Browsing by Author "Scott J"

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    Automated georeferencing of antarctic species
    (Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik, 2021-09-01) Scott J; Stock K; Morgan F; Whitehead B; Medyckyj-Scott D; Janowicz K; Verstegen JA
    Many text documents in the biological domain contain references to the toponym of specific phenomena (e.g. species sightings) in natural language form “In Garwood Valley summer activity was 0.2% for Umbilicaria aprina and 1.7% for Caloplaca sp....” While methods have been developed to extract place names from documents, and attention has been given to the interpretation of spatial prepositions, the ability to connect toponym mentions in text with the phenomena to which they refer (in this case species) has been given limited attention, but would be of considerable benefit for the task of mapping specific phenomena mentioned in text documents. As part of work to create a pipeline to automate georeferencing of species within legacy documents, this paper proposes a method to: (1) recognise species and toponyms within text and (2) match each species mention to the relevant toponym mention. Our methods find significant promise in a bespoke rules- and dictionary-based approach to recognise species within text (F1 scores up to 0.87 including partial matches) but less success, as yet, recognising toponyms using multiple gazetteers combined with an off the shelf natural language processing tool (F1 up to 0.62). Most importantly, we offer a contribution to the relatively nascent area of matching toponym references to the object they locate (in our case species), including cases in which the toponym and species are in different sentences. We use tree-based models to achieve precision as high as 0.88 or an F1 score up to 0.68 depending on the downsampling rate. Initial results out perform previous research on detecting entity relationships that may cross sentence boundaries within biomedical text, and differ from previous work in specifically addressing species mapping.
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    Employee Experiences and Productivity in Flexible Work Arrangements: A Job Demands–Resources Model Analysis from New Zealand
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2025-09-06) Crooney L; Tootell B; Scott J
    Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between flexible working arrangements (FWAs), employee experiences (EEs), and perceived productivity (PP) in the context of New Zealand employees. The study aims to understand how opportunities and challenges within FWAs impact employee productivity, utilising the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model as a theoretical framework. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted with 176 employees who transitioned from traditional office settings to FWAs. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire measuring work demand, autonomy, employee experiences, and perceived productivity. The analysis involved correlational and moderated regression techniques to assess the relationships between the variables. Findings: The study found that positive employee experiences (expressed as opportunities) are significantly associated with higher perceived productivity (r = 0.610, p < 0.001), while negative experiences (expressed as challenges) are associated with lower perceived productivity (r = 0.515, p < 0.001). Moreover, management strategies were found to moderate these relationships, further influencing perceived productivity. Originality: This research contributes to the understanding of how FWAs, when effectively managed, can enhance employee productivity by fostering positive experiences. It also highlights the importance of addressing challenges to mitigate negative impacts on productivity. The use of the JD-R model offers a novel approach to exploring these dynamics in the context of FWAs. Practical and social implications: Organisations can enhance productivity by focusing on management strategies that amplify positive employee experiences and reduce challenges within FWAs. Effective FWAs can improve work–life balance, employee wellbeing, and organisational commitment, contributing to a more satisfied and productive workforce.
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    Fostering project management competencies in undergraduate engineering: An exploration of the use of management- educated tutors as coaches in problem-based learning
    (Engineers Australia, 2018-12-09) Khoo E; Scott J; McKie D; Cowie B
    CONTENT Problem-based learning (PBL) helps engineering graduates develop the competencies needed in order to engage effectively with complex and uncertain workplace demands. PBL’s effectiveness, however, also depends on students having the ability to manage themselves and to work collaboratively. As these professional competencies are not typically the focus of undergraduate engineering programmes, students tend to complete problem-based project work through their own initiatives without the skills relevant to project completion. On the other hand, project management competencies are commonly explicated and core in business and management disciplines. PURPOSE This paper reports on our project which addresses the research question: What is the impact of utilising a management-educated demonstrator to work with engineering students on their learning and development of project management competencies? APPROACH Our project intervention required students in a fourth-year advanced engineering problem-based course to regularly report their planning and project progress to a graduate management tutor (demonstrator manager). A third of the course marks was awarded by the tutor who provided business-informed coaching as feedback during each report planning session. Multiple forms of data were collected – pre-and post-course surveys, student focus group interviews, lecturer and tutor interviews and student formative and summative grades. RESULTS The findings highlighted that: (1) Students did gain a better understanding of key aspects of project management; (2) Students were generally supportive of the technique, but wanted more “introduction”, exposing their naivete where grading on management was concerned; (3) The approach could foster more Engineering-Management collaboration at a university; (4) The approach supports the accreditation goal of developing engineering graduates’ professional competencies related to management skills. CONCLUSIONS Given the multiple and complex challenges facing 21st-century society, engineering employers are increasingly seeking graduates who are both technical experts in their field and able to work with experts from other fields, including business and management. Our project contributes understandings on how interdisciplinary initiatives can develop such professional competencies that are important for engineering graduate work-readiness.
