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The purpose of this paper is to consider some of the approaches which have been developed to bring forward awareness of the role of heritage and its significance in reducing the use of carbon incurred by the creation of new structures.

The approach adopted is to look at the emergence and dissemination of these issues through published literature including professional standards and guidelines for the management and valuation of historic property and also to consider the practice of heritage management and assessment in Western Australia.

The paper finds that Australia has a well‐developed system of heritage management but has been slow to adapt to its responsibilities under international treaties in the area of sustainable practices in the property field but that there is evidence of progress to improve the situation. Whilst the overall picture of the impact of heritage listing on property value remains clouded, and arguments for both positive and negative impacts are evident from the many perspectives researchers have considered, the sustainable use of resources is one which is currently receiving more attention in professional and academic circles.

The predominant focus of this paper is from an Australian perspective but with reference to the UK context.

The contribution of this paper is that, by drawing attention to the value of built heritage as an expression of cultural worth, the demand for new structures can be constrained to some extent by reuse of existing buildings, resulting in more sustainable practices. This environmental view of heritage property may result in its being more favoured as an investment asset in the future due to its smaller carbon footprint than more recent, or potential replacement, structures.

With global migration, the number of ethnic minority and migrant women receiving maternity health care in dominantly Anglo-European societies has increased significantly but they consistently have among the worst pregnancy and maternal outcomes. This paper aims to analyse gaps in structural (migration-related inequalities) and cultural (responsiveness to ethno-cultural practices) competencies among maternal health practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).

Using a semi-structured interview guide, in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 maternal health practitioners in NZ. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis framework.

The results highlight significant barriers around language and communication, cultural stereotyping by professionals, ethnic women’s own constraints around family and cultural expectations and their lack of knowledge about reproductive health. In addition, practitioners’ own ethnic differences are inseparable from their approach to structural and cultural competencies; there were instances of ‘over-’ or ‘under-’ reading of culture, practitioner constructions of ideal pregnancies and anti-racism concerns that shaped maternal care practices that were sensitive to, but also marginalised, ethnic migrant women who attended maternity services.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only study in NZ that examines the impact of complex dynamics of migration and culture on knowledge, beliefs and values of practitioners, in context of their own personal biographies. Identifying strategies to improve the way diversity is practiced in hospital settings can be transformational in improving maternal outcomes for ethnic migrant women in NZ.

This paper introduces “virtual fun at the virtual workplace” and conceptualizes its impact on virtual socialization and the formation of virtual professional ties. The conceptual model also recognizes the moderation of a few variables: “awareness of being observed,” “diversity in the virtual workplace” and “virtual impression management.”

The paper takes a theoretical approach to develop a conceptual framework of virtual fun in the virtual workplace, drawing on social exchange theory (SET) and social network theory (SNT).

The study extends the tenets of the SET and extends the applicability of SNT to a virtual workplace. The study suggests that managers should introduce semi-organized virtual fun during scheduled breaks within work hours to aid in virtual socialization, which further aids in the formation and strengthening of “professional ties” in the virtual workplace.

This study is the first of its kind to conceptualize a model for virtual fun in the virtual workplace.

As the younger generation of born digital library users and even well‐established scholars rely increasingly on Google, or its new products Google Scholar and Google Book, for information resource discovery and access, libraries are finding it increasingly difficult to ensure that their own well structured web sites and information services are being utilized appropriately. This paper aims to highlight some of the changes occurring in the information environment and suggests ways of marketing library services effectively to today's users.

Marketing concepts are explored in the paper, focusing on a clear understanding of users, the library's products, the appropriate place for service delivery, an appropriate pricing strategy – and effective promotional strategies. Promotional strategies which are being used effectively by some commercial organizations, as well as approaches being developed by some libraries, are highlighted. Practical hints are provided so that libraries can ensure that their missions of ensuring that every book has its reader can be accomplished in a new age of access to information in real books and journals and virtual books and journals and other information resources.

The paper finds that libraries no longer operate in a “come and get it” environment and new ways of outreach are described which ensure that librarians are out amongst their communities, creating an awareness of the services available and ensuring effective use of resources through a variety of approaches used in university libraries in Australia and at McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

This paper provides useful information on the changes occurring in the information environment and ways of marketing library services effectively to today's users.

This paper aims to propose an integrated bionic optimal design system to assist engineers in bionic design tasks. In this age of ecological awareness and sustainability, engineers are increasingly applying bionics to their product designs. A recent surge of research on bionics has presented new opportunities and challenges. To deal with these challenges, an integrated design system equipped with the capabilities of conducting biologically inspired design, solving technical contradictions, optimizing design parameters and verifying design effectiveness is required.

This study proposes a two-level analysis to help decision makers conduct multi-faceted observation and assessment on conceptual bionic design. The contradictions incurred when transferring biological principals to engineering design are solved using BioTRIZ, and the conceptual design is then created. This study conducts computer-aided engineering analysis, incorporating the Taguchi method and TOPSIS method, to obtain the optimal design of bionic products.

