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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider primary prevention from the perspective of person-based crime prevention. This crime prevention measure is illustrated by an Australian case study. The report also recognises the integral role the community plays in the delivery of primary person-based crime prevention.Design/methodology/approach This short paper adopts a case study approach.Findings The paper illustrates the purpose and achievements of primary person-based crime prevention, including the success it has in reducing crime and improving feelings of safety in the community. The important role of community members and their contribution to this crime prevention method is offered.Practical implications The practical implications this paper offers are to ensure community members are involved in the delivery of primary person-based crime prevention, to explicitly measure the contribution community members make to primary person-based crime prevention initiatives, to explicitly measure the contribution primary person-based crime prevention makes to the reduction of crime, and to build on the known success of primary person-based crime prevention through the implementation of more initiatives within this area of crime prevention.Originality/value Primary person-based crime prevention can be overlooked in favour of primary place-based crime prevention. This short paper offers an insight into an overlooked aspect of crime prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose A recent mainstream intervention in Australia involved the creation of a climate change communication institution, the Climate Council, from crowdfunding and support in social media. Such digital action invites further examination of supporters’ motivations. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the reported intentions and interests of the Climate Council’s supporters to gain a better understanding of mainstream climate change action in digital spaces.Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on a survey that was undertaken by the Climate Council with their Founding Friends that sought to understand their motivations for supporting the institution. The survey received over 10,000 responses. From four selected questions, the paper considers all of the quantitative responses while a random sample of 100 responses was taken from the qualitative data.Findings The data show that most Climate Council supporters were motivated to maintain an institution that communicates the impacts of climate change while a minority desired more political engagement by the institution. The results capture an example of action with limited conscious activism.Originality/value Digital spaces fundamentally need the interconnections between people in order to function, in a similar way to physical spaces. Nonetheless, the power of online action, in all its contradictory forms, should not be overlooked in considering the range of possibilities available to those interested in effecting meaningful social change. Even mainstream interventions, as presented in this paper, that seem to disavow climate change activism on the whole, can nevertheless produce institutional changes that defy national governance shifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive picture of characteristics affecting the employment outcomes and patterns for real estate graduates in Australia. Furthermore, this paper benchmarks the characteristics affecting employment prospects of real estate graduates against those of built environment graduates. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in this paper were collected by the Australian Graduate Survey (AGS). Dimensionality reduction was used to prepare the dataset for the courses listed in the AGS data, in order to develop the simplified classifications of courses used to conduct the analysis in this paper. Dimensionality reduction was also used to prepare the dataset for the analysis of the employment outcomes and patterns for real estate and built environment graduates. Descriptive and statistical analysis methods were used to identify the difference in characteristics, such as gender, age, attendance type, mode of study, degree levels and English proficiency, for real estate and built environment graduates, the level of the influence of these characteristics on their employment outcomes and patterns and the statistical relationship between individual characteristics and employment outcomes as well as employment patterns of the graduates. Findings – English proficiency was found to be an important factor for real estate and built environment graduates for securing employment and it has a statistically significant impact on the employment outcomes and patterns for the graduates. Despite the fact that age and attendance type have no statistical impact on employment outcomes for real estate and built environment graduates, they were found to have statistical significant impact on their employment patterns. Originality/value – This is pioneering research which used official government data, such as AGS data, to provide a reliable and thorough picture of the employment outcomes and patterns for real estate and built environment graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the likely economy-wide impacts of the complete shutdown of the motor vehicle industry on output and employment in Australia using the latest input-output (IO) table (2009-2010). Design/methodology/approach – Both supply- and demand-driven IO models are employed to determine the extent, and pattern, of the resulting output and job losses in upstream and downstream industries. An analysis of the first-order field of influence is also conducted to observe how output multipliers in other sectors respond to changes in the self-use-input-requirement of the professional, scientific and technical services (PSTS) industry. Findings – The PSTS industry (with a significant research and development (R & D) component and the highest forward linkage index) would be hardest hit with the collapse of the motor vehicle industry. Research limitations/implications – This paper identifies a number of industries that are more likely to be heavily influenced by the resulting lack of R & D in the PSTS industry in the near future. Unless more funding is allocated to other research and technology-intensive industries, the extinction of the motor vehicle industry, coupled with the recent budgetary cuts for strategic organisations such as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, can reduce the positive spillover effects of R & D activities on the Australian economy. Originality/value – This is the first study to examine the effects of the shutdown of the motor vehicle industry on employment in Australia. The results also have broader implications for other developed countries that have declining motor vehicle industries. The findings suggest that the global decline in the motor vehicle industry can adversely affect investment in R & D in upstream and downstream industries. More generally, the results suggest that the shift in motor vehicle production to developing countries, will contribute to increased R & D intensity in them at the expense of developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The paper builds on a four-year empirical study of 11 of Australia's high-performance organisations that identified their key characteristics for success. Following widespread interest in this study, the author has been challenged by industry practitioners to develop a methodology that would allow them to assess their organisation's performance against that of the winning organisations in the original study. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology and summarise techniques to analyse and map the data. It also discusses how the findings should generate more effective change management programmes. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire focusing on 90 critical success factors has been integrated into an online diagnostic system for use at all levels of the organisation. Both qualitative and quantitative responses can be collected and decision makers can choose several reporting formats to summarise the data. Findings – Effective methods to design the assessment projects and customise the diagnostic tools for organisations from several industries have been developed. Some initial trials and preliminary trends from the diagnostics are now beginning to emerge. These demonstrate the benefits of defining opportunity gaps which can be estimated based on feedback on both performance and importance criteria. Originality/value – This innovative approach to benchmarking against a proven and practical model for business excellence provides robust and clear operational and strategic opportunities for business improvement. These opportunities form the basis for a strategic change management plan that is more focused and relevant to the unique challenges facing the enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper highlights the potential value of "return on investment" analysis for leadership development investment methods to better providing research informed decision regarding improving organisational outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Working with published research on leadership dimensions with greatest impact on student outcomes, return on leadership development formula, and empirical research on Australian university-based educational leadership programmes, this paper demonstrates an illustrative example of estimating the return on leadership investment. Findings – Using an illustrative example of Australian university-based educational leadership programmes, this paper argues that methodologies for estimating the return on leadership development offers a powerful tool for making research informed decisions at the individual, organisational and systemic levels. Research limitations/implications – This paper provides the basis for substantial further work on the measures of impact of leadership preparation and development such as matters of duration of effect, instrumentations of quality, costing and causal models of effect. Practical implications – The methodology demonstrated in this paper provides a basis for individuals, organisations and school systems to make decisions regarding the resourcing, or not, of school leadership preparation and development. Social implications – The methodology demonstrated in this paper provides a basis for individuals, organisations and school systems to make decisions regarding the resourcing, or not, of school leadership preparation and development. Originality/value – The application of return on investment analysis has been rare in educational leadership preparation and development programmes and its value opens up information for rigorous debate on the resourcing, or not, of programmes by systems, government and individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the association between debt maturity structure and stock price crash risk in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employ panel data estimation with industry and year fixed effects. The paper uses a sample of 1,548 publicly listed Australian firms (8,661 firm-year observations) covering the 2000–2015 period. Findings: Stock price crash risk is positively and significantly associated with the long-term debt maturity structure of firms. In addition, this positive association is more pronounced for firms with a more opaque information environment. