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We provide empirical evidence concerning dynamic persistence and spillovers in public expenditures with a focus on local governments. Using a unique panel dataset consisting of the counties and independent cities of Virginia, we find both time persistence and neighbour spillovers present in the data, but we find that time persistence is much stronger and reduces the strength of spatial spillovers by an average of 40% for different spending categories. We find that a spillover model is not well suited to local government expenditures due to mandatory spending. Time persistence captures the slow pace of many government activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article suggests that situations in which multiple research teams are convened under similar conditions present an opportunity to discover factors that lead to productive collaboration. It argues that social network analysis of research team outputs becomes more valuable when paired with data about research participant perceptions; and that any variables used as indicators of collaboration need to be calibrated using datasets from multiple studies with cross-team comparisons. The article provides an example of the kind of methodology needed to achieve this, describing a study with data from four research teams based at an Australian university campus, reporting their research performance over four years under conditions in which many variables were controlled and with results augmented by a survey of participant perceptions. Findings from the study indicate that there were exceptions to hypothesized associations between participant perceptions of collaboration and specific social network analysis measures over co-authorship data. The article suggests that, given the methodological challenges of studying research teams in the field, multiple datasets combining findings such as those in the present study are a path towards the development of indicators of productive higher education research collaboration.

A focus on research impact is influencing the way research is undertaken in Australian higher education institutions. Research activities are planned, funded, conducted, assessed and reported in a way that highlights the real-world impact of research on society. The contemporary prioritisation of research impact, beyond scholarly contribution, reflects a logic model approach to understanding impact that may not adequately reflect the entwined nature of how research achieves impact within and outside academia. This article presents the results of a study conducted with researchers in a regional Australian university to explore the lived experience of research impact. The findings suggest a new definition of research impact as the process whereby research knowledge makes a difference to the knowledge beneficiary. Reconceptualising research impact as a process presents an alternative perspective for explaining how research achieves real-world impact, and helps to address the limitations of logic model approaches. A process-orientation to understanding how research achieves impact acknowledges the indirect, intangible, unexpected and endless influences of research that may be difficult to anticipate and demonstrate.

Agricultural extension that delivers timely, targeted, and cost-effective support to farmers will help ensure the sustainability and adaptive capacity of agriculture, enhancing both food security and environmental security. Leveraging advances in agriclimate science and adult education, innovative digital technologies offer significant new opportunities to engage with farmers and to support decision making. In this study, animated video clips (machinimas), developed using the Second Life™ virtual world gaming platform, model conversations around climate risk and critical on-farm decisions in the Australian sugarcane farming industry. Early evaluation indicates that this is an engaging format that promotes discussion by leveraging farmers' natural modes of information gathering and social learning. Comparison with conventional extension practices indicates that these discussion support tools may be a cost-effective addition to existing approaches. The format's flexibility means machinimas are readily updated with new information and customized to meet the needs of different farmer groups. Rapid growth in digital access globally and the scalability of such approaches promise greater equity of access to high-value information, critical to better risk management decision making, at minimal cost, for millions of farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using game-level data, the authors estimate models of team success and test for the effect of three specific factors on game outcomes in professional ice hockey. First, they estimate the home ice advantage and find that much of it can be attributed to rules advantages for the home team. Second, contrary to previous studies on momentum, the authors find some evidence that game-to-game momentum has a positive effect on winning. Finally, the authors test the impact of fighting on the likelihood of winning and find that winning fights does not lead to winning games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choosing not to have children is considered a deviation from cultural norms, particularly the dominant pronatalist discourse; this is especially so for women. However, little research has documented the experience of Australian women who have consciously chosen to remain childless. Ten voluntarily childfree women participated in unstructured interviews about their choice and its ramifications. The data analysis revealed three broad themes - the experiences and processes of making the choice; the ongoing effects of their choice, ranging from support and acceptance to pressure and discrimination; and no regret as the women described engaging in meaningful, generative activities that contributed to society.