The proposed design process focuses on improving the product structure instead of changing the materials, and thus, the authors are able to put the goals of saving energy, environmental protection and sustainability into practice.

Through the design and analysis processes, the authors prove that their designed bionic-fan can effectively enhance operational efficiency and reduce the aerodynamic noise. The system can provide a practical tool for engineers intending to accomplish complete designs and verifications using bionics.

Most existing design methodologies that have attempted to combine biology with engineering design have fallen short in their level of thoroughness. This study proposes a complete bionic design system by integrating the processes of bionic-inspired design, optimization and verification.

The rail driver workplace is full of challenges for effective health management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how known barriers in rail driving may be overcome by seeking enablers of positive health status and lifestyle.

Five focus groups were conducted with 29 rail drivers from four rail organisations across three Australian states. Transcribed data were analysed using directed content analysis and thematic coding to develop health enabler themes and categories.

Formal initiatives to manage health were piecemeal. Efforts to maintain health involved countering deteriorative, and promoting restorative, health factors. Themes systematically illustrated work environmental, adaptational, and autonomous features of health management. Participants expressed many different approaches to enabling positive health status, and how these connected to known barriers.

Discussion of personal health issues within the rail industry is considered a taboo topic by some, therefore participants who took part in this study data may be more representative of health-conscious drivers.

Occupational health in rail can be enabled in multiple ways, including: improving social support, scheduling certainty, and cross-communication around health behaviours; increasing flexibility and environmental support for health behaviours; and directly promoting dietary control and physical activity engagement. Given the diversity and global representativeness of rail systems found within Australia, the findings have international application.

This study uses a strength-focussed approach to highlight multiple leverage points for organisational rail-driver health interventions across three levels of the system, helping improve health intervention efficacy despite the intractable nature of their environments.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

The purpose of this paper is to study gender-based differences in information-processing impact on message perception, leading to women viewing the behavior of potentially toxic leaders more negatively than they are viewed by men.

In total, 381 participants completed a series of measures of cue recognition items, collusion and conformity pertaining to a hypothetical toxic leadership scenario.

Results indicated that women perceived the toxic leader more negatively than men, elaborating more on negative message connotations, while men emphasized positives. Likewise, men recorded higher scores on their tendency to collude with the toxic leader compared to women. Evidence was also found that participants were more attuned to negative messages and behavior from a leader of the same gender.

The Anglo-Celtic dominance of the sample is identified as a potential limitation. Further research exploring how not only gender, but age and cultural differences impact on how leaders are perceived is also proposed.

From a management standpoint understanding that men and women process information differently has worth in assisting in organizations more effectively structuring their intra-organizational communications. Gender-specific communications may help to offset perceptions of negativity toward leaders.

This study is the first to consider how gender-based information-processing differences may influence whether a leader is perceived as toxic by male and female followers. It also suggests that gender interaction effects may be critical when considering how leaders, particularly toxic leaders, are viewed by employees.

Work-integrated learning (WIL) poses legal, reputation, operational, strategic and financial risks for higher education providers (HEPs). The purpose of this paper is to explore how HEPs can manage five significant WIL risks involving intellectual property, student disability and medical conditions, the host organisation and the legal literacy of WIL practitioners.

This paper is a cross-institutional collaboration of WIL practitioners who explored risk management in WIL programmes. The case study is presented as a cross-case analysis to assist WIL stakeholders with evaluating their risk management frameworks. A description about the significance of the risk (in terms of causes and consequences), as well as practices to manage the risk, is presented under each of the five WIL risks.

WIL practitioners described a series of risk management practices in response to five significant risks in WIL programmes. Four themes underpinning these risk management practices – balance, collaboration, relationship management and resources – are conceptualised as characteristics that can serve as guiding principles for WIL stakeholders in risk management.

The findings can be applied by WIL stakeholders to evaluate and improve existing risk management frameworks, and to improve their legal literacy in relation to WIL. The study also demonstrates the capacity for collaborative research to address practice issues in WIL.

This is the first known study which employs a cross-institutional collaboration of WIL practitioners to contribute towards the body of knowledge examining risk management in WIL programmes.

There are two connected purposes: to reflect on the widespread current use and abuse of the term “public‐private partnership”, and to present a case study of an unusual joint venture associating a public and a private enterprise in delivering a multi‐utility service in the Canberra region of Australia.

The article combines the case study method with a review of relevant discourse about PPPs.

On the case study evidence presented, the article concludes that this joint venture comes much closer to being a genuine public‐private partnership than many arrangements loosely described as PPPs today.

The article invites the practitioner/academic community to think more precisely about the factors that need to be considered before it is appropriate to claim that a PPP exists.

The joint venture that is the subject of this case study has not previously been analysed in this way. The article suggests that it has value in serving as a model for the development of better thinking about PPPs.