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine stock price crash risk in Australia. The findings are value relevant as it uncovers how debt maturity structure affects shareholders' wealth protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to ascertain the impact of audit committee (AC) activism and independence on the quality and quantity of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures for energy sector firms in Australia. This paper aims to understand how AC attributes such as meeting frequency, and the number of independent directors influence the compliance with the global reporting initiative (GRI) guidelines and quantity of ESG disclosures. Design/methodology/approach: Bloomberg ESG disclosure scores and company reported AC attributes are collected and analysed using the pooled ordinary least square (OLS) regression framework with Petersen's (2009) technique by using a two-dimensional cluster at the firm and year level. Further, this paper uses a lagged independent variable and two-stage least square approach to address endogeneity concerns. Findings: The results show a significant positive effect of AC activism and independence on the level of compliance with the GRI guidelines, indicating the favourable effect of AC attributes on ESG reporting quality. Likewise, AC attributes positively affect the quantity of ESG disclosures. Notably, the impact of AC attributes is more pronounced on environmental disclosures. Originality/value: This paper validates the significance of the management control mechanism in improving the quality and quantity of ESG disclosures for an environmentally sensitive sector, hence offering a potential answer to reduce agency and legitimacy issues for the sensitive industry firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Drawing on Wendt's (1995, 1999) thin constructivist approach to international relations this paper aims to critically examine how the measures taken by the Australian Government to protect the country from coronavirus (COVID-19) have prompted politicians and opinion-makers to mobilize globalizing and de-globalizing discourses towards divergent conceptualizations of national resilience. Design/methodology/approach: The paper examines 172 Australian political and media articles, which focus on both COVID-19 and globalization/de-globalization published between February and June 2020. The data were imported to NVivo to enable in-depth thematic analysis. Findings: The paper develops the concept of crisis protectionism to explain how COVID-19 has been mobilized in discourses aimed at accelerating selective de-globalization in Australia. Selective de-globalization is inductively theorized as involving material structures (i.e. border closures), ideational structures (i.e. national identity) and intersubjectivities (i.e. pre-existing inter-country antagonisms). Research limitations/implications: The paper relies upon publicly available data about Australian discourses that relate to a unique globally disrupting extreme event. Practical implications: Crisis protectionism and selective de-globalization are important to multinational enterprises (MNE) that operate in essential industry sectors (e.g. medical supply firms), rely upon open borders (e.g. the university sector) and for MNEs entering/operating in a host country experiencing antagonistic relationships with their home country. Originality/value: The paper extends Witt's (2019) political theorization of de-globalization towards a socialized theory of de-globalization. By rejecting liberal and realist explanations of the relationship between COVID-19 and de-globalization, this study highlights the importance and endogeneity of non-market risks and non-economic logic to international business and MNE strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of product market competition on dividend payout and share repurchases in Australia in which a full dividend imputation system has been in place since 1987. Design/methodology/approach: Panel data estimation with industry and year-fixed effects is employed to examine the role of industry competition on dividend payout and share repurchases. The paper uses a sample of ASX200 non-financial firms, including 4,272 observations over the period 1992–2015. To address the endogeneity problem, the authors utilize the event of Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), which became effective on 01 January 2005, and perform a difference-in-difference analysis. Findings: The authors find that firms operating in competitive markets are likely to pay more dividends and repurchase more shares to reduce agency costs. The positive relation between industry competition and dividends is stronger among firms where the CEO and the Chairman of the Board are the same person and among firms with higher market-to-book ratio and higher standard deviation of stock returns. The study results are robust when the authors account for the impact of franking credit on dividend payment. In the difference-in-difference analysis, the authors find strong evidence of a casual relation that product competition drives changes in dividend policy. Practical implications: The findings are consistent with the notion that intense product market competition can mitigate agency conflicts between managers and shareholders and with the information signalling explanation of market competition. As such, regulators may want to introduce policies that encourage more market competition (e.g. market deregulation) to enhance market efficiency. Originality/value: This study incorporates product market competition in explaining the firm payout policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify and understand the barriers and enablers to the implementation of youth peer support in a clinical mental health service. The development of a lived experience workforce in mental health is a key component of policy at both the state and the federal level in Australia. Implementing a peer workforce within existing clinical services, however, can be a challenging task. Furthermore, implementing peer support in a youth mental health setting involves a further degree of complexity, involving a degree of care for young people being invited to provide peer support when they may be still early in their own recovery journey. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reports on a formative evaluation of the beginning stages of implementation of a youth peer workforce within an existing clinical mental health service in Melbourne. Findings: The project found that it was feasible and beneficial to implement youth peer support; however, significant challenges remain, including lack of appropriate training for young people, uncertainty amongst clinical staff about the boundaries of the peer role and the potential for "tokenism" in the face of slow cultural change across the whole service. Originality/value: Very little evaluation has yet been undertaken into the effectiveness of implementing peer support in youth mental health services. This paper offers an opportunity to investigate where services may need to identify strengths and address difficulties when undertaking future implementation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore recent literature on the impact of changes in the workplace environment and projected trends through to the year 2030. This allows the authors to identify and discuss what key trends are changing the nature of project organising work. The authors aim to identify what knowledge and which skills, attributes and experiences will be most likely valued and needed in 2030. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is essentially a reflective review and is explorative in nature. The authors focus on several recent reports published in the UK and Australia that discuss the way that the future workforce will adapt and prepare for radical changes in the workplace environment. The authors focus on project organising work and the changing workplace knowledge, skills, attributes and experience (KSAE) needs of those working in project teams in 2030 and beyond. The authors draw upon existing KSAE literature including findings from a study undertaken into the KSAEs of project alliance managers working in a highly collaborative form of project delivery. Findings: The analysis suggests that there is good and bad news about project workers prospects in 2030. The good news is that for those working in non-routine roles their work will be more interesting and rewarding than is the case for today. The bad news is that for workers in routine work roles, they will be replaced by advanced digital technology. Research limitations/implications: Few, if any, papers published in the project organising literature speculate about what this discipline may look like or what KSAEs will be valued and needed. Practical implications: This paper opens up a debate about how project management/project organising work will be undertaken in future and what skills and expertise will be required. It also prompts project managers to think about how they will craft their careers in 2030 in response to expected work environment demands. This will have professional and learning implications. Social implications: The issue of the future workplace environment is highly relevant to the social context. Originality/value: This paper is about a projected future some 12 years onward from today. It bridges a gap in any future debate about how project organising jobs may change and how they will be delivered in the 2030s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate whether digital connectedness between family members, attained through social media, increases the intention to travel overseas to visit family or relatives. In the context of the education sector, this paper specifically investigates the likelihood of a family member traveling to see a family member who is currently studying in Australia, despite their regular interactions on digital social platforms. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws on the perspectives of earlier conceptual papers by Chacko et al. (2012) and Solnet and Hood (2008) in an effort to identify root causes and a possible solution. The context of Singapore and the international literature are also reviewed to establish theoretical and practical gaps that need to be filled. Findings: The study finds that both "perceived media richness" of social media and communication applications and the "perceived connectedness" gained through social media and communication applications have a positive effect on the "intention to travel to the study destination." Of the two variables measured in the study, perceived connectedness provides the strongest influence with nearly double the path coefficient as compared to the perceived media richness. Overall, an explanation of 32 per cent in one's intention to travel provides a substantial discovery of travel intentions. Originality/value: The role that digital social media like Facebook plays in human connectivity is not a foregone conclusion, when one could argue that digital connectivity especially enhanced by the richness of social media has the potential to replace or minimize physical relationships. Yet, this study demonstrates that such associations between the family members are in fact augmented by social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many higher education institutions are committed to developing students as skilled professionals and responsible citizens for a more sustainable future. In addition to the formal curriculum for sustainability education, there is an increasing interest in informal learning within universities. This paper aims to extend the current understanding of the diversity and significance of informal learning experiences in supporting students' learning for sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: Six focus groups were formed with 30 undergraduate and postgraduate students from an Australian higher education institution committed to supporting graduate competencies for sustainability. An inductive and qualitative inquiry was designed to enable participants to reflect on the ways in which their university experiences support meaningful and significant learning for sustainability. Findings: The paper presents a typology of the diverse communities of informal learning that students create and engage with. These range from ongoing to transient groups, from environmentally to more socially oriented groups and from incidental to intended learning, from local to national in scale, with varying types and degrees of connection to the formal curriculum and the university campus. The paper demonstrates that these student-led experiences support three domains of learning: cognitive, practical and affective. Originality/value: Deepening the understanding of the forms and significance of student-led learning within their university experience contributes to the identification of the roles that informal learning may play alongside formal education in developing graduates as agents of change for a more sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the variables which have contributed to the adoption of positive behaviour support (PBS) and applied behaviour analysis (ABA). Differences and similarities are highlighted, applications to contemporary issues in the UK and Australia are emphasised, and considerations posed for their improved adoption. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual framework for diffusion of innovations theory is used to guide the analysis of three sets of articles, and application of the framework is guided by narrative analysis. Findings: Eight variables from the conceptual framework were identified, and the communication networks for PBS and ABA are argued to be distinct. There has been a positive change in the perception of PBS by the ABA field, but PBS has leveraged diffusion more successfully. ABA appears to have been separated from PBS in the UK while Australia is yet to fully benefit from the contributions of ABA. Those working in the fields of PBS and ABA should further collaborate for their mutual benefit. Practical implications: Greater attention to the factors which promote diffusion can assist PBS and ABA to improve their adoption. Originality/value: This is the first paper to use diffusion of innovations theory to analyse the adoption of PBS and ABA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - There is an increasing recognition that health and social care professionals require the knowledge and skills to negotiate religious beliefs and cultures but as yet there is little understanding as to what this entails. The purpose of this paper is to explore what religious literacy means in regard to protecting children from sexual assault in Australia's Jewish community and Muslim women who experience domestic violence. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on two ongoing research studies, this paper provides an overview of the diverse perspectives found in the literature on child sexual assault in Jewish communities and Muslim women's experiences and responses to domestic violence. Findings - Individual and community attitudes and responses to child sexual assault and domestic violence do not fit stereotypes either within or beyond religious communities. Hence, educating for religious literacy needs to ensure stereotypes are recognised as undue simplifications of the truth and failure to understand this can result in harm. Furthermore, religious literacy is important for health and social care workers if they are to effectively engage with the leadership of religious communities to change community attitudes. Originality/value - This paper draws together common issues around the need for religious literacy when working with Jewish and Muslim communities in addressing issues of abuse and violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Trauma-informed care and practice (TICP) has gained international attention since the mid-1990s, but its recent adoption in Australia has been met with various barriers, including a lack of training and education opportunities to enhance professional knowledge and practice. This paper aims to identify and further understand what is occurring in TICP training and education for health and human service professionals in Australia; specifically, what is known about TICP content and training strategies being used. Design/methodology/approach: A scoping methodology was used to undertake a systematic search of the literature to identify and map the scope and nature of research activity on TICP training and education for professionals in Australia. Based on the predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, removal of duplications, abstract review and full-text screening, six studies met the inclusion criteria for content analysis in this review. Findings: The studies showed that TICP training and education was occurring predominantly in the Australian health sector for nursing professionals and improved knowledge, confidence to respond to disclosures of trauma and approaches to care. Training was commonly delivered through one-day workshops and brief Web-based approaches. The findings suggested that there is a need for consensus on TICP content to ensure that fidelity to the principles of TICP is promoted in unique workplace settings and for ongoing commitment by relevant stakeholders and funding bodies. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first review exploring what is happening across disciplines and sectors for trauma-informed education. The findings have implications for clinicians, professionals, educators and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Australian prisoner population has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of older inmates over the past decade, consistent with the greying of the prisoner population that is being observed worldwide. Reviews suggest the need for further evidence and practice outside of the USA. This paper aims to review and discuss the cost and social implications of the rising health-care needs of this population in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: A review of international research and policies is presented, as well as the results of basic economic modelling relating to the expected rise in health-care costs of the ageing prisoner population in Australia. Findings: Taking into consideration the continued rise in incarceration rates, the calculations show that the health costs of prisoners could increase by anywhere between 17% and 90% depending on whether the increase of older prisoners continues as it has in the past decade. These trends are likely to continue over the next decade and will result in higher health costs of prisons under a number of different imprisonment scenarios. Policy responses in Australia have been slow so far, with most initiatives being undertaken in the USA with promising results. Practical implications: The authors suggest that in the absence of a coordinated policy response, covering a range of interventions, costs will continue to increase, particularly as this population continues to age more rapidly than the general population due to an accumulation of risk factors. Well-conceived interventions would be a worthwhile investment from both financial and social perspectives. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first commentary to acknowledge this rising public health issue and to both review and model its implications for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Understanding the privacy concerns of individuals in the adoption of contact tracing apps is critical for the successful control of pandemics like COVID-19. This paper explores the privacy paradox in the adoption of contact tracing apps in Australia. Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive review of the related literature has been conducted, leading to the development of a conceptual model based on the privacy calculus theory and the antecedent-privacy concern-outcome framework. Such a model is then tested and validated using structural equation modelling on the survey data collected in Australia. Findings: The study shows that perceived benefit, perceived privacy risk and trust have significant influences on the adoption of contact tracing apps. It reveals that personal innovativeness and trust have significant and negative influences on perceived privacy risk. The study further finds out that personal innovativeness is insignificant to perceived benefit. It states that perceived ease of use has an insignificant influence on perceived privacy risk in the adoption of contact tracing apps. Originality/value: This study is the first attempt to use the privacy calculus theory and the antecedent–privacy concern–outcome framework for exploring the privacy paradox in adopting contact tracing apps. This leads to a better understanding of the privacy concerns of individuals in the adoption of contact tracing apps. Such an understanding can help formulate targeted strategies and policies for promoting the adoption of contact tracing apps and inform future epidemic control through effective contact tracing for better emergency management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper reports on a study that investigated the (potential) impact of client use of blockchain technology on financial statement audits of Australian accounting firms. Design/methodology/approach: Data were primarily collected from semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders including audit partners from first- and second-tier accounting firms in Australia. The interviews focused on the perceived (potential) impact