Tribes : we need you to lead us [book]

Author: Seth Godin

"Argues that today everyone has an opportunity to start a movement - to bring together a tribe of like-minded people and do amazing things. And yet too many people ignore the opportunity to lead because they are "sheepwalking" their way through their lives and work, too afraid to question whether their compliance is doing them - or their company - any good." - cover.

Be ahead of the pack & grab a copy from the library!

Government Subsidies for Professional Team Sports in Australia (journal article)
By John K. Wilson and Richard Pomfret
from Australian Economic Review Vol 42 Iss 3 2009, pp. 264 - 275
"Professional team sports represent an important aspect of Australian life. Interest is great, and a significant portion of household expenditure is directed toward sports-related goods and services. Based on international comparisons and on the size of attendance and television revenues, the sector should be highly profitable. Yet, significant amounts of public funding and regulatory exemptions are afforded to team sports in Australia. This article analyses the magnitude and reasons for government spending that subsidises professional team sports."

Philanthrocapitalism : how the rich can save the world and why we should let them [book]

Authors: Matthew Bishop & Michael Green

"For philanthropists of the past, charity was often a matter of simply giving money away. For 'philanthrocapitalists' - the new generation of billionaires who are reshaping the way they give - it's like business. Largely trained in the corporate world, these "social investors" are using big-business-style strategies and expecting results and accountability to match." - cover.

Grab a copy from the library!

Improving Partnership Governance: Using a Network Approach to Evaluate Partnerships in Victoria (journal article)
by Jeanette Pope and Jenny M. Lewis
from Australian Journal of Public Administration, Volume 67, Issue 4 (p 443-456)
"Partnerships of various kinds are now widespread, but evaluating them is complicated. This
article examines the usefulness of a network approach for analysing partnership effectiveness,
where the central concern is governance. The approach is based on interviews, and for this
evaluation they were conducted with 120 people from 10 different partnerships in Victoria.
A detailed examination of network structures uncovers important features of partnerships,
yielding crucial information about them as governing entities, and providing feedback to
partners on where effort needs to be spent on relationship building. This article adds to the
existing knowledge about what makes partnerships effective, and to the toolkit available for
evaluating them."

An Assessment of the House of Lords Report on the Economic Impact of Immigration to the United Kingdom (journal article)
By Chris F Wright
from People and Place Vol 16 No 3 2008, pp. 35 - 46
"Since the mid 1990's economic immigration policy in the United Kingdom has been transformed from being one of the most restrictive in Europe to being among the most open-ended. This shift has coincided with increasing public dissatisfaction with immigration policy. In April 2008 the House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs published a report on immigration's economic effects. It found - contrary to the assertions of the Labour Government - that recent immigration flows have not produced significant economic benefits. Despite the unequivocal and rather damning conclusions of the report, it is unlikely to produce any major shift in government policy."
Contact the Library to request this article.

Cultural Events as Potential Drivers of Urban Regeneration: An Empirical Illustration (journal article)
by M. Paiola
from Industry & Innovation, Vol. 15, No 5, October 2008, pages 513 - 529
In this paper the relational dimension of cultural production is explored, with explicit attention to the impact of cultural events on networks and creativity in local contexts. Three qualitative empirical cases are produced, showing that networks have a crucial importance in sustaining spatial proximity-based creativity. Three models of local cultural events are identified and valued qualitatively in terms of their impact on local creativity, concluding that the value of an event in its territory is dependent on the organizational frame of the specific event. In particular, the bottom-up network-based model appears to be able to favour local activation and creativity spanning, thereby leveraging local resources.

Work and Family Policy: Spoilt for choice or spoilt by choice? (article)
By Tanya Bretherton
from Journal of Management and Organization Vol 14 iss 3 July 2008, pp. 259 - 266
"
Employer perspectives on work-life balance are under-developed and under-represented within the context of public debate on work and family. The current state of policy debate on work and family is grounded in the value of 'choice' and implicitly suggests that expanding the range of programs available will inevitably deliver a superior program for employees and employers.
While diversity in program design is obviously an important priority for both parties, the current debate has not substantially increased knowledge or awareness of how best to assess program 'fit' nor evaluate program effectiveness for either party.
This paper presents the experience of two organisations which have implemented successful work-life programs by focusing exclusively on workplace and workforce need, rather than policy rhetoric. Comparing the experience of these two organisations demonstrates that the needs of employers may be better served by a shift in the policy debate toward program 'appropriateness' and improved program evaluation techniques, and away from 'choice'.
Government rhetoric on 'choice' may actually serve to confuse rather than assist employers in the formation of an integrated and effective organisational wide work and family policy and program. "

Consumer Trends in Three Different Worlds
By Andy Hines
from Futurist Vol 42 Iss 4 Jul/Aug2008, pp. 18 -23
"The article discusses the major trends affecting consumers worldwide. The trends include the aging societies, migration, changing family structures, the growth of the middle class, and increasing time pressures among others. It analyzes how the trends vary in different parts of the world, such as the more affluent World One nations, the majority in the middle World Two emerging economies, and the struggling World Three economies in dire straits. Moreover, a survey reveals that about three-fourths of baby boomers in the U.S. plan to keep working beyond retirement age."

Economic evaluation of a community-based early intervention program implemented in a disadvantaged urban area of Queensland.
by Matthew Manning, Ross Homel and Christine Smith
An article from Economic Analysis and Policy 36 (1/2) pp. 99-119
Children raised in socio-economically disadvantaged regions have an increased probabilities of school failure, delinquency, drug abuse and juvenile crime. The Pathways to Prevention project attempts to reduce these risks in a disadvantaged community through the implementation of child-focused (school-based) and family-focused (community-based) interventions.