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Commonwealth and State use of private hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic, combined with social distancing measures, could cut benefit payments to people insured by Australia’s private health insurers by 30% to 50%, or $3.5 billion to $5.5 billion. Regulators should enforce a similar reduction in premium payments. Reductions in premiums to consumers could save the Commonwealth in excess of $1 billion by reducing its Public Health Insurance Rebate Subsidy.

Commonwealth and State use of private hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic, combined with social distancing measures, could cut benefit payments to people insured by Australia’s private health insurers by 30% to 50%, or $3.5 billion to $5.5 billion. Regulators should enforce a similar reduction in premium payments. Reductions in premiums to consumers could save the Commonwealth in excess of $1 billion by reducing its Public Health Insurance Rebate Subsidy.

The UK's Labour Party recently voted in a policy to effectively abolish private schools and integrate them into the state system. This is a courageous move designed to redress social inequity - many of those working in the top levels of the UK government were educated in private schools. Two of Britain's three most recent prime ministers went to the prestigious Eton College, which charges annual fees of more than £40,000. The UK opposition party's plan will likely warm the hearts of similarly minded Australians. Many of the same arguments about educational inequality have been floated in Australia. Many individuals and organisations have also, for years, been calling for the government to stop funding non-government schools. But implementing a policy in Australia like that proposed in the UK would prove very difficult. For one thing, it's a matter of numbers. Only 5% of the United Kingdom's students go to a private school. The challenges are magnified in Australia where nearly 15% of students are enrolled in independent schools and nearly 20% in Catholic parish schools. But beyond that, Australia's complex set of school governance structures would make such a move very unlikely to succeed.

The point-inclusion problem is an important secure multi-party computation that it involves two parties, where one has a private point and the other has a private area, and they want to determine whether the point is inside the area without revealing their respective private information. All previously proposed point-inclusion protocols are only suitable for a specific area, such as circle, rectangle and convex polygon. In this paper, we present a novel privacy-preserving point-inclusion quantum protocol for an arbitrary area, which is surrounded by any plane geometric figure. Compared to the classical related protocols, our protocol has the advantages of the higher security and the lower communication complexity.

The point-inclusion problem is an important secure multi-party computation that it involves two parties, where one has a private point and the other has a private area, and they want to determine whether the point is inside the area without revealing their respective private information. All previously proposed point-inclusion protocols are only suitable for a specific area, such as circle, rectangle and convex polygon. In this paper, we present a novel privacy-preserving point-inclusion quantum protocol for an arbitrary area, which is surrounded by any plane geometric figure. Compared to the classical related protocols, our protocol has the advantages of the higher security and the lower communication complexity.

The point-inclusion problem is an important secure multi-party computation that it involves two parties, where one has a private point and the other has a private area, and they want to determine whether the point is inside the area without revealing their respective private information. All previously proposed point-inclusion protocols are only suitable for a specific area, such as circle, rectangle and convex polygon. In this paper, we present a novel privacy-preserving point-inclusion quantum protocol for an arbitrary area, which is surrounded by any plane geometric figure. Compared to the classical related protocols, our protocol has the advantages of the higher security and the lower communication complexity.

The point-inclusion problem is an important secure multi-party computation that it involves two parties, where one has a private point and the other has a private area, and they want to determine whether the point is inside the area without revealing their respective private information. All previously proposed point-inclusion protocols are only suitable for a specific area, such as circle, rectangle and convex polygon. In this paper, we present a novel privacy-preserving point-inclusion quantum protocol for an arbitrary area, which is surrounded by any plane geometric figure. Compared to the classical related protocols, our protocol has the advantages of the higher security and the lower communication complexity.

Private vehicles have become the most common mode of daily travel. This is one effect of the poor accessibility of public transportation. This paper attempts to use a study based on a survey of commuters in order to devise ways of encouraging the use of public transportation. Two different public transport policies were examined: (i) once-an-hour direct bus service from home to university (policy 1), and (ii) park-and-ride facilities (policy 2). Binary logistics models are proposed with the intention of comparing the utility of travel modes between private cars and public buses. These models are also used to identify the factors which have the potential to encourage car users to switch from travelling by cars to public buses. Explanatory factors considered in all three models include: occupation, trip length, travel time, trip frequency, gender, age and possession of a license. We began from the basic scenario by focusing on existing services without considering any new policy. The consequences of two new policies were then analysed in order to identify those factors which influence the choice of travel mode and which can predict the probability of behavioural change. All the proposed logistics models are evaluated using real-world data (with 4410 samples) from a survey carried out at the University of Wollongong (UOW), Australia. Stated preference (SP) questionnaires were used to collect relevant information on the choice of travel mode. Based on the proposed models, findings identify a hierarchy of importance of relevant factors which could assist decision makers to design and implement more successful future transport service(s).