of blockchain on the stages of obtain (retain) engagement, engagement planning, risk assessment, audit evidence and reporting of financial statement audits of clients that use blockchain technology. Perceptions of changes to financial statement audits were interpreted using the logics of professionalism and commercialism. Findings: Australian accounting firms have either obtained or considered engagements with clients with a cryptocurrency business or that use a blockchain platform although they are a small group. There is a view that blockchain technology is distinctive and therefore poses risks not encountered before in audit engagements. These risks would most likely shift how firms plan, design audit methodologies and execute financial statement audits. The study showed that the logics of professionalism and commercialism are not conflicting but instead complementary. They present both opportunities and challenges for firms to apply and develop audit expertise in an emerging area in audit. Research limitations/implications: Being an exploratory study, the findings are tentative. A case study of an audit engagement with a cryptocurrency business will add to a nuanced understanding of the challenges posed to financial statement audits by blockchain technology. Originality/value: This study is novel because of its focus on the impact of an evolving technology on the stages of financial statement audits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine online purchase behaviours amongst young consumers in Australia and the USA. It also aims to develop and test a theoretical framework of young consumers' online purchase behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through online surveys targeting young online shoppers in Australia and the USA. A multi-group structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed structural model and hypotheses. Findings: The model shows a good fit with the data. Young consumers in Australia and the USA have positive attitude towards online shopping that significantly affects their online purchase intentions. Social motive negatively impacts online purchase intentions in the Australian sample. Escapism and value motives positively affect Australian and American young shoppers' online purchase intentions. Young consumers in Australia and the USA are very familiar with the online shopping process. The familiarity strongly triggers their information search behaviour that leads to online purchase intentions. Practical implications: The results of this paper assist the marketers and policy makers to target and appeal to this young segment, based on their unique motivations, values and characteristics. Originality/value: Using the generational cohort theory, this paper contributes to the extant literature by providing insights on the Australian and American young generation's unique values and characteristics that influence their online purchase behaviours. This research also contributes insights for the marketers and policy makers to improve their marketing efforts and services and appeal to this young segment, based on their unique values and characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of Australian climate scientists in advancing the state of knowledge about the causes and mechanisms of climatic change and variability in the Southern Hemisphere during the 1970 and 1980s. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses the methods and insights of environmental history and the history of science to analyse archival and published data pertaining to research on atmospheric pollution, the Southern Oscillation and the regional impacts of climate change. Findings: Australia's geopolitical position, political interests and environmental sensitivities encouraged Australian scientists and policymakers to take a leading role in the Southern Hemisphere in the study of global environmental change. Originality/value: This article builds on critiques of the ways in which planetary and global knowledge and governance disguise the local and situated scientific and material processes that construct, sustain and configure them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper proposes a dialogical approach for analyzing and presenting Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) data in organizational research. Design/methodology/approach: The paper explores the story behind a story, showing how qualitative research can be fictionalized and reflexively framed in contemporary organizational settings, illustrated by IPA research conducted by the authors, into selection interviewing in Australia. Drawing from researchers' narrative notes that reflexively interpret interview data in narrative form, the data were re-interpreted in fictionalized dialogical form, enabling findings to be analyzed and presented more interactively. Findings: The application of new interpretative techniques, like fictionalized dialogue, contributes to a richer interpretation of phenomena in qualitative organizational and management research, not limited to IPA studies. Originality/value: Fictionalized dialogue brings to the surface an additional level of analysis that contributes to thematic analysis in a novel manner, also serving as a communicative tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Graduate attributes are about to be policed by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) in Australia. All universities proclaim them on their public web sites. The aim of this paper is to determine whether distinct patterns or clusters are apparent in the declared graduate attributes declared by Australian universities on their web sites. Design/methodology/approach – Work by scholars in the field of graduate attribute building is discussed, with particular reference to the tension between disciplinarity and attribute building and the relative failure of techniques so far espoused to demonstrate student attainment of graduate attributes. Some promising approaches to the serious problems of building and demonstrating graduate attributes are captured, and some recommendations for addressing the urgent and serious issues confronting the sector are put forward. Findings – Graduate attributes of each university are publicly available and these can be related to discussions of employer satisfaction and university value systems. An inspection of the top five attributes for each cluster of universities reveals significant cross cluster variation. Research limitations/implications – Content analysis of web sites is a crude instrument for gauging the real importance universities attach to their graduate attributes, even at the level of their discourse. Further research is needed on the isomorphism and decoupling going on with graduate attributes and employer expectations of universities. Social implications – There are grounds for hope that universities have not completely forgotten their role in society in favour of their competitive market gameplays. Originality/value – This is the first paper to display graduate attributes as ranked by clusters of Australian universities and by the whole sector; it is the first paper to link the accreditation risk from TEQSA with the relative vacuity of GA embedding processes to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Teaching and unit evaluations surveys are used to assess the quality of teaching and the quality of the unit of study. An analysis of teaching and unit evaluation survey practices in Australian universities suggests significant changes. One key change discussed in the paper is the shift from voluntary to mandatory use of surveys with the results used to assess and reward academic staff performance. The change in the direction is largely driven by the introduction of performance-based funding as part of quality assurance arrangements. The paper aims to outline the current trends and changes and the implications in the future such as increased scrutiny of teaching and intrusion to academic autonomy. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on the analysis of current teaching and unit evaluation practices across the Australian university sector. The paper presents the case of an Australian university that has introduced performance-based reward using various measures to assess and reward academic staff such as the outcome of student satisfaction surveys. The analysis of external quality audit findings related to teacher and unit evaluations is also presented. Findings – The findings suggest a shift in trend from the use of voluntary to mandatory tools to assess and reward quality teaching. The case of an Australian university outlined in the paper and the approach taken by seven other universities is largely driven by performance-based funding. One of the key concerns for many in higher education is the intrusion of academic autonomy with increased focus on outcomes and less emphasis on resources needed to produce excellence in learning and teaching and research. The increased reliance on student happiness as a measure of educational quality raises the questions on whether high student satisfaction would strengthen academic rigour and student attainment of learning outcomes and generic skills which are seen as key factors in graduate exit standards. Practical implications – The renewal of quality assurance and performance-based funding using student satisfaction as a measure of educational quality will result in increased use of student voice to assess learning and teaching outcomes. Such direction will increase the accountability on academics to improve student experience and the measures will be used to assess academic staff performance. Originality/value – The paper outlines the trends and changes in the teacher and unit evaluations in Australian universities and its implications in the future. The paper also provides a case of an Australian university that has recently made teacher and unit evaluations compulsory with the results used in academic staff annual performance review and linking reward with performance outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on corruption and misconduct evidenced from local government investigation reports in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Design/methodology/approach – A corruption and misconduct taxonomy was developed and the audit committee’s role was empirically tested. Findings – The empirical findings exhibited low support for audit committees overseeing corruption and misconduct allegations. The respondents generally considered that the chief executive was the appropriate person to manage investigations. Practical implications – The findings from the local government investigations and the empirical research emphasises the significance of culture and ethical practices to mitigate against corruption and misconduct. A culture of zero tolerance of corruption and misconduct was one of the best ways of a council demonstrating its integrity. Originality/value – This paper offers a local government perspective on the behavioural factors which provide the organisational conditions for corruption and