Finding Australia’s social enterprise sector: final report

Executive Summary Social enterprises are organisations that: Are led by an economic, social, cultural, or environmental mission consistent with a public or community benefit; Trade to fulfil their mission; Derive a substantial portion of their income from trade; and Reinvest the majority of their profit/surplus in the fulfilment of their mission. This document reports on the research findings of the Finding Australia’s Social Enterprise Sector (FASES) project. FASES is a joint initiative of Social Traders and the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, Queensland University of Technology. It is a first attempt to identify the range and scope of social enterprises in Australia. The methodology utilised in this research included: a review of existing literature and methods of social enterprise mapping; establishment of a project website and preliminary discussion paper to stimulate public engagement with defining and identifying Australian social enterprises, which resulted in four online responses to the discussion paper and 157 nominations of social enterprises to be included in the research; a series of workshops and interviews with 34 key informants to assist in defining social enterprise for the purposes of the research; identification of the social enterprise population through a combination of web and media review, review of existing databases and feedback through the project website; development and administration of an online survey; and collation and analysis of secondary data. Five hundred and thirty-nine organisations commenced the online survey, of which 365 were valid social enterprises according to our definition. Based on pre-existing research data and information from our survey, we estimate that there are up to 20 000 Australian social enterprises. This estimate takes into account that some not for profit organisations have multiple business ventures, and that not all social enterprises are incorporated as not for profits. Our survey results suggest that the Australian social enterprise sector is mature, sustainable and internally diverse with regard to mission and organisational structure. Amongst the 365 survey respondents, 73% had been operational for at least five years, and 62% were at least 10 years old. Australian social enterprises seek to fulfil a diversity of missions and serve a wide variety of beneficiaries. As a whole, the dominant foci of our survey respondents were on creating opportunities for people to participate in their community, and on finding new solutions to social, environmental, cultural and economic problems. Australian social enterprises operate in every industry of our economy. Our survey data suggest that they trade predominantly in local and regional markets and focus on fulfilling their missions at local and regional goals. However, some social enterprises operate in international markets and seek to respond to missions of international scope

Perceptions on the Ground: Principals’ Perception of Government Interventions in High-Speed Educational Networking

The Alberta SuperNet was built to bring broadband connectivity to every school, hospital, library and provincial government office in Alberta (a large province in Canada with an area of 255,285 square miles). The supposed benefits of high-speed access have led to calls for strategic public investment on both the supply and demand sides. The provincial government, through Alberta Education, initiated a number of interventions to help make broadband technology more useful and accessible to Alberta schools and to promote use of the new technology. To investigate the perceived efficacy and awareness of these initiatives, a survey of school officials was conducted in the spring of 2005. The survey was designed to assess the interest, awareness and planned use of high-speed networking initiatives by school officials. The results of the survey show that principals place relatively high levels of importance upon these initiatives but their level of awareness of, and especially their utilization of the initiatives was much lower. There were small but significant differences among principals from large versus small schools and between principals from rural versus urban school. The paper concludes with recommendations for policy makers and administrators challenged with creating effective interventions using broadband networking

Exploring Principals' Perceptions of Applications, Benefits, and Barriers of Alberta's Supernet

The Alberta SuperNet, a very high speed, broadband network, was built to bring highspeed connectivity to every school, library, and municipal office in Alberta. This CDN $294 million dollar investment was made based on the perceived need for high-speed connectivity to stimulate economic and community development and to enhance government services, especially education and health. A survey of Alberta school principals was conducted in the spring of 2005. This survey investigated principals perceptions of 14 potential teaching and learning, administrative, and professional development applications of broadband networking. Results of this survey revealed that while school principals voiced some apprehension, they nonetheless perceive value in broadband applications for educational purposes. Results of the survey can be used to provide rationale for broadband expenditures and both supply and demand side interventions designed to increase effective and enthusiastic use by local school

Magnetic phase diagram of doped CMR manganites

The magnetic phase diagram of the colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) manganites is determined based on the Hamiltonian incorporating the double-exchange (DE) interaction between degenerate Mn $e_g$ orbitals and the antiferromagnetic (AF) superexchange interaction between Mn $t_{2g}$ spins. We have employed the rigorous quantum mechanical formalism and obtained the finite temperature phase diagram which describes well the commonly observed features in CMR manganites. We have also shown that the CE-type AF structure cannot be stabilized at $x$=0.5 in this model.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure; Transport and Thermal Properties of Advanced Materials(Aug. 2002; Hiroshima, Japan

Online Conferences for Professional Development

Online conferences (OCs) offer a compelling set of economic and pedagogical benefits for teaching, learning, personal, and professional development. In this chapter, we provide examples and a model to guide development of this professional development application of e-Iearning. The cost-effectiveness of oes, coupled with the capacity to provide time-flexible participation on a global scale, convinces us that OCs will continue to playa vital and increasing role in quality professional development activities. Similar to faceto- face conferences (F2FCs), effective oes must focus on relevant and timely information dissemination, provide opportunities for interaction leading to knowledge creation, and support the development of learning communities. In their broadest sense, OCs and F2FCs have two major goals. The first is to create knowledge through personal, organizational, and community learning. The second is to develop social networks that can later be used to create valued collegial relationships and extend learning beyond the conference. The method used by OCs to achieve these goals is an intense network-mediated interaction. The interaction takes place over a limited period of time using a comhination of synchronous, asynchronous, and illlmersive technologies on a global scale. OCs are economically and pedagogically attractive because of their "anywhere and anytime" characteristics with low production and participation costs. In this chapter, we review characteristics and qualities of OCs, provide examples of successful OCs, and outline a model of relevant qualities affecting OC learning outcomes. The unique and promising role of this form of professional development in the current and emerging networked society is explored

Time Management Strategies for Research Productivity

Researchers function in a complex environment and carry multiple role responsibilities. This environment is prone to various distractions that can derail productivity and decrease efficiency. Effective time management allows researchers to maintain focus on their work, contributing to research productivity. Thus, improving time management skills is essential to developing and sustaining a successful program of research. This article presents time management strategies addressing behaviors surrounding time assessment, planning, and monitoring. Herein, the Western Journal of Nursing Research editorial board recommends strategies to enhance time management, including setting realistic goals, prioritizing, and optimizing planning. Involving a team, problem-solving barriers, and early management of potential distractions can facilitate maintaining focus on a research program. Continually evaluating the effectiveness of time management strategies allows researchers to identify areas of improvement and recognize progress