Solar energy – the punter’s choice, but is it realistic? (journal article)
by John Wright
from ATSE Focus, October 2008
Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering
"Notwithstanding the current relatively high cost of solar thermal power generation in Australia compared with conventional power costs, there are grounds for optimism that the technology’s time is rapidly approaching. There have been remarkable shifts in the energy policy framework over a relatively short time, all encouraging the development and implementation of low emission generation to satisfy Australia’s growing energy needs. "

WiFi Is on the Way - WiFi mobile phones soon may get a nod of approval from China's telecom industry regulator (journal article)
By Lan Xinzhen from Beijing Review, 9 October 2008
At present, China's telecom regulator prohibits phone calls made via the Internet or the browsing of Web pages via a mobile phone in wireless network-covered areas. But signs that the government will relax the restrictions have surfaced now that China Telecom Corp. Ltd. will offer a wireless fidelity (WiFi) phone to users on a pre-test basis, starting this month, before a full-scale product launch.

Preliminary modelling of the farm-level impacts of the Australian greenhouse emission trading scheme [book]

Author: Mick Keogh, Alex Thompson / Australian Farm Institute

"Indicates that increases in the prices farmers pay for farm inputs as a result for the ETS have the potential to reduce average farm cash margins in 2016 by between 3 and 9%." - page vii.

Boosting performance in public sector IT - an interview with a US Defense Department agency director (article)
by James M. Kaplan and Kreg Nichols
from McKinsey Quarterly, July 2008
"Question every assumption. We often assume that we have to do something in a certain way because it’s the policy or the way we’ve done it before. Question that assumption, and if it doesn’t make sense, find out who owns the policy or who owns the way it was done before. Even laws change. Sometimes the answer is no, and that’s it. But if you have a case that helps everyone to agree that the old way doesn’t make sense and that there’s a better way, a transformational way, of doing things, question the old way."
Contact the library for a copy of this article.

Open innovation in global networks [online resource]
Author: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
"Highlights best practice business strategies for adapting innovation strategies to globalisation and internationalisation and analyses the role played by open innovation. It aims to provide a sound basis for policies to strengthen growth, employment and productivity in a context of increased outsourcing and globalisation." - introduction.

Undermining mitigation technology : compulsory licensing, patents and tariffs [book]

Author: Tim Wilson, Institute of Public Affairs

Argues that the push by NGOs and developing nations to making CO2 mitigation technologies freely available will discourage investment in this new industry.

Meeting the Challenges of Policy-Relevant Science: Bridging Theory and Practice (journal article)
By Elisabeth A. Graffy
from Public Administration Review Vol 68 Iss 6 oct 2008, pp. 1087 - 1100
"Ongoing public debate about the role of science in policy making signifies the importance of advancing theory and practice in the field. Indeed, assumptions about the science–policy nexus hold direct implications for how this interface is managed. A useful lens on contemporary themes is offered by the experience of a federal environmental science program that launched an ambitious effort to enhance capacity for policy relevance while protecting a commitment to sound, impartial scientific inquiry. This was achieved by developing an explicit conceptual model and implementing corresponding strategies that addressed critical gaps in capacity for policy-relevant research, analysis, and communication while supporting existing capacities. This article describes and evaluates the capacity-building effort from the dual perspectives of deepening an understanding of successful practice in the field and advancing a conceptual understanding of the science–policy nexus. It illustrates the challenges facing practitioners and the need for greater interaction between theory and practice. "

Wrong number : resolving Australia's telecommunications impasse [book]

Author: Henry Ergas

Examines the reasons why the Australian telecommunications industry lags behind other OECD countries in terms of service and infrastructure development and presents a comprehensive program of reform.

The Garnaut climate change review : final report [book]

Authors: Ross Garnaut / Garnaut Climate Change Review Secretariat

"Examines the impacts of climate change on the Australian economy and the costs of adaptation and mitigation. It analyses the elements of an appropriate international policy response, and the challenges that face Australia in playing its proportionate part in that response." - cover.

Public Provision for Urban Water: Getting Prices and Governance Right (journal article)
by Eduardo Araral
from Governance Vol. 21 No. 4 September 2008 pp. 527 - 549
Public sector monopolies are often associated with inefficiencies and inability to meet rising demand. Scholars attribute this to fundamental problems associated with public provision: (1) a tradition of below-cost pricing due to populist pressures, (2) owner–regulator conflicts of interest, and (3) perverse organizational incentives arising from non-credible threat of bankruptcy, weak competition, rigidities, and agency and performance measurement problems. Many governments worldwide have shifted to private provision, but recent experience in urban water utilities in developing countries has shown their limitations because of weak regulatory regimes compounded by inherent problems of information, incentives, and commitment. This article examines the paradoxical case of the Phnom Penh Water Supply in Cambodia to illustrate how public provision of urban water can be substantially improved by getting prices and governance right. Findings have implications for the search for solutions to provide one billion people worldwide with better access to potable water.