Purpose - While financial fraud against the private health insurance sector in Australia has commonalities to other countries with similar health systems, in Australia fraud against the industry has garnered unique characteristics. The purpose of this article is to shed light on these features, especially the fraught relationship between the private health funds and the public health insurance agency, Medicare and the problematic impact of the Privacy Act on fraud detection and financial recovery. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative methodological approach was used and interviews were conducted with fraud managers from Australia’s largest private health insurance funds and experts in fields connected to health fraud detection. Findings – The industry profits from a robust regulatory framework, as well as the use of business and clinical rules and strong analytics. However, the sector is not uniform and the problems are not uniform. The fraud managers in the funds have differing approaches to recovery action and this range from police action, the use of debt recovery agencies, to de-recognition from the health funds. Most funds reported a need for more technological resources and higher staffing levels to manage fraud. They all viewed the Privacy Act as an impediment to managing fraud against their organizations and they desired that there be greater information sharing between themselves and Medicare. Originality/value – This paper contributes to knowledge of financial fraud in the private health insurance sector in Australia.

Statement of Problem: Blended learning is the integration of educational information communication technologies with traditional face-to-face teaching (Colis & Moonen, 2001). In the twenty-first century, with the new generation of digital native students, adopting blended learning to enhance student learning experience is no longer a question, but a given. But, are all schools able to integrate blended learning into their teaching and learning environments and prepare their students with the necessary digital skills desired by higher education institutions and employers alike? What are the barriers to adopting blended learning by schools that cater to students from medium-low wage households? Significance and relevance of work:: The pilot study is carried out on one private school that caters to students from medium to minimum-low wage households in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates is very diligent and conscientious towards educational improvements in the country. The nation's 2021 vision aims to improve the nation's education sector to become competitive not just in the region, but in the world (National Qualifications Authority, 2013). The Emirate Dubai's Ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum always encourages advances in education and the role of information communication technology in boosting education (Arabian Business, 2014). The government has initiated many projects geared to support the public schools and implement technology for the benefit of the students. However, this research is very timely because it focuses on the private schools in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, particularly those schools that cater to students from medium to low income households. The findings of this study are expected to be beneficial to the following stakeholders:  Private schools  Teachers  Parents Governing bodies Description of research method: As this is the phase one of the pilot study, a mixed-method approach has been used in order to

Statement of Problem: Blended learning is the integration of educational information communication technologies with traditional face-to-face teaching (Colis & Moonen, 2001). In the twenty-first century, with the new generation of digital native students, adopting blended learning to enhance student learning experience is no longer a question, but a given. But, are all schools able to integrate blended learning into their teaching and learning environments and prepare their students with the necessary digital skills desired by higher education institutions and employers alike? What are the barriers to adopting blended learning by schools that cater to students from medium-low wage households? Significance and relevance of work:: The pilot study is carried out on one private school that caters to students from medium to minimum-low wage households in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates is very diligent and conscientious towards educational improvements in the country. The nation's 2021 vision aims to improve the nation's education sector to become competitive not just in the region, but in the world (National Qualifications Authority, 2013). The Emirate Dubai's Ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum always encourages advances in education and the role of information communication technology in boosting education (Arabian Business, 2014). The government has initiated many projects geared to support the public schools and implement technology for the benefit of the students. However, this research is very timely because it focuses on the private schools in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, particularly those schools that cater to students from medium to low income households. The findings of this study are expected to be beneficial to the following stakeholders:  Private schools  Teachers  Parents Governing bodies Description of research method: As this is the phase one of the pilot study, a mixed-method approach has been used in order to

