Latest Story
-
Strong need to revitalise professional music education
Ralph Evans | November 2, 2011Our conservatoriums of music have not done well since John Dawkins merged them into universities 20 years ago. They have become internationally uncompetitive in the teaching hours they provide, especially one-on-one hours, argues Ralph Evans.
I had the privilege to chair the taskforce that produced the report "20 Years after the Dawkins Report – Tertiary Music Education in Australia". I am not part of the music world, but just one of the great unwashed, a business person who became involved through chairing the Board of Advice at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Recently, I was prompted to reflect on the background to the situation the report examined.
-
Measuring our quality of life — why is the world looking beyond GDP?
Stephen Bartos | November 1, 2011When the term Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was developed in the 1930s the market value of all goods and services produced within a country was considered to be the best indicator of a country’s standard of living. Now it’s widely recognised that other factors have to be taken into account when looking at a country’s success as a happy, safe place to live. Prof Stephen Bartos, advocates exploring how the ‘economics of happiness’ can be used to inform national policy.
Gross domestic product per capita is a useful, measure of national well-being from an economic perspective.
The severity of the 1930s Great Depression highlighted the need for a tool to assist policy makers to understand the state of their economies, and most importantly whether the policies they had in place were effective.
-
Setting a new direction for public and private transport in Sydney
Fergus Neilson | October 31, 2011
Why the UN should buy Twitter
Martin Aungle | October 27, 2011Twitter is a harmonising force in the world, just like the United Nations. At least, that’s the assertion of Communications Consultant, Martin Aungle. Could we be seeing a Twitter Committee established by the UN member states anytime soon?
Recently, news broke that Twitter has been valued at US$8 billion, putting it out of reach of all but the biggest global companies as a potential acquisition target.
Carbon Tax, are we getting it right?
John Kirk | October 26, 2011The Gillard Government is set to introduce it’s controversial carbon tax in 2012, putting a price on carbon for all Australians. John Kirk argues that while it may not be the right move to make, it is a step in the right direction.
I recently sat around the table at an industry awards night with a group of highly professional and well educated people. The conversation turned inevitably to the subject of the carbon tax and to climate change in general.
Opinions were varied from full support of the tax to disbelief in climate change as a factual scientific event. The one common denominator was that, other than me, no one understood the difference between the media spin on climate change and the peer reviewed evidence that shows a consensus of scientists agree that climate change is real and that it is caused by mankind.
Self-regulation a way forward in Cloud computing: GAP Workshop report
editor | October 26, 2011
On 24 June 2011, GAP, in collaboration with the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and a number of industry partners, convened a workshop on Cloud computing for a select audience of policy makers, industry leaders, civil society and academia.
Global Security Risks – Evaluating probabilities and managing potential negative outcomes
Fergus Neilson | October 24, 2011
Rethink the pink
Gillian Batt | October 21, 2011The Pink Ribbon is the international symbol of breast cancer awareness. But, as Gillian Batt, Director of Cancer Information and Support Services, Cancer Council NSW, argues the success of the pink ribbon has come at the expense of other forms of women's cancer.
As Australia is currently awash with pink, all in the name of breast cancer, we have to ask ourselves, “Have we been a victim of our own success?”
Book Retailing and Publishing in Australia: survival in a digital age
Fergus Neilson | October 20, 2011The digital age has reshaped many industries, but book publishing has change more than most. Books aren’t going away but the way we read them is definitely changing. Fergus Neilson asks how can the industry survive and what will the future look like?
There was a time when printing the Bible in the ‘vulgate’ rather than in Latin was a capital offence. The initial introduction of paperback books by Penguin in the early 30s failed. Their eventual and enthusiastic adoption by Woolworths drove a level of success and growth that was seen by traditionalists as the beginning of the end for book retailing.
UncategorisedProgressive leadership key to workplace productivity: SKE Report
editor | October 19, 2011
The Society for Knowledge Economics (SKE) has released a two-year study into leadership and management capability which finds a strong correlation between progressive leadership practices and business performance, including productivity and profitability.
‘Juilliard live stream to Sydney’: Distance learning in tertiary music education
Prof Kim Walker | October 19, 2011One of the key recommendations from GAP’s Tertiary Music E
About Section
Chippendale NSW 2008