OUTLOOK 2009 - Recent Forecasts from World Future Society for 2009 and Beyond. (cover story)
from Futurist, Nov/Dec 2008, Vol. 42 No. 6, pp 1-9
The article highlights various information on the prospective development in the U.S. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace infers that China's economy will surpass that of the U.S. by 2035 and is believed that workers in Asia are becoming more skilled and educated. On the other hand, it is also believed that tourism is anticipated to nearly double its international tourist arrivals worldwide, from 842 million in 2006 to 1.6 billion in 2020, wherein China will be the greatest source of tourists and the most popular tourist destination. Meanwhile, the internet technology is enabling consumers to disseminate information for product information, rather than simply relying on professional critics.

The Singularity Needs You (journal article)
by Jamais Cascio
from Futurist, Nov/Dec 2008, Vol. 42 No 6, pp. 24-28
The article focuses on technological innovation. It is stated that the advances in technology such as video games, camera phones, and the myriad day-to-day technologies that may attract momentary notice may also offer a new way of grappling with a future world. Caused in part by the ability of machines to improve using artificial intelligence, many scientists, researchers, computer programmers, and futurists believe that the next four decades would enter a phase of sudden and unprecented technological progress. However, it cites that how people shape some of the technologies that make up daily lives can be critical to pass safely through the coming period of radical change.

Costs of inaction on key environmental challenges [online resource]

Author: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

"Summarises available evidence on the costs of inaction in four key areas of environmental policy: air and water pollution effects on human health; climate change; environment-related industrial hazards and natural disasters; and natural resource management." - conclusion.

States shouldn't miss out under the ETS (journal article)
By Richard Denniss
from Australia Institute Newsletter No 56 Sept 2008, pp. 15
"Richard Denniss explains why state governments deserve more compensation for an ETS than the big polluters."
Contact the Library for a copy of this article.

Emissions Trading 101 (journal article)
By Richard Denniss
from Australia Institute. Newsletter No 56 Sept 2008, pp. 1- 2
"The policy question of the century is 'will emissions trading prevent climate change?' but the policy question of the year is 'how does emissions trading work'. The author provides some answers."
Contact the Library to request a copy of this article.

Combining organisational and physical location to manage knowledge dissemination (journal article)
by Thomas J. Allen, Breffni Tomlin, Oscar Hauptman
from International Journal of Technology Management 2008 - Vol. 44, No.1/2 pp. 234 - 250
"As the physical distance between engineers' workstations increases, the probability that they will communicate regularly decreases rapidly. As with many things in nature, this probability declines as the inverse square of distance. At the same time, it must be remembered that while separation decreases the probability of communication, even very close physical proximity does not guarantee communication. Although engineers are more likely to communicate if closer together, the probability remains low in the absence of other relations. Unless people have a reason to communicate frequently about technical issues they will not do so, even over very short distances. "

The formation of subsequent inter-firm R&D partnerships between large pharmaceutical companies and small, entrepreneurial biotechnology firms – how important is inter-organisational trust? (journal article)
by John Hagedoorn, Nadine Roijakkers and Hans Van Kranenburg
from International Journal of Technology Management, Vol. 44 No.1/2 2008, pp. 81 - 92
"This paper analyses the role of inter-organisational trust in pharmaceutical biotechnology, an industry characterised by a strong dual market structure. Our main finding is that repeated ties in pairs of large pharmaceutical companies and small, entrepreneurial biotechnology firms, which indicate inter-organisational trust, have a negative effect on subsequent partnering. An explanation for this result is found in specific conditions for R&D partnering in this high-technology dual market structure. Partnerships between a small number of very large companies and a large group of dependent small companies are not characterised by mutual dependence and inter-organisational trust."

Understanding e-government : information systems in public administration [book]

Vincent Homburg

Considers "the properties, potentials and paradoxes of 'smart machines' for governments (including an analysis of what would make machines 'smart' or 'intelligent')." - preface.

Australian Coal Year Book [reference book]

Australia's Mining Series

Contains a directory for coal mines in every state, future prospects, coal facilities and ports, buyers guide and separate directories for suppliers, government departments and industry organizations.

Now available in Library & Research Services' Reference Collection.

Australian General Mining Year Book [reference book]

Australian Mining Series

Directory covering mines & quarries in all Australian states, as well as a Buyer's guide, and separate directories for suppliers, government departments and mining industry organizations.

Now available in Library & Research Services' Reference Collection.

Hot, flat and crowded : why the world needs a green revolution - and how we can renew our global future [book]

Thomas L. Friedman

Argues for "a worldwide effort to replace our wasteful, inefficient energy practices with a strategy for clean energy, efficiency, and conservation that [the author] calls Code Green." - cover.

Broadband growth and policies in OECD countries [online resource]

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

"Examines broadband developments and policies, and highlights challenges such as connecting users to fibre-based networks or coverage of rural areas. It also outlines emerging issues that may need policy attention as we move to next-generation networks. The findings are also relevant to emerging and developing economies designing broadband strategies." - abstract.

Environmental performance of agriculture in OECD countries since 1990 [online resource]

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

"Provides the latest and most comprehensive data and analysis on the environmental performance of agriculture in OECD countries since 1990. Covers key environmental themes including soil, water, air and biodiversity and looks at recent policy developments in all 30 countries." - abstract.