Regional Development and Telecommunications Policy in Western Australia: Accessing Knowledge to Inform Policy Through Complexity and Action Research
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Regional Development and Telecommunications Policy in Western Australia: Accessing knowledge to inform policy through complexity and action research by Susan Wong B.A. (Hons) Murdoch University B. Psych. Murdoch University A thesis submitted to the Murdoch Business School, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY The work presented in the thesis is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, original and my own work, except as acknowledged in the text, and that the material has not been submitted in whole or in part, for a degree at this or any other university. ------------------------------ SUSAN WONG Murdoch University 12 June 2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “To God be the glory, great things He has done!” I am thankful that it is with God’s help that this thesis has been written and for the many people He sent, whose input have helped to make this thesis possible. I would especially like to thank the following individuals: • Mr Ross Temple, Chief Property Officer, Australian Property Directorate, Commonwealth Department of Administrative Services, who taught me how to work for the long run and the opportunity to pursue the problem of declining regions; • Dr Les Pyke, who as friend, mentor and referee, is one of the most forward-looking individuals I know; • Professor Steve Allsop, Director and Project Leader, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, for his kind support in my application to postgraduate study; • Dr Mark Groves, Faculty of Architecture, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, South Korea, for good-naturedly reading and providing advice on my draft proposal; • Professor Peter Newman, Director, Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP), Murdoch University, who recognised a topic worth researching; • Dr Michael Booth, Associate Professor Dora Marinova, Dr John Phillimore and Mrs Susan Davidson (Administrative Secretary), ISTP, for their early involvement; • Mr Graeme Baesjou, Regional Manager, (the best boss to work for) Esperance office, Goldfields Esperance Development Commission, with whom it was a privilege to work in regional development; • The Office of Information and Communication, State Department of Commerce and Trade, Mr Michael Ashford, Team Leader, Strategic Directions, his team – Mr Phil Lord, Mrs Jackie Gill, Mr Gerard Lee; Mr Nigel Chartres, Team Leader, Project Facilitation; Mr Phillip Skelton, Team Leader, Telecommunications Taskforce; • PhD students, Sally Paulin, Melanie Guo and Margaret Gollagher; and Alan Johnston, staff member, from the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy; • Kathryn Buselich, and Iris Lee, fellow PhD students, for sharing the travails of birthing a PhD thesis; • Dr Olga Ward and Ms Carol Wong for reading and editing the thesis. A special “Thank You” to Associate Professor Bev Thiele, Director Postgraduate Students, whose advocacy ensured that natural justice could take place. I am grateful for the six-month research scholarship to finish this thesis. Most of all, my heartfelt thanks go to my supervisor, Associate Professor Richard Joseph, Murdoch Business School. It is testament to his supervisory skills, since he became my supervisor at such a late stage in my candidature, that I have read, from scratch, re-written and finished a new thesis in twenty-four months. CONTENTS Chapter One Setting the Scene INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 CONTEXT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ....................................... 6 The Classical Scientific Paradigm .......................................................... 8 Development-as-Modernisation............................................................ 10 Market Failure ....................................................................................... 17 Traditionally….. ............................................................................... 17 Adding Technology…...................................................................... 19 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE RESEARCH ............................................ 21 Using Technology to Stimulate Economic Development .................... 21 RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE ............................................................... 27 CHAPTER OUTLINES........................................................................... 31 Chapter Two Goldfields Esperance Region INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 33 FILLING IN THE PICTURE.................................................................. 35 Government Policy................................................................................ 35 Policy Procedure and Implementation .................................................. 36 REGIONAL BACKGROUND ............................................................... 37 Goldfields Esperance Development Commission ................................ 37 Project Brief........................................................................................... 37 Methodology.......................................................................................... 39 Goldfields Esperance Region................................................................ 41 EVENTS AND OUTCOMES OF THE PROJECT................................ 42 Timetable of Events in the Region........................................................ 43 Mocro, Meso and Macro Level Interaction .......................................... 47 Social and Natural Interaction............................................................... 71 Social and Technological Interaction.................................................... 75 Technological and Natural Interaction.................................................. 75 CONCLUSION........................................................................................ 76 Chapter 3 Policy in Action – Top-Down Approach INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 81 TELE-EPISTEMOLOGY: KNOWING AT A DISTANCE.................. 84 Access .................................................................................................... 86 Agency................................................................................................... 89 Authenticity ........................................................................................... 92 Authority................................................................................................ 93 Attitude .................................................................................................. 96 USING CASE STUDY............................................................................ 99 TOP-DOWN APPROACH.................................................................... 102 The Silicon Valley Model ................................................................... 102 CASE STUDIES.................................................................................... 106 Pole Models ......................................................................................... 106 Akademgorodok, Siberia................................................................ 107 Adelaide Multi-Function Polis (MFP), South Australia ............... 112 Cartuja ‘93, Seville, Spain ............................................................. 118 Western Australian Technology Park (WATP).............................. 121 Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (HSIP), Taiwan.............. 124 Oulu, Finland ................................................................................. 128 Agglomeration Models........................................................................ 132 Bangalore, India............................................................................. 132 Japan’s Technopolis Programme .................................................. 135 CONCLUSION...................................................................................... 138 Chapter 4 Policy in Action - Bottom-Up Approach INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 143 BOTTOM-UP APPROACH.................................................................. 143 The Telecentre Movement................................................................... 143 Operating Models and Ownership.......................................... 147 Scandinavian Telecottages ..................................................... 148 CASE STUDIES.................................................................................... 150 The Hungarian Telecottage Movement............................................... 151 Honduras.............................................................................................. 155 South Africa......................................................................................... 159 Australia............................................................................................... 164 COMMENTS ABOUT THE TELECENTRE MOVEMENT.............. 167 Social and Financial Sustainability ..................................................... 167 Authority/Power .................................................................................. 171 CONCLUSION...................................................................................... 171 Chapter 5 Using Complexity and Action Research INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 177 Imbrications between Technology