Wildlife Tours in Australia: Characteristics,the Place of Science and Sustainable Futures

Wildlife tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors worldwide. Across the world the number of tourists seeking close interaction with wildlife in their natural environment is growing. Understanding the interface between visitors (social) and wildlife (environmental) can make a critical contribution to the sustainability of this industry. This study examined wildlife tours in Australia. Questionnaires were posted to wildlife tour operators in Tasmania, Western Australia and Northern Territory, seeking information on the characteristics of tours, and the place of science and monitoring in their business. The results illustrate several similarities between wildlife and ecotourism, suggesting the benefits of increasing education and interpretation, both central features of ecotourism, to enhancing the sustainability of wildlife tourism. For tour operators, interactive activities included feeding, swimming with and touching wildlife, and the level of interaction was identified as high, making it imperative to better define interaction and develop species or group-specific protocols for sustainably managing these interactions. Lastly, this study showed a low level of engagement of scientists in protecting the wildlife of interest to tours. Given the centrality of science to sustainability, mechanisms for increasing this involvement particularly in impact research, through partnerships and other means, are critical for the long term sustainability of this industry.     

Critical success factors for mutual collaboration with suppliers in IT outsourcing industry: a case study of a top IT outsourcing company in Korea

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, information technology (IT) outsourcing companies face enduring demands to reduce cost while increasing productivity. This pressure leads many IT outsourcing companies to rely on outsourcing arrangements with IT personnel suppliers. In order to maximise efficiency, outsourcing companies have focused on fostering high-performing suppliers through improved collaboration and mutual relations. However, it is very difficult to advance to a long-term partnership using the existing outsourcing process because of insufficient collaboration between IT outsourcing companies and their suppliers. Based on collaboration perspective of supply chain management (SCM), this study identifies the critical success factors for collaborative strategic partnerships and presents an evaluation framework for assessing and managing suppliers. We have developed an organisational process model for Supplier relationship management (SRM)-based collaboration which includes some of the key constructs from the previous studies and interviews with the IT outsourcing industry people. In this study, we will identify four types of strategic suppliers and suggest approaches for improving collaborative relationship between an IT outsourcing company and its partner companies. In addition, to validate the feasibility of the proposed model, we applied it to a well-known Korean IT outsourcing company ‘A’.     

Telecom reforms in the EU: Prices and consumers' satisfaction

The paper shows the impact of privatization and liberalization on consumers in the telecommunication sector for 15 EU countries. Policy reforms are summarized by the OECD regulatory indicators (REGREF) that consider the extent of privatization, vertical disintegration, and market entry. After controlling for other country variables, first, a test of the impact of ownership and regulatory changes on consumer prices is given. In the second step, the Eurobarometer data on consumers' satisfaction about quality and prices of the telecommunication service are considered. The analysis confirms the importance of market regulation in reducing prices but minimizes the role played by privatization per se. Overall, the findings offer only mixed evidence, and somehow contradict, the hypothesis that all the reforms work in a similar way across the EU countries.     

进一步提高中国花卉产业国际竞争力对策研究

进入21世纪以来,我国花卉产业一直呈现出快速发展的态势,生产规模已居世界首位,但也存在着横向扩展过快、纵向挖潜不足的问题。在国际竞争日益激烈的背景下,新兴花卉生产国哥伦比亚、肯尼亚、马来西亚已分别成为全球最大的康乃馨、玫瑰和菊花的生产、出口基地,印度、越南等国也在迅速崛起。中国花卉产业应该通过合理有效的制度创新,建立经营型行业协会,加强物流体系建设,引导资源禀赋优势向竞争优势转变。     

基于“产业市场驱动”的人才培养创新模式的思考

基于光电子产业对人才知识结构和能力的需求,从培养学生的创新精神和实践能力出发,以我校电子科学与技术(光电子技术科学)专业人才培养模式和方案制定为背景,提出电子科学与技术专业人才培养模式的改革目标、指导思想,以及构建体现学科发展与专业特色的专业知识体系。     

中国物流行业企业社会责任报告体系研究

通过对中国物流行业较有代表性的两家企业的CSR报告内容分析,提出中国物流行业企业社会责任报告体系编写方法,其内容主要包括报告背景、公司治理、责任管理、责任绩效披露、第三方审验说明等。     

石油化工工程理念及模式探讨

以大连石化公司各类装置的施工为例,介绍了易操作、安全的施工作业方法。阐述了工程开始前进行精心论证,以达到节省投资的目的。进一步介绍了对整个项目实施目标控制,其中包含费用控制、进度控制、质量管理和合同管理。坚持管理理念的创新,不断完善项目工程管理。     

对广西演出市场现状的思考

文化产业面对激烈的竞争市场要积极探索文化的深层次发展规律,广西演出有限责任公司利用自身的条件,在经营上广开思路,寻找到一条适合自己的发展道路。