misconduct to become the norm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether gender has an impact on real estate and built environment graduates’ employment outcomes, employment patterns and other important employment related issues, such as pay, role, contract type and employment opportunity in different states of a country. Design/methodology/approach – The data used in this paper has been collected from the Australian Graduate Survey (AGS). Data from the years 2010-2012 was combined into a single data set. Dimensionality reduction was used to prepare the data set for the courses listed in AGS data, in order to develop the simplified classifications for real estate and built environment courses which are used to conduct further analysis in this paper. Dimensionality reduction was also used to prepare data set for the further analysis of the employment outcomes and patterns for real estate graduates. Descriptive and statistical analysis methods were used to identify the impact of gender on the employment outcomes, employment patterns and other important employment related issues, such as pay, role, contract type and location of job, for real estate graduates in Australia. This paper also benchmarks the employment result of real estate graduates to built environment graduates. Findings – Recent male built environment graduates in Australia are more likely to gain full-time employment than females. The dominant role for recent female built environment graduates in Australia is a secretarial or administrative role while for the male it is a professional or technical role. Male real estate and built environment graduates are more likely to have a higher level of salary. Gender also has an impact on the contract type. Male built environment graduates are more likely to be employed on a permanent contract. On the other hand, gender has no impact on gaining employment in different states, such as New South Wales and Queensland, in Australia. The finding of this paper reinforces the view of previous literature, which is that male graduates have a more favourable employment outcomes and on better employment terms. The finding also shows that graduate employment outcomes for real estate and built environment graduates in Australia are similar to that in other countries, such as the UK, where equivalent studies have been published. Originality/value – This is pioneering research that investigates the impact of gender on employment outcomes, employment patterns and other employment related issues for real estate graduates and built environment graduates in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the non-financial causes of organizational success or failure, provide a better understanding of the symptoms of financial distress and improve the predictive capacity of financial failure models. Design/methodology/approach – The paper utilizes exploratory case studies in investigating the relationship of non-financial factors to organizational success or failure across a sample of sector-specific Australian firms listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. A two-tailed study was designed, in which seven cases from both extremes were chosen from three Australian business sectors: finance, property and manufacturing. Findings – Non-financial factors associated with the organizations studied impacted their success or failure. These factors included management skill, experience and involvement in organizational strategy, feedback and resultant activity, together with board of director composition. The identification of financial and non-financial factors and sound internal processes could be utilized for the development of an early warning predictor of organizational success or failure. Research limitations/implications – The use of this method is very time-consuming but is highly valuable in case study research, providing a more in-depth understanding of how non-financial factors impact organizational success or failure. Practical implications – The research will provide a better understanding of the symptoms of financial distress and improve the predictive capacity of financial failure models. The improvement in prediction of organizational failure will reduce the costs of failure to all areas affected, from the large corporation to the small business. The inter-connectivity of all businesses to each other often results in a knock-on effect of failure with the cost being borne by all members of the community in some manner. The level of social impact and cost of failure can only be seen by the enormous costs of the Global Financial Crisis failures. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature on effective qualitative research and explores important areas of consideration for those conducting qualitative multiple-case studies. It is intended to be of use to researchers investigating the area of predictors of organizational failure or success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a three-year Australian study of international business and accounting students and the transition to employment. For international students seeking to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive global labour market, foreign work experience is now an integral part of the overseas study “package”. Work-integrated learning (WIL) is seen to provide critical “employability” knowledge and skills, however, international students have low participation rates. The high value placed on WIL among international students poses challenges for Australia as well as opportunities. Understanding the issues surrounding international students and WIL is closely linked to Australia’s continued success in the international education sector which has broad, long-term, social and economic implications. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on 59 interviews with a range of stakeholders including international students, universities, government, employers and professional bodies. Central to the paper is an in-depth case study of WIL in the business and accounting discipline at one Australian university. Findings – Providing international students with access to discipline-related work experience has emerged as a critical issue for Australian universities. The study finds that enhancing the employability skills of internationals students via integrated career education, a focus on English language proficiency and “soft skills” development are central to success in WIL. Meeting the growing demand for WIL among international students requires a multipronged approach which hinges on cooperation between international students, universities, employers and government. Originality/value – This project aims to fill a critical knowledge gap by advancing theories in relation to international students and WIL. While there is a significant body of research in the fields of international education and WIL, there is an absence of research exploring the intersection between the two fields. The study will contribute to the advancement of knowledge in both fields by exploring the emerging issue of WIL and international students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the importance and concept of idol attachment, model its antecedents and moderators and assess its influence on human brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach – This paper includes two studies. In Study 1, survey questionnaires were distributed by mall intercept to quasi-random samples across Australia and Taiwan for completion and return. The return yielded 1,135 and 736 usable questionnaires, respectively, from which the data were analysed using LISREL structural equation modelling software. In Study 2, an experiment was used to examine whether idol attractiveness is likely to positively moderate the relationship between vanity traits and attachment. Findings – The results suggest that achievement vanity, variety seeking and peer norms have a positive impact on the phenomenon of idol attachment, which in turn positively affects human brand loyalty. Contradicting previous studies, the physical appearance of vanity was not found to be associated with idol attachment. However, the results of the experiment show that idol attractiveness has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between vanity traits and human brand attachment. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that idol attachment is more complex than previously understood. The constructs chosen in this research represent an initial step but other variables such as liking, involvement, affective commitment and brand love are not taken into account. Future research models should therefore include such variables. Practical implications – The findings contain many practical lessons for planners of marketing strategy for the music industry in an international context. Originality/value – Two existing theories of psychology are integrated with the concept of idol attachment to explain human brand loyalty in an international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore behavioural factors which are perceived to influence corrupt action in the Australian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draw on Rabl and Kühlmann’s Model of a corrupt action and the results of face-to-face interviews with 23 people working in the Australian construction industry. Findings – The results suggest that corruption is ambiguously defined yet perceived to be very common and primarily associated with personal gain rather than breaking the law. The main forms of corruption were identified as kickbacks, fraud and bribery and this behaviour is perceived to be driven by high goal feasibility, by conducive attitudes and supportive subjective norms and by high perceived behavioural control over being caught. Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a relatively small sample of 23 respondents and the use of snowball sampling may have meant that the respondents would tend to present a particular view of the industry. It is also important to point out that this research took place within a highly politicised environment coinciding the with launch of the third Royal Commission into corruption in the construction industry and is based on the respondent’s perceptions of corruption rather than incontrovertible evidence of corruption in practice. Nevertheless, given the care the authors took to avoid these biases, it does provide a useful window in the incidence and types of corruption in construction and the behavioural factors that might influence it. Practical implications – In terms of tackling corruption, it is recommended that greater attention be given to exploring the culture of the industry which appears to normalise corrupt behaviour and to the hidden informal “institutions” which appear to be undermining the many formal policies and procedures which have been put in place to tackle corruption in the construction industry. Social implications – The global construction industry has been identified by Transparency International as the most bribery-prone of 19 industries it rated. The cost is huge with scarce resources being diverted from much needed urban regeneration, community concerns about development being ignored, individual human rights being abused, productivity and efficiency being compromised and important environments, cultures and heritage being destroyed. In Australia, concerns about corruption in the construction industry have led to an unprecedented three Royal Commissions which have argued that there is a culture which encourages, accepts and rewards this behaviour. Originality/value – By using Rabl and Kühlmann’s Theory of a corrupt action this paper throws new light on how corruption is defined by members of the construction industry. The findings suggest that while formal technical and procedural solutions to corruption are important in addressing corruption they are likely to be undermined by strong cultures and informal institutions which dictate the “rules of the game” on the ground. There is a clear need to better understand how these informal institutions work to constrain formal rules devised to bring about reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how Harry Messel, Harold Wyndham, L.C. Robson and Robert Menzies were instrumental in bringing about substantial change in science curriculum and infrastructure reform in NSW schools. Design/methodology/approach – The paper relies on substantial archival research including materials never before examined or used by historians of education history. The paper is divided into sections, the first uses teacher surveys and identifies problems with science teaching in 1958, a key year in education history and each section after that looks at the contribution of Wyndham, Messel, Robson and Menzies in driving a new direction for science education. Findings – The research found that Wyndham, Messel, Robson and Menzies each contributed a new dimension to the reform of science education in Australia. Their individual contributions were substantial, inter-related and interlocking but quite different. The paper argues that it is not adequate to look at science education reform purely as a means to introduce State Aid, rather science education reform was advocated as a means to ensure students had a scientific literacy going forward into a technologically driven future. Research limitations/implications – The research strikes a path through a vast primary source record to outline how individuals and science teachers more generally believed in science education reform as a mechanism to ensure students were better placed to enter a post-Sputnik world. As a result, known arguments around State Aid are only part of the story and not the main focus of the research. The aim is to supplement that knowledge by looking more at a broader picture for science reform for its own sake. Originality/value – This paper takes an original approach to the history of curriculum change by providing a broader context for the State Aid debate, that is, by focussing on individual contributions to science education reform for its own sake and because science education was deemed necessary for student literacy in the future. At the same time it uses archival material never before accessed or used to tease out this history. The teachers’ surveys provide a unique insight into conditions for science teachers in the late 1950s. This material has not been accessed before and it provides a context upon which to superimpose the impact of the contributions of Wyndham, Messel, Robson and Menzies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the role of an under-graduate educational leadership in introducing students to the complexity of school leadership practice. Design/methodology/approach – Theoretically informed by Bourdieuian social theory and drawing on a questionnaire with a cohort of students, the paper evaluates a course in relation to achieving its outcomes. Findings – An analysis of student responses indicates that the course did introduce students to school leadership practice and assist in the construction of a school leadership disposition. Research limitations/implications – The theoretical resources used in the paper have significant implications for how researchers conceive of school leadership practice. Therefore, this paper may be the basis of further work. Practical implications – The findings of this work have implications for teacher educators and specifically universities. From this paper, the inclusion of an educational leadership course in under-graduate programs should become more the norm rather than the exception. Originality/value – This paper has value in two unique ways. First, there has been very little work undertaken on the role of educational leadership courses in under-graduate programs and in the context of increased political attention and no formal pre-requisites for the principalship in Australia, this work is both timely and significant. Second, this paper works with a sophisticated notion of school leadership practice and its location using social theory, a perspective that is uncommon in much of the literature on educational leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical account of four unsuccessful merger attempts between Australia's two major professional accounting bodies over a 30-year period (1969 to 1998), each of which ultimately failed. An analysis of the commonalities and differences across the four attempts is provided and social identity theory is used to explain the differences between members level of support for these merger bids. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a qualitative approach using a historical research methodology to source surviving business records from public archives and other data gathered from oral history interviews. Findings: The study found that, across all four merger attempts between Australia's two professional accounting bodies, there was strong support from society members (the perceived lower-status group) and opposition exhibited by institute members (the perceived higher-status group). This study also found that the perceived higher-status organisation always initiated merger discussions, while its members rejected the proposals in the members' vote. Research limitations/implications: This paper focusses on the Australian accounting profession, considering a historical account of merger attempts. Further research is required that includes interviews and surveys of those involved in making decisions regarding merger attempts. Originality/value: This paper is the first to examine in detail these four unsuccessful merger attempts between the largest accounting organisations in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to document the wage effects associated with sexual orientation and to examine whether the wage gap has improved following recent institutional changes which favour sexual minorities. Design/methodology/approach: Ordinary least squares and quantile regressions are estimated using Australian data for 2010–2012 and 2015–2017, with the analysis disaggregated by sector of employment. Blinder–Oaxaca decompositions are used to quantify unexplained wage gaps. Findings: Relative to heterosexual men, in 2015–2017 gay men in the public and private sectors had wages which were equivalent to heterosexual men at all points in the wage distribution. In the private sector: highly skilled lesbians experienced a wage penalty of 13 per cent; low-skilled bisexual women faced a penalty of 11 per cent, as did bisexual men at the median (8 per cent penalty). In the public sector low-skilled lesbians and low-skilled bisexual women significant experienced wage premiums. Between 2010–2012 and 2015–2017 the pay position of highly skilled gay men has significantly improved with the convergence driven by favourable wage (rather than composition) effects. Practical implications: The results provide important benchmarks against which the treatment of sexual minorities may be monitored. Originality/value: The analysis of the sexual minority wage gaps by sector and position on the wage distribution and insight into the effect of institutions on the wages of sexual minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: While businesses seek to engage customers, their efforts are often met with varied results, as some customers are more predisposed to engage than others. Understanding customers' dispositions to engage is central to understanding customer engagement, yet research examining customer engagement dispositions remains sparse and predominantly focused on personality traits. This paper aims to consider the general nature of a disposition and draws on qualitative findings to depict a framework for customer engagement dispositions. Design/methodology/approach: To investigate customer engagement dispositions comprehensively and in-depth, an exploratory qualitative approach was adopted. In total, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with customers in ongoing relationships with financial planners residing in Australia. Findings: Nine attributes reflecting customer engagement dispositions emerge from the data. These include the customer's internal tendency to engage (confidence, desire for control, extroversion and enthusiasm); a tendency to engage determined in the interaction with the service provider (sense of similarity, sense of social connection and trust in the service provider); and the capacity to engage (expertise and knowledge and time availability). Research limitations/implications: This study provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical measurement of customer engagement dispositions and their nomological network. Practical implications: This study establishes a foundation for managers to build distinct engagement disposition profiles and segments and target initiatives to maximize engagement activity. Originality/value: This research challenges the view of customer engagement dispositions as largely personality factors, or exclusively cognitive and emotional dimensions of engagement, and offers a comprehensive framework reflecting a customer's disposition to engage with a service provider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper explores the creation in Australia of the Register of Accountants for National Service. Established at the outset of the Second World War, the Register operated for four years from June 1940 providing voluntary, non-remunerated, part-time and after-hours services to a highly stressed and seriously stretched federal government bureaucracy by members of the main Australian professional accounting bodies. Departments of the Navy, Army, Air Force, Supply and Development and Munitions were the largest consumers of the services offered. Design/methodology/approach: The study of the Register relies mainly on an extensive archive of war-time documentation from the Federal Government and various accounting professional institutes which has survived, predominantly in the National Archives of Australia. The resource is particularly rich in material covering the complex negotiation processes that brought the Register into operation together with documentation recording and reporting