Statement of Problem: Blended learning is the integration of educational information communication technologies with traditional face-to-face teaching (Colis & Moonen, 2001). In the twenty-first century, with the new generation of digital native students, adopting blended learning to enhance student learning experience is no longer a question, but a given. But, are all schools able to integrate blended learning into their teaching and learning environments and prepare their students with the necessary digital skills desired by higher education institutions and employers alike? What are the barriers to adopting blended learning by schools that cater to students from medium-low wage households? Significance and relevance of work:: The pilot study is carried out on one private school that caters to students from medium to minimum-low wage households in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates is very diligent and conscientious towards educational improvements in the country. The nation's 2021 vision aims to improve the nation's education sector to become competitive not just in the region, but in the world (National Qualifications Authority, 2013). The Emirate Dubai's Ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum always encourages advances in education and the role of information communication technology in boosting education (Arabian Business, 2014). The government has initiated many projects geared to support the public schools and implement technology for the benefit of the students. However, this research is very timely because it focuses on the private schools in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, particularly those schools that cater to students from medium to low income households. The findings of this study are expected to be beneficial to the following stakeholders:  Private schools  Teachers  Parents Governing bodies Description of research method: As this is the phase one of the pilot study, a mixed-method approach has been used in order to

Statement of Problem: Blended learning is the integration of educational information communication technologies with traditional face-to-face teaching (Colis & Moonen, 2001). In the twenty-first century, with the new generation of digital native students, adopting blended learning to enhance student learning experience is no longer a question, but a given. But, are all schools able to integrate blended learning into their teaching and learning environments and prepare their students with the necessary digital skills desired by higher education institutions and employers alike? What are the barriers to adopting blended learning by schools that cater to students from medium-low wage households? Significance and relevance of work:: The pilot study is carried out on one private school that caters to students from medium to minimum-low wage households in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates is very diligent and conscientious towards educational improvements in the country. The nation's 2021 vision aims to improve the nation's education sector to become competitive not just in the region, but in the world (National Qualifications Authority, 2013). The Emirate Dubai's Ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum always encourages advances in education and the role of information communication technology in boosting education (Arabian Business, 2014). The government has initiated many projects geared to support the public schools and implement technology for the benefit of the students. However, this research is very timely because it focuses on the private schools in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, particularly those schools that cater to students from medium to low income households. The findings of this study are expected to be beneficial to the following stakeholders:  Private schools  Teachers  Parents Governing bodies Description of research method: As this is the phase one of the pilot study, a mixed-method approach has been used in order to

This article explores the constructs of private social and commercial hospitality in a panoramic examination of the impact and potential future development of the three-domain approach. Focused primarily (but not exclusively) on the books In Search of Hospitality: theoretical perspectives and debates, and Hospitality: A Social Lens, the article describes how the three-domain approach provides a theoretical framework to inform the holistic study of hospitality and discusses the importance of the broader phenomenon of hospitality in private, social and commercial hospitality provision.

This article explores the constructs of private social and commercial hospitality in a panoramic examination of the impact and potential future development of the three-domain approach. Focused primarily (but not exclusively) on the books In Search of Hospitality: theoretical perspectives and debates, and Hospitality: A Social Lens, the article describes how the three-domain approach provides a theoretical framework to inform the holistic study of hospitality and discusses the importance of the broader phenomenon of hospitality in private, social and commercial hospitality provision.

I have a vivid primary school memory of playing with another child of similar age who cautioned, "Sister told us not to play with the publics." The public-private divide still exists today with ongoing debates about funding struggles, comparisons of the quality of infrastructure, values, standards and discipline being discussed and compared. There is a perception among parents that they will help their children do better academically if they send them to a non-government school. Lately, a new debate has surged with the comparison of educational outcomes questioning which system produces the better student. When weighing up such serious financial and life decisions parents need to go directly to the evidence.

We analyze the effect of an individual insurance mandate (Medicare Levy Surcharge) on the demand for private health insurance (PHI) in Australia. With administrative income tax return data, we show that the mandate has several distinct effects on taxpayers' behavior. First, despite the large tax penalty for not having PHI coverage relative to the cost of the cheapest eligible insurance policy, compliance with mandate is relatively low: the proportion of the population with PHI coverage increases by 6.5 percentage points (15.6%) at the income threshold where the tax penalty starts to apply. This effect is most pronounced for young taxpayers, while the middle aged seem to be least responsive to this specific tax incentive. Second, the discontinuous increase in the average tax rate at the income threshold created by the policy generates a strong incentive for tax avoidance which manifests itself through bunching in the taxable income distribution below the threshold. Finally, after imposing some plausible assumptions, we extrapolate the effect of the policy to other income levels and show that this policy has not had a significant impact on the overall demand for private health insurance in Australia.