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    Fostering project management competencies in undergraduate engineering: An exploration of the use of management-educated tutors as coaches in problem-based learning
    (Engineers Australia, 2018-12-09) Khoo E; Scott J; McKie D; Cowie B
    CONTEXT Problem-based learning (PBL) helps engineering graduates develop the competencies needed in order to engage effectively with complex and uncertain workplace demands. PBL’s effectiveness, however, also depends on students having the ability to manage themselves and to work collaboratively. As these professional competencies are not typically the focus of undergraduate engineering programmes, students tend to complete problem-based project work through their own initiatives without the skills relevant to project completion. On the other hand, project management competencies are commonly explicated and core in business and management disciplines. PURPOSE This paper reports on our project which addresses the research question: What is the impact of utilising a management-educated demonstrator to work with engineering students on their learning and development of project management competencies? APPROACH Our project intervention required students in a fourth-year advanced engineering problem-based course to regularly report their planning and project progress to a graduate management tutor (demonstrator manager). A third of the course marks was awarded by the tutor who provided business-informed coaching as feedback during each report planning session. Multiple forms of data were collected – pre-and post-course surveys, student focus group interviews, lecturer and tutor interviews and student formative and summative grades. RESULTS The findings highlighted that: (1) Students did gain a better understanding of key aspects of project management; (2) Students were generally supportive of the technique, but wanted more “introduction”, exposing their naivete where grading on management was concerned; (3) The approach could foster more Engineering-Management collaboration at a university; (4) The approach supports the accreditation goal of developing engineering graduates’ professional competencies related to management skills. CONCLUSIONS Given the multiple and complex challenges facing 21st-century society, engineering employers are increasingly seeking graduates who are both technical experts in their field and able to work with experts from other fields, including business and management. Our project contributes understandings on how interdisciplinary initiatives can develop
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    SME employee perceptions about future work–life flexibility: findings from New Zealand
    (Taylor and Francis Group, 2025-06-17) Scott J; Macpherson W; Tootell B; Kobayashi K; Kelly S
    Employees of New Zealand small and medium enterprises (SMEs) desire more work–life flexibility and are seeking change in the workplace. Applying institutional theory and the related concept of institutional work as our theoretical frame, we explored employee perceptions about working arrangements and found a substantial desire for change. Specifically, 71% of 619 employees surveyed wanted more work–life flexibility, with the research highlighting three constructs that contribute to employee perceptions about their work and nonwork interface: working pattern control, job flexibility, and a sense of being respected. The findings are significant and novel as they illustrate a renewed desire on the part of employees to change work arrangement practices in response to recent lived experiences. Given these demands for flexibility are now being driven from an employee rather than employer perspective, this could lead to the development of new normative expectations that would place pressure on SMEs to change work arrangements in response to employees’ active agency. In current high-employment environments, employee flexibility is likely to facilitate a recruitment and retention advantage, and each of the identified constructs will potentially play a fundamental major role in employee–employer relationships.
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    The Future of Work: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Workplace. (Report 16). BusinessFirstNZ
    (2023-11-21) Scott J; Macpherson W; Kobayashi K
    This report summarises the fourth BusinessFirstNZ workshop for 2024, and 17th in the series, hosted by the Massey Business School to engage local businesses. The initiative seeks to assist business leaders to highlight business problems and seek practical solutions in their pursuit of business excellence and sustainable competitive advantage. In this half-day workshop, Associate Professor David Brougham from the School of Management gave attendees an overview and update of AI before helping them explore how it can be used in their working and daily lives for greater efficiency, effectiveness, and ultimately productivity. David drew on his expertise and research in the future of work to take participants through an afternoon of considering how emerging technologies might impact their workplace. The focus of the workshop was supporting attendees to think about the challenges and opportunities their business is likely to face in the next ten years, the jobs that might be automated in their industry, and to focus on the future of automation in their line of work. Highlights of the workshop included: • An overview of disruptive technologies, their impact on companies, and understanding the adoption of new ideas, products, and activities • Discussion on the different ways businesses already engage with AI tools, such as ChatGPT • Brainstorming about the ways in which businesses might use AI tools in the future • Implications for businesses as AI tools continue to become more mainstream
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    The Wheel of Work and the Sustainable Livelihoods Index (SL-I)
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2025-07-09) Carr S; Hopner V; Meyer I; Di Fabio A; Scott J; Matuschek I; Blake D; Saxena M; Saner R; Saner-Yiu L; Massola G; Atkins SG; Reichman W; Saltzman J; McWha-Hermann I; Tchagneno C; Searle R; Mukerjee J; Blustein D; Bansal S; Covington IK; Godbout J; Haar J; Rosen MA
    The concept of a sustainable livelihood affords protection from crises and protects people, including future generations. Conceptually, this paper serves as a study protocol that extends the premises of decent work to include and integrate criteria that benefit people, planet, and prosperity. Existing measures of sustainability principally serve organisations and governments, not individual workers who are increasingly looking for ‘just transitions’ into sustainable livelihoods. Incorporating extant measurement standards from systems theory, vocational psychology, psychometrics, labour and management studies, we con ceptualise a classification of livelihoods, criteria for their sustainability, forming a study protocol for indexing these livelihoods, a set of theory-based propositions, and a pilot test of this context-sensitive model.
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    Towards a ‘Community for Practice’—A Narrative Analysis of the Evolution of Higher Education Scholars
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-12-14) Scott J; Pryce J; Reinke NB; Li D; Shuker M-A; Singleton R; Tsai A; Parkinson AL; Ambler T; Sinnayah P; Lim J; Kramarski B
    n higher education (HE), collaborative activities that revolve around a core idea, practice, or knowledge base, such as learning circles, communities of practice or inquiry, peer observation, and peer-assisted teaching, are known to support professional learning. This paper explores the experiences of eight HE scholars from Australia and New Zealand, across four years, as they recognized a new means of collaborative professional development that transcends known approaches and extends beyond an immediate focal point. The group originally formed to support the development of HE fellowship applications, but evolved to what they now consider a community for practice (CfP), where the purpose of collaboration has changed to meet the unique learning needs of each member. During their four years of collaboration, meeting discussions were recorded, and individual and community narrative reflections about participation in the group were created. A thematic analysis of these collective data sources revealed the group’s evolution, and the authors draw on their experiences to tell their story with an aim to enhance professional learning in HE. The study highlights that individuals’ distinct and varied needs can be developed and supported through scholarly, collegial engagements such as a CfP, which does not necessarily require an immediate point of practice.