the work of the Register. The themes of professionalization, institutional legitimacy, volunteerism and patriotism are all invoked to explain the presence of the Register in the machinery of government that was assembled to deliver the ultimately successful war effort. Created by the principal professional accounting institutes, the Register attests to the commitment of their members to the war effort and, thereby, the importance of the profession to Australian society. Findings: The perilous situation of Australia at a time of war provided a compelling incentive for the accounting profession to organise itself in an efficient and highly effective manner to assist with the war effort. The disparate and somewhat fractured accounting profession at the time was able to work together in a structured, cohesive and disciplined manner to provide voluntary services when called upon. To deliver the voluntary services promised, a purpose-built set of institutional arrangements was put in place. An extensive inventory of the potential services that could be provided by members of the main professional accounting bodies was conducted to facilitate the smooth matching of government needs with services available. Research limitations/implications: Discussion focusses only on Australia where the Register was unique. No other examples have been discovered where a profession has self-mobilised to serve a nation in a time of war. A further limitation is that the activities reported are restricted to self-reporting by the Register and a small loose collection of documents prepared by the Department of the Navy. Originality/value: The uniqueness of the Register is the core of the originality and value of this study. How and why it came into being and the method by which it completed the "task" assigned to it stand as testament to a profession strategically placed to contribute in a substantive manner to the war effort at minimal cost to the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the views of Australian primary school parents regarding the food and nutrition education (FNE) curriculum. Associations with personal values (Universalism and Hedonism) and demographic measures were also explored. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was conducted among 787 parents in March 2021. Parents rated the importance of 17 FNE topics. They were also asked about their support for six curriculum improvements and to state their own improvement suggestions. Findings: Parents viewed the "Effect of food on health" and "Food hygiene" as the most important topics. Three FNE components were derived: (1) food safety and preparation, (2) health and nutrition information, (3) food origins and environmental sustainability. The "Food safety and preparation" component score was associated with both universalism-nature and hedonism values but negatively associated with parental education. The "Health and nutrition information" component score was associated with universalism-nature value and main language spoken at home. Lastly, the "Food origins and environmental sustainability" component score was associated with universalism-nature value. The two personal values, universalism-nature and hedonism, were more strongly associated with parents' views of curriculum topics than parental demographic characteristics. Parents had several criticisms of current FNE, including school food environments not resonating with FNE taught in the classroom and that FNE might increase the risk of eating disorders. They also suggested that the FNE curriculum should support both parents and teachers by providing relevant resources and training. Originality/value: Australian parents' views of the importance of FNE topics and how to improve FNE in primary schools have been under-examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The broader challenges of youth employment and ageing population have collectively received global attention in the Sustainable Development Goals. Under the assumption that there are fertile opportunities to judiciously address the youth unemployment and labour shortages within the aged care sector, the purpose of this paper is to draw on the experiences of millennial aged care workers (MACWs) in Western Australia (WA).Design/methodology/approach The paper makes use of an exploratory research approach which involved three aged care facilities in WA. A total of 19 semi-structured interviews with MACWs (n=14), human resources managers of aged care facilities (n=3), government official (n=1), and a union representative (n=1) were carried out.Findings The results revealed that millennials prefer positive working relationships with managers, co-workers and residents, flexible work schedules and value the altruistic nature of the profession. In addition, unsupportive work environment and workplace pressure to satisfy the needs of elderly residents reduced millennials’ desire to remain in the industry.Originality/value These findings have the potential to inform human resources managers, aged care service providers and policy makers to formulate strategies to retain the millennials, especially the unemployed, considered vital to the vitality of the Australian aged care industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of academic human capital (HC) towards a university’s research performance measurement system (PMS), in response to a national research assessment exercise (RAE).Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on a subset of the data from a large mixed method case study research project about the impact of ERA on an Australian public sector university.Findings The findings reveal that the research PMSs were designed, implemented and used as a tool to measure and manage the research performance of HC within the university. The case study university performed well in the RAE. However, this also led to several unintended consequences in the form of fear and anxiety, gaming and strategic initiatives, a focus on quantity and not the quality of research, and increased workload, which led to a loss in the stock of HC.Practical implications This empirical evidence can inform governments and policy makers of the unintended consequences of government research evaluations on academic HC. University managers could improve the design of HC management systems by not only measuring academic HC performance, but also providing training and resources to enhance, support and maintain the overall well-being of academics.Originality/value This study provides insights regarding the connection between a university’s PMS and academic HC and contributes to the academic literature on intellectual capital and PMSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to adapt the traditional corporate portfolio management approach to the strategic management of multi-business portfolios in the public sector.Design/methodology/approach The approach presented in this paper is based on a research project conducted within the Defence Science and Technology Group, Australian Department of Defence. It was developed iteratively and incrementally over the course of one year with a reference group comprising 15 middle management representatives and several members of the senior management team.Findings The approach developed comprises a multi-stage process and an assessment framework designed to capture the complexity of the problem space, build a strategic narrative, and facilitate senior leadership decision-making. The process is aimed at eliciting the required information, promoting contestability of the results, ensuring appropriate consultation, and ultimately achieving senior leadership consensus on priorities. The assessment framework is used to assess and visualize the balance of organizational capabilities.Originality/value By synthesizing and visualizing information on past performance and future potential, the approach presented in this paper may be used to facilitate strategic decision-making by senior management in the public sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how highly skilled migrants to Australia integrate into the workplace, focussing on the factors that foster or hinder that integration.Design/methodology/approach An inductive method using an interpretive methodological approach was employed. In-depth interview data were analysed thematically.Findings Informal workplace practices, such as informal peer mentoring and having an “empathetic” supervisor, also assisted with integration, as did migrant self-help strategies. Factors hindering integration included structural barriers outside the organisation and workplace factors such as racism, cultural barriers and individual factors that centred on the migrants themselves.Research limitations/implications While the exploratory qualitative enquiry sheds light on issues of concern regarding workplace integration of skilled migrants, further studies with diverse migrant groups would be required to understand if the findings could be replicated. An industry or sector-wise migrant study would shed more light on the issues.Practical implications Fostering and hindering factors identified through the lens of four workplace integration theories can inform workplace integration strategies and related policy formulation.Originality/value Informed by four theories of integration, the findings shed light on the everyday workplace experiences of linguistically competent, self-initiated, highly skilled migrants from diverse ethnic/cultural backgrounds in Australian workplaces in a range of industries. While previous research has identified problems experienced by migrants at work, this paper explores factors fostering and hindering workplace integration through the lens of the lived experiences of skilled migrant workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Public health authorities have long regarded schools as important sites for improving children and young people’s health. In Australia, and elsewhere, lessons on health have been an integral component of public health’s strategy mix. Historical accounts of schools’ involvement in public health lack discussion of the role of health education curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to redress this silence and illustrate the ways health education functioned as a key governmental apparatus in Victoria in the 1980s. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on governmentality studies to consider the explicit governmental role of official health education curriculum in the 1980s in Victoria,Australia. The authors conduct a discourse analysis of the three official curriculum texts that were released during this period to consider the main governmental rationalities and techniques that were assembled together by curriculum writers. Findings – School health education functions as a key governmental apparatus of governmentality. One of its major functions is to provide opportunities to responsibilise young people with an aim to ensure that that they can perform their duty to be well. The authors demonstrate the central role of policy events in the 1970s and how they contributed to conditions of possibility that shaped versions of health education throughout the 1980s and beyond. Despite challenges posed by the critical turn in health education in the late 1980s, the governmental forces that shape health education are strong and have remained difficult to displace. Originality/value – Many public health and schooling histories fail to take into account insights from the history of education and curriculum studies. The authors argue that in order to grasp the complexities of school health education, we need to consider insights afforded by curriculum histories. Historical insights can provide us with an understanding of the changing approaches to governing health in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to provide insights into salient issues in the development of the Integrated Reporting () Framework, and emerging issues in the implementation of this Framework, with the aim of identifying opportunities for future research. The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has recently produced a reporting framework for the preparation of a concise, user-oriented corporate report which expands the scope of a company's reporting using a multiple capitals concept and requires a description of a company's business model, allowing a better communication of its value creation proposition. To gain international acceptance, the market-based benefits of adopting the framework must be demonstrated. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper takes the form of an archival analysis of the responses to the IIRC's public consultation phases, providing insights into arguments for and against salient aspects of the framework, and identifying issues that would benefit from future research. Findings -- Identifying issues that arose during the framework preparation, this paper identifies a range of future research opportunities and outlines the research approaches by which academics can assess the costs and benefits of companies reporting in accordance with the Framework and assuring this information. Research limitations/implications -- Research opportunities associated with the International () Framework and associated assurance are identified. Practical implications -- This paper provides insights and details of the process of adoption of and has implications for adopters and assurance providers of integrated reports, standard setters and regulators. The development of a sophisticated business case informed by rigorous research will be critical to the further uptake of . Social implications -- Research opportunities identified include the expansion of the Framework to reporting entities other than corporations, including government and not-for-profit organisations, as well as measurement and assurance of a broader array of capitals, including social capital. Originality/value -- The paper identifies research opportunities from an archival analysis of the responses to the IIRC's public consultation phases, providing insights into arguments for and against salient aspects of the framework that would benefit from future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - As neoliberal reforms take hold in the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia, there is renewed interest in the quality of teaching practice. However, despite the value of practitioner inquiry to the quality of teaching in schools, scholarly practice in higher education, and established links between the quality of teaching and outcomes for learners and between practice-based inquiry and pedagogic innovation in VET, the practices has received little attention. The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of a college-wide culture of scholarly activity to learners, enterprises, VET institutions, educators and the national productivity agenda. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on the education literature, empirical examples of scholarly activity drawn from the authors' experiences of working with VET practitioners, this paper asks what constitutes research and inquiry in VET, why should these practices be integral to educative practice and what value do they bring to the sector? In addressing the questions, the authors explore how research and inquiry is defined in the literature and draw on three empirical examples of scholarly activities to provide a national, institutional and individual view. A discussion about the value of scholarly activities to VET stakeholders and how the practices might be fostered and sustained concludes the paper. Findings - The paper concludes that practice-based scholarly activities in VET cultivate rich potential for renewed and innovative pedagogies that improve outcomes for learners, respond to industry demands for innovative skills, build "pedagogic capital" for VET institutions, enrich the knowledge base of policy makers and build resilience and professionalism. The authors conclude by positioning VET educators as scholars in their own right along a continuum of scholarly activity and posing the proposition that when valued, scholarly activities are practices for new times that will build a strong and vibrant profession for the future. Research limitations/implications - This paper brings together the authors' experiences of working with VET practitioners as the authors engage in scholarly activities. While each vignette was drawn from a formal research project in each case, the paper itself was not structured around a formal research activity, although a small survey was undertaken for vignette 1. This poses limitations to the findings of the study. However, the purpose of the paper is not to be conclusive but to forward an argument for more scholarly activity in VET in order to promote further research and debate. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the current debate in Australia about the quality of teaching in VET and the sectors' capability to produce "work-ready" graduates. It brings to the fore the value of scholarly activity for educators, learners, industry and communities, VET institutions and the broader national innovation agenda. As such, it has relevance to all VET stakeholders, most particularly policy makers, leaders and practitioners in VET. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the value relevance of intangible assets, including goodwill and other types of intangibles in the pre- and post-adoption periods of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Most importantly, this paper investigates whether the value relevance of reported intangible assets is associated with their value reliability. Furthermore, this paper reports whether the adoption of IFRS improves the value relevance of intangible assets and alters the relationship between value relevance and reliability. Design/methodology/approach – Both price and return models based on Ohlosn theory (1995) are employed to test the value relevance and value reliability of intangibles. Australian-listed firms with capitalised intangibles from 2001 to 2009 are selected in this study. The sample includes 6,650 firm-year observations. Findings – The main result shows that capitalised intangible assets are value relevant in Australia, in both the pre- and post-adoption of IFRS periods. Value relevance is higher in firms with more reliable information on intangible assets. This study finds that the value relevance of intangibles has declined in the post-adoption period of IFRS. However, the positive relationship between the value relevance and the reliability of intangibles has remained unchanged in the post-adoption period. Originality/value – The paper contributes a new measurement of value reliability of accounting information about intangibles. This paper is one of few studies on the relationship between value relevance and reliability of intangible assets. The results show that value relevance is positively associated with value reliability. This suggests that, when accounting standard setters assess whether the existing IFRS of intangibles should be improved in the future, they need to think not only in terms of whether the standard can provide more relevant information of intangibles to investors but also whether the standard can make the information of intangibles more reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to comparatively analyze how top corporations in New Zealand, Australia and the Global Fortune 500 group communicate about climate science. Design/methodology/approach: A combination of keyword count and quantitative content analysis is used to develop a reliable set of indicators to measure corporate communication about climate science. Findings: Just a few corporations mention or explicitly agree with scientific consensus on climate change and few report science-based targets. They report more frequently on societal risks of climate change, as well as business contribution and responsibility. New Zealand based corporations generally do poor reporting compared to Australian corporations, who do as well as the biggest corporations in the world. Research limitations/implications: There is a further need for cross-country research and for more longitudinal analysis to understand how organizations communicate about scientific issues to its stakeholders. Practical implications: This paper can inform communication managers about the need to pay attention to how their communication, individually and in comparison with their peers, is likely interpreted by the stakeholders. Managers may attend to scientific consensus messaging to gain stakeholder approval for ambitious business actions on climate change. Social implications: Organizations are powerful social and economic drivers. Understanding how they interpret and communicate a scientific issue has implications for public and policy discourses and outcomes. Originality/value: This is the first paper to comparatively identify common and contextual drivers of business communication of complex scientific issues. A reliable scale to measure climate science communication by corporations will be helpful for future researchers to replicate in other sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the attributes – skills, education and qualifications – required to be a contemporary corporate investigator. Design/methodology/approach: To address heretofore unexplored areas in the literature, this study used data collected from semi-structured interviews with 33 corporate investigators in Australia. Findings: This paper highlights the complexities that surround corporate investigations and identifies nine attributes critical for investigative success. The findings identify some commonalities with police–detective skills and suggest that the corporate investigator needs the skills of an accountant and a lawyer to complement these investigative skills. Originality/value: Studies of private investigators are rare as such; therefore, this paper fills a gap in academic literature by examining the skills necessary to conduct private investigations of corporate and white-collar crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]