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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine threshold concepts in the context of teaching and learning first-year university economics. It outlines some of the arguments for using threshold concepts and provides examples using opportunity cost as an exemplar in economics. Design/ Methodology/Approach: The paper provides an overview of the theoretical literature around threshold concepts in economics and provides exemplars from previous research, and current practice, to illustrate how they might be applied in economics. Findings: The notion of threshold concepts such as opportunity cost can be extremely useful in pedagogic design. They focus on how learning concepts changes student thinking, rather than the standard approach which treats many concepts as equal in importance. Designing appropriate instructional materials around threshold concepts is time consuming and this may prove a barrier to the notions widespread adoption. Originality/Value: This paper contributes to the literature discussing the practical application of threshold concepts in teaching first-year economics as well as identifying possible reasons for its relatively slow adoption as a teaching tool in university.

The article by Aileen Fyfe (this issue) raises a number of important issues about academic identity and the importance of the disciplinary community in the creation and maintenance of that identity. It also discusses some of the additional difficulties faced by interdisciplinary disciplines; lack of recognition (and thus institutional support), isolation of individual academics in "foreign" communities and a general anxiety and lack of self-confidence by the practitioners in that discipline as to the worth of their field. Finally, the article hints at the dangers these difficulties pose for the sustainability of the discipline--as lack of a clear identity and an institutionally marginal existence can make developing and attracting future practitioners difficult. In Fyfe's article, the focus was on the history of science. This article explores some of the many similarities, and differences, that exist for individuals in the field of economic history. For many economic historians, locating themselves within their discipline is still a major issue.

Over 20 years ago, the late William Zahka (1990, 1998) outlined how the acceptance speeches of those who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science could be used to teach undergraduates. This article updates and expands Zahka's work, identifying some of the issues discussed by recent Nobel Laureates, classifying their speeches by topic and level of difficulty, and providing some examples of how their work could be integrated into undergraduate courses. Particular examples illustrate how the material might be used in introductory and later courses, and the Laureates' insights on research are discussed. (Contains 2 tables and 10 notes.)

Before 1980, strong demand existed in Australia for the economics degree. Since then, competition from programs in business and management has increased. Student preferences have shifted from university and secondary economics. Economics enrollments have declined in both sectors. The authors analyze these trends and assess economic education publications by Australian economists. (Contains 1 table and 20 notes.)

This study explores variation in postgraduate students' and supervisors' conceptions of research. Based on earlier work, a Conceptions of Research Inventory (CoRI) was trialled on a mixed sample of postgraduate students and supervisors (n = 251). Exploratory factor analyses of resultant data yields a five-dimensional empirical model, the composition of which is consistent with earlier work by the present authors. Four of these five dimensions distinguish between (variation in) conceptions of research such as "truth", "problem-solving", "re-search", and "an insightful process". The fifth dimension captures variation in terms of what are interpreted as "misconceptions". The discrete conceptual dimensions suggested within the factor model are further explored via k-means cluster analyses in terms of partitioning of the dataset, as limited by sample sizes, according to postgraduate status and supervisor designation. These analyses provide further insights into variation, across the various clusters in each case, as expressed in the profiles of cluster mean scores. Such differences as are evidenced highlight contrasting patterns of variation between, for example, experienced and novice researchers. There is also evidence of dissonance in some of the cluster solutions and it is further demonstrated via analysis of variance that dissonant cluster membership is associated with a generally lower level of self-estimated performance. The implications of these findings are finally considered in relation to postgraduate training and supervision. (Contains 2 tables, 5 figures and 4 notes.)

Relatively little is known about students' conceptions of research and, in particular, whether there are conceptually discrete patterns of variation that can be used to model this phenomenon in terms of research-as-learning outcomes. The present study explores the dimensionality of students' conceptions of research from two complementary research perspectives. The open-ended written responses of students (n=154) to questions aimed at soliciting variations in conceptions of what research is are analysed using a qualitative methodology to isolate "categories of description". Findings are summarized in terms of eight such main categories, some of which are further internally differentiated. In terms of the main categories, research is conceived in terms of (variation in): (A) information gathering, (B) discovering the truth, (C) insightful exploration and discovery, (D) analytic and systematic enquiry, (E) incompleteness, (F) re-examining existing knowledge, (G) problem-based activity, and (H) a set of misconceptions. The substantive verbatim excerpts that formed the units of analysis in the qualitative analysis were used as a basis for item stems which were psychometrically operationalized into a Students' Conceptions of Research Inventory (SCoRI). This inventory was administered to a second heterogeneous sample of postgraduate students (n=224) and the resultant data were subjected to exploratory factor analyses that provided empirical support (as dimensions of variation) for a smaller subset of the categories isolated in the qualitative analysis. Empirically, and in terms of additional psychometric considerations, there was support for five dimensions of variation (common factors) in terms of categories B, C, F, G, and H. These findings provide an initial conceptual basis for interpreting how students engaged in research activity may differ from one another in terms of their conceptions, as well as what the likely consequences of any such stable differences may bng outcomes.