Australia has had a long experience with a unique version of hate speech laws in which hate speech is posited as a discriminatory harm. The regulatory schemes in most jurisdictions require a person to lodge a complaint regarding an instance of hate speech with the relevant human rights authority in that jurisdiction, which then attempts to conciliate a resolution (typically involving an apology or agreement to desist) between the complainant and the identified respondent. It is only after a complaint has been lodged with the human rights authority that a complaint may be terminated, and then a case can be brought to a tribunal (in the case of state/territory laws) or federal court (in the case of federal law).

We analyze the effect of an individual insurance mandate (Medicare Levy Surcharge) on the demand for private health insurance (PHI) in Australia. With administrative income tax return data, we show that the mandate has several distinct effects on taxpayers' behavior. First, despite the large tax penalty for not having PHI coverage relative to the cost of the cheapest eligible insurance policy, compliance with mandate is relatively low: the proportion of the population with PHI coverage increases by 6.5 percentage points (15.6%) at the income threshold where the tax penalty starts to apply. This effect is most pronounced for young taxpayers, while the middle aged seem to be least responsive to this specific tax incentive. Second, the discontinuous increase in the average tax rate at the income threshold created by the policy generates a strong incentive for tax avoidance which manifests itself through bunching in the taxable income distribution below the threshold. Finally, after imposing some plausible assumptions, we extrapolate the effect of the policy to other income levels and show that this policy has not had a significant impact on the overall demand for private health insurance in Australia.

Australia has had a long experience with a unique version of hate speech laws in which hate speech is posited as a discriminatory harm. The regulatory schemes in most jurisdictions require a person to lodge a complaint regarding an instance of hate speech with the relevant human rights authority in that jurisdiction, which then attempts to conciliate a resolution (typically involving an apology or agreement to desist) between the complainant and the identified respondent. It is only after a complaint has been lodged with the human rights authority that a complaint may be terminated, and then a case can be brought to a tribunal (in the case of state/territory laws) or federal court (in the case of federal law).

[extract] AROC • Australasian Rehabilitation Outcomes Centre • National rehabilitation clinical registry - Australian and New Zealand • Established and manages national benchmarking system whose objective is to improve clinical rehabilitation outcomes for patients • Promotes the importance of rehabilitation in the continuum of care • Almost 100% coverage inpatient rehab units (232 units in Aus, 40 in NZ) • AROC receives data describing more than 100,000 episodes of rehab per year

This is the second AROC Outcome Targets Report which graphically compares your facility's data to the AROC Benchmark (as set by AROC members). For each impairment that has had outcome targets established we provide background information on the development of the impairment specific target and graphically present the results for all facilities with sufficient data on this impairment.

It has been addressed in the existing literature that the volume-capacity (v/c) ratio on a private toll road is constant, regardless of the toll value and capacity set by the private companies for each toll road in the network. The previous derivation depends on the assumption that the user equilibrium flow on the private toll road is continuously differentiable with respect to its capacity and toll charge. In this paper, it is shown that the constant v/c ratio phenomenon still holds via relaxing this assumption. Such phenomenon is further examined in different scenarios: the v/c ratio remains constant under the demand regulation, markup charge regulation, and social cost minimization scheme; it may change under the rate-of-return regulation; it may decrease under capacity regulation and increase under the price-cap regulation. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that the v/c ratio may change if there are decreasing or increasing returns to scale in road construction, or the road capacity can only take discrete values, or link flow interactions are involved, whereas the v/c ratio remains constant in case of elastic demand.

It has been addressed in the existing literature that the volume-capacity (v/c) ratio on a private toll road is constant, regardless of the toll value and capacity set by the private companies for each toll road in the network. The previous derivation depends on the assumption that the user equilibrium flow on the private toll road is continuously differentiable with respect to its capacity and toll charge. In this paper, it is shown that the constant v/c ratio phenomenon still holds via relaxing this assumption. Such phenomenon is further examined in different scenarios: the v/c ratio remains constant under the demand regulation, markup charge regulation, and social cost minimization scheme; it may change under the rate-of-return regulation; it may decrease under capacity regulation and increase under the price-cap regulation. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that the v/c ratio may change if there are decreasing or increasing returns to scale in road construction, or the road capacity can only take discrete values, or link flow interactions are involved, whereas the v/c ratio remains constant in case of elastic demand.

