Project management for network geeks (journal article)
by Greg Schaffer
from Information Age, April-May 2009, pp. 66-68
"Network professionals are typically well versed in the technical aspects of networking: router and switch configuration, server deployment and management and so on. They are rarely trained, however, on how to manage projects. This is unfortunate, as many of the problems that networking pros face in projects can be mitigated with just a few project management skills and techniques. "

Tweet to compete (journal article)
by Jason Meserve
from Information Age, April-May 2009, pp. 24-26
"If you still think Facebook is for twentysomethings clinging to their uni years and Twitter is for people with too much time on their hands announcing what they had for breakfast, think again. Social networks like Facebook (150 million users), Twitter (4.4 million users) and LinkedIn (34 million users) are some of the fastest growing sites on the Internet and they're not being used for aimless chitchat or sharing the latest gossip. We're talking busy ICT professionals using social networks for serious ICT business – everything from customer service to marketing a product to marketing themselves to keeping up with industry news to getting fast answers to a technical question."

Market rebels : how activists make or break radical innovations [book]
Author: Hayagreeva Rao
"Great individuals are assumed to cause the success of radical innovations - thus Henry Ford is depicted as the one who established the automobile industry in America. Hayagreeva Rao tells a different story, one that willchange the way you think about markets forever. He explains how "market rebels" - activists who defy authority and convention - are the real force behind the success or failure of radical innovations." - cover.
Grab a copy of this book to read. Click here to email a request through to your library.

Managing water for all : an OECD perspective on pricing and financing [online]

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

"This report, which emphasises the economic and financial aspects of water resources management and water service provision, the need for an integrated approach (including governance considerations) to address these complex policy challenges, and the importance of establishing a firm evidence base to support policy development and implementation, summarises the results of OECD work in this area." - abstract.

Click here to access.

The power of synergies in research (journal article)
by Dr Mark Matthews
from Australian R&D Review, April 2009, p. 11
"In the current global financial crisis, governments are likely to consider re-prioritising funding for public science. One area they should avoid cutting is funding for international research collaboration."

A Trail Across Time: American Environmental Planning From City Beautiful to Sustainability (journal article)
by Thomas L. Daniels
from Journal of the American Planning Association Spring 2009, Vol. 75 No. 2, pp. 178-192
"It would be useful to identify and connect the major ideas of American environmental planning from the late 19th century up to today, to show its evolution over time and anticipate its potential future direction. I aim to tie together the major ideas of American environmental planning, showing how they have evolved, and suggest what additional changes will be required to progress further toward sustainability."

Knowledge and information sharing in a closed information environment (journal article)
by Choo Hong Telvin Goh and Val Hooper
from Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 13 No. 2 2009, pp. 21-34
"The objectives of this research are to ascertain the current status of, and barriers to, knowledge and information sharing; to elicit suggestions for improvement; and to determine whether the situation is different from that experienced by organizations operating in an average business environment."

IT project managers' construction of successful project management practice: a repertory grid investigation.
by Nannette P. Napier, Mark Keil and Felix B. Tan
from Information Systems Journal, May 2009, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 255-282
"Although effective project management is critical to the success of information technology (IT) projects, little empirical research has investigated skill requirements for IT project managers (PMs). This study addressed this gap by asking 19 practicing IT PMs to describe the skills that successful IT PMs exhibit. Nine skill categories emerged: client management, communication, general management, leadership, personal integrity, planning and control, problem solving, systems development and team development. Our study complements existing research by providing a richer understanding of several skills that were narrowly defined (client management, planning and control, and problem solving) and by introducing two new skill categories that had not been previously discussed (personal integrity and team development). We describe the four IT PM archetypes – General Manager, Problem Solver, Client Representative and Balanced Manager – and discuss how this knowledge can be useful for practitioners, researchers and educators. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research."

Two Decades of Murray-Darling Water Management: A River of Funding, a Trickle of Achievement (journal article)
by Lisa Yu-Ting Lee and Tihomir Ancev
" The paper appraises the myriad of Murray-Darling Basin-related policies since the early 1990s. It contends that significant environmental improvements could have been achieved at substantially lower cost had decisive action been taken earlier. If the total expenditures in the last two decades had been put solely towards water entitlement buy-backs, an amount of water several times that necessary to significantly improve the health of the Basin would have been acquired."