Congruent with the University of South Australia's mission to widen access, first-year students of business studies enter the university with a wide range of educational backgrounds and experiences. Previous work (Meyer & Shanahan, 1999) has revealed that such students vary considerably in their views about what learning is, and how they engage in learning. Complementary to these insights, and intimately connected to issues of learning, the same research has revealed the diversity of views held by entering students about economic phenomena (what economics is, what economists do, mechanisms of price determination, and so on). Entering students whose conceptions of learning are at odds with the demands of the institution, or whose conceptions of their academic discipline (in this case economics) are incongruent with fundamental conceptions associated with the discipline (e.g. they hold misconceptions of economics) face difficulties even before they commence their university studies. Within this disciplinary and institutional context, the present study reports on the development and integration of processes to assist students in developing their metalearning capacity. These processes include designing a discipline-sensitive learning inventory, developing a Web-based platform for administering the inventory, using resultant data to inform students on an individual basis about themselves as learners in context, and using (variation in) inventory data to inform the course curriculum, the design of course materials and academic staff development.

Examines the phenomenon of dissonant forms of memorizing and repetition from both location and structural perspectives. Attention is drawn to clear evidence that supports, in particular, an argument in favor of gender-response differences in both location and structural dissonance. Also illustrates how the isolation of dissonant response patterns may be approached analytically. (Author/EV)

More than a century elapsed between Australia's first legislative attempts to modify anticompetitive behaviour (the Australian Industries Preservation Act 1906) and its most recent efforts to criminalise price fixing (Trade Practices Amendment (Cartel Conduct and Other Measures) Act 2009). After a burst of activity in the first decade of Federation, the intervening years saw only sporadic interest by governments to promote competitive markets, with limited impact until the late 1960s. This paper assesses the first period of Australia's attempts to promote competition. It traces the political, economic and social environments of anticompetitive business behaviour in Australia from 1901 up to World War I. We suggest that Australia's initial forays into regulating cartels were motivated more by protectionist aims than by efforts to increase competition, which in part also explains the next half-century of legislative apathy towards anti-competitive legislation.

From July 13 to 16, 2004, colleagues from around the world gathered at the University of South Australia to present and discuss their research on economic education. The conference, entitled "What We Teach and How We Teach It: Perspectives on Economics from around the Globe," was presented by The Centre for Regulation and Market Analysis and sponsored by the Journal of Economic Education and the University of South Australia. The content and issues covered in the conference were equally diverse, ranging from how to use mobile phones to conduct class experiments in large lectures to presenting profiles of undergraduate economics curricula in the Philippines. Additional information about the conference, the participants, and the presented papers can be accessed at the conference Web site at http://business2.unisa.edu.au/ecoed/ecoed.htm.

When the Australian Trade Practices Act 1965 came into force on 1 September 1967 it was vehemently opposed by business as it threatened to reveal the extent of their anti-competitive arrangements. Yet by the time the Act was replaced by stronger legislation in 1974, most firms had accepted that collusion and price fixing were undesirable and that they had to compete. Using newspapers, parliamentary debates, archival records, and the Secret Register of trade agreements introduced by the 1965 Act, this paper examines the transformation of attitudes to competition in the Australian business community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Trade Practices Act 1965 was widely criticised as being weak and unproductive. It was a significantly watered-down version of the original Bill overseen by Garfield Barwick. Although the final form of the Act was perceived as ineffective at the time, it is now viewed as an important step towards a national competition policy and a precursor to the opening up of the Australian economy. This paper outlines the economic, political and social background to the introduction of the legislation. We specify some of the factors that explain why its creation caused controversy and its importance in initiating change in Australians' attitudes towards collusive behaviour and economic protectionism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on nineteenth century globalisation argues that during the second half of that century wage–rental ratios in labour scarce, land-abundant new world economies decreased. This suggests inequality rose in the new world. Australia has been cited as a conspicuous example of this trend. The paper re-examines this argument using disaggregated land and wage data for four Australian colonies. We reveal large regional differences in both factor–price levels and trends – something that has been overlooked when discussing Australian colonial inequality and we suggest that regional disparities in other nineteenth century economies are also likely to be important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors present the initial development of a student learning inventory (SLI) that is specific to economics. This approach, which is based on the student experience of learning (SEL) literature, emphasizes aspects of prior knowledge in the learning history of entering first-year students. Preliminary insights from a first SLI suggest that on entry to university, students show considerable variation in their perceptions of what economics is and what economists do. From the SEL perspective, such variation affects student learning. It is argued that continued development of an economic-specific SLI may result in a better understanding of students' learning engagement with economics and ultimately assist instructors in better understanding student learning difficulties and increase student success in first-year economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the economic benefits of implementing intensive in-prison sex offender treatment programs (SOTP) in Australia. It states that an important variable in the determination of benefits associated with SOTP is the significant decrease of recidivism rates. Various studies show that cognitive behavioral therapy treatment programs with relapse prevention can be effective. It concludes that the costs of the programs compensated the benefits they produce, and the potentially significant net economic benefits are enough to support future research.