It has been addressed in the existing literature that the volume-capacity (v/c) ratio on a private toll road is constant, regardless of the toll value and capacity set by the private companies for each toll road in the network. The previous derivation depends on the assumption that the user equilibrium flow on the private toll road is continuously differentiable with respect to its capacity and toll charge. In this paper, it is shown that the constant v/c ratio phenomenon still holds via relaxing this assumption. Such phenomenon is further examined in different scenarios: the v/c ratio remains constant under the demand regulation, markup charge regulation, and social cost minimization scheme; it may change under the rate-of-return regulation; it may decrease under capacity regulation and increase under the price-cap regulation. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that the v/c ratio may change if there are decreasing or increasing returns to scale in road construction, or the road capacity can only take discrete values, or link flow interactions are involved, whereas the v/c ratio remains constant in case of elastic demand.

This is the second AROC Outcome Targets Report which graphically compares your facility's data to the AROC Benchmark (as set by AROC members). For each impairment that has had outcome targets established we provide background information on the development of the impairment specific target and graphically present the results for all facilities with sufficient data on this impairment.

Private-sector organizations play a critical role in shaping the food environments of individuals and populations. However, there is currently very limited independent monitoring of private-sector actions related to food environments. This paper reviews previous efforts to monitor the private sector in this area, and outlines a proposed approach to monitor private-sector policies and practices related to food environments, and their influence on obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention. A step-wise approach to data collection is recommended, in which the first ('minimal') step is the collation of publicly available food and nutrition-related policies of selected private-sector organizations. The second ('expanded') step assesses the nutritional composition of each organization's products, their promotions to children, their labelling practices, and the accessibility, availability and affordability of their products. The third ('optimal') step includes data on other commercial activities that may influence food environments, such as political lobbying and corporate philanthropy. The proposed approach will be further developed and piloted in countries of varying size and income levels. There is potential for this approach to enable national and international benchmarking of private-sector policies and practices, and to inform efforts to hold the private sector to account for their role in obesity and NCD prevention.

of paper presented at the 2013 Exercise & Sports Science Australia Business Forum, 18-19 May, Wollongong, Australia.

Subjective Well-being (SWB) is becoming recognised in its own right as a key quality of life indicator, above and beyond economic growth, on the basis of several important studies and pieces of work by psychologists and economists (e.g. Diener et al. 1999, Michalos 2007). Well-being and happiness have also been strongly promoted in the last decade by positive psychologists as a critical component of good mental health (Seligman et al. 2005). They are rising in profile as credible alternative indicators to income in national economic contexts of social progress (Diener and Seligman 2004, Layard 2005, Stiglitz et al. 2009). However, the role of public and private spaces in shaping wellbeing has received scant attention in this literature

Private-sector organizations play a critical role in shaping the food environments of individuals and populations. However, there is currently very limited independent monitoring of private-sector actions related to food environments. This paper reviews previous efforts to monitor the private sector in this area, and outlines a proposed approach to monitor private-sector policies and practices related to food environments, and their influence on obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention. A step-wise approach to data collection is recommended, in which the first ('minimal') step is the collation of publicly available food and nutrition-related policies of selected private-sector organizations. The second ('expanded') step assesses the nutritional composition of each organization's products, their promotions to children, their labelling practices, and the accessibility, availability and affordability of their products. The third ('optimal') step includes data on other commercial activities that may influence food environments, such as political lobbying and corporate philanthropy. The proposed approach will be further developed and piloted in countries of varying size and income levels. There is potential for this approach to enable national and international benchmarking of private-sector policies and practices, and to inform efforts to hold the private sector to account for their role in obesity and NCD prevention.

of paper presented at the 2013 Exercise & Sports Science Australia Business Forum, 18-19 May, Wollongong, Australia.

It has been addressed in the existing literature that the volume-capacity (v/c) ratio on a private toll road is constant, regardless of the toll value and capacity set by the private companies for each toll road in the network. The previous derivation depends on the assumption that the user equilibrium flow on the private toll road is continuously differentiable with respect to its capacity and toll charge. In this paper, it is shown that the constant v/c ratio phenomenon still holds via relaxing this assumption. Such phenomenon is further examined in different scenarios: the v/c ratio remains constant under the demand regulation, markup charge regulation, and social cost minimization scheme; it may change under the rate-of-return regulation; it may decrease under capacity regulation and increase under the price-cap regulation. Moreover, this paper demonstrates that the v/c ratio may change if there are decreasing or increasing returns to scale in road construction, or the road capacity can only take discrete values, or link flow interactions are involved, whereas the v/c ratio remains constant in case of elastic demand.

