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The purpose of this paper is to build on the resource-based view to analyze the influence of location effects on a firm's ability to develop export-related resources and capabilities which then impacts on export performance.

To test the proposed hypotheses, a sample of small-to-medium exporting firms located in Australia is analyzed using partial least squared modeling.

The findings show that access to location specific advantages (i.e. access to sources of supply, government agencies, export-related services and infrastructure, managerial labor skills, and network opportunities) are essential antecedents for the firm's ability to develop export-related resources and capabilities which in turn drives export performance outcomes.

Results from this study are from one state in Australia, and caution should be exercised when generalizing findings to other geographic regions.

These findings suggest that location effects do indeed present challenges to regional SME firms. Indeed the substantial impacts of sourcing experienced managerial staff with export-related skills affirm the critical role of human resources. This offers insights concerning the recruitment and reward policies for remote firms having to compete with firms in more attractive or sort after metropolitan locations. Also the findings suggest that managers should give serious thought to the appropriateness of the resources and capabilities needed to increase their export performance.

Even though the role and importance of firm location has been highlighted in the export literature, previous export studies have not focussed on dimensions of location as antecedents to firm resources and capability development.

The purpose of this research is to explore how location – regional vs metropolitan – impacts a small to medium‐sized enterprise (SME)'s access to firm resources and capabilities, and in turn its export performance.

This study involved collecting qualitative data from an expert panel of government trade advisors, as well as managers of SME exporters in Australian regional and metropolitan areas. The data were used to explore three propositions relating to the impact of location.

The data provides support for the propositions that location impacts SME exporters’ access to networks and export related infrastructure/services, and in turn export performance. Firms in metropolitan areas have an advantage over those in regional areas. However, contrary to expectations, the relatively lower level of competition in regional areas did not appear to have a negative impact on the export performance of firms located in these areas.

The study confirms the importance of exploring the impact of location on export performance. However, the exploratory nature of the study means that results cannot necessarily be generalised beyond the setting in which the data were collected. Future research should examine the impact of location for exporters in a broader sample of countries.

The disadvantages for SME exporters located in regional areas that come from a lack of networks and export related infrastructure/services need to be recognized and addressed by the managers of SME exporters and their advisors. The study also highlights the importance of the location decision for these firms.

This study is one of the first to explicitly focus on the impact of location on the export performance of SMEs. While exploratory in nature, it highlights the need for further research to better understand this potentially critical moderating variable and both its practical and theoretical implications.

“Affairs of honor,” which were contests between gentlemen of the 18th and 19th centuries, often ended with physical violence in the form of dueling. Such was the case in the notable showdown between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1801. These affairs were products of the code di duello, an intricate series of social rules and expectations through which adversaries negotiated their dispute. In this article, we examine the similarities between such “affairs” and the modern issue of “cyberbullying.” We compare disputes conducted under the code di duello to those which regularly occur in modern adolescents’ on-line lives while also considering the relevance of studying this topic in social studies classrooms.

The purpose of this study is to ascertain perspectives from pre-service and in-service elementary teachers about challenges they face when teaching social studies, and how their participation in a content-based professional development opportunity can support their preparedness for social studies instruction. Five speakers who were experts in topics such as Native American history, historical preservation, women's history and the Constitution were featured at this workshop.

Case study methodology with both descriptive and explanatory data collection and analysis methods, which were inclusive of surveys and focus group sessions, was implemented. The National Council for the Social Studies (2017) Powerful and Authentic Social Studies framework was applied in order to examine whether elementary in-service and pre-service teachers participation in this content-focused professional development impacted their preparedness to teach social studies.

Major findings show that content-specific professional development can support pre-service and in-service elementary teachers' preparation to teach social studies through analysis of historical topics and contemporary issues, as well as mitigate challenges with regard to limited time dedicated to social studies instruction.

In light of the Senate's debate on passing the Educating for Democracy Act concerning funding for civics and history education, the originality of this study highlights the continued need for scholarship on how partnerships between colleges of education, school districts and local educational agencies to provide content-focused professional development can support elementary teachers' ambitious social studies instruction, which can foster greater understandings of historical content and civic participation in democratic society.

The following paper is a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry engineer-turned successful innovator and leader, regarding the challenges of bringing technological discoveries to fruition. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The interviewee is Gurvinder S. Virk, an experienced internationally renowned technical expert in robotics, control, engineering and computer science who currently serves as the Technical Director for Innovative Technology & Science Limited (InnotecUK); Adjunct Professor for IIT Ropar, India; Guest Professor in Robotics and Autonomous Systems, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden; and Trustee and Treasurer, CLAWAR Association Ltd., UK (a UK-registered charity with the mission to advance robotics for the public benefit). In this interview, Prof Virk details his technical/commercialization/regulatory experience with international standing to advance robotics and control engineering globally to deliver mass market robot products.

Prof Virk received a first-class BSc in electronic and electrical engineering from the University of Manchester in 1977; a PhD in Control Theory, Imperial College, London, 1982; and a Diploma of Imperial College in 1982. He has served as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Professor of Control and Robotics and related fields since 1983 in UK, New Zealand, Germany and Sweden. He has been involved in several spin-out commercial ventures with CFM Consultants, Ambient Energy Systems Ltd., Portech Ltd., Endoenergy Systems Ltd., Endoenergy Sweden AB, CLAWAR Association Ltd. and EAS Ltd. (NZ).

Throughout his 35-year career, Prof Virk (CEng, FIET, FCIBSE, CMath, FIMA, MIEEE) has been a leader and scientific contributor in the fields of intelligent and advanced robotics, control systems theory and applications, assistive robots and mobile robotics, renewable energy systems for building applications and robot safety. He has produced over 350 refereed publications, filed four patents, supervised 16 successful PhD/MPhil students, created and led international research teams, registered several spin-out companies (and a UK-registered charity) and has led many international externally funded projects (total value of approximately €20m). His notable achievements include leading the creation of the first harmonized ISO safety standard (EN ISO 13482) for personal care robots and being invited to be President of the Evaluation Committee of the ARGOS Challenge to invent autonomous ATEX-certified robots for gas and oil production sites. In addition, Prof Virk has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London for services in promoting Information Technology (IT) in schools and is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technology. His pioneering and patented research on assistive wearable exoskeletons will soon be available as affordable products for the elderly.

This paper aims to present the findings of an analysis of the environmentally sustainable policies and practices (ESPPs) used by independent and chain-affiliated hotels. The study aimed to ascertain the engagement of hotels with ESPPs and provide tentative evidence of their commitment towards meeting the expectations of environmentally conscious stakeholders.

This study used secondary data and content analysis to examine the ESPPs of a sample of 220 hotels in Melbourne, Australia. A systematic review was conducted of hotel websites to reveal, in a tabulated way, the range of reporting of environmental material provided by various rated hotels.

This analysis suggests that environmentally friendly business practices are prominently displayed by the hotels sampled; however, independent non-chain affiliated hotels are yet to adopt ESPPs in any visible way.

This study was broadly informed by stakeholder theory (Freeman, 1984) and aimed to ascertain the engagement of hotels with ESPPs. While previous studies have focussed on chain hotels, this research involved a greater range of hotels of different profiles to highlight the mix of ESPPs across the hotel sector. Rather than merely examining the corporate websites of hotel companies, the research additionally examined ESPPs at the individual hotel property level, as this is where policies are implemented into practice. The extant literature to date has not studied the extent to which ESPPs are adopted by independent and chain-affiliated hotels at this level, and it is this research gap that the study addresses.

In 1981, W. Richard (Dick) Scott of Stanford's sociology department described a paradigmatic revolution in organizational sociology that had occurred in the preceding decade. In Organizations: Rational, Natural, and Open Systems (Scott, 1981), he depicted the first wave of organizational theory as based in rational models of human action that focused on the internal dynamics of the organization. He described the second wave, found in human relations theory and early institutional theory, as based in natural social system models of human action but still focused on the internal “closed system.” A sea change occurred in organizational theory in the 1970s as several camps began to explore environmental causes of organizational behavior. The open-systems approaches that Scott sketched in 1981 were still seedlings, but all would mature. What they shared was an emphasis on relations between the organization and the world outside of it. The roots of these new paradigms can be traced to innovations of the 1960s. Contingency theorists Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch (1967) had argued that firms add new practices and programs largely in response to external social demands and not simply to internal functional needs. James Thompson (1967) argued that organizations come to reflect the wider environment and particularly the regulatory environment.

The paper presents the findings of research into the barriers to and drivers of environmentally sustainable policies and practices (ESPPs) in the Australian hotel industry. This study aims to explore these drivers and barriers from the perspective of hotel managers and involve a range of hotels with different hotel industry profiles and management structures.

The study conducted one-on-one interviews with hotel managers to explore the barriers to and drivers of ESPPs. The purpose of the sample and sample size was to ensure representation of different segments of the hotel industry to include international chain affiliated hotels, Australian chain affiliated hotels and independent hotels.

An analysis of the findings suggests that the major barriers to implementing and sustaining environmental sustainability in the Australian hotel industry are time, financial challenges, availability of resources and the views and imperatives of hotel owners and shareholders. The major drivers are financial, marketing, owner and shareholder interests and guest preferences. These stakeholders play a major role in creating both barriers and drivers.

Based on the results, this study can modify the application of stakeholder theory to a degree and argue that stakeholders need to co-operate further to drive sustainability. This study demonstrates that management of environmental sustainability is a challenge for many hotels and there is a particular need for small and independent hotels to embrace environmental sustainability to keep pace with their larger counterparts.

This study is broadly informed by the stakeholder theory. Owners, shareholders and associated stakeholders have a significant influence over environmental sustainability in the Australian hotel industry and they create both drivers and barriers. Responses from hotel managers in this research demonstrate that owners act as a barrier to as well as a driver of environmental sustainability initiatives in the Australian hotel industry.