methodologies), the meso level explores organisational level practices (work processes and structures) and the macro level gives a holistic evaluation across two country contexts. Country contexts reveal that New Zealand vendors share closer cultural proximity with their clients, are engaged in client facing skills and have further outsourced software development tasks to other low cost countries. The Indian vendors are involved in software construction, prefer technical specialist skills and have defined more discipline in their software development processes. The thesis offers new insights on how vendors’ shape their software development styles based upon their beliefs and understanding of the offshore market and is especially relevant to both vendors and clients who intend venturing into the offshore market.

Offshore software development (OSD) is a leading business sector in the present ‘glocal’ IT marketplace, and vendors in different countries are opening software development centres worldwide to take advantage of the new business opportunities. However, software development is both a technical and a social process as various software modules need to be integrated, which requires ongoing interaction between the stakeholders. The software modules rely upon local knowledge regarding customer wants, project specific features, chosen design methodologies by development team members and synchronisation of activities to confirm the next design iteration. This study focuses on knowledge sharing processes involving the interplay between acquiring local knowledge and applying the knowledge acquired into the design of the client-specific software builds. New knowledge is created as new processes are applied and new outcomes realised, resulting in re-definition of software development practices. Building on existing theories with empirical case study evidence, this research reveals the socio-technical influences on knowledge management in the OSD process. Ideographic research methods have been applied to bring sensitivity in the everyday organisational activities for knowledge sharing across diverse social and cultural groups within two country contexts (New Zealand and India). Empirical data from ten case studies is used to inductively develop a conceptual framework, which has been applied to make within case and cross case comparisons across three levels of analysis (micro, meso and macro) for knowledge sharing. The micro level analysis explores individual key success drivers (behaviours and methodologies), the meso level explores organisational level practices (work processes and structures) and the macro level gives a holistic evaluation across two country contexts. Country contexts reveal that New Zealand vendors share closer cultural proximity with their clients, are engaged in client facing skills and have further outsourced software development tasks to other low cost countries. The Indian vendors are involved in software construction, prefer technical specialist skills and have defined more discipline in their software development processes. The thesis offers new insights on how vendors’ shape their software development styles based upon their beliefs and understanding of the offshore market and is especially relevant to both vendors and clients who intend venturing into the offshore market.

Title page, abstract and table of contents only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University of Adelaide Library. / Australia is one of the few countries to have legislative provisions for EIA monitoring and auditing, yet monitoring and auditing remain weak or neglected within the EIA process. This study identifies four major areas for analysis and evaluation of current procedures and practices of EIA monitoring and auditing in three Australian jurisdictions: institutional arrangements; public accountablity, transparency and community involvement; approaches and techniques; and resources and capacity. Case studies involving EIA projects and surveys and interviews with EIA practitioners were conducted in South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1283764 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 2007

Background: The last 30 years have seen considerable growth in the scope of emergency medicine and the size, scale and expectations of emergency departments (EDs) in the USA and other countries, including Australia. The emphasis has changed from direct referral to departments in the hospital to treatment in and disposition from the ED. At the same time, emergency clinicians face increasing pressure to address patient needs with greater efficiency. Within this context, this project describes the character of the unique domain of work and collective identity that emergency clinicians carve out in their interactions with other emergency clinicians and with clinicians from other departments. Methods: Fieldwork was conducted over 10 months in the EDs of two tertiary referral hospitals in Sydney, Australia. It comprised approximately 535 hours of unstructured and structured observation, as well as 56 field interviews. Results: Emergency clinicians have a unique role as "gatekeepers" of the hospital. This ensures that their clinical work is inherently organisational - that is, interdepartmental and bureaucratic work. Emergency clinicians explicitly and implicitly negotiate the "patient pathway" through the hospital which is organised according to the "fragmented" body. This role demands previously under-recognised and complex immaterial work. Emergency clinicians seek to reconcile the individual trajectories of patients present in the ED with the ED?s broader function as a "carousel" in order to seek to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of future patients. The research uniquely charts the socialisation processes and informal education that produce tacit organisational expertise with which emergency nurses and doctors, both separately and jointly, negotiate the bureaucracy of the hospital. Conclusion: EDs are destined to struggle to provide the greatest good for the greatest number, reconciling shortcomings in the structure and provision of public and community health care. However, recognition and support for the unique clinical-organisational domain of ED care presents an opportunity for improved holistic care at the front door of the hospital. Our ageing population and its promise of more patients with complex health issues demand further research on the interdepartmental work of other whole-body specialties, such as Aged Care.