Subjective Well-being (SWB) is becoming recognised in its own right as a key quality of life indicator, above and beyond economic growth, on the basis of several important studies and pieces of work by psychologists and economists (e.g. Diener et al. 1999, Michalos 2007). Well-being and happiness have also been strongly promoted in the last decade by positive psychologists as a critical component of good mental health (Seligman et al. 2005). They are rising in profile as credible alternative indicators to income in national economic contexts of social progress (Diener and Seligman 2004, Layard 2005, Stiglitz et al. 2009). However, the role of public and private spaces in shaping wellbeing has received scant attention in this literature

This is the second AROC Outcome Targets Report which graphically compares your facility's data to the AROC Benchmark (as set by AROC members). For each impairment that has had outcome targets established we provide background information on the development of the impairment specific target and graphically present the results for all facilities with sufficient data on this impairment.

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to explore the market orientation of the private universities in Bangladesh. The study further aims to investigate the relationships between market orientation and business performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were collected from the faculty members of business and non-business schools of the 15 private universities in Bangladesh. A total number of 314 faculty members were interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Reliability, convergent and discriminant validity issues of the data were assessed and outcomes of these confirm the reliability and validity for the data used for the study. Findings – Direct entry regression was used in order to identify the relationships between market orientation and its performance. Four performance measures – student growth, market share, teaching and service quality – and overall performance were used to investigate their relationships with market orientation. All four measures were found to be statistically significant and positively related to the market orientation of the private universities in Bangladesh. Originality/value – The findings of the study support the theoretical arguments that the universities can be successful in attaining their business performances by initiating and adopting market oriented activities. The study further argues why it is so critical for a private university to be market oriented and how this market orientation can be attained.

Five years ago, we really didn’t have a clue what an organisation’s carbon impact might look like, and few firms had any sort of carbon-oriented business plan. Now, the trend is to fill this gap by producing carbon reports.

This paper examines the interactive effect of private equity (PE) and ultimate owners on the process of firms' going public. We find that firms with high excess control rights have more earnings management before IPO, and they are more likely to seek PE investors especially when the earnings management are high. We further show that the involvement of PE investors increases the probability of the firms' IPO application being approved by the regulators in firms with high excess control rights. However, the PE-backed firms with high excess control rights are found to have higher IPO fee, lower initial returns and lower longterm post-IPO performance. We argue that in emerging markets where the protection of minority shareholders is weak and the economy is dominated by relationship and networks, ultimate owners have strong incentive to seek PE investors to help them accessing the IPO market in the expense of minority shareholders' interest especially when they have excess control rights. Instead of playing monitory role, PE investors actually conspire with the ultimate owners to exploit minority shareholders' interests and both PE investors and controlling shareholders become big winners, while minority shareholders are the only loser in the process of IPO.

This paper examines the interactive effect of private equity (PE) and ultimate owners on the process of firms' going public. We find that firms with high excess control rights have more earnings management before IPO, and they are more likely to seek PE investors especially when the earnings management are high. We further show that the involvement of PE investors increases the probability of the firms' IPO application being approved by the regulators in firms with high excess control rights. However, the PE-backed firms with high excess control rights are found to have higher IPO fee, lower initial returns and lower longterm post-IPO performance. We argue that in emerging markets where the protection of minority shareholders is weak and the economy is dominated by relationship and networks, ultimate owners have strong incentive to seek PE investors to help them accessing the IPO market in the expense of minority shareholders' interest especially when they have excess control rights. Instead of playing monitory role, PE investors actually conspire with the ultimate owners to exploit minority shareholders' interests and both PE investors and controlling shareholders become big winners, while minority shareholders are the only loser in the process of IPO.

Professor Rob Whelan was appointed President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) in August 2008, moving from the University of Wollongong in Australia (UOW) where he held the position of Dean of Science. The expectation at the time of his appointment was that he would consolidate previous developments, improve governance and operational procedures, and review the organisational structure. Through its development, UOWD had followed the common model for branches of universities in the UAE, concentrating on business programmes with a lesser emphasis on computer science and IT. Academic staff had been encouraged to maintain some research activity in line with the University’s particular focus on masters-level programs. The primary driver of the University’s activities had always been student numbers, due to the fact that it is a private institution without financial support from local benefactors. As a result, tuition fees were the only way of funding both day-to-day operations and new developments. Rob Whelan brought to the job in Dubai the perspective that public-good benefits flow from a comprehensive institution connected with the larger community and these are led by academic staff who are actively engaged in research with outcomes that serve the national interest. Even before arriving in Dubai, he was exploring the possibility of applying aspects of this model to UOWD and considering the scope of changes needed to achieve this at a private institution. Central questions were: Should a research focus be pursued by a private institution in the UAE? Could it be pursued in a way that was compatible with growth in student numbers and the maintenance of financial viability? Would current staff be willing to pursue such an agenda? To what extent would they be prepared for the challenges embedded in it? What would be the reaction of other stakeholders? How should such a change in direction be implemented? This case explores the various processes through which

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to explore the market orientation of the private universities in Bangladesh. The study further aims to investigate the relationships between market orientation and business performance. Design/methodology/approach – Data for this study were collected from the faculty members of business and non-business schools of the 15 private universities in Bangladesh. A total number of 314 faculty members were interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Reliability, convergent and discriminant validity issues of the data were assessed and outcomes of these confirm the reliability and validity for the data used for the study. Findings – Direct entry regression was used in order to identify the relationships between market orientation and its performance. Four performance measures – student growth, market share, teaching and service quality – and overall performance were used to investigate their relationships with market orientation. All four measures were found to be statistically significant and positively related to the market orientation of the private universities in Bangladesh. Originality/value – The findings of the study support the theoretical arguments that the universities can be successful in attaining their business performances by initiating and adopting market oriented activities. The study further argues why it is so critical for a private university to be market oriented and how this market orientation can be attained.

Professor Rob Whelan was appointed President of the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) in August 2008, moving from the University of Wollongong in Australia (UOW) where he held the position of Dean of Science. The expectation at the time of his appointment was that he would consolidate previous developments, improve governance and operational procedures, and review the organisational structure. Through its development, UOWD had followed the common model for branches of universities in the UAE, concentrating on business programmes with a lesser emphasis on computer science and IT. Academic staff had been encouraged to maintain some research activity in line with the University’s particular focus on masters-level programs. The primary driver of the University’s activities had always been student numbers, due to the fact that it is a private institution without financial support from local benefactors. As a result, tuition fees were the only way of funding both day-to-day operations and new developments. Rob Whelan brought to the job in Dubai the perspective that public-good benefits flow from a comprehensive institution connected with the larger community and these are led by academic staff who are actively engaged in research with outcomes that serve the national interest. Even before arriving in Dubai, he was exploring the possibility of applying aspects of this model to UOWD and considering the scope of changes needed to achieve this at a private institution. Central questions were: Should a research focus be pursued by a private institution in the UAE? Could it be pursued in a way that was compatible with growth in student numbers and the maintenance of financial viability? Would current staff be willing to pursue such an agenda? To what extent would they be prepared for the challenges embedded in it? What would be the reaction of other stakeholders? How should such a change in direction be implemented? This case explores the various processes through which

This paper examines the interactive effect of private equity (PE) and ultimate owners on the process of firms' going public. We find that firms with high excess control rights have more earnings management before IPO, and they are more likely to seek PE investors especially when the earnings management are high. We further show that the involvement of PE investors increases the probability of the firms' IPO application being approved by the regulators in firms with high excess control rights. However, the PE-backed firms with high excess control rights are found to have higher IPO fee, lower initial returns and lower longterm post-IPO performance. We argue that in emerging markets where the protection of minority shareholders is weak and the economy is dominated by relationship and networks, ultimate owners have strong incentive to seek PE investors to help them accessing the IPO market in the expense of minority shareholders' interest especially when they have excess control rights. Instead of playing monitory role, PE investors actually conspire with the ultimate owners to exploit minority shareholders' interests and both PE investors and controlling shareholders become big winners, while minority shareholders are the only loser in the process of IPO.

Five years ago, we really didn’t have a clue what an organisation’s carbon impact might look like, and few firms had any sort of carbon-oriented business plan. Now, the trend is to fill this gap by producing carbon reports.