Infrastructure Australia, a Report to the Council of Australian Governments (journal article)
a review by Henry Ergas
from Agenda: A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Vol 16 No 1
"...[the report] suffers greatly from being neither fish nor fowl: it lacks the frankness, clarity and rigour one would expect from an expert report. At the same time, it lacks the care in drafting, the appreciation of the subtleties, and the honest acknowledgement of political constraints that one hopes for in a departmental statement. The impression is of a document drafted by a committee of mixed quality, with the attempt to do ‘the right thing’ (through references to efficiency and cost-benefit analysis) frequently overridden by a ragbag of currently fashionable concerns."
Read the original report from Infrastructure Australia here.

Green initiatives begin to make business sense (article)
by David Hubler
from Washington Technology, 25 March 2009
"Spurred by the Obama administration’s call to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil by adopting alternative energy sources and increasing energy efficiency, green is rapidly becoming the color of choice across all facets of the federal contracting community. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes $4.5 billion for the General Services Administration to make federal buildings more energy efficient and $4.5 billion for the Energy Department to develop smart-grid technologies for the energy infrastructure. "

Fostering a state of innovation (article)
by Peter Doherty
from The Age, April 6 2009
"Our best hopes for the future rest in strengthening our most successful institutions and in fostering an entrepreneurial, energetic, appropriately educated, imaginative and committed citizenry."

Protecting Critical Information Infrastructures: Frequently Asked Questions (article)
by European Commission
from eGov Monitor, 30 March 2009
"The European Commission has launched an unprecedented initiative to protect Europe's information infrastructure and has joined hands with the private sector. This feature highlights the key aspects of the initiative."

5 secrets of leading-edge technology adoptors (article)
by John Moore
from Federal Computer Week, 3 April 2009
"Striking gold with a new technology doesn’t happen by accident, and it certainly doesn’t happen every time. The agencies that have a better success rate than others use a disciplined and judicious approach, particularly during tough economic times. Here’s how they do it."

The Third Wave (journal article)
by Tim Flannery
from The Monthly, No 44, April 2009
"What should we think of an Australia that pours $42 billion into a brown economic-stimulus package to save a faltering economy, yet stands by with hands in pockets as one species after another slides towards extinction? Any thinking person would look on such short-sightedness with disgust. We'll have our say again soon, most likely in 2010, and if enough Australians make themselves heard, one day we just might be led by a government that really cares about this country - animals and all - in the way it deserves. "

Promoting better environmental outcomes [book]

Author: Australia. Productivity Commission

Papers from roundtable held at Old Parliament House, Canberra on 19-20 August 2008.

"Sought to address two questions central to developing good environmental policy: 'Under what conditions can governments improve environmental outcomes?' and 'How should governments intervene to ensure effective and efficient results?' " - foreword.

Want to borrow this book? Click here to request!

Quarry vision : coal, climate change and the end of the resources boom [book]

Author: Guy Pearse

"Dissects the Rudd government's climate change response: from the Garnaut report to the silver bullet of 'clean coal' and beyond. ... Exposes the shadowy world of the carbon lobbyists; how they think, operate and advance their agenda." - cover.

The Complexity of Comprehensive Planning Partnerships: The Case of the Warnervale Town Centre (journal article)
By Kristian J. Ruming
from Urban Policy and Research Vol 27 Iss 1 Mar 2009, pp. 25 -42
"In recent years, urban partnerships have increasingly been utilised in the provision of master planned estates, which, in turn, are progressively becoming the norm for residential development in Australia and overseas. This article traces the formal and informal partnership arrangements which facilitate plan development and position partnership as a slippery and complex institutional arrangement. The case of one of Sydney's largest residential land releases—Warnervale Town Centre—in the period 2000-2005 is used. The article concludes that space should be made for both formal and informal institutional arrangements in the planning and delivery of large developments involving a variety of state and private actors. "

Taking the Con Out of Convenience: The True Cost of Transport Modes in Sydney (journal article)
By Garry Glazebrook
from Urban Policy and Research Vol 27 Iss 1 Mar 2009, pp. 5 - 24
"There has been growing interest internationally in the development of comprehensive estimates of the costs of urban transport, fuelled by concerns over global warming, peak oil, road congestion, tolls and public transport subsidies. This article examines the internal and external costs of major modes in Sydney. In terms of total costs, trains are the cheapest, followed by buses, with cars the most expensive. However, the 'out-of-pocket costs' paid by motorists at the time of making a trip are less than one-sixth of total costs. This suggests rational individual travel choices do not add up to rational travel patterns for the city, and that we are paying heavily as a society for the convenience of cars. Governments need to give higher priority for public transport (particularly rail which has the lowest overall costs of any mode) and to change pricing for urban travel, if we are to develop more sustainable cities. "

Century-of-Information Research (CIR): A Strategy for Research and Innovation in the Century of Information (journal article)
By The E-Science Directors' Forum Strategy Working Group et al
from Prometheus Vol 27 Iss 1 Mar 2009, pp. 27 - 45
"More data will be produced in the next five years than in the entire history of human kind, a digital deluge that marks the beginning of the Century of Information. Through a year-long consultation with UK researchers, a coherent strategy has been developed, which will nurture Century-of-Information Research (CIR); it crystallises the ideas developed by the e-Science Directors' Forum Strategy Working Group. This paper is an abridged version of their latest report which can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/jump~jumptype=banner~frompagename=content~frommainurifile=content~fromdb=all~fromtitle=~fromvnxs=~cons=908033533?dropin=httpwikisnescacukesc&to_url=http%3a%2f%2fwikis%2enesc%2eac%2euk%2fescienvoy%2fCentury%5fof%5fInformation%5fResearch%5fStrategy which also records the consultation process and the affiliations of the authors. This document is derived from a paper presented at the Oxford e-Research Conference 2008 and takes into account suggestions made in the ensuing panel discussion. The goals of the CIR Strategy are to facilitate the growth of UK research and innovation that is data and computationally intensive and to develop a new culture of 'digital-systems judgement' that will equip research communities, businesses, government and society as a whole, with the skills essential to compete and prosper in the Century of Information. The CIR Strategy identifies a national requirement for a balanced programme of coordination, research, infrastructure, translational investment and education to empower UK researchers, industry, government and society. The Strategy is designed to deliver an environment which meets the needs of UK researchers so that they can respond agilely to challenges, can create knowledge and skills, and can lead new kinds of research. It is a call to action for those engaged in research, those providing data and computational facilities, those governing research and those shaping education policies. The ultimate aim is to help researchers strengthen the international competitiveness of the UK research base and increase its contribution to the economy. The objectives of the Strategy are to better enable UK researchers across all disciplines to contribute world-leading fundamental research; to accelerate the translation of research into practice; and to develop improved capabilities, facilities and context for research and innovation. It envisages a culture that is better able to grasp the opportunities provided by the growing wealth of digital information. Computing has, of course, already become a fundamental tool in all research disciplines. The UK e-Science programme (2001-06)—since emulated internationally—pioneered the invention and use of new research methods, and a new wave of innovations in digital-information technologies which have enabled them. The Strategy argues that the UK must now harness and leverage its own, plus the now global, investment in digital-information technology in order to spread the benefits as widely as possible in research, education, industry and government. Implementing the Strategy would deliver the computational infrastructure and its benefits as envisaged in the Science & Innovation Investment Framework 2004-2014 (July 2004), and in the reports developing those proposals. To achieve this, the Strategy proposes the following actions:
support the continuous innovation of digital-information research methods;
provide easily used, pervasive and sustained e-Infrastructure for all research;
enlarge the productive research community which exploits the new methods efficiently;
generate capacity, propagate knowledge and develop skills via new curricula; and
develop coordination mechanisms to improve the opportunities for interdisciplinary research and to make digital-infrastructure provision more cost effective. To gain the best value for money strategic coordination is required across a broad spectrum of stakeholders. A coherent strategy is essential in order to establish and sustain the UK as an international leader of well-curated national data assets and computational infrastructure, which is expertly used to shape policy, support decisions, empower researchers and to roll out the results to the wider benefit of society. The value of data as a foundation for wellbeing and a sustainable society must be appreciated; national resources must be more wisely directed to the collection, curation, discovery, widening access, analysis and exploitation of these data. Every researcher must be able to draw on skills, tools and computational resources to develop insights, test hypotheses and translate inventions into productive use, or to extract knowledge in support of governmental decision making. This foundation plus the skills developed will launch significant advances in research, in business, in professional practice and in government with many consequent benefits for UK citizens. The Strategy presented here addresses these complex